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I remember the scents. They're hard to describe but once in a blue moon I'll be somewhere and get a whiff and immediately get pulled back to my grandparents' house. The scent of certain soaps, certain aftershave, certain perfumes that are no longer popular.
Like many people of their generations, they had a lot of dark wood furniture. It's not common to see the wine colored varnishes in today's houses.
They also had formal living rooms, which no one seems to have anymore. I distinctly remember that both sets of grandparents had a cut glass crystal container for certain kinds of candies which were only offered to guests and never touched otherwise. It seemed to be a thing for that generation.
Right!
My grandmother had a formal living room and it was basically sealed off - no one ever went in there except for holidays. I remember the sofa as being particularly uncomfortable. She had (probably the same) cut glass thingie that held ribbon candy that no one ever ate but she always put it out for company.
She also had a big 1950s style console TV that was probably DA BOMB back in the day but wow, it was a dinosaur by the time I was a teenager.
Sorry I've had a spider drop down on me in the bed, one too many times. I keep glue traps out along the baseboards. I want NO spiders in my bedroom thank you very much.
Same here. My rule of thumb is that I don't kill critters that are outside in the yard. I mean, that's where they're supposed to be. But ANYTHING that gets in my house - if I see it, it's dying - immediately.
I have happy memories of visiting my maternal Grandparent's house. We visited several times a year, and it was always a treat to visit their Victorian home. They were Italian immigrants and had transformed their yard into the garden of Eden - fruit trees, flowers, vegetable gardens, a grape arbor and several outbuildings that we kids loved to explore.
They had an old well under a huge mulberry tree and a wine cellar complete with casks of homemade wine from their own grapes. I can still recall that heady scent today. The bedroom where we stayed had this odd little window over the bed that led into a large walk-in close/small room. We would peer through and try to see what was in there.
My grandmother would make homemade ravioli and it would be drying on a card table on the sunporch covered with a white cloth. She had these little corkscrew type pins she used to keep the doilies in place on the furniture, and I recall always untwisting them....it must have drove my grandmother nuts after we left to replace them all.
My grandparents were in other countries than the one I grew up in, so I did not see them often. My maternal grandparents lived in a little house with a front screened porch that I recall sleeping on. It was a house of tiny rooms and I remember my favorite thing was eating my grandmother's yummy food. They had their big meal in the middle of the day and I recall eating lamb with mint, roast potatoes and gravy and peas. I also remember going with my grandfather in his pristine and rarely used station wagon to buy paper wrapped chips to eat with sausages on Sunday evenings. The laundry hung outside and there were fruit trees and so many flowers.
My paternal grandmother lived in a very cool flat. The layout and the furnishings would be considered modern today. I don't know how she did that. She had a huge music collection and sound system. She was from Lebanon and her house smelled like spices, passion fruit and dark chocolate. There was a beautiful garden with a long table for family dinners. I would give about anything to be in her kitchen right now.
Being in my kitchen is my absolute favorite thing. I hope I am making beautiful memories for my kids and eventual grandchildren.
My grandmother had a formal living room and it was basically sealed off - no one ever went in there except for holidays. I remember the sofa as being particularly uncomfortable. She had (probably the same) cut glass thingie that held ribbon candy that no one ever ate but she always put it out for company.
She also had a big 1950s style console TV that was probably DA BOMB back in the day but wow, it was a dinosaur by the time I was a teenager.
Has anyone ever actually eaten ribbon candy? My Mom used to put it out for holiday gatherings but I never remember anyone touching it. It did look pretty though. I really think it's main purpose was to look nice in a cut-glass bowl.
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Both my grandmothers had a sunroom ( in New York ) and a kitchen with a pantry room. They
had beautiful gardens and one lived on a canal so she had a beach as well.
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Has anyone ever actually eaten ribbon candy? My Mom used to put it out for holiday gatherings but I never remember anyone touching it. It did look pretty though. I really think it's main purpose was to look nice in a cut-glass bowl.
Ribbon candy? Yes, all four of my kids like it, total sugar rush.
I have happy memories of visiting my maternal Grandparent's house. We visited several times a year, and it was always a treat to visit their Victorian home. They were Italian immigrants and had transformed their yard into the garden of Eden - fruit trees, flowers, vegetable gardens, a grape arbor and several outbuildings that we kids loved to explore.
They had an old well under a huge mulberry tree and a wine cellar complete with casks of homemade wine from their own grapes. I can still recall that heady scent today. The bedroom where we stayed had this odd little window over the bed that led into a large walk-in close/small room. We would peer through and try to see what was in there.
My grandmother would make homemade ravioli and it would be drying on a card table on the sunporch covered with a white cloth. She had these little corkscrew type pins she used to keep the doilies in place on the furniture, and I recall always untwisting them....it must have drove my grandmother nuts after we left to replace them all.
I loved that place.
Oh my gosh - I used to use those little pins for the antimacassars on my Art Deco furniture. They drove my cats nuts trying to pry them out.
Until 1960 my grandmother still had a wood burning kitchen stove (a gas furnace though). Out back across the alley was a huge railroad yard. We used to play out there. It's a wonder none of us kids ever got hit by a train.
Oh my gosh - I used to use those little pins for the antimacassars on my Art Deco furniture. They drove my cats nuts trying to pry them out.
My grandmother always had those on the arms of the upholstered furniture. I remember the pins had twisty ends and I would sit there and twist it out and then twist it back in over and over.
My grandparents had a red brick colonial. Three bedroom/two bath (a 3rd unused one in the basement). A fireplace in the living room (only used on Christmas eve) and one in the basement that had built in shelves around it. The basement was finished but had cold tile floors. It also had a built in bar in one corner. The basement was where my books and toys were kept. I remember my huge dollhouse and over-sized building blocks the most. Except for the scary unused bathroom in the basement, I loved everything about that house. Large rooms, unique layout, and even the slate roof with the funny metal scallop thingies that I found out later in life were to keep the leaves and snow from getting into the gutters (which were copper that had turned into a pretty shade of green).
Their house was a nice escape for me - from my parents, my siblings, and my not as nice duplex that we lived in.
Fondest memories - I used to stay with them every Saturday night and go to church with my grandmother on Sunday morning (I actually went to Sunday school while she went to the "big church"). After church, my grandfather would go to the donut shop and bring back a dozen donuts. I did, however, hate watching Lawrence Welk on Saturday nights with my Grandmother.
Last edited by kjg1963; 01-29-2021 at 11:01 AM..
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