When we cleaned out my grandmother’s house, there was really only one thing that I desperately wanted.

 

 

 

Her recipes.

 

 

The majority of the recipes were truly hers – she literally made them herself.

 

 

 

I did get to take the recipes, but what I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet is that my husband and I closed on our new house on April 24th, and my grandmother died on April 25th. The recipes had been sitting in my parents’ house, along with most of my other junk because we all know there wasn’t more room for it here.

 

 

 

Moving into our house was a frenzy, as we also had a few days of funeral activities to attend. The recipes were inside a bag, which was inside a box, and until last week, I wasn’t even sure if they were at my house or my parents’.

 

 

 

 

I found them and decided to look through them last night. 

IMG_0897

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is just a bit of what I had to look through.

 

 

 

 

 One of the first recipes I found is a cookie we would make every Christmas.  

IMG_0898

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing her handwriting on the recipe got me a little shaken up, but in a nice, warm and fuzzy way.

 

 

 

I couldn’t believe how OLD some of this stuff was. 

IMG_0899

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And most of it was hard to make out. Some of it even written in pencil, probably up to 50 years ago, maybe more. You can imagine how much it has faded.

 

 

 

 

IMG_0901

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the recipes had ‘age spots’ or stains on them, and I kept wondering what it could be. What was she making that day that she spilled on the recipe??

 

 

 

 

 

 Hmmm, here is one for her mother’s date pudding.

IMG_0902

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like dates, and I like pudding, but I don’t know if I’d like date pudding. Have any of you ever had this?

 

 

 

 

 

 Again, more of her mother’s recipes that I can barely make out.

IMG_0904

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m sure you can see how old and discolored these papers are. Notice in the upper left corner a sheet of more recent paper…and by more recent, I mean probably from the 70’s.

 

 

 

 

 

Ooooh here’s an oldie.

IMG_0905

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Check out that paper disinegration.

 

 

 

 

Again, more old paper against new-ER paper.

IMG_0906

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This here was a good find. Her orange cookies were AMAZING, and she made an even better glaze to go on top. Again, a usual Christmas recipe, and one of my mom’s favorites.  

IMG_0907

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t wait to fill my new kitchen with Christmas goodies. Hopefully I can restrain myself.

 

 

 

 

This will be our first Christmas in our new house, and I am SO excited. I can’t wait to decorate, light Christmas-scented candles, and obnoxiously bake cookies that could feed a small country.

 

 

 

And then obnoxiously eat them all in one sitting. Yes, I can’t wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 How cute is this paper?!

IMG_0908

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this one because it is either my mom or aunt’s handwriting, most likely from when they were my age. They were obviously planning a party, perhaps one of their wedding or baby showers, as the list reads chicken salad, lemonade, fruit salad, deviled eggs, stuffed celery, and…

 

cleaned lettuce…?

 

 

Would someone actually serve dirty lettuce?

 

 

 

 

At one moment I started to panic because she had recipes organized and clipped together by paper clips.

IMG_0909

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I obviously took them apart, but I didn’t like taking them apart since she was the last to handle them.

 

 

 

 

 

I think this is really a true treasure.

IMG_0910

 

 

 

 

 

  

IMG_0911

 

 

 

 

 

  

IMG_0912

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hand-written recipes in a very old recipe book. Most of these are written in pencil, too. The paper is so old it is practically crumbling.

 

 

 

 

 

OK – a recipe on a NAPKIN.

IMG_0913

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This takes the cake. Who saves this? Why not write it on paper!?

 

 

 

 

This napkin has seen better days. 

IMG_0914

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It appears to be about 212 years old in napkin years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is one BIG reason that I looked through these recipes. I wanted and NEEDED to find a certain recipe.

 

 

For my sanity, for my mom’s, my cousin Lacy’s, and probably every other person who had ever came in contact with Mother Lovett.

 

 

We didn’t ever think we would find it. We didn’t even think it was written down.

 

 

 

 

And after about 5 phone calls to my mom earlier in the evening, telling her ‘I found this, I found that,’ I finally found what we all had been looking for.

 

  

 

 

This is HUGE.

IMG_0916

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her pie crust was TO DIE FOR. I wish I could tell you in person because really, it was incredible.

 

 

 

And I found the recipe.

 

 

 

Then fainted.

 

 

 

 

Then regained conciousness.

 

 

 

Then ate a cookie to make sure I was alive.

 

 

 

Not only was I alive, but I had found the recipe that has alluded us all for many, many years. Even if you were with her while she was making a pie crust, it was impossible to figure out her recipe. And if you asked for it, she said she just knew how to make it and couldn’t find the recipe. And to be honest, we rarely asked, because we were convinced she was immortal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Another VERY old sheet of paper.

IMG_0917

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Wow, probably one of the oldest in there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came across this – a recipe was written on the back.

IMG_0918

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a subscription letter to my grandmother’s FATHER.

 

 

 

 

 

 I don’t know if you can make it out, but they offered him a year subscription for $1.00.

IMG_0919

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good deal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A letter addressed to my mother right after she was born.

IMG_0920

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see the date? You do the math.

 

 

 

 

 

There were a couple recipes from newpapers tucked in with the others.

IMG_0921

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Check out that date!

IMG_0922

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found many, many old, saved items in her house. Some we deemed ridiculous, others reasonable. She lived during The Depression, so naturally she saved EVERYTHING.

 

 

 

 

Including a bottle of soy sauce that expired in 1978 and hairspray from the 40’s.

 

 

 

 

Not quite sure what she was planning on doing with that…

 

 

 

 

 

I love this last picture. This stirred the most emotion in me. I felt lucky and special to hold this, and at the same time my heart absolutely went out to the woman writing this. I want to frame these.

  

 

 

 IMG_0925A letter written to a prospective employer – I guess today we could call it a ‘cover letter.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were two letters. One sent to ‘gentlemen’ at the local newspaper, and the other sent to a female at the post office.  There was no resume to send, as my grandmother had been a homemaker since she got married – which I believe was her dream – to cook, clean and raise a family.

 

 

However, she was recently widowed, and it was time to find work.

 

 

 

 

 My, my, how times have changed.

IMG_0926

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her qualifications included typing, bookkeeping, answering phones, and following instructions.

Not much out of the ordinary, right?

 

 

But it was a few lines down that got me. She writes:

 

‘I am intelligent, have a pleasing personality and present an attractive appearance.’

 

 

I told you she was beautiful, right? She failed to include this part in her letter to the female at the post office.

 

 

Some things never change.

 

 

 

Us women have always had a bit of power over men. :)