My Lil Granny...

Hi Friends!

Do you have your cup of coffee? All comfy at the kitchen table? Good. Let's talk.

One of my fondest memories of my childhood is walking into my grandparents house and seeing my Lil Granny sitting in her spot at the kitchen table. There would, depending on the time of year, be one of several things in front of her. Always, without question, would be a cup of coffee, typically so strong the spoon would stand on it's own, and an ashtray with a cigarette in any stage of smoke...If it was summertime, you could add to this menagerie, a radio playing the Cincinnatti Reds and a steno pad where she kept strict scores of the game. Inning by Inning, run by run, batter by batter.

She would discuss the game (if it were summertime), what she might have read in the local paper, whatever family gossip was brewing, or what programs were on TV she planned to watch that evening.

My Lil Granny got her name for an obvious reason. She was about 5'7" maybe taller, and at her hay day, about 140 pounds. Tall and Skinny! Hence, her name. Lil Granny. She had an insatiable sweet tooth, a love of baseball, Andy Griffith, Judge Wapner, and Elvis. Later in life, she discovered such luxeries as Taco Bell and Kenny Chesney. She loved to mow the lawn, fold laundry, iron clothing, and do the dishes.

I'll add a picture of my sweet Lil Granny who passed on in February 2009. But she left, for me, a love of the kitchen table. In my family, the kitchen table is not just where we take our meals, but where we share our coffee, our gossip, our stories, our news, our successes, our failures, our recipes, our sorrows, our joys, our past and we plan our future. Since I've moved to California, I've come to share these same moments with friends here, for one of my dear friends, it's her comfy living room couch and a cocktail where we share. For another dear friend, it's her swimming pool and a bag of Doritos. The result is the same. Good conversation, fond memories and a relaxing time spent in the company of those I love.

So, in honor of my Lil Granny, here is a picture of my kitchen table, where I sit with my coffee and my friends and my little family and dish. You'll notice the plastic table cloth. You know the kind. With the felt backing. Don't put anything too hot on it. These were a staple at my grandparents house. They would change with the seasons and holidays. But what was the same, was the back drop of my childhood, and later the foundation for my adulthood.

Enjoy your special time, where ever it is...

Love,
Olivia
My Granny's Attic