My Grandma’s Aprons
My Mother and Grandmother taught me to bake at a pretty early age. I remember making cookies with my sister Beth, my Mother, or my Grandmother by the time I was 5 or 6 and it wasn’t long after that I started to bake all on my own. I’m sure that some of my creations were barely edible! But I learned a great deal by making my own mistakes. I have a lot of fun memories centered around the kitchen and my family. I’ll never forget my sister deciding to make brownies. The recipe said to mix by hand…and that’s exactly what she did. I walked into the kitchen to see her with both hands right in the brownie batter, mixing away. Of course I laughed at her…which she didn’t like 
| Grandma’s aprons drying on the clothesline. |
We always wore aprons when we were baking. There was a special drawer in the kitchen for them and my Grandmother had made 2 pint sized aprons for my sister and I to wear while we ‘worked’ on pie crusts and cakes. Grandma also had quite a collection of aprons in her own kitchen and she wore them quite often when I was young. She always had home made cookies or some new recipe for a bunny cake for Easter or something fun like that in her oven or cooling on the counter when we stopped in for a visit. As I got older and all of the grand kids had reached the teen age years, Grandma didn’t bake as much anymore. It became more common for her to have some store bought cookies or ice cream on hand for our visits. But the aprons would still come out for the holidays when we all gathered at her house for a feast.
| Grandma wore this fancy apron for Easter. |
When I was 23 my husband and I moved 600 miles away from home. Our visits were pretty frequent at first. We would drive the 11 hours at Christmas and during the summer. We would spend lazy afternoons at Grandma’s house looking through pictures or having a snack with her. I knew she was getting older, but she still had that twinkle in her eye and an impish smile that let me know that all was well. Over the years it became more and more difficult to make it back twice every year and we eventually stopped making the drive through the uncertain winter weather. Our visits were more hurried in the summer while we tried to visit all of Tom’s family and all of my family too. We didn’t have as much time to just sit and visit for hours at Grandma’s house. But it was hard to miss the fact that she was changing. Her memory was fading and there were times when she looked at me and I could tell from her eyes that she was searching to remember who I was. I saw her body failing and my Mother started having people come in to do the housework and help with Grandma’s bathing and meals.
| This was my favorite apron and I have many fond memories of Christmas gatherings when Grandma wore this. |
My Grandma Penhollow lived to be 94 years old. She had a long and very eventful life. Her son almost died at birth, but lived to have 3 children before he died of cancer. Grandma also buried both of her husbands. My Mother’s father died shortly after Mom’s first birthday…on Christmas day. Grandma was a very strong woman and she put herself through business school and later beauty school. She set up her own beauty shop and worked until she was in her late 80′s.
| I love the funky turquoise strawberries on this apron. |
Two years ago she passed away and we all gathered for a memorial service that August. It was a sad occasion, but we also made it a celebration of her life. The women in our family all donned one of Grandma’s fancy hats to wear to the memorial service. The pastor wrote a poem that I had written in memory of my Grandma, called ‘Grandma’s Purse.’ I’ll be sure to share it with you in a future post.
We all helped my Mom clean out Grandma’s house and everyone took a few things that had special meaning to them. I brought home a number of items, including a few of Grandma’s aprons. I’ve been thinking about posting pictures of some of my favorite things from Grandma’s house and ‘My Simple Country Living’ has given me the perfect opportunity (read ‘kick in the seat of my pants’) to do just that! I am sharing these photos of Grandma’s aprons with you today. I hope you enjoy them
| This apron saw a lot of action in its day! |
| I thought that ric-rac was really fancy when I was a kid |
| Another hard working apron. |
I shared this post on:
Farm Fresh Friday
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Ole’ Saturday Homesteading Trading Post
The Morristribe’s Homesteading Blog Carnival
Live, Love, Laugh Link Up
The Country Garden Showcase
Home Is Where The Heart Is Hop
Frugally Sustainable
Seasonal Celebration Sunday
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