First of all let me start by telling you I am not a writer, I wish I was then I could express myself even better. Please look past the tenses and the wrong word order. But when I saw this challenge I wanted to share  some of my memories of my loving Grandmother Lenie and our special apron.

Since I was a little girl I can remember loving this apron. Grandmother came to visit us every second week and she would always put on the moon and stars apron when she  made her famous Curry meatballs and pancakes. Ooh how I loved those  Curry meatball’s…. I’ve tried making them but Grandmother never wrote down her recipe…. While she was waiting for the meatballs to finish I would usually sit on her lap and we would count the stars and the moons but never finished there was just too many for us to count. Grandmother then always told me that our love for each other are like the stars and moons to much to count…

Something else I remember about Grandmothers visits is she loved sitting at the dining room table after lunch and we talked for hours then we would start eating the left over potatoes. Grandmother loved potatoes, I think I inherited my love for potatoes from her.

Sometimes after lunch and we washed all the dishes and the kitchen is neat we would go for a walk. Not far just to admire the gardens in the neighborhood, Grandmother loved flowers another thing we had in common. I must admit thinking about it now I inherited a few good qualities from my Grandmother. Now I must just get that Curry Meatball recipe right.

When I went to high school I had ballet classes on a Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon at a school nearby the retirement home my grandmother stayed in. So every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I would hurry to grandmothers little flat.  Welcomed by the smell of freshly baked pancakes or “Vetkoek” ( Vetkoek literally means “fat cake”. It is similarly shaped to a doughnut (jam filled, no hole) and is made from flour, salt and yeast. Dough is rolled into a ball then deep fried. It is commonly eaten with butter or filled with jam or a more savory filling.) OOh and how can I forget the tea. Grandmother made the most divine tea and she did not believe in mugs. You get your tea in a proper porcelain cup with a saucer. She always boiled the milk and she never made your tea with cold milk. Boiled milk do make tea taste so much better but to be honest I am to lazy to boil my milk for a cup of tea I use it straight from the milk carton. After reliving my time with Grandmother I think I must start drinking my tea as my Grandmother taught me…

Ha Ha my Grandmother hardly got angry with me but when I met my husband in grade 10 I had this thing in my head that I must loose some weight. Grandmother got furious with me when I told her she don’t need to bake me pancakes and Vetkoek anymore I need to go on a diet. Jeezzz I’ll never forget that day.  She told me in her “angry” voice. “Coreen eat while you can because there will come a time in your life that you won’t be able to eat anything.” At that stage I did not really know what she meant. I did promise her that day that I would never go on a diet were I deprive myself from food or drink pills. I stuck to my promise to her. I did go on a view healthy eating sprees but I never deprived myself of anything.

At age 30 when I got diagnosed with High blood pressure and Cholesterol I only really realized what she meant that day. Later at age 35 I got diagnosed with cluster migraines and yet again I thought of  Grandmothers words that afternoon.  My grandmother was a very wise woman and I loved her very much still do…

Then one Monday afternoon my parents came to fetch me at school. I had a gut feeling something is not right…. On our way home my parents were quiet and when we got home they made sure I ate something and then they sat me down and told me that they the retirement home phoned. They found grandmother in her bed that morning. She was reading a magazine when she went to a better place… I cried for days…

When my parents went to clean out her flat they found a paper bag  addressed to me.  Inside was “our” apron and a note was stuck on it with sticky tape. Grandmother was Afrikaans so I am going to try and translate it.                  “Coreen’s apron with so much love as the moon and stars so is our love for each other. Grandmother Lenie”

I always kept the apron in the Show Cabinet I inherited from Grandmother also. But one day I decided that it’s hidden there and no one see’s it I need to showcase it. Then one day I tried to make Grandmothers Curry meatballs I took it out of the cabinet for some inspiration. Afraid I was going to spill some curry on it I took a frame and fold the apron neatly so it would fit nicely inside, I took the note and a old photo I had of my Grandmother and also put it in the frame. Grandmother and “our” apron has a very special place in my kitchen. I put her against one of my cupboard doors so that she could watch over me while I am working in the kitchen.

Well there you have it one of my favorite things.

Thank you for the opportunity to tell you about my Grandmother.