SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 - GRANDMA’S HOUSE

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 - GRANDMA'S HOUSE

Buon giorno and Good Day!

Greetings to all the wonderful fans of *Rosalie Serving Italian.* As you all may have noticed, I am very late this week in getting out my usual newsletter and recipe. The holdup was a welcome visit from my daughter who flew down from Naples, Florida, to visit with me for a few days. With her came two of my ten grandchildren, Elijah Harpole, age 4 and baby Sebastian Durniat, 11 months old. It has been great fun so far, tripping over Lego's, wind-up toys, and Elmo.

The grandchildren story even gets better, because today I had another visit from my middle child, Jeff and his wife, Tami. They decided to drive down from Terre Haute, Indiana, hearing that sister was visiting with Mom. Along with them came four more grandchildren: Roman, age 9, Reagan, age 6, Alexandra, age 5, and Nicholas, age 2. If you are counting, we now have six of the ten grandchildren, all under the same roof. Things are definitely getting more lively by the minute.

The greetings were very touching, with hugs and kisses for me and Grandpa, and exclamations like, "Oh, Grandma, we are so excited to see you, and did you bake cookies for us, and can we play with all of your toys? Do you have chocolate milk, did grandpa build us the tree house yet, and can we play the piano?" "We are sooo hungry… what did you fix for supper?" While the questions kept coming, faster than I could answer, the adults filed in one by one hugging and greeting one another. It was almost like Christmas…and all because they were at Grandma's House.

What is it about Grandma's house that causes all the magic? Yes, there were warm chocolate chip cookies out on the table, and yes, Grandma did cook all afternoon preparing everyone's favorite dish. The family dinner table was filled with *Italian Crusted Chicken,* Tami's favorite, *Italian Fried Cabbage with Marinara Sauce*, Jeff and Grandpa's favorite, *Breaded Fried Cauliflower*, Dana's favorite, *Homemade Italian Bread,* everybody's favorite, and lots of fresh vegetables including fresh corn on the cob, fresh green beans and potatoes, and of course a big *Italian Salad.* Dana also made her *Lemon Raspberry Icebox Cake,* and the kids drank chocolate milk to their heart's content.

You see, at Grandma's house, rules are suspended in time. It's like the prisoners are temporarily out on leave, and all of their long awaited wishes can be fulfilled in one afternoon. The kids can play leap frog, build Lego castles, jump off the coffee table, drink milk and eat cookies all at the same time; while the parents can tune them out completely and catch up on month's of absence. Grandma takes three Ibuprophen, and continues to serve, assemble, break up kid fusses, apply band aids, sweep up cookie crumbs and kiss on Grandpa. It's a wonderful life!

And did you know that Grandma is always the beloved of the family? It's true! Grandma can do no wrong. She makes the best food, has the best kid movies, tells the best bedtime stories and always has bubbles for the kid's baths. She takes up their grievances, calms their fears, and laughs at their jokes. She brags about them, carries their pictures and shows them to total strangers, and never misses their recitals. It's the perfect scenario…Grandma can do all of these things, while mom and dad are still responsible. I love it! So, I say, "come on over to Grandma's house," what your parents don't know, won't hurt them….just kidding.

Grandma jokes:

"Oh, Grandma, your teeth are like stars, they come out at night."

"Oh, Grandma, you have a suppository stuck in your ear". "Oh, my", Grandma says, "Now I know where my hearing aid went."

Have fun, and see you at Rendezvous Café, September 14, at 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM in O'Fallon, MO. for a fun cooking class with recipes from my new cookbook, *Rosalie Serving Country.* Call for reservations 636-281-2233.

God Bless, and see you at Grandma's House,

Rosalie