Just like Nan used to make

You know what I really want right now? Some cinnamon buns just the way Nan used to make them. There was nothing really special about the way she made them; bread dough, margarine, sugar and cinnamon but they were always better than any others. It was the same with her bread - no one made bread as good as Nan. I can remember times when we would get yelled at for sneaking a fresh bun of warm bread, how she would get mad and take the homemade jam away from us, so just for spite we would eat the warm bun without it. Come to think of it, there are a lot of things that no one can make like Nan did. Like baked fish, I'm not a lover of cod fish but I tell you, no one can stuff and bake a cod like Nan could. It was delicious! Or turkey neck soup, Mom's soup has never compared.

It wasn't only her cooking, Nan always seemed to do things for my brother and I in a way that Mom and Dad never could. She always gave us a drink of juice to wash down any horrible tasting medicine or mashed up a pill (Tylenol or whatever) with sugar and milk to make it go down easier. To this day, I still can't swallow a pill whole without gagging. Yes, Nan babied us like you wouldn't believe but we loved it and I wish she was around to do the same with my little one.

I try my best to keep some of her traditions alive; there was so much that she taught me. I bottle down mustard pickles and beets every fall - not only because I simply like them, but because the smell of making mustard pickles and pickled beets reminds me of her. I try and make bread when I have the time except it's not like hers. There are so many things that I wished I had taken the time to learn from her....like how to knit vamps and double/finger mitts, how to make black current jam just way she did....the little things she did that we took for granted.

It will be six years since she passed away on October 18 and it's hard to believe that so much time has passed. Often times I don't let myself think about it, mostly because it hurts too much I guess. She was my other mother after all. When all is said and done though, I know that she lived a hard yet satisfactory life, she was greatly loved, and that she is at peace somewhere in the heaven above.

However, if there is truly a life after death....Nan, can you give me that recipe for baked cod?

Quote of the day:
"Many people will walk in and out of your life but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart." - Unknown