COUNTRY LIFE: Part One

When Grandma cooked, she awoke the entire hillside community with strong, sweet smelling aromas of what we call good food. Grandma had been up all morning preparing dinner. My two sisters and I would always anticipate what Grandma had going in the kitchen. We would hastily run out of the house and rush to the kitchen on the other side, and peeped into the pots boiling on the wood fire. The kitchen was a building separate from the main house.

We were so excited that we use to run and jump and do somersaults (kin puppa lik) on the lawn near the kitchen. Sometimes my younger sister would run back and forth to and from the kitchen to see how far Grandma has come along with the meal. My younger sister especially liked swinging on the Almond tree that was planted on the far end of the immediate property.

When we heard the dishes clicked against each other, we would know that the time is near. Grandma would line up six dishes to serve each of us our delicious meals. She would call my sisters and myself to come in the kitchen and remove each dish as she made a place for the next empty plate to be filled. We happily walked each complete dish up to the main house and placed them on a table that had already been set.

My Grandfather's plate was always first. We would make sure to place two Scotch Bonnet peppers next to his place mat because that's how he enjoyed his food. He didn't seem to mind the heat coming from those extremely hot 'condiments'.

My older sister poured the drink of the day, Carrot juice made from scratch...Lot's of Dragon, Milk and freshly grated and drained Carrots.

All the plates have reached the table and we all gathered at the table and made sure to give thanks first. We always remembered to thank Grandma for making such a lovely, unforgettable meal. We didn't have much, but my Grandma always made us feel as if we were overly blessed..Now I know we were.....TO BE CONTINUED...