About Remedios

All of us grandchildren called her Abuela. She was the baby sitter for me, my brother, my cousin Mary, and her sister Margaret. During the depression, my parents worked where ever they could. If it was at a cannery out of town, then Abuela would take care of me until my parents returned. (I was the only grandchild at this time) I slept with my Aunt Mary. She taught me a prayer in Spanish, and I said it with her every night. Don't know if I can spell it correctly, but here goes: Con Dios me aquesto, Con Dios me levanto, the Vijen Maria, el Esperito Santo.

During the summer when our mother's worked in the local cannery, Abuela took care of of us. I lived with my parents in a home across the street from Abuela. As the first grandchild, I was the first one to have her as a 'sitter'. She was very sweet and kind. Her life revolved around her family and grandchildren. I am a year and a half older than my cousin Mary, so she was next, then my brother, and then my cousin Margaret. It seemed like there was always a baby around for Abuela. When she needed to put one of the babies to sleep, she would sit in her rocking chair, and while she rocked the baby, she would tell me stories about Spain. I always sat on the floor, by her feet. All her stories were about the Fiestas, and how they lasted for 3 days. Sometimes she would sing Spanish songs. She also sang a lullaby in Spanish. I will try to spell it in my fractured Spanish: Aya, aya, mi bebe se mea (pee) por la chimenaya (chimminy) aya, aya.

If I was envited to a birthday party, Abuela would buy a gift, wrap it, and give it to me to take to the party. For my birthday, she would always buy me a gift. One that I remember was a pink parasol. I loved it. The last gift that she gave me was a cedar keepsake box. I must have been about 12 years old. I still have it, and I can still smell the cedar when I open the
lid. I treasure it.

Abuela lived in a 4 bedroom house which was built for the family by a contractor friend of theirs. There was a big kitchen, with a pantry room on the side. A small dinning room and small living room, and one bathroom, and small laundry room. In the kitchen, there was a trap door, next to a wall, that had stairs that led to the basement. Down there was another kitchen, a small wine room, which stored about 4 barrels of home made wine, and a bathroom.

The rest of the basement, which was cemented and had windows on the side, was the full length of the house. In one corner of the basement, there was a double bed. When Abuela had parties, which lasted till the early hours of the morning, all of us kids would pile onto the bed and sleep there until the party was over, and our parents would pick us up and take us home. Those were fun parties. There was a lot of music, dancing, and games. From the hula, to the jota. Abuela played the castanets and LOVED to dance the jota with her sons. We learned to dance it by watching the adults.

Abuela had a big yard, with a couple of cherry trees, and flowers. She also had a chicken coop. Hens and a rooster. So she had chicken meat and eggs. I watched her kill a chicken once. She grabbed the chicken, laid it's head on a tree stump, and holding the head, she cut it off with one wack of her hatchet. The chicken ran around without a head for a few minutes and then dropped. After that, whenever she said she was "going to get a chicken" I stayed in the house!!!

She also had a grape arbor built over the driveway. I think the grapes were purple. When it was "wine making" time, all the sons came over with a truck full of grapes, and a grape press, and after work, (or maybe it was on a Saturday ) They pressed grapes for wine. This went into the wine barrels, and after a certain length of time when the wine was through fermenting, her sons could come over with a bottle and get some wine to take home. when ever they wanted .

(Click photo for bigger view.) Aunt Margaret said that Abuela had a lot of friends. When ever she had company, she would make a pot of coffee, and set out graham crackers, or soda crackers, or if it was around the holidays, she would serve the Spanish cookies that she made. I think they were called "montecado" and "roscos." If she didn't have any of these things to serve with the coffee, she would serve Spanish olives. The only "outing" Abuela had, was to go to a Spanish movie once a week with some of her lady friends. One of her sons would drive them to the theater, and
then pick them up.

Her sons were very close to her, and after they were married, they always visited her on Sunday mornings. Aunt Margaret said that Abuela looked forward to those Sundays when all her sons would meet at her home.

Lizzy, I will be 76 years old in a couple of months, and looking back, I wish that I could have remembered some of those stories that Abuela told me. It was kind of fun to try to recall those times with her. I have a picture of Abuela with me and my cousin Mary taken under the grape arbor. I must have been around 3 years old. I will copy it for you. Also, I have a picture of the family, taken during one of Abuela's holiday dinners , which I will copy for you. At those dinners in the basement, all the daughters-in-law were in the kitchen with Abuela, preparing the meal. Those were such fun times.