Today is "Girls' Day". No parties; just the yearly mammogram - something all of us women do to take care of ourselves and something to celebrate nonetheless. We rock.
On Sunday, Richard and I drove up to Maris Grove to visit my mom. My brothers and I bought her a small table and chairs for her kitchen and Richard assembled it for her. It's really lovely and fits perfectly -- replacing a marble-topped sewing machine that was my grandmother's. My mom gave that to me and it's now on our sunporch.
I'm not sure of the age of either the sewing machine treadle or the marble (the sewing machine itself is long gone), but I'm glad to have it in my home.
My grandmother came to this country, arriving in Ellis Island in 1920. Eighteen years old at the time she, her mother, and younger brother were almost sent back to Italy because Nona, her mother, had an eye infection. Luckily, the infection cleared within a day or so and they were met by her two brothers who were already here and working. Mom Mom, as we called her, was an excellent seamstress and found work immediately as a button hole maker.
I marvel at the facility of some to find their ancestry. We've had a modicum of success on my mother's side and have been able to trace our family several generations back in Abruzzi, Italy. My father's father's side is a different matter, however. They came over around the same time from Foggia, Italy, but there are no records we can find of their living there. Everything just seems to stop. A veritable mystery...
