Monday, May 14, 2007

Gifts Given

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! We went to my aunt's house for dinner. It was a potluck, and the theme was "bring you mom's favourite dish". I made French Onion Soup, which was great because it's one of my faves too! Holiday dinners are so funny in my family. Most of my family came to Canada when they were very young, so they are quite "Canadianised". Our dinners are usually a mix of east and west. Last night, other than my soup, there was steak, grilled shrimp, bruschetta, wings...and rice, hoisin ribs, spring rolls and roast duck! Quite a mix!

I think my mom liked the Swallowtail shawl. It's so hard to tell with her. Doesn't matter; I gave her a gift made with love, and I enjoyed making it.

I gave the Sea Silk scarf to my Grandmother, who is visiting from Hong Kong. She really liked her scarf; she was so pleased to learn that I had knit it myself. My grandmother is one tough lady, who has been through a lot in her life. Her husband left her with nothing but six young kids. They were very poor, living in two rooms rented in an apartment. She did anything she could to support her kids, as well as take care of other relatives. One day she found a job knitting sweaters, which was great because she could work from home. The only thing was that she didn't know how to knit! Somehow she got the job and taught herself to knit. From there she went on to start her own knitting/embroidering business, and today she is a very wealthy woman. I definitely admire her strength. I look forward to spending more time with her this summer.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have an interesting family with a lot of stories. I'm sooo glad your mom liked her shawl. I had to laugh when you wrote that she took a job knitting and didn't know how to knit! That sounds like something I would do! I knew she would like her shawl.

Monika said...

My moms a bit like yours. She says thanks and smiles, but I'm never sure she really likes her gifts. My grandmother however tells me all the ways she uses her two shawls I made for her, and how much she likes them. I thought stories like that about your grandma are only written in books! How can one get a job knitting something, while not being able to do so? She must be a quick learner! ;o) Have a wonderful time with her!