Secrets Untold Unfold

On Day 9 of Laura Shovan's February Daily Poetry Project, the prompt led me to remember a secret that was untold until I was in grad school. Rachel Patton Toalson chose the theme. secrets stating "I've been thinking lately about how no matter how long you've known a person, there are still aspects of their lives that remain mysterious." I share with you a special story in my life that unfolded when I was a fledging adult.

Secrets Untold Unfold

3rd grade lesson

where are you from

didn’t know so

I asked at home

she did not tell

secret held close

others Irish

family French???

years later, secret

untold opened

mom rode boat to

America

from Italy

a little child

with her mother

father waiting

one family

together grew

American

lifestyle with friends

Italian 

speaking with grand

until age five

moving onward

during grad school

swirling with pride

tale unfolded

told with honor

dressed like old world

childhood stories

pizza fritta

joy provided

where am I from

nonnie and mom 

Rome New York- first

generation

©Carol Varsalona, 2026

Legacy from Nonnie

At a very young age, I learned how to bake in Nonnie's kitchen.

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So you may have realized the secret. Now, I will tell you why there was a secret for so long. My Nonnie believed that her children should be Americanized once she arrived in America, around 1921. Since I was the oldest grandchild born in the United States, I needed to act like an American. That meant speaking English and graduating from college. Life was different in the 20th Century. I did not know that I was a first-generation child of Italian descent until I was an adult. Where are you from?

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Join me as I share my Slice of Life with my Two Writing Teachers from across the globe. Click here.

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It's Another Cookie Day!

"There's no end to imagination in the kitchen."-Julia Child

Baking is my creative attempt to let my imagination run wild. These past afternoons instead of busying myself with the myriad of chores waiting for me, I decided to engage in procrastibaking, the art of baking when you should be doing anything else. It has been fun taste-testing new ideas for cookies based on old recipes. I must admit that the clean-up is rather messy and adds one more chore.

dozens of homemade confections

line my long counters

biscottis, chocolate chips, and coconut cookies

old recipes bring back 

 memories of past Easters

baked with love for loved ones

©CVarsalona, 2023

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This Grandma never runs out of cookies and hugs!

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C ounters with

O verstocked surprises

O ffer

K neaded delights

I ndulge in more than one 

E njoy the varieties presented

S atisfaction guaranteed 

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Of course, there will be a few dozen cookies for Leigh Anne Eck's Slicer Party!

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My Slice of Life

Day 29 of Two Writing Teachers

16th Annual March SOLSC! #SOL23

Frosted Memories

Christmas has always been a very special time for me. There is something about the shining lights, the decorating, and the baking that reminds me of how faith, family, and love intertwines to bless the house with joy. 

One feature of my new house that brings family and friends together is my kitchen with its huge space. It is here that I spent much time preparing the annual cookie bundles this year. I dabbled with different flavors and types of cookies but saved some time for the traditional sugar cookie making. First, I needed to find the cookie cutters that hold years of memories. Next, icing was needed so I searched the internet to find a delicious peppermint icing,  Sprinkles were needed after several attempts to cut out the cookies. This process brought me back to memories of baking cookies with my mother. As an artist, she easily decorated her cookies with different types of nibs. No matter how hard I tried, I could not create a design like hers but I heard on TV that a cookie's decoration did not need to be perfect. All you need to do is have fun. 

When I opened the sugar cookie container on Christmas, my granddaughter, Sierra, quietly snuck up next to me, peeked into the cookie container, and softly said.

"Grandma, you make beautiful cookies." 

After that sweet statement, my heart leaped for joy. I knew that my kitchen would be the place where baking happens with the little grandgirls and new memories would be born. 

Try a cookie. 

Make your own.

Enjoy the art of baking that brings 

loved ones together in a special place.

Baking Steps

in the kitchen

gather to bake

decorate with care

taste the cookies

frosted with sweetness

remember Christmases past

smile with love

compliment your efforts

bake another batch

©CV, 2021

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"Kitchen. Noun - A gathering place for friends and family. A place where memories are homemade and seasoned with love."

This is my Slice of Life forTwo Writing Teachers. I end with recollections of every bite of Christmas cookies I taste-tested this holiday.

Holiday Cookies

It's that time of year.

Flourdust flutters.

Scents of sugar and spice

aromatize kitchen air.

Tasters peek in. 

©CV, 2020

Years ago, I watched my Nonnie knead dough made of gooey batter. Her roller pin was long and heavy for a little girl, but her aged hands helped me roll the dough with precision. Years have passed, most recipes not recorded, but memories remain. I can still see the array of Christmas cookies always ready for little fingers to nibble on. There was an enormous dark closet that held foot-high honey dolls. Chewy biscottis, cherry-pieced cookies with lemon frosting, mincemeat confections, and many more Italian cookies were freshly-baked. My grandmother passed on her love and skill for baking to my mother who shared her talents with me. I shared my love of baking chocolate chip cookies with my daughter who joins my sister and me as we bake with my 3-year-old granddaughter. I usually shy away from rolling dough, but this year I thought I would try to make sugar cookies for my 3-year-old granddaughter. I left a box with the family when I traveled to Virginia for my newly-built home pre-settlement walkthrough. I found a Christmas video in Sierra's Google Photos album. She seemed to like Grandma's recipe for anise-flavored chocolate chip cookies, a variation on my Nonnie's chocolate chip Italian cookies. 

Thinking ahead for Christmas Baking:

   Christmas confections

 lOvingly made as

  Obligatory musts for

  Kris Kringle who

    Irresistibly

  Eats every bite and leaves a

  Special thank you 

            ©CV, 2020   

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I now move over to Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers with recollections of every bite of Christmas cookies I taste-tested these past few days. I plan to enjoy baking the other batches yet to come.