Meine Mutter
My Mother
My mother was born on July 9th, 1922 in what is now the Czech Republic.
One day my mother decided to have another child, as she always wanted to have a large family.
This page is inspired by and dedicated to my mother
who was a liberated woman before people even knew what that meant!
I'm proud of her- and I hope that my children will feel the same about me someday!
She had 7 siblings- 2 sisters and 5 brothers. One sister and three brothers are still living.
Her sister lives in Großsachsenheim and her brothers in Österreich(Austria).
We always visit them when we visit my mother. They are all wonderful people and fantastic cooks.
The Schnitzel recipe is my Tante Poldi's.
My Tante Steffi also contributed a delicious recipe that can be made with chicken or pork
This picture was taken on a trip to Austria. We took the train there.
My mother and I are in the front row. My mother is wearing a light colored outfit
and I am wearing a light colored outfit and white knee socks. The picture was probably taken in 1950/51.
This is the only picture I have with my mother and father together.
My father was always studying at University in Munich.
My mother finally had enough of him being an absentee husband and father and divorced him.
What a scandal that caused! Everyone talked about that for a long time.
As far as I know it was the first divorce in our little town.
My mother continued to support us by knitting sweaters,
cardigans and just about anything else.
One day a traveling salesman knocked on our door. He was selling knitting machines.
My mother bought one on payments and invented all sorts of different patterns
to create on the machine.
My favorite one was named Donau Wellen(Waves on the Danube).It was a ripply, pouffy kind of stitch.
Well- there was scandal number 2! Soon she had a baby girl.
I got to pick out a name for her. I loved the name Martina- so that's her first name.
She hates her middle name- so we won't even mention it here.
My mother did not want to marry Martina's father as she said she did not want to depend on another man ever again.
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Here is a picture of Martina. She was probably about 3 or 4 years old on this.
Her youngest daughter looks just like her. My mother lives in the house that belongs to my sister
and brother in law. She has her own apartment downstairs. They have 4 children so my mom finally has her large family.
My mother loves to wash and iron clothes, because- as she says- everything looks so nice when she's done.
Her passion is cooking. Her favorite TV channel here in America is the Cooking Channel.
She watches it all day long when she's not cooking or cleaning.
My entire family calls my mother Oma- which is german for grandma.
Oma became a great cook by learning from others and always being open to new ideas.
She said the best times on her last visit over Christmas were spent teaching "Koch Schule"(Cooking School).
The cookbook that I put on-line started out as a few recipes jotted on a piece of paper. It just snowballed from there.
I'm sure it will be an on-going project as she visits and cooks some more.
Oma's favorite part of the supermarket is the fresh meat area.
She just loves to window shop there and think of all the things she could make.
It sure is a big difference from the time after the war when fresh meat (and everything else)
was in short supply. That's one of the reasons why she never wastes anything.
Oma is able to make delicious meals by making great sauces.
Most of her meals start with fresh vegetables- onions, carrots, celery etc. that she sautes in butter or margarine.
Her favorite seasonings are salt, pepper and paprika.
When she makes creamed cauliflower or cauliflower soup
she always grates some fresh nutmeg over the top.
The crowning touch for all her sauces is the addition of cream or sour cream. It really mellows the taste.
Oma really enjoyed working on preparing all the meals. We both had a great time with this.
There were many times when she would have to stop in mid-air so I could get that perfect picture.
Her patience is phenomenal!
I hope my mother will be as proud of the results as I am!
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on a visit to Austria in September of 1998.
On the left is my Onkel Hansi
and on the next picture is my Onkel Hermann and my Onkel Karl.
To navigate this Site- Charlotte's Web, too:
Charlotte's Web, too /
Meine Mutter- My Mother /
Kleinsachsenheim, my Hometown /
Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome
to go to Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web /
Travels with Don and Char /
More Travels with Don and Char /
In the Kitchen with Oma- German Recipes /
Surfing /
The "Snow" Story /
Bob the shy cat /
My Garden /
My Special Flower /
Thoughts- Musings- Jokes etc. /
Thank You /
My Awards /
WebRings /
Calling Cards and Gifts /