Duluth Diaries: From the Tuzio-Litwinka Photo Album

I'm not sure if she knows this... but shortly before I moved to Minnesota, I ransacked some of the photo albums stacked in the basement on some bookshelf next to the monster freezer and stole a snapshot or two to keep me company in the frozen tundra.

Mmmmyeahokay so it was more like a dozen or so. Don't worry, Ma, I'll return them some day! Until then, I'm keeping them safe in pretty frames hung around the apartment.

As you may know, my maternal grandfather passed away two weeks ago, and after I had my ticket booked and suitcase packed, I thought about some other things I could bring to share with the family. I remembered a really excellent photo of my mother's parents making homemade ravioli in the basement of their home in Paramus. It always made me smile. I spent hours in that same basement as a kid playing with my cousins. I never got to meet my mother's mother or taste her cooking. It was a nice thing, to imagine her standing there with her husband, cranking out sheets of dough and spooning in different delicious fillings - in the same place I made blanket forts and whatnot.

Anyway. My relatives had assembled these fabulous poster boards filled with photos of my grandfather throughout the years to hang in the funeral home as we all gathered for the wake. My contributions were two photos below:

One of my godfather's father, my Grandpa Joe, and my oldest sister--

And one of the ravioli-making-extravaganza:

The latter was truly a hit. I know the quality of the snapshot above is awful-- as soon as I get my hands on a scanner, I'll upload a better copy. But yes, everyone at the services seemed to enjoy it. I suppose it was one of the older photos on display. Something magical about it. I bet that was a really nice day they shared together. I wonder who took the photo. I hope they got extra ravioli on their plate.

Again, despite the crummy quality, I decided to share snapshots of the rest of the snapshots I swiped from my parents' cellar collection. Please enjoy!