When I was little and "acting up" my Grandmother would say something like "Icht en lobe stinkt" I think it meant self-praise or too much focus on yourself stinks. I don't speak German but that phrase has stayed with me! I probably really mangled it! Speaking of 3rd generations...I was third on one side and 5th on another.... Our Holiday traditions were: Baking and more baking and then as if you didn't have enough bake some more! Ham and or Turkey A green bean fermented concoction made with salt and something called "bone-ne-kraut" that we lovingly called "stink beans" because they were pungent but very good... Parsley potatoes Sliced Jellied Cranberry Sauce Mince meat pies Hermits (molasses cookies with fruits and nuts in them) Dark Pumpernickel and Rye Breads Spicy Mustard, BBQ sauces, Mayonnaise Salad with multiple dressings.... I am making all of that except the stink beans...I am doing the new fangled French fried onion with potato soup (not mushroom soup) and for my son who doesn't like that, green bean almondine... No mince meat...no one will eat it No hermits I made cream cheese cookies, sprinkle cookies, almond cookies, chocolate-chip cookies, chocolate with cherries and chocolate-chip cookies, homemade chocolate and white chocolate candies. (I cut down...I did not make snickerdoodles, hermits, pecan sandies, or those cookies that look like crescents and have nuts in them...something with horn in it....) My one grandmother was French and German mixed. She made Anise cookies...never could get the hang of those! She also made fruit jellied slices...that is one recipe I did not manage to find and wish I had it! My other grandmother was pure German. She and her sister would cook up a storm. I learned to bake sitting with the two of them. I even make my own baking powder to this day! No matter what your traditions, I wish everyone on the list a safe, healthy, happy Holiday Season, filled with love and laughter. If you can be with family that is even better! Love to you all! Laura ----- Original Message ----- From: <SCraycraft@aol.com> To: <MO-STLOUIS-METRO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2003 1:41 PM Subject: [StL-Metro] Assimilation > "The extent to which ethnicity persisted beyond 1880 depended on the success > with which German culture could be transmitted to the third generation." > > Thanks, Gary. I think it's really true. My husband and his brothers and > sisters were mildly surprised when I learned their maternal grandmother's family > was Austrian and their paternal grandmother's family was German, via > Pennsylvania. One sister dug around and found a German missal, a confirmation gift in > the 1880s, and remembered that her mother said the old folks would send her for > a bucket of beer and speak German when they didn't want her to know something. > > > > > ==== MO-STLOUIS-METRO Mailing List ==== > If you are researching the Irish in St. Louis, you might want to have a look at Diane Shaw's websites: http://members.gtw.net/~seamus/Irshnstl.htm and http://members.gtw.net/~seamus/KerryPatch.htm > >

rbozzay <rbozzay@earthlink.net> wrote:When I was little and "acting up" my Grandmother would say something like "Icht en lobe stinkt" I think it meant self-praise or too much focus on yourself stinks. Laura, My mom used to tell me that when I was little, too. And yes, it DOES mean self-praise. I love finding out that other folks used some of the same 'sayings'. I wonder, did your mother/grandmother.......or anyone else's parents on this list.......used to sing an old German song called <pardon the spelling> "Komme die Fogel, gay Fogel"? What surprises me is that, even though I can't remember what happened last week, I can still remember the words to that song, after more than 50 years. Diane T. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - Get your photo on the big screen in Times Square