Tag #125472 - Interview #78561 (Sofi Eshua Danon-Moshe)

My mother, Ester Nissim Assa, was born in Plovdiv in 1898 and died in Sofia in 1968. She had elementary education; she spoke Ladino, was quite religious and was a wonderful housewife. What did it mean to be a good housewife at that time? It meant complete lack of free time, no free day, not even a free hour. She cooked, did the washing, and the shopping. My father used to help her with the shopping from time to time. Additionally, she knitted whole curtains with applications of peacocks on them. Firstly, a kind of network was done: she used to leave some holes that later were embroidered by hand with the help of a framework. I know that she used to have a lot of such curtains. She embroidered with white Japanese silk that was known as DMC. She used a model; our lady neighbors gave her some pictures but there were some magazines as well.

I recall that my mother had a subscription for a women’s magazine. I can’t remember its name. There were recipes in it, and knitting patterns, too. She knitted a lot. How come I didn’t get the knack of it from her! She knitted and used to boast about a pullover she had made for her husband to every neighbor. At first she knitted a gray pullover for him, and then a white one, which was as white as snow. Yes, she used to knit a lot, embroider a lot, and cook a lot. At that time homemade tarts were gaining popularity and were taking their place on our menu. The very first tart she prepared, I recall, was with biscuits and vanilla cream. She first put a layer of biscuits and then poured cream on top. And then she decorated it with cocoa and chocolate.