YAYA LILLIAN AT MARIA KOCHILAS ALSIP 1975_07
My favorite person on the planet after my parents was my Greek Yiayia on my mother's side whose name was Lillian Vournazou Cotsones from the village of Vrontama, Greece. Yiayia Lilliancame to Chicago with her husband Emanuel Cotsones in 1913. They sacrificed everything for a better life and I am the beneficiary of their blood sweat and tears as their grandchild. Here we are at my cousin's house in Alsip Illinois. My Yiayia lived close to cousin Maria and I would spend the weekend with her, cleaning her house and visiting the relatives. You can see from the photos she was in no mood to be photographed. Eyes closed and talking, she was irritated and I kept taking the photos anyway. She typically was in a good mood in other photos with a big smile and a cooperating spirit. Back in those days we didn't have the cell phone selfies so I photographed us in the mirror as you can see in frame #7. Cousin Maria Kochilas is also seen in the mirror on the left while sitting on the steps of her tri-level home where we spent many fun holidays and visits. Her menu consisted of all of the delicious foods you would expect by an expert Greek cook. Horta and lamb was her husband Ted's favorite meal as was trahana that she adapted from the village where he grew up in Ikaria. When Easter came around Maria made the most delicious magiritsa that is made from the offal of the spring lamb. It contains the heart, liver, kidneys and intestines that sits in a intensely flavored avgolemeno soup garnished with dill. To this day it is the best magiritsa that I have ever tasted! God bless her and her memory!
