Snow White Redux, Part 2 (part one is in May 2010)

"It's quite pleasing, Cilla." Snow looked at her father, who was smiling for the first time in years. This must be good, thought Snow. This must be good.

Over the next few months Cilla taught Snow all her favorite recipes. Snow became adept at cooking large quantities of food to reheat in smaller meals later. But somehow she always managed to burn what she was cooking on even the lowest heat. "Nevermind," sympathized Cilla, "You can take the food off the top without disturbing the char, no one will ever know." While Cilla talked about her thoughts fo the day, Snow never noticed the sour look that came over her father's face when she had cooked dinner, as his tongue sorted out the sharp tang of singed rice.

Snow learned from Cilla how to sew and crochet and tat, though she thought her lace looked more like rags that had lost their nap. She couldn't figure out ow the thread could look stained when she was so careful about washing her hands. "Nevermind," Cilla would cluck, "You can wash it clean when you are done." But no matter how she washed, Snow's lace never came out clean.

Snow learned how to craft her thank-you notes and invitations with a fountain pen. She never understood why, no matter how careful she was with the nib, the ink could drip between the letters. "Nevermind," winked Cilla, "Drip a little more around and make a flower out of it." Over time Snow's acquaintances and neighbors began to pity her for her obviously poor attempts to hider her lack of skill.

Snow learned how to plant herbs to use in cooking. Cilla's herbs always grew fast and flavorful while Snow's herbs would grow a few inches then wither and wilt without ever amounting to much. "Nevermind," Cilla sighed, "I'm sure the slugs like yours better than mine."