Anybody who has ever seen Danny Kaye, storyteller extraordinaire, in Hans Christian Andersen can appreciate the expression, Once Upon a Time. Yet, are we not all children on the inside who would love to sit by a fireside and be captivated by a storyteller as laughter, sorrow, and inspiration fills our ears? This book provides just that, with a mosaic of stories that range from wild to sorrowful and from adventurous to hilarious. Each chapter is a story with a theme running throughout as they are poured from an antique vessel as it brews the tapestry of a family's past. And best of all, they are all told on Christmas Eve while a family sits around their decorated Christmas tree as the true legacy of their ancestors wafts into their waiting ears. "Out of the magical, ancestral teapot come mother stories and grandmother stories. Barbara Quinn Benom takes up the role of mythmaker to the descendants of a family that journeyed from the Carpathians to Queens. Her tales are at once legendary and homey. They bring children and grandchildren - and readers - to laughter and tears." ---Maxine Hong Kingston, Author I Love a Broad Margin to My Life "This work sucked me in immediately with the wisdom and colorful descriptions of a life wonderfully remembered. I couldn't stop reading about the people, city and circumstances of this family. I laughed, was charmed and felt I knew the characters as introspectively as the author's memory. I plan to gift it to everyone I know. This book is a gem!" ---Steve Arthur, Ed.D., President of Ryokan College Los Angeles, Ca "Barbara Benom has cooked up a rich confectionary of warm memories, magical realism, and sweet nostalgia." --Phil Doran, Author of The Reluctant Tuscan "Barbara Quinn Benom has some lucky kids and grandkids, who will relish her book, Legacy of a Teapot..." ---Maralys Wills, Author, The Tail on my Mother's Kite."