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" For the first 12 years of my life, I lived in the smallest house on Cascade Avenue in Lowell, Massachusetts. Its five rooms fit us fine, I thought: My sister and I shared a bedroom across the hall from my parents. We had no dining room or guest room, which meant visitors rarely crossed our threshold. But I didn&amp;#039;t have to go far \u2014 six blocks \u2014 to experience an open-door side of life: the grand white Victorian that was Aunt Marion&amp;#039;s boardinghouse.  To a shy little girl raised under glass, &amp;quot;rooms to let&amp;quot; was thrilling and near-incredible: Perfect strangers lived upstairs, sleeping on family sheets and pillows, in possession of a front-door key. Auntie Marion was my mother&amp;#039;s older sister, a sunny, affectionate, aproned woman, who never failed to greet her nieces&amp;#039; frequent arrivals with her arms wide open. She and Uncle Lenny, a shoe salesman, were not rich; they&amp;#039;d bought the queen-size edifice for its income potential.  The boarders, many of them refugees from post\u2014World War II Europe, were mostly sent by the Lowell Textile Institute housing office. They could have been monks or CIA operatives \u2014 so quiet, so neat, so buttoned-down and well behaved \u2014 or so it appeared to me, the awestruck child. The house itself had me in its thrall: its double front doors, stained glass windows, and hitching post out front. I knew every inch, not from snooping, but as a devoted visitor, delighted to trail after Aunt Marion, playing junior chambermaid, as she dusted knickknacks on the mantel, made the beds, and cleaned the bathroom (ammonia, always). She never scolded, never once said, &amp;quot;No, sorry, not a good time for you to drop by.&amp;quot; My elementary school was closer to her house than my own, and no lunch date delighted me more than the one in Aunt Marion&amp;#039;s kitchen. During holiday meals, she shrugged away differences of opinion with her homey, philosophical, &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s why they have chocolate and vanilla.&amp;quot; Long before &amp;quot;role model&amp;quot; came into popular usage, she represented all the term encompasses to a youngster whose own mother could be a little aloof to strangers. She was friendly to all, a hostess so obliging that she baked her cakes and kugels half with raisins, half without, to please all tastes. Though I resemble the other side of the family, my father&amp;#039;s, there&amp;#039;s no higher compliment than being told I remind someone of Aunt Marion \u2014 which I translate as, &amp;quot;Woman who keeps her bad moods to herself.&amp;quot; I seem to have inherited not only her , but also a rooming house inclination, in place of my parents&amp;#039; &amp;quot;no vacancy&amp;quot; policy. And when a friend or acquaintance (OK, relative stranger) writes, &amp;quot;Coming through town! Would love to see you/meet you/grab a cup of coffee,&amp;quot; a beloved voice from my past almost always prompts me to ask, &amp;quot;Do you need a bed?&amp;quot;  Elinor Lipman is the author of eight novels. Her ninth, The Family Man, will be out next June. Next Page: Aunt Marion&amp;#039;s Rugelach Recipe Rugelach (makes 4 dozen) For dough: 1 cup butter 4 oz. cream cheese 4 oz. cottage cheese 2 cups flour 1/4 tsp. salt For filling: Raspberry jam 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped 1 tsp. cinnamon Raisins, coconut, long shreds  Blend butter, cream cheese and cottage cheese with a fork or pastry blender (I use a food processor); add salt; add flour gradually and blend thoroughly.  Gather into a ball and knead about 10 times; divide into six pieces. Wrap each in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, mix sugar, cinnamon and nuts together. Remove one dough piece at a time from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  On floured board, roll dough piece into a 10-inch circle. Spread with a thin layer of jam (about 1 tablespoon), leaving outer 1/2 - 1 inch uncovered. Sprinkle approx. 1/4 cup of the sugar-cinnamon-nuts mixture on dough. Cut circle into 8 pieces to make 8 triangles. Place a few raisins at uncovered outer edge of each and add a few strands of coconut. Roll up each triangle from wide end to tip, holding the tip and stretching as you go. Seal edges.  Dip into sugar/nuts mixture and place on greased cookie sheets, curving each piece into a crescent. Bake 15-20 mins. until lightly browned but not too crisp.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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