Confessions of a Grandma

I made the trip to my daughter's and took her and the kids out for a birthday lunch.  Saturday, Kristen and her dad did a walkathon to end child abuse.  They raised around $400.  Great job! We made two trips to the school playground, which is right behind their house, to swing, slide, climb.  Kristen started fourth grade this past week and Dane started preschool--so summer vacation is over.  The pool was closed even though the temperature had climbed up into the 80's, where it promises to stay for this week.  Let's just say baths were needed on Sunday night. Kristen's elementary school has a vegetable garden.  Her class planted corn last June and she pointed out her very own stalk.  It was a good looking garden--grape tomatoes, corn, squash, pole beans, cabbage, peppers, and beautiful basil.  There are also a number of apple trees on the school grounds.  I think it's great that they have that relationship with their lunches. Today,...

Today is my daughter's birthday.  It is so hard to believe how fast time goes by.  She's 37.  Her daughter started fourth grade three days ago.  Good grief, I still remember my first day of fourth grade (1957) because we had just moved to Vermont, but my own birthdays kind of stopped after number 36.  Now that both of my children are older than I am, it must be time to revise my age in my head. Our trip to the Rhode Island beach was a fun time.  The weather was iffy, but the food was great and the company even better.  Now Mike wants to fit in another camping trip this week and we have a family reunion (his mother's side) next weekend.   I want to take a trip to see my daughter and grand kids over the weekend.  I have a lunch date, a hair cut appointment and my writers' group on Monday, so that means camping on Tuesday, get back on Thursday and pack for a trip to Connecticut on Friday.  It kind of feels like the ending of summer--...

I went to my sister's yesterday to give her two hooded baby bath towels that I made from bath towels and a hand towel.  She was going to visit her new grandson so I sent one for a baby gift and one for a "big sister" gift.  Not having a baby or a kid handy, I had to use a teddy bear to model it.  I've often given these as baby gifts.  I haven't had any comments from the babies, but parents really seem to like them. We are having a rainy day and from predictions have decided to delay our trip to Rhode Island for a day.  I've been salivating at the memory of the fresh off the boat lobster we had for dinner there last year.  I can wait one more day because we had lobster rolls for dinner a few nights ago.  I was walking to the library and noticed a sign on in front of the Welcome Kitchen , a place in the village that opened last year and does take out meals and catering.  Lobster rolls called my name, big time, and they were delicious. ...

A beautiful summer day here today. Warm and sunny, but not too humid. I love it. Although, I was a bit distressed to see some signs of leaves changing color while on my walk this morning. I read in the paper that Yankee Magazine has ranked a Connecticut town as the number one place to view fall foliage. Ooo...that got Vermont dander up for sure! As happens toward the second half of August, I have started getting the house cleaned up. This is a habit from the time when this time of year meant gong back to work. I would go into a mad whirlwind of cleaning up summer messes to get ready for the busy fall. I’ve been retired long enough now to not knock myself out trying to spit shine every surface inside and out in the space of a week. I take the luxury of time and work at my own pace. Also, I am no longer so delusional as to say, “Now the housework is all done!” Today, I dusted and vacuumed Mike’s basement office. This is something he prefers that I not do and so I accommodate that ...

It’s certainly nothing new to complain about telemarketers. I try to hang up if there is that moments hesitation before the call really starts, but that doesn’t always work. It always a bad sign when the caller can’t seem to get your name quite right. If it’s out and out wrong--Herbert instead of Hebert--I just say, “No this isn’t the Herbert residence. You must have the wrong number,” and then hang up. If the caller asks for Mike, I say,”Just a minute and I’ll see,” then leave the phone off the hook while I go do something else until the phone starts buzzing. Sometimes I’ll interrupt the spiel with a “just not interested,” and a hang up. Sometimes they are really hard to interrupt and they are well trained not hear the words, “No, thank-you.” My son once told me he would sometimes act interested and keep callers on the line for quite some time before blowing them off. At least that way he felt he was keeping the next person from being annoyed at dinnertime. I also once read a sugge...

Since we are too cheap to hire a regular weekly garbage pick-up, we take our trash to a near-by transfer station. Along with the trash goes our recycling, a pail of compost material, yard waste, any clothes we may want to get rid of, and anything that we may want to leave in the Reuse Shed. Sometimes we have all the other stuff and no real trash so it’s a free drop off and we do our bit for the green life while keeping excess clutter at bay. Today I loaded up the car and made the three mile trip to the transfer station. I disposed of everything in the appropriate area or receptacle and gave my hands a wipe with waterless cleaner. Then I turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. I tried again. Nothing. Then I noticed I couldn’t get the key out of the ignition. Oh, no. What was I going to do? Call a tow truck? I called Mike instead. “Hi, the car won’t start.” “Who is this?” “Your wife? Olga?” “Oh.” “So the car won’t start. The lights come on but nothing from the engine.” “H...

We have good friends that I’ll call Bill and Diane since that happens to be their names. We meet them on a vacation in Anguilla years ago and have kept in touch ever since. Like me, they were both middle school teachers, now retired. We have similar tastes in books, travel, hobbies--but enough differences to make it interesting when we get together. Here’s a major difference. Before Bill was unable to do so due to the limitations of Parkinson’s Disease, he was in the daily habit of rising early enough to make coffee which he would then pour into a cup and carry, on a small lacquered tray, back up to the bedroom. He woke his beloved wife with a freshly brewed cup of coffee which she could sip as she got ready for the work of the day. Do you see the incredible romance of that? The woman had coffee--freshly brewed coffee--before she even had to get out of bed in the morning. “What a loving thing to do,” I pointed out to my own husband upon learning of this tradition. Honestly, I pointe...

AH...I have been limping around for several weeks because of a glass splinter right in the middle of my right heel pad.  (Broke a bowl in the kitchen, didn't sweep up enough, walk around barefoot.) Some times it would really hurt and then other times it didn't really bother me.  I kept soaking it in Epsom salts and Mike would poke at it.  Finally, I decided I'd have to call the doctor. It was so painful last night that I filled up my foot soaking bin before I turned on the coffee this morning--that's how dire the situation had become.  Anyway, I soaked it and put tape on while I did some housework.  Then I decided to take a shower before making my various phone calls.  That's when I noticed the little shard of glass sticking out of the bottom of my foot.  Dr. Mike was able to pull it right out with his medical instruments.  What a relief!!!

I've convinced myself that there is dire need for some interior painting--upstairs ceilings, the entry way and hallway.  Mike is not so enthusiastic.  He did agree to may color choices, but is insisting that we hire someone to do it in the fall.  I was prepared to take on the task myself, but oh, well...anything to make him happy.  I'll find something else to do with my time. I spent quite some time in the gardens today.  I weeded the flower beds and planned out the next area to dig up.  I have to spread some things out.  Of course, I could dig some plants up and just throw them away, but that seems wrong.  On the other hand, I don't want to get to a point where I can't maintain.  I'll have to think on this some more. I went with my friend to our other friend's house on Friday--to pick up out stamping purchases.  "Mother" joined us for lunch.  Here is a woman in her 90's who maintains a summer house on the lake in VT, ha...

Sandbar State Park Vermont Teddy Bear Factory What more is there to say--except the only thing messier than digging in sand is eating a chocolate icecream cone.

Linda, in A Slower Pace post, mentioned the need for changes in make-up as we age.  This is something I have been thinking about.  I've given up (finally!) the hopeless quest to find that magical product that will erase wrinkles and age spots, returning my visage to a former youthful glow.  Looking young is for young people.  The thing is, I never was much of a make-up user--a dash on of mascara and maybe a dusting of powder or a tinted moisturizer.  Now, if I don't feather on some eyebrows it looks exactly like I have none, but mascara just serves to emphasize my sparse eyelashes.  I think I'm better off without it.  I can definitely see that I need a little lipstick, but I cannot seem to remember to put it on. Then, of course, there is all the information about changing clothing styles as we age. This seems harder to do than the make-up thing--probably because I would have to actually have a style before I could change it. I rea...

Grandma duties have kept me quite busy for the past few days and recovering my energy will keep me occupied for the next few days.  I did get through a number of posts on Google Reader today.  It inspired  me to take the easy way out and just refer to the writings of others. Arkansas Patti  had a valuable history lesson on her most recent post.  What a shame that this isn't common knowledge.  In addition, the connection with her "gram" was so poignant to me. I've mentioned my fascination with herbs, so I was happy to read about drying citrus peel .  There is mention of incorporating dried citrus peel in crafts projects with children.  My grand daughter always has a craft project in mind when she comes to visit, but she is also open to suggestions so I'll keep this in mind. Margaret wrote about messy houses .  As we were leaving, Kristen, sensitive soul that she is, said, "Grandma, I'm sorry we made such a mess of your house."...

I called my daughter to arrange a visit with the grand children.  While we were on the phone, she asked Dane if he would like to go to grandma's house for a few days.  "Yes, I want to go to grandma's house and I want Sissy to go too.  Grandma lives in Jericho.  She's my best friend!" Does it get any better than that??

I have just been snapped out of my uncharacteristic reading slump. I have just started reading Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. You can read a review here  or here .  I have to get back to reading.  I am on page 133 and I can't put this book down for any length of time.

It is old news that the State of Arizona passed a law making it illegal to be an illegal alien, but it actually went into effect just recently.  Illegal to be illegal?  Does some kind of double negatives principle kick in here? Critics, bleeding heart liberals to be sure, say the law will lead to racial profiling, but its supports argue that the law merely enforces existing laws.  Does any one else wonder why we need a law that says it's okay to enforce the law?  Do we now need a law that says we need to enforce the law that says we need to enforce the law?  If this makes sense to you, would you please explain it to me.  The logic escapes me entirely.

When my son was born, at the end of the '60s, it was common that the hospital stay would be five days for a routine, no complications birth.  By the time my daughter was born, in the early '70s, that was becoming not the practice, but I had insurance and my doctor told me he'd keep me in hospital for five days.  Really, it wasn't bad.  I got to lay around in bed all day and watch television.  My meals were all brought to me on a tray.  Babies were brought in on a feeding schedule or for showing off to adoring relatives who stopped by in the evenings.  Otherwise they were all kept in a nursery, and the crying emanating from there surely was not my baby.  It was a five day reprieve from reality and after going through childbirth, I deserved it. Also it gave me time for the drugs to wear off. I'm thinking about this for two reasons.  First, my sister called to announce the birth of her third grand child--a boy, son of her youngest son....

Cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, fresh picked herbs, blueberries, sweet corn, beets, summer squash, little heads of cabbage--these are the things I can pick from my own garden or find at the local Farmers' Markets.  This is when food tastes so good--one of my favorite things about summer.  As a kid, summer eating was about hot dogs, watermelon, and ice cream.  I haven't had ice cream this summer.  I still go for an occasional hot dog grilled til the skin pops and covered with pickle relish--true junk food.  Watermelon...I'm getting a craving...may have to make a trip to the store. After considerable experimentation, I have decided that drying herbs in the microwave works best for me.  Also, I tried freezing vegetarian dishes so that on those days when I just am not up for slicing, dicing, chopping, etc., I'd have something on hand.  I find that I prefer to make something with the idea that I will have it in the fridge and have four or five meals of i...