Confessions of a Grandma

Mike keeps two binoculars by our back door and a spotting scope.  He likes to be prepared should should deer or fox or other critters appear in the field.  He also uses them for keeping an eye on the birds in the back yard.  These are old military glasses that are well made and expensive.  Still, they have a certain fascination for young ones who see them within arm's reach. We gave Kristen a pair of binoculars and a bird book for Christmas last year, but It was Dane who had them around his neck when we set out for a walk yesterday.  We crossed a bridge over a brook and spotted a mallard floating on by.  Its head was such a shiny green that Kristen decided she had to look at it through the binoculars.  Of course, her brother did not want to give them up. "They're mine!" "No, actually, they are mine.  Tell him, Grandma." "Yeah, they really are Sissy's because I gave them to her for Christmas." That brought about some sadness, but at least ...

I spent the day with the grand kids.  We went out to lunch, went to the playground near their house, took a walk to Elfin Lake, and made Father's Day cards for their dad.  I showed my grand daughter how to fold the origami shirt and let my grand son decorate his card with markers and glue on embellishments. Because of all the snow days, my grand daughter will not be out of school this year until June 21. That's late.  I am thinking of doing "grandma camp" with them this year on an individual basis.  Dane had never had exclusive time at grandma's house and Kristen is at the age where she both has many other activities to keep her busy and would appreciate some little-brother-free time.  Four years old and ten years old--that's entering a hard time to do things both will enjoy together anyway.  So I'm giving it some thought. Memorial Day tomorrow.  I will make a visit to the cemetery where my parents are buried.  It seems from the amoun...

I read my horoscope every day.  It's not that I believe that the position of the stars is influencing my life; it's a habit and a bit of amusement over morning coffee. I'm a Gemini--well at least I always was until someone had the bright idea to add one more sign and realign the whole astrological chart.  I continue to read my Gemini horoscope because somethings just are not worth changing. Sometimes my horoscope will say something specific--like I will get some money.  I sent one of those to the Superintendent when I was teaching and asked her to forward it on to the payroll department.  I got a note back from her saying how she really liked my sense of humor, but I don't think she ever passed it on.  There was no extra money in my next check at any rate. Most of the time my horoscope is much more obscure--often so vague that I forget about it as soon as I've read it and turned the page to the crossword puzzle. But today, I liked my horoscope: It seem...

It was just one of those days that seem to have less the usual 24 hours. Mike had a lucrative night on his e-bay site so that meant he was busy packing up things for shipping and I made the run to the post office.    While he was busy with his new listings for today, I wrapped up the  card and gift for his grandson who will be graduating from high school next week.  More packages to go out tomorrow. I finished up some paperwork I was completing prior to a meeting with our lawyer.  Since Mike and I were both out and about at the same time (!) we decided to go out for a lunch.  We drove into Burlington and went to a place we like near the lake.  Today it was a lot nearer the lake than it has ever been before.  The whole ferry dock is under water.  Another BIG rain storm headed our way and more flash flood warnings go out as I sit here.  This is getting tiresome. I had left the car at the Ford Service.  On Tuesd...

My 1973 Volkswagon Beetle was a good little car.  My father was less than thrilled with my choice--a car he was sure was designed by Hitler did not sit well with a World War II Vet.  Still it was reliable and I had it for quite a long time and still remember it fondly. It did have a standard transmission.  I thought by that time that I was quite good at driving a standard and managing the changing of gears.  Other people did not agree and, apparently, the car itself did not agree either.  I did end up having to replace the transmission.  Maybe even more than once.  It took at least two more cars and who remembers how many transmissions before I finally realized I was meant to drive automatics and that's all there is to it. A new feature for me on this particular vehicle was the lack of rear doors.  Wrestling a toddler and an infant into the back seat along with all the attendant paraphenalia was quite the balancing act, especially on thos...

The rain stops and starts.  At least there are times to get out and do some work in my little gardens. Bleeding heart goes from zero to sixty in no time. Crab apple tree in bloom Bean poles, peppers, rhubarb Lilacs Miniature iris...so cute C'mon sun, hit those tomato plants. This snowball bush finally looks like it will do something (besides get eaten by beetles). I love these iris. I am kind of a dilettante when it comes to gardening.  I so admire my neighbors who have grounds that are worthy of magazine spreads.  I look in wonder at the pictures posted on so many blogs--lush, colorful, welcoming "outdoor rooms."  Since I have retired, I have doubled or more the amount of garden space I maintain, but I don't come close to having anything that would make it into a magazine (except maybe as a before shot).  I certainly don't have anything that would qualify as an outdoor room unless you want to count the deck with its bird feeders and couple of p...

...are the Devil's workshop. Even so, I guess I missed the BIG cut as it appears that I was not one of the 200 million people saved in the Rapture.  Oh, wait, I wasn't killed in a cataclismic scourge either.  But I am not making fun...the volcano in Iceland and the tornado in Minnesota give me pause. Oh, well...I'll just have to carry on with amusing myself with scissors and glue dots. I found this tray on the side of the road on Green Up VT day. Why someone felt the need to throw an old cafeteria tray out their car window, I have no clue. Why I felt the need to clean it up and decoupage it, no clue either. I can amuse myself with beads and wire as well. This is a pin I'll use with a scarf I am knitting. All right.  I guess it is time that I looked for a job. A real job.

 I went to a card party last Sunday--making cards, not playing cards.  I really liked these two projects because they are not overly fussy. Mike has been working on the computer long hours for the past couple of weeks.  He is selling some of his rather vast collection of antique motorcycle memorabilia.  This has given him something to do during the rainy times, but it has also drastically cut down on the amount of time I have spent in my virtual world. So, I have found other things to do.   I obviously was inspired by the origami card. These are felted slippers.  I'm working on a second pair and a hat.

The sun streaming through the east facing window woke me up today--have to admit I was a bit disoriented.  Not to fear, though, by the time my coffee was poured and my toast was buttered, it had completely clouded over.  By noon it was pouring again. I did go out and get some garden work done in the morning--a bit of weeding, a bit of prep on the bean planting area, three tomato plants and two pepper plants in the ground.  Temperatures have really warmed up--which is not say that we won't have a big frost in the coming weeks.  I have old sheets at the ready and will listen for frost warnings. Frost is not the concern so much as flooding, though.  The forecasts look grim--another rainy week ahead.  Sometimes it is good to live on a sandy hill and not have any kind of water view.  Well, except for what is coming out of the sky. Whoo...big bang of thunder.  I guess I will turn off the computer and go put in some time at the library.

Oh, good!  Just in time for the strawberry season*--an article in the Huffington Post by Leo Galland, M.D. about the strawberry weight loss  research findings.  It seems that strawberries increase metabolism and may suppress appetite.  They have the effect of slowing digestion which in turn controls blood sugar.  They have anti-inflammatory properties.  All this and only about 50 calories for a cup, and these little beauties get in line with blueberries, pomegranate seeds, and cherries for their health benefits. I was disappointed that there were no recipes with the article, but it was by a doctor not a pastry chef.  I'm guessing that the weight loss benefits are overridden by things like shortcake, pie crust, and whipped cream. See, I think I am reading some really good news, but there is always a down side. *I wonder if there will in fact be  a Vermont strawberry season this year.  The fields are still flooded.  And I just f...

Has the uproar over the woman who gave her eight year old daughter Botox injections died down? Everyone wanted to know, "How could she?" Personally, I always thought it was pretty darn outrageous that beauty contests for little girls are happening in the first place, but people push their daughters into them, slap make-up on perfect little faces, and all but make it the family buisness to make the circuit of pageants.  Then there must be corporate or private sponsors and audiences for these events.  I understand there was even a "reality" tv show about it.  How could anyone? I was disgusted by the story but, sadly, not surprised.  In another time and place, that woman would have broken her child's foot bones and bound her feet so she would never walk normally as an adult.  Or she could have been the woman who mutilated her daughters' genitalia just so sex would always be a painful ordeal.  Foot binding, circumcision, other forms of painfully m...

Have you noticed that the cost of groceries is skyrocketing? If you haven't, please tell us where you shop! I have changed my eating habits to increase fruits and grains consumption and to reduce salt (a lot) and sugar (a little bit) over the past year.  Mike is not so into what he calls "depression era" foods and "third world country" cuisine.  He likes what he likes and is not so inclined to venture into new territory.  I have been steadily building my stock of herbs and spices and increasing my variety of fresh vegetables.  Mike views these efforts with suspicion so we are ending up spending more time cooking separate meals together. However, his daughter is a kick-a** good cook.  If she cooks something and does not make a major deal about full disclosure of all the ingredients in a big way, he will eat it and declare whatever she serves, "the best meal" he has ever eaten.  In turn, this gives just a little bit of license to try something sh...

There is a law on the Vermont books that allows for a marriage annulment in the case that one spouse or the other turns out to be a "lunatic" or "stupid."  Personally, I find that amusing--not because I think it applies to my own marriage, but just to know it's there in case Mike decides to vote Republican in the next election. The reason this came up was that it was mentioned a recent newspaper article.  Our governor has signed a bill that is aimed at eliminating language that is deemed offensive to people with disabilities.  There will be a commission formed to review laws and suggest alternative wording.  Not a bad thing, but I wonder if it altogether a good thing. I understand that words can be hurtful.  I remember well enough being the kid with funny cowlicks in her hair and crooked teeth and chubby thighs.  In those days we were taught to ignore it.  Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words can never hurt me.  At the same time, w...

Today I was the Grilled Grandma on the blog, Grandma's Briefs .  You can check out my adorable grand children there, and you can check out Lisa's blog. My brother has been here for the past three days and has put in two new windows on the north facing wall of the house and has replaced the back door frame and rehung the old door.  Nice to have that talent available in the family.  Now I will have to do a spot of painting and I sincerely hope that will be it for home repairs this season.  That's what the budget says, anyway. Tomorrow is my brother's birthday and my sister, other brother, and our spouses are taking him out for lunch.  He'd rather go golfing, but the links are way too wet.  It's a big O birthday so that deserves a bit of extra attention.  Of course my sister, being the baby of the family, can get away with making jokes about old age, but, since I am the oldest,  I am pretty much required to be nice about it.

While I was reading about boosting brain power, I had the intuition that knitting has got to be exercise for your brain.  Sometimes knitting can be meditative.  And believe me, struggling to wrap my mind around that lace pattern for my recently completed shawl--that was a brain workout.  I can't tell you how much ripping out I did before I finally got started.  At some point my brain and my fingers just started to work together. Well, lo and behold, it turns out that there is some scientific investigation into the benefits of knitting (crocheting and sewing, too) for the brain. According to Dr. Yonas Geda of the Mayo Clinic , knitting may be "neuro-protective."  It may reduce memory loss and symptoms of depression, which seems to be a factor in the likelihood that mild cognitive difficulties will lead to dementia.  An interesting article about therapeutic knitting can be found here . Maybe it's taking the easy way out, which might not be ...

I often use a cast iron pan.  Mine have been around a lot longer than any nonstick coating pan.  They are easy to clean when well seasoned--a wipe out, a rinse with water, another wipe out usually does the trick.  Sometimes I put the wet pan on a lit burner to dry it out and/or give it another light coating of oil. The other day I left the burner on and went into the other room to watch TV.  I could smell something "hot" and I even felt warm, but I never made the connection until Mike came upstairs and found a glowing red pan sitting on the gas stove. This bothered me less for the house burning down potential and more for the senility setting in probability. I was adding it to the  recent incident of finding that I had two left handed rubber gloves and not being able to figure out right away that one was turned inside out.  Yikes! Is it possible to still have blonde moments even after turning gray? I got on the computer and searched "brain, aging...

I just received a card from my darling daughter:                          Mom, I thought about you today while playing with my food... ...after spoiling my appetite with cookies... before leaving my stuff on the floor... to go blindly follow my friends in whatever they were doing                   On the inside: God, I love being a grown-up! There you have it!  The heart break of motherhood.  Your children are going to ignore the most valuable training you worked so hard to instill.  Rebellion is inevitable. And you just cannot follow them around for ever insisting that they floss, drive safely, be polite, make only wise choices.  You cannot because they have totally perfect photographic recall of the times they watched you resisting these very ef...

My hopes for a lovely, spring-like May that were so quick to bubble up last Sunday with its sunshine have been dashed.  Rain and more rain. The library has benefitted.  I spent extra time working on my clean up project for three hours yesterday. I'll put in another afternoon on Friday.  Areas of floor are visible now, and by the end of the time yesterday I was starting to think there may be an end in sight--at least for round one. Ar home, I took out a large load of blankets and sheet sets that we no longer use but I had stored for "just in case we need them."  I looked for a an organization that was collecting bedding and blankets to send to Alabama tornado victims, but ended up taking the whole pile to the Salvation Army.  There are people being displaced right here in Vermont because of flooding as I was informed when I called the SA to inquire.  So they happily took what I had. Finally, the wet and chilly we...

With sincere apologies for my photography skills (or lack thereof--these photos do no justice to the actual artifacts) and the difficulties I seem to be having with formatting this post tonight.......  All these pictures hang in our office space.  The George Washington and the Abraham Lincoln above are "school house" pictures.  They would have once hung in a classroom.  This is a newspaper front page that Mike found in a barn in Rhode Island.  It is The New York Herald , dated April 15, 1865 (price: four cents). The important news was that President Lincoln had been assassinated. This is a map of the United States showing 30 states and the District of Columbia.  I am not sure of the date.  It was published by Ensigns, and Thayer of New York.  There are pictures around the border of significant historical events--the landing of the Pilgrims, Battle of Bunker Hill, and more.  Mike found this in a ditch behind a building where he was working ...

Spring cleaning.  A time honored tradition.  It used to consume an entire week--our annual spring break in April when I was teaching.  Now I do things differently, small jobs spread over the month of May.  I started Monday by washing the upstairs windows and then leaving them open to let in the fresh air.  I know that New Year's Day is celebrated in the dead of winter, but spring is the season that really sings "fresh start, clean slate, things are getting better."  It is easy to look out through newly polished glass at newly budding trees and cheery yellow daffodils and just feel that the world is a better place because winter is over and spring is gracing us, at least for today. Well, today, I think, the world really is a better place.  I don't celebrate war and killing, but I am not at all sorry that bin Laden is dead.  He was a murderer and a mad man who only defiled humanity by his actions. It would be over reaching to say that we ...

After record breaking rain during the month of April, the new month is off to a more promising start.  It was sunny today and buds are starting to pop out.  The grass is nice and green.  The town crews are all busy trying to get the roads patched up again.  Nobody wants to complain, though, because a detour around a washed out back road is nothing compared to having your entire town flattened. It was a good day for a bit of garden work.  The perennials are just starting to poke through, but the weeds have already gotten quite the toe hold.  There also seems to be a bumper crop of ants about this year.  Well, I'll have plenty to occupy my time for the coming days. I have to see about getting two windows replaced and the back doorsill needs some work too.  The front door was damaged by wind, so now we add that to the list.  Sometimes I question the wisdom of home ownership. Mike had a fairly successful trip to Pennsylvania and came home w...