Bamboo

I was very fortunate to have known all my grandparents and a great-grandma.

 

My dad's dad was a wonderful man. I remember he and my dad looked so much alike, the only difference being white hair and black hair. He came and spent a summer with us when I was about 5. After he returned home to St. Louis,MO, he had a severe stroke. He was never able to speak again and the aunts and uncles down there put him in a nursing home. We used to go every year to see him. I remember the last time we went, I walked ahead of everyone else.... he recognized me, smiled, and began searching the room for my dad. They were very close. It was a sad day when he died. I was 16.

 

My grandma on that side was a trip. I was born on her 60th birthday. When I was little I thought she was the most wonderful woman... she bought me a full make up kit when I was only about 9...awesome. She died when I was 10 and I was sad then too. Later (when I was an adult) I found out some very distasteful things about her. I'm saddened that my memories are now clouded by those things.

 

On my mom's side, my great-grandma was the neatest lady. She was about 4'10" and just about as wide (we all blame her still for our hips). She always had this candy (nobody liked it) and her house always smelled like it. She could do anything such as sewing, knitting, crocheting. She taught my mom to do those things and mom taught us. I also remember that whenever we got a sore throat, we would have to have grandma "paint" our throat. I think that was mercurocrom (sp)... something, horrible tasting, yuk. But she was sweet. We all got Christmas presents every year.... she had 3 children, a couple of dozen grandchildren, more great-grandchildren, and her first great-great-grandchild was born a couple days before she died. Her son was my grandpa.

 

My mom's mom was a little lady who was sick most of my life. She was kind of sneaky and could be kind of mean. I loved her dearly, but... One thing we had in common was our love of family history.

 

Now my Grandpa... the sun rose and set at his feet. When we were little he would take us to the market for Hershey's Kisses... see, it's really not my fault that I love chocolate. He was the best grandpa. It still makes me sad to think about him.

 

Because mom and I have an interest in our family history, I do have stories of all of my other grandparents back to my GG-grandparents. I'm truly thankful for all my memories of my grandparents and all the wisdom and character they have left to me.

After reading all these posts from Lois, I'm wondering what would be useful to plant in a "healing garden". I would appreciate everyone letting me know... What would you plant in your "healing garden"?

Bobbie,

 

Hello neighbor. You are right on one...MMCC. The other is Ferris State. PM me and we'll talk more. I'm not really willing to give too much info here, but I wouldn't mind through a PM.

 

Alclary,

Happy Birthday. May God bless your special day.

Dee, thanks. I have not read those. As soon as school is over I'll be heading to the library so I'll look for those books. I'll have about a month to read before classes start again in January.

My hubby takes our old towels to the garage or the boat to use. Out there they don't necessary have to be "pretty".

Hello everyone. I've been up for hours now (daylight savings time does that to me). Missed posting yesterday but I had school all day. When I got home from school we didn't have power... so I rounded up everything we would need before it got dark (lanterns, radio, flashlights, etc). I had just gotten done and the power came on. I was kind of looking forward to doing without, kind of a trial run in case of something bigger. Oh well, I had everything I needed, except extra batteries. I'll pick them up this week.

 

Today we are going to rake our leaves and get that done. We have a huge canopy of full grown trees.... lots of leaves. That will take most of the afternoon. Then it's back to the homework.

Thanks for my spider... she's cute.

I really didn't introduce myself either... so here goes.

 

I'm Spider (the nickname given to me by my Dad, never understood it though and can't ask him now). I am 29 and that is the lie I'm sticking to. I have been married for 15 years (child bride

I like the 1800's era. Little House on the Prairie, Janet Oakey's Canadian wilderness, even Civil War era.

There are certain authors that I buy, Janet Evanovich is one. The Left Behind series I have hardback and tape. I also buy some paperbacks every now and then. In the gift shop at the hospital where I work they sell used paperbacks for $0.50. I'll also donate some to them for resale. The auxillary then uses the money to buy things for the hospital, so it is a good deal.

 

Most of the books I read though come from the library. I live near a state college so the library is really good.

I guess that is one more thing for us to be thankful for. Hubby and I just ordered a half-pig; butchered, smoked, packaged will be about $1.80 a pound. We thought that was pretty good.

Hello everyone. Here is a chocolate pecan torte (I have to make these virtual treats or I will make the real ones). Oh well, I'll get it done before class this weekend. Instead, I was just lazy. I don't get to do that very often, so I enjoyed it. Played with my kitty...Cali is a 11 pound Maine Coon, calico. She is 7 years old, but still acts like a kitten. Overall, it has been a nice relaxing day...now I have to get that homework done.

 

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

Okay...here are some yummy chocolate brownies I brought to share. They are just so ooey and gooey. I took my test (thank you all for your well wishes) and I feel really good about it. It was a competency test for a new job. I won't find out though for a while, then I'll post again.

 

Wow, everyone is so busy, especially Cat, up at one in the morning... my kitty is usually up then too, must be the feline in them.

 

It's cloudy today. I had to stick my head out of my office to see, no windows. I go to work in the dark and now (with daylight savings time) I will go home in the dark. I'm with Cat on this, why????

 

Well, better get back to work (on my lunch break) so I hope everyone has a wonderful day and enjoy those brownies. I'll think of something special for tomorrow too.

 

Oh Joan... think Charlotte from "Charlotte's Web" not some nasty old tarantula....anyway, I'm sure we'll get past your spiderphobia.

Theyd,

Thank you... chocolate fudge... one of my favorites. I'm going to have to be very careful or I will be gaining a lot of weight...

Quilty's,

Praying for your recovery...please post and let us know as soon as you can how everything goes.

 

Today started out beautiful here in the middle of the mitt, even if I only get to see the stars (I leave really early for work). Temp was 48. I too need your prayers today, although my need is much smaller than Quilty's. I have a test to take at work that is pretty important, so please pray for me too.

 

Everyone have a wonderful day.

Caveman,

May I have a siggy? A cute little spider would be nice, nothing to outlandish, just cute, if you have one. Thank you.

Cat,

Can I have access to these forums also? Thank you.

Yummy... it's all so good....where to I start (spider says, licking all eight legs and smacking her lips).

I love mysteries. Some of my favorite authors are Catherine Coulter (FBI series), James Patterson (Alex Cross series). When I want to laugh I go for Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (I have actually read them more than once, and they still make me laugh). I love to read so much that it is difficult to pick a favorite and I'll read just about anything... not into gore though. Usually I just try to find something that will let me "escape" for a while.

I loved this book (the language can be rough), but after a stressful job, going to school, sometimes you just need to laugh... "Stephanie" makes me laugh. Has anybody else read these books. I have read them all. I just love Grandma Mazur.

I have canned venison many times... just chunk the meat and process according to the "Ball Blue Book" guidelines. It falls apart (a bit) and then I use it for sloppy joes. It really is good.

Hi everyone... I'm new here, but I have been lurking for so long that I feel I know most of you. This is a wonderful site with a lot of great information and people.... and wonderful virtual food... my favorite is chocolate, so I'll be sure to be there if there is any around...