• Sweet company…

    February 12, 2013 / 8 Comments

    Later this week, my eight and thirteen-year-old granddaughters will be coming here for a fun day and sleepover.  Each of them wants to learn the art of pie making, so I will be giving a “cooking class”.  My eight year old granddaughter will bake a chocolate chess pie and my thirteen year old granddaughter wants to make a fruit pie with a lattice top.  Needless to say, that will be a lot of fun!  We will also watch a movie, eat popcorn, maybe have time for some art and just relax together.  They love coming over, exploring my apartment, my art books and hanging out with Grandmom.

    I wanted to be sure that my four-year old grandson did not feel “left out”, so yesterday I brought him home with me for a couple of hours.  I teasingly asked him if he wanted to go home with me and “help me clean my apartment, maybe dust mop”.  He was so excited!  His eight year old sister packed him a backpack filled with books and all of the CARS characters – you know, like Lightning McQueen!  He sat down to put his shoes on and the heavy backpack almost pulled him backwards!  His Mom and I had a good laugh and then I carried his backpack for him.

    We were about two miles down the road, almost to University Street, when he quietly said “I miss Mom”.  That lasted about a second and then he was on to another topic of conversation thankfully.

    I had left the apartment basically in a “mess” with sewing stuff and knitting stuff all over the living room but I knew he wouldn’t care.  When we arrived, I opened the apartment door and he rushed inside.  He looked around the living room and up at me.  He flashed that dimpled smile at me and said, “oh, you’ve decorated”!  I laughed and laughed.

    The next two hours were busy ones.  We played CARS on the hardwood floors in my living room.  He’s very creative and can come up with cute themes for our playtime – like it’s Lightning’s birthday and all the cars bring cake and ice cream.  I’m getting really good at making car sounds and definitely have Mater’s Southern accent down pat.  The only problem is my back can’t handle sitting on the hard floor for very long!

    Then it was time for his first cooking lesson!  He had such fun making “chocolate no-bakes” with Grandmom!  He stood in front of the stove on my stepladder and carefully added all the ingredients as I handed them to him.  He stirred and stirred.  I took the last stir and spooned the finished cookies onto foil.  When they were cool, I gave him a small one and a glass of milk for his afternoon snack.  We took the rest home with him later for him to share with everyone.

    When it was time to take him home, he exclaimed “but I haven’t helped you dust mop, Grandmom!”  I found the dust mop and gave it to him.  He actually had fun for a few minutes dusting the hardwood floors!

    Then it was time to leave.  I buckled him carefully in his car seat and we headed back to his home.  We were barely out of my condominium complex, when we asked “do you have some music, Grandmom?”  There was a CD mix of country music in the player and I turned it on.  I was introducing my little Ethiopian Prince to Willie Nelson, Emmy Lou Harris, Alison Krauss and a few other of the classics.  Apparently, my sweet grandson likes country music!

    We were about a half mile from my daughter’s house when I asked him if he knew where he was.  “No,” he replied.  “And you don’t either, Grandmom!”

    “I’d better know!  I’m driving!” I replied through the laughter…

     Photo taken at The Great Pumpkin Festival at church. 

    My daughter made the costume for Halloween which you can read about here.

    He loves Curious George!
    (I love the featured photo of him at the top – taken about three years ago, not long after my daughter and her husband returned from Ethiopia with him.)

  • Knitted patchwork baby blanket…

    February 6, 2013 / 9 Comments

    I began this patchwork knitted baby blanket over a year ago for my youngest granddaughter.  I have worked on it from time to time over the past year.  It was a happy day when I realized that I had finally finished all THIRTY-FIVE squares!  I am still a novice knitter and basically have only mastered “knit” and “purl”!  Okay, maybe “knit two together”.  The sight of a knitting pattern with complex directions baffles me.

    It was certainly a baffling day when I realized that I NOW had to figure out a way to join all 35 of the squares together and weave in all lose ends – in a manner that satisfied my “perfectionist” streak.  “Perfectionist” and “beginner” don’t exactly go together!  I watched youtube videos about joining squares and read knitting books.  I tried a couple of the suggested techniques but still wasn’t satisfied with the way it looked.  One video suggested crocheting them together…except I don’t know crochet!

    There must be a way to finish this that will look good and make me happy.  Any suggestions from you master knitters out there???  I confess to being frustrated and at a loss for what to do.  I love the colors and I think it will be adorable if/when I can ever get it finished…

    p.s.  5 of the squares are on the sofa where I’ve been working on them!  😉 

    UPDATE:  I found a particularly helpful youtube video which I will post later with pics of the finished blanket.  I have now joined the first row of squares!  Looking good so far!

    patchworkblanket

    The finished product above…each square finished neatly with an invisible mattress stitch.

  • Snow days…

    January 30, 2013 / 11 Comments

    Little did I know on Monday when I made the dreaded trip to the grocery store and trekked up the two flights of stairs with bags and bags of groceries…that I would be glad on Wednesday when another snow storm hit!  Here’s the door to my humble abode.  Before I get to this point, however, there is a secure entry that I must unlock (and I’m really thankful for that).  Over the course of the past few months, I have figured out it’s faster to just go down to my garage, get the groceries, bring them up the two flights of stairs and leave them at the door.  Repeat the process as many times as required…then take them all in at once!  NOW, if I could just get motivated to cook for myself…

    Snow photo above:  the view from my porch.  This photo was actually taken during the last snow storm but you get the idea!  I’m beginning to think:  you’ve seen one snowstorm – you’ve seen them all!  😉

    When I was at my daughter’s house the other day, I noticed that Kiana didn’t seem to be feeling all that well.  My daughter said that Kiana had not eaten well for the past few days.  Kiana was clearly much more lethargic than her usual exuberant self.  My daughter took her to the vet the next day for an expensive office visit and tests.  Come to find out, Kiana has an extremely low thyroid and is now on medication!  The low thyroid explains why Kiana can’t seem to lose weight (I know the feeling) regardless of all that running (well, okay, so I don’t run).   Maybe now, I can give her treats again.

    In the photo below, she is sitting in front of the cabinet (above the refrigerator) where the treats are kept.  She is one smart dog and she knows Grandmom will give in.  Kiana will look at me and then look UP at the treat cabinet and look back at me…as if to say “you know where they are – now get me one…purty please!”

  • Driving in Des Moines…

    January 28, 2013 / 8 Comments

    Des Moines, Iowa, has a lot going for it. As the Capitol of Iowa, it has far more than its fair share of the arts, music, museums and cultural events.  There are excellent medical facilities here.  And let’s not forget the wonderful shopping all throughout the city.  Des Moines is extremely clean with very nice suburbs. I live in one of them.  Believe it or not, Des Moines is not flat with a bunch of corn fields, although farming is a serious industry here.  There are rolling hills and superb sunsets.  Des Moines has won several awards over the years for being a great place to live.  Overall, it’s an incredibly nice city.  The best feature of all is the fact that I’m only 14 minutes from my daughter and her family!

    So, what in the world is my complaint?!  DRIVING in Des Moines!  I have driven in rush hour traffic in Chicago, Memphis, St. Louis, Seattle and Portland – just to name a few.  Des Moines drivers are THE worst offenders in several areas:

    • TAILGATING!  I have never seen anything like it!  Even though I might like to drive a little fast, I have never, ever had a ticket or been in a wreck that I caused in 51 years!  I hate looking in my rearview mirror and literally seeing someone’s face extremely close to me!  I thought at first that I must be imagining it but I have heard this complaint from several other people as well.
    • Blowing their horns instantly for any reason.  For safety’s sake, I’m all in favor of using those horns if need be but not the millisecond a light turns green and the poor soul in front of you doesn’t move fast enough.  RUDE!  Recently, I was pulling off of I-235 and and turning right onto Douglas Avenue.  Had I been able to see the traffic coming to my left, I might have been able to turn right on red.  However, there was a very large truck in the lane to my left completely blocking my view.  The driver behind me repeatedly blew his horn for me to turn.  I was not going to turn anywhere until I could see!  It took all I had not to get out of the car and go back to have a little talk with him!  I didn’t, of course.  However, the stupid rude driver didn’t remember that his place of employment was clearly printed on the side of his panel van.  I did have a little talk with his superior.  Hopefully, his driving courtesy will improve.
    • Not MOVING OVER – even though the other lane is clear and they could – on the interstate!  For Heaven’s sake, people in Chicago will move over for you!  Granted, you’d best be doing 75 when you hit the freeway, but they WILL move over!
    • Here, speed limit signs change back and forth quickly and randomly throughout the city and suburbs.  It took me a while to get used to driving slowly again after driving down the mountainside!  Drivers here are a bit pokey and love that left lane!  But I’m getting used to it.  Pokey I can take – rude, I cannot abide.

    I would definitely encourage you to visit the Midwest.  There are some great things to see here.  Just remember when you look in your rearview mirror and wonder where the front of the car behind you went, that I told you so!  😉

    P.S.  I am fully aware that the drivers who are guilty of the poor driving habits above will, most likely, not be reading my blog.  I only wish…

  • Reflections on a rainy Sunday morning…

    January 27, 2013 / 13 Comments

    It’s a cold and rainy Sunday morning in January.  I’m home from church this morning feeling under the weather and definitely disappointed that I won’t see my 8 year old granddaughter in her new ensemble that I made for her!  Hopefully, my daughter will take photos for me.  I saw her in it the other day after I finished it but she had just returned from swimming and her hair was wrapped in a towel.  Not quite the same effect as today will be!

    We spent yesterday at the Natatorium (love that word!) at the YMCA watching my 15, 13 and 8 year old grandchildren compete in a swim meet.  There were new “times” set and ribbons won.  They are all fast, strong swimmers and competed beautifully.  Afterwards, my daughter made totally homemade pizza (sauce and all) for dinner and it was delicious!  My now 4 year old grandson asked for “a few rounds of Sock Monkey” before I had to leave and how was I to say no to that?!  😉

    I’m in the process of slowly going through the 576 posts of my 4 year-long blog My Southern Heart.  I would like to find somewhere to have it published before I close the blog.  I published My Southern Heart…the Stories for my children for Christmas a couple of years ago, but my blog My Southern Heart is about 750 pages and too long for the publisher I used previously.  Any ideas or suggestions as to printers/publishers???

    In the process of going through the posts, I came across this one and was reminded, once again, of the wonder of it all – how the many traits and characteristics we possess are passed down from generation to generation…

    Fifty-Five Years and A Lock of Hair…

    Published January 2, 2012

    A box came down from the attic today that I knew held some treasures.  There were letters from my older son and my daughter when they were away at college.  There were letters I had written to my parents after we moved to Kentucky.  There was a card to my older son at college written by my third grade son telling his older brother that he ”didn’t like being an only child” and that he missed him.  The tears were falling, of course, as I continued to sort through these priceless treasures…

    Then I spotted the envelope written in Mama’s hand.  On the front it read “Dianne McGregor.  Lock of hair from September 28, 1957?.  55 years?!  I took the envelope outside into the sunlight and carefully pulled out the lock of hair and the small 55 year old rubber band.   (For a moment, I felt just like Bruce Willis when he meets himself as a child in the Disney movie, “The Kid”.)

    I know now why my youngest has beautiful strawberry blonde hair  (besides the fact his two grandmothers did as well).  I held the proof in my hands.  My hair was clearly blonde.  Strawberry blonde.

    A year or so ago, I tried having my hair a darker brown.  It didn’t feel right.  It didn’t feel like me.  Someone asked me, “what makes you think you’re a blonde?”  Besides my coloring and my memory?  I just knew.

    So, today, I held the 55 year old lock of hair in my hands.  It is the exact same color hair as several of my granddaughters.  I was eleven years old on September 28th, 1957…the same age as one of my granddaughters.

    I love the study of genetics.  The link from one generation to the next.  The circle of life…

     

  • Sweet January birthdays…

    January 24, 2013 / 4 Comments

    Three of my eight precious grandchildren were born in the month of January.  It has been a month of celebrating their sweet lives.  I am beyond thankful for each of them…

    Night before last, my now eleven year old granddaughter (today is her birthday!) called me on my iPad to tell me her package had arrived.  We had a wonderful visit as she shared what she has been doing.  For one thing, she won the Spelling Bee for her class and now competes school wide.  She proceeded to quiz ME on some of the words she is expected to know how to spell in just a few short weeks.  Even though I was an English major until my senior year of college when I switched to nursing, I had never heard of some of the words!  She plays the piano beautifully and played three songs for me.  I love Facetime!  😉  She opened her gifts before school this morning and emailed me a great big thank you and the pics below.  She loved her gifts.

    Featured photo above:  A couple of the birthday gifts that I sent to her. 

    Below:  She loved the adorable purse below. 

    Inside was a soft leather money pouch with a little money in  it!  😉

    Yesterday, was my firstborn grandchild’s fifteenth birthday!  We celebrated last night.  He asked his Mom to prepare homemade chicken enchiladas and they were delicious!  For his cake, he asked for homemade butter pecan.  Soooo good!  He is now taller than his Dad and TOWERS over me!  He loves that.  He got his learner’s permit a few weeks ago to drive and I wanted to be the first person to give him a soft leather Levi’s wallet (a little money inside) so he has a place to keep his learner’s permit and his future drivers license!  I came up with a few other gifts as well.  He liked everything!  He is a freshman but has competed with the high school swim team this year and lettered!  He was excited about that.  He says he needs a “letter jacket” now.  Well, yeah!  Before the final high school swim meet, the players shaved their heads…all that beautiful very dark brown hair.  He asked his mom how long it would take to grow back!  I also love to hear him play the piano.  He’s gifted at the piano as well as swimming!

    On January 12th, we celebrated this sweet one’s 4th birthday!  Lots of wonderful presents and a scrumptious all chocolate cake.  He loves chocolate!  He’s a joyful, cheerful sweetheart and thinks my role in life is to be a grandmom!  He’s right.  Just this afternoon, I stopped by for lunch and to pick up my camera which I’d left there last night.  Of course, I was easily convinced to play a couple of rounds of “Where is Sock Monkey?”  with him and his sister.  I gave it to him a couple of years ago and we have just about worn the board out!  He loves it.  We also played hide and seek with his 8 year old sister.  After that, it was back home to sew on his 13 year old sister’s new dress.