Blog Update

This blog has mostly to do with family and activities with our grandchildren. Then a few articles about cooking emerged from my fingertips. Maybe I should start a separate blog for those, hmm? No matter, I will try to catch up on family activity, with the help of a notated calendar and much help from Gwen.

My last post about family was at the end of January, with pictures of all the tornado damage in our grandchildren’s neighborhood.  February is always a grim month for me… maybe it’s Seasonal Affective Disorder, my daughter offered.  There’s a name for everything these days!  Anyway, February was 29 days long this year which was adding insult to injury.  I dragged myself through February and when March arrived, wasn’t feeling any better, in spite of the bright light that I shone in my face two hours every morning.  I had promised to take Gwen to see “Wicked”… promised without knowing what it was.  Turned out to be the Broadway production at the BJCC Concert Hall downtown.  Felt weak as a kitten, but still, had to do it.  Our children were keeping a close eye on us then, as their father recovered from pneumonia in December, so I asked our youngest if he would put off his return trip home and ferry Gwen and me to and from the BJCC.

I had gone downtown a few days before to refresh my memory on drop-off points, and route through the BJCC to the Concert Hall, and that’s when I   noticed they had installed a ramp from the upper to the lower level in compliance with the ADA.  We arrived just in time, not too early.  Gwen had a great time.  We had seats in the Grand Tier (Thanks, Julie) right in the middle.  There are no bad seats in the Concert Hall.  Gwen loved seeing a full-fledged Broadway Musical.  She takes Musical Theater in Dance, and has been in a school production of Music Man, but this was the Real Thing. The stage setting included a dragon’s head clock, with wings and sometime-glowing eyes, above the stage  She loved that there was an orchestra in the pit; being in the Grand Tier we could see the musicians.  She loved the story and the characters as portrayed, even the always-scary flying monkeys. Yikes! Gwen tutted in disapproval that her grandma was not familiar with the books set in the universe of “The Wizard of Oz”.  No matter. I napped through the first act, but enjoyed the second.

Railroad Park v East Lake Park

Last Saturday our granddaughter and I had several errands to do.  We had washed, dried and folded two carrier bags full of outgrown, gently-worn clothes, mostly girl’s size 8.  These clothes were to be dropped off at the Salvation Army station on Highway 11.  It’s always open in the daytime and there is always someone on duty to help unload, if necessary, and to list the donations on a receipt.  We always get a receipt for tax purposes.  Our grandchildren are generous with their outgrown clothes, toys and books and know they will find good homes with children less fortunate than themselves.

On the other hand, and this is the much harder lesson to learn, when they are with me, they shop at the Thrift Stores run by these charitable organizations.  The small allowance I give them for helping me around the house goes much farther at a Thrift Store.  Make no mistake, they earn the allowance I give them.  Bending and stooping is hard enough, carrying heavy loads is almost beyond Granddaddy and me, so the work they do for us is real.  They are getting bigger and stronger all the time.

One granddaughter likes to read, and heads straight for the book section.  She always finds a book or two in the Babysitter Club series that she hasn’t read yet.  They cost just a few cents rather than a few dollars.  The other granddaughter likes pretty things… jewelry, a pretty perfume bottle or decorative vase, and she can find the best bargains in blouses!

After our errands, I had to swing back by the house as I had left my cell phone recharging.  Kate ran in and got it, and checked to make sure the crock pot with our dinner in it had been turned down to Low.  We had put a small chuck roast in the crock earlier, and cleaned out the fridge looking for veggies.  Cloves of garlic went in, and carrot pieces (first because they take longer to cook and most of the heat, too), then I cut up and Kate added onion, celery, bell pepper and potato on top.  She sprinkled in the S&P and a half cup of water, and we were off!

With our errands done and dinner taken care of, I wanted to go downtown to see the newly opened Rainroad Park.  I had wondered what kind of park it would be.  Our local park in East Lake has a big lake with fingers of land one could go out on to fish; a long wooden pier and gazebo; a mile-long walkway around the lake for jogging, strolling or ambling.  There are picnic tables scattered under the trees, and a whole flock of ducks and geese who live and nest on an island in the lake.

The waterfowl come to attention whenever someone passes by.  Woe be to the uninitiated who brings a sack of stale bread to feed them.  Word spreads like wildfire and every goose,  gander, gosling, duck, drake and duckling converges like they had not eaten in a week!  It can be scary.  The small children you brought there for a treat have to be put on top of the low lighting structures that line the path around the lake.  Your best defense is to give them all your bread and stand still until their little brains forget what they are there for and they leave.  Honestly, you feel like you have been mugged.

(Image: The public enjoys Railroad Park, by Susan Clayton)

Weekends with the Grandchildren

Every weekend we have one or the other of our grandchildren visit. This keeps me busy finding activities and food! The younger grandchild has hit her growth spurt and is eating us out of house and home. She is nearly as tall as her sister, who is four years older. We think she will surpass her in height.

Last weekend, before We even got home, Gwen and I had stopped at three different places. She wanted to hit the thrift store for some cheap books, so we did. Then, I thought it was time she knew what an Estate Sale was. I had seen one on the way to pick her up, so we stopped there on our way home. Estate Sales always seem a little sad to me, as it means both parents are gone and the children or heirs don’t want to fool with any of the “stuff” that their parents prized.

After Christmas…

We had a fine family feast and festivities, but after all was said and done, all we wanted to do was sleep.  The best part (besides the food and seeing everyone) was watching the grandchildren open their presents.

Santa Sleeps

Busy Weekend with Kate…

Our younger granddaughter, Kate, was with us this weekend.  I met the school bus Friday, and then visited with the grandchildren and their mother for a while.  Poor Kate has a sinus condition and is sniffling.  We hope it is allergies.  I’m giving her meds, AND a large bandana, folded, to blot her drippy nose.

We went our separate directions Friday evening: I went to a Church Lady thingy with my friend Rebecca while Grandaddy took Kate out to eat.  To their chagrin, the Chinese place they were headed for was Out of Business!  They settled for Captain D’s across the street.

Busy weekend with Gwen…

I picked up Gwen on Friday at 4 and we went straight to Tuesday Morning, a sort of high-end thrift store.  It’s where I buy my Christmas cards… they have the leftovers from last year and they are just as pretty and less than half the price!  Gwen also found a Disney book, published in 2006, with the dossiers of every character Disney ever produced.  She was thrilled to find a new and different Disney book.  It listed everything about each character, including every actor who ever voiced the character, as well as the character’s significant other, if any! It was a real good buy–Gwen had allowance money back at my house to cover it so I fronted her the cash.

My Weekend with Gwen, Part 2

Today was Sunday, with its big newspaper to read.  I found several articles to go in the scrapbooks I am keeping for Kate and Gwen.  Gwen trimmed and glued the pictures and articles in their books.

Kate likes fashion stories and pictures, as well as pop culture news.  Gwen likes animal stories and Disney news; they both like Dear Abby columns.

My Weekend with Gwen, Part 1

Friday:  Our 15 year old granddaughter is with us this weekend.  Gwen is a reader like her Aunt Val and like her mom.  Yesterday had been a long day for me, so we only cooked and cleaned up after supper.  We make a great team in the kitchen; today we were wielding knives as we cut up and dug out good sweet watermelon chunks.  She did 2 quarters and I did the other 2, and we ended up with two big bowls of watermelon.  I cooked hamburgers while she set the table, and that was supper.  Well, that and some baked beans from the Publix deli.  After the dishes were done, we read a while.  I had to wake her up to take off her glasses and get into night clothes.

My Weekend with Kate, Part the third and last

I’m not at all sure Kate fixed herself any breakfast this morning, but it worked out OK.  I had some instant oatmeal rather late last night and she asked for a taste–she doesn’t want to miss out on anything.  I gave her a spoonful of sweet, warm oaty milk, and she liked it, so I prepared her a bowl.  But she discovered she wasn’t as hungry as she thought and covered it and put it in the fridge.

My Weekend with Kate, Part 2

The Disney Channel provided entertainment while I slept in.  I think Kate had cold pizza for breakfast.  A call from a friend spurred me into showering and getting dressed.  Rebecca arrived with her daughter and the two girls absconded to the blue room (the granddaughter’s bedroom at Grandma’s house) and entertained each other while we grown-ups caught up on things, and talked about books.  She brought me another and I haven’t even written up the previous one, Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book, which is a really good book and I have it on the computer table right now where it will stare at me until I write a book report, an essay or a review of it.