SIMPLE FUN OR SIMPLY FUN!

Of course I'm like any other grandma and thoroughly enjoy it when I have my grandkids around.

A few weeks ago they decided to come spend the day.  We love to get messy and make lots of  experiements.  We made the flour and baby oil version of playdoh.  After molding and making a total mess they opted to make a volcano out of all the doh.   Inside the volcano we "just had to" make vinegar and baking soda eruptions.  We only used a full box of baking soda and 1/2 gallon of vinegar and lots of food coloring!  Yes!  What a mess and what fun!

After the flour, baby oil, vinegar, baking soda, cookie sheets and all the yuk was cleaned off the table the kids got to have their grand finale of shaving creme.  They covered the whole table,  dug out all of the small toys including hot wheels and played for almost an hour creating racetracks, villages and more. 

Even though this was messy it was very inexpensive play.  They won't be wanting to do this as much as they get older, but for now, we made some memories.  How about you?  What are some fun things you do when you have your grandkids with you?

Blessings
Grandma B

HOME MADE ICE CREAM - FUN FOR ALL

 Everyone should experience the making of home made ice cream sometime in their lives!  Is it better than what you can purchase?  Is it cheaper?  The answer to both of these is "NO", but it is the experience of making it that makes it so special.

On Memorial Day I decided that we should make ice cream in our electric ice cream maker.  We hadn't used this ice cream maker in quite a long time, so I had Sidney get it out of storage, washed it thoroughly, and made the custard that would go inside. 

The grandkids really got into helping by placing the ice into the bucket and sprinkling it with the rock salt.  Then they waited....and waited.

Finally the maker came to a slow down and then to a stop.  I called Oli and she was more than ready to sample the goods.   Andrew and her licked the huge paddle.  What fun!  Everyone seemed to enjoy the frozen custard covered with fresh strawberries.   I'm sure this was a memory that will last a lifetime.  When was the last time you have made home made ice cream with your family?

Blessings,

GrandmaB

FIVE FAVORITE MEN IN MY LIFE!

While browsing through some photos this week I found this one of my five favorite fellows.  They are my family, starting with my 3 sons, Scott, Dale, and Jason.  Next is my wonderful husband Sidney who I have been married to since 1967.  And the man on the end is my  late father-in-law, Sidney Sr.

I am so proud of each one of these men.  They have brought so much joy to my life.  I thank God for the privilege of having them in my life.

Who do you have in your  life that has brought joy to you?

THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS

Some people laugh when I tell them that I still believe in Santa Claus and all the magic of Christmas.  While I'm not one that starts planning Christmas in October as some people do, I do enjoy it during the month of December and do whatever I can to make it a pleasant time for those around me.

My two youngest grandchildren, A and O, asked the big Santa question to their mother this year, and she didn't lie, she just asked them, "what do you think?"   To make this story shorter, they both decided that Santa isn't real, but they would just continue to pretend like he is.

It's hard on this grandma  not having  any children who really believe in Santa anymore, especially since she will go to her grave convinced that when she was just a child, still sleeping in a crib, she remembers vividly Santa coming up to her crib and lifting her eye lids to see if she was really asleep.   I also witnessed the miracle of Christmas at work more than once when there seemed to be  no way that my three boys would be able to have a very good Christmas.  Somehow, every single year, God made a way.  Yes, I will always believe in magic and miracles of Christmas.   It appears that this year though, grandma is the only one left to believe!

Wishing you and yours a very blessed Christmas,
Grandma B

Together With the Family

Are there any better times than when your family is gathered together for a meal and a day of fun? I love it when everyone stops from their busy lives and schedules a time to come home. As much as I love these times together, they used to feel so much like work instead of play. As I'm getting older I am learning to simplify as much as possible and that includes family days.

Always before I would spend one full day shopping and cooking. There was the potato salad, the deviled eggs, deserts, and more. You get the idea! By the time the family day got here I was needing a nap and didn't feel much like playing. But now-----------things have changed!

This year I actually purchased the potato salad, didn't make the eggs, and purchased a refrigerated boxed desert. My oldest son took charge of cooking the meat at his house, and brought it all cooked and ready. I threw on the baked beans (simple version), opened the potato chips and voillaaaaa we were enjoying being together!

After the meal there was washers and bocce while H filled us in on the latest trends in high school. All too soon it was time for everyone to leave for their own homes, leaving Paw and I with the depressed feeling that Labor Day always gives. The last summer holiday, the beginning of autumn.

The next day the depression was over and plans for the days ahead began. After all, there will be nights of football, Thanksgiving, Christmas, March Madness, Easter, Memorial Day and many more days for family gatherings. Keeping things simple isn't so bad! Maybe I'll see what I can do for Thanksgiving!

A Walk Together

Hidden away in the small town where I grew up is a secret place known as the "lakes". I had never been to the lakes, but Sidney had spent hour upon hour there fishing and running through the woods when he was a young boy.

This secret place called the "lakes" is for sale, and Sidney wanted to share with me one of his favorite childhood hangouts, so we decided to take a walk.

As I got out of the car I thought it might be a good idea to spray my legs to repel ticks and chiggers. I've learned the hard way that those little critters just love to attach themselves to the tender parts of my body and make me suffer for days on end. Not today though, I was way ahead of them!

The walk began fine, but I didn't know that I was going to have to climb a locked gate. This information had been withheld from me. Since my knees don't bend too well anymore, I thought my walk would be stopped before it started, but one step at a time and I was over! Sidney was on the other side in case I couldn't make it.



Once over the gate, the walk was easy. There weren't really any weeds to speak of, just a nice path along the first lake. The first lake wasn't too big, and had a lot of algea on top of it. I wasn't too impressed. We kept walking, stopping to

MAKING MEMORIES

Today I enjoyed all of my grandchildren while they visited with us for a while. The oldest ones arrived first with their mom. They came to pick grapes from a neighbor who graciously offered them to us. Mom and dad were going to attempt to make their first batch of grape jelly.

Off we went to our neighbors house with buckets and clippers in hand ready for the bunches of grapes we were promised. As we made our way to the grape-vines we weren't finding the grapes in abundance, but just a few here and a few there. With all of us clipping them off the vine we found we had still salvaged about two gallons of grapes. I reminded these teenagers that they should be counting their blessings we were picking grapes and not blackberries.

When we returned back home it was time to clean out the corn patch. Paw only planted 4 rows of corn this year, but it produced many ears of juicy, sweet corn. The kids went out and picked corn and filled two buckets. After I checked to make sure there was still plenty of corn for my youngest two grandchildren, A and O, I was happy to help them load their van with the bounty.

A couple of hours later A and O arrived with their mom and dad. First it was off to collect the eggs. It used to be O who wanted to bring the eggs in, but today it was A. Then they wanted to pick some corn. There wasn't a lot of corn left but they were happy with the ears they found. But today their favorite thing to do was pick the the cherry tomatoes. Paw was happy to have the help picking those little fellows, since they consume a lot of time for the little you get, kind of like picking blackberries without the thorns!

When we came inside I had some water boiling, A and O shucked the corn and we placed it in the pot of boiling water. A loves corn, (he told me so), and O won't taste anything that is a vegetable, so she ate some grapes.

Then I remembered something I had picked up for the two of them at the dollar store....black slime. Should I or shouldn't I, that was the question, but with the promise they would keep it at the table, we decided they should experience it. They did seem to enjoy the yucky stuff as it oozed through their fingers and onto the table. Yes it was messy, but they were having so much fun, and I think we made some memories today.

I hope that years from now my oldest grand kids will remember harvesting grapes and enjoying the grape jelly their mom and dad made for them. I hope that O and A will remember picking tomatoes, corn and playing in slime at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They grow up so fast. It won't be long until all my grand kids will be so busy with their own lives that they will hardly have time for grandma and grandpa anymore, but I hope that they look back on these times and remember, "when we went to Grandma and Grandpas house, we sure made some memories"!

Blessings to you,

GrandmaB

Dad's Garden

This spring Sidney decided that he wanted to plant a garden. He looked at all the seed catalogs, made trips to the local farm store, and finally chose the seeds that would make the best plants and produce anyone could grow!
Finally a warm sunny day arrived and he donned his blue denim bibbed coveralls and his worn straw hat and went to work. I watched as he trudged behind the tiller. He found his dad's old stick with the string attached and began to lay out the rows. I don't know why I didn't get my camera and take his picture because for just a moment I thought that it might be his dad out in that garden.

Some of my fondest memories of Sidney's dad were the ones when he was making his garden. He donned his denim blue bibbed coveralls, his worn straw hat, and went to work in the warm fertile soil. It seemed like he was happiest when he was working in his garden. Sidney's dad passed away a little over a year ago. Of course we miss him, but as time goes by, I see him in his son. I'm sure that Sid Sr. is working in God's garden and is as happy as can be. I'm sure that he smiles as he looks down from heaven and watches his son happy working the land.

I WILL PRAISE HIM

This is a little off my usual subjects, however, I feel that I should write this to possibly help someone else should they be going through something similar.
Sidney and I just returned from an 8 hour trip to try to see our middle son, his wife, and their two beautiful children. We hadn't seen them for over two years and that is the way they have wanted it. They had moved and not left any forwarding address. As parents we have tried and tried to locate them only to come up with dead ends....until October, when an unknown person was able to give us an address. I wrote to them.......no answer. Sometimes mail gets lost doesn't it? So....Sidney wrote them asking them for a short reply.....no answer. So, we decided to make the trip.

I had no expectations of what to expect from J or K. Would they be just a little happy that we had made the effort to contact them, or would we be met and told to leave. Unfortunately, the latter was what we faced. Our son met us at our car with anger. He told us in no uncertain terms to go home, have a funeral for them, that they were dead. No amount of talking would change his mind. His wife, along with their two children, stood there saying nothing. K didn't even say hello or goodbye. She stood a distance away with the children and listened as J laid it all out. Anyone could have seen that he was in total control of his family's every move.

The saddest thing of all is how he told us of how happy they are, but their faces and most of all, their eyes spoke of sadness. We were allowed to give the children some small gifts, and were able to give them a kiss upon their heads, and then left.

I came home to research reasons why people would isolate themselves in the way they have, and found that it is a way people who have had alot of stressors in their lives insulate themselves from more hurt. Many people who do this are very educated and have always been searching for answers, but mostly find themselves comfortable if they don't have to be around people. Sometimes they don't feel adequate and feel they don't amount to much.

Both of these people, both J & K are very smart and can do anything they want to do. They believe that God has told them to live like this, even feeling that they are Martyrs. But there is no one torturing them for Christ, they are doing this to themselves. They both have families that would give their lives for them, but they choose to have no contact with anyone from their past lives. No childhood friends, no cousins, no friends from their old youth groups, no brothers, sisters, neices, nephews......no one. Everyone that knows about this says that they would welcome them with open arms if only the blinders would come off and they could see how much they are loved.

Our prayers will continue. I have buried my son (in a sense) but his memory will always be with me. I will go on with my life and obey God in the way He has instructed me. And until that day that he calls me home, I will remain faithful. If God chooses to bring our son and his wife back into a relationship with us I will be forever grateful. If He doesn't then I will have to trust that He knows what is best for all of us and will continue to Praise Him.

If anyone out there reads this and is going through something similar, I would love to hear from you. Maybe we can encourage each other.

Lovingly,
GrandmaB