Most of you have probably met Little Grandmother. I out grew her when I was in the 5th grade. :)
...and this is Grandmother's house. Just the way I remember it from when I was little. There's the white car that she drove, and if you look closely you can just barely see Dad's old, blue truck. The two trees at the bottom left were perfect for climbing...and please believe that Grandmother has climbed those trees with her grandkids before. The best part about her house is that it is directly across the street from my parent's house.
The big project for my last visit back home was to take photos at Grandmother's house of the things that I remember most about her house. I thought I'd share a few of those things with you.
This is a photo of Grandmother and my Grandfather that always sat on her bedside table. Isn't she beautiful!?! (No, I'm not picking favorites...my Grandfather passed away before I was born, but I feel certain that had I gotten the chance to meet him, we would have been quite the pair.)
The thing I remember most about Grandmother's house is a book. Uncle Wiggily and the Littletails. Uncle Wiggily is the old rabbit gentleman famous for such lines as "And in the next story, providing our wash lady doesn’t put my new straw hat in the soap suds, and take all the color out of the ribbon, I’ll tell you about Uncle Wiggily and Fido Flip-Flop," which were at the end of each chapter. My brother was always sick when we were little, and while my parents were with him (in and out of the hospital), I camped out at Grandmother's. We read Uncle Wiggily together so much that I had all the stories memorized. The book once belonged to my Dad and Aunt...and looked like it was well loved by them. (This is not a photo of our book, but one from some old website that sold this book for $130.00!!! Grandmother may regret the fact that she gave it to me!!!)
Another famous past time at Grandmother's was a game of
Carrom Rings. We would thump these little rings until we could no longer feel our fingertips! I would also like to note that some of the grown-ups (especially Aunt Amber) were known for cheating!!!
The photo below requires a heavy dose of imagination. This random 'image' in the wood grain used to give me the heebie-geebies when I would spend the night with Grandmother. My 2 year old imagination saw a clown with a tall hat, one huge-Cyclops-like eye, a weird pale nose, a small mouth with a mole above the lip and a very pointy chin.
Could you make that out? No. Oh, well...no one else could either. On to other things.... Did I mention that Grandmother likes to sew? She made all kinds of things: clothes for her grandkids, quilts...I was always amazed at how fast she could go on that machine. I spent many afternoons listening to the hum of her sewing machine while playing in my own sewing box and making 'pockets.'
This little pin cushion was my favorite. I would use the multicolored pins to create more patterns on her dress.
Grandmother also had a curio cabinet in her living room full of untouchable treasures. One of these treasures was a doll that belonged to her mother. I affectionately named her Ugly Doll.
In my defense, I was a little girl and my dolls (with their long, beautiful, brushable hair) were much prettier. I now appreciate Ugly Doll's inner beauty, and am glad that she was freed from the curio cabinet to a much more appropriate home on Grandmother's dresser.
Grandmother used to wear this bracelet when she was a little girl. When she began to outgrow the bracelet, they cut the back of it so that it could still be worn as a cuff. I thought this was the best treasure because I didn't get to play with it, so that meant it was special!
Grandmother and I had the best time that day snapping pictures and telling stories. We went room by room in her house re-discovering the things that made it Grandmother's house to me. And just when I thought I'd seen everything I needed, Grandmother brought out a surprise....
Her wedding rings!!! Grandmother has tiny little hands with tiny little fingers. I spent my entire childhood playing with her jewelry and wearing her rings because they were 'my size'. How could I have lived 27 years without asking about these rings?!?! And just like that, I was 6 again, asking my Grandmother if I could try them on. If only my camera could capture how beautiful and delicate they really are. Thanks, Grandmother. I had the best day!
