My Great-Grandma was one of the most amazing women I have ever known. I guess I should start at my beginning.
I was born the day after my great-grandparents 50th anniversary. This made it very easy for me to keep track of how long they were married (Me + 50). I know some people don't know their grandparents, let alone their great-grandparents. I am very blessed.
I was homeschooled, so there was some flexibility in our daily schedule. I don't know where the idea came from, I just know that my mom decided when I was little that we would go to the library once a week and then go see my great-grandparents.
So once a week, we went to the library and filled the duffle bag we called the "book bag". We really did fill it. It was big. Then we would go to Great-Grandpa & Grandma's. Grandma always had a pot of coffee on--she made the best coffee in the world, but I think it was the company.
They always had pop in the fridge for us. Great-Grandpa & Grandma knew what flavors we liked and made sure there was one in the fridge when we got there. We knew we had to wait until they asked if we wanted a pop to get one. Once in a while we would ask. :)
Sometimes Grandma would make a cake when we were there. She cut very big pieces because she didn't want there to be leftovers for just her and Grandpa. We always whined if she asked Mom to cut the cake because Mom cut small pieces.
If we got to stay for lunch, Grandma always had great things. She kept the shaped macaroni-n-cheese on hand. Super Mario? Check! Scooby-Doo? Check! Sometimes there would be what seemed like hundreds of TV Dinners. There was a different one for everyone. Once in a while there were personal pot pies--I always took a chicken and broccoli one of those. Whatever it was we were always excited. It would be a treat because we wouldn't normally get it at home.
My great-grandparents always had time to tell us stories from the past. I wrote a biography on Great-Grandpa my freshman year of high school. One of the best things I ever did, because now I have those stories to pass on to my kids some day. My favorite story of my great-grandma is from long ago.
One year Great-Grandpa was working on a barn (I think it was out at a Christian camp not far from where they lived). It was April Fool's Day, and Grandma decided to get the guys good. :) Everyone loved when she made chocolate covered graham crackers, so she did. All the guys tackled them and soon found these were some special cookies. Grandma had dipped cardboard in chocolate. :) What a surprise for them! :)
When Great-Grandpa & Grandma got older and had a hard time getting around, they moved to a nursing home. It was a normal nursing home with two beds to a room. The great thing was that Great-Grandpa & Grandma shared a room. There was a picture on the wall in their room (it is still above the bed that my Great-Grandpa has in the same nursing home). It was from a family reunion we had at their house several years ago. There were pictures of them with all their kids, then ones with their grandkids and kids. The one that I love--that I still cry every time I see it--is the one of just Grandpa & Grandma. They are sitting in lawn chairs in front of their house. Grandma is leaned over kissing Grandpa on the cheek. That picture is a snapshot of their whole relationship for me.
My Great-Grandma went to sleep 3 years ago this week. She didn't wake up. My great-grandparents had been married for 71 1/2 years. There is still a hole in my heart. Some days I miss her so much that I feel like I can't breathe. I keep telling myself how blessed I am--I knew her. But I can't wait to see her again.
That's all I've got. Have a good week. Be thankful for the people in your life.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
The *gulp* Budget
So A and I started a budget this month. So far so good. We didn't fight when we set it up and have only had a couple minor disagreements so far in the implementation stage. :) We are trying to use more cash and save more.
I can see why the book we are reading recommends all cash, no credit. Even our debit card tends to be very easy to use for impulse buys. If I have the cash in my hand it is much harder to buy that *whatever it is*. With a card, I think "Oh, I need this. I forgot to put this on the list," and into the cart or basket it goes.
We are working on it, and this is definitely an eye-opener in how much we spend and where we spend it. Has our savings grown? I'm not sure yet. We will see. I have a busy day ahead of me so I need to get going. As Snoopy would say, "It's a new day. Dive right in!" :) Actually Snoopy wouldn't say that. He doesn't talk. But he would think it.
Next week, memories of my great-grandma. :) TTFN. :)
I can see why the book we are reading recommends all cash, no credit. Even our debit card tends to be very easy to use for impulse buys. If I have the cash in my hand it is much harder to buy that *whatever it is*. With a card, I think "Oh, I need this. I forgot to put this on the list," and into the cart or basket it goes.
We are working on it, and this is definitely an eye-opener in how much we spend and where we spend it. Has our savings grown? I'm not sure yet. We will see. I have a busy day ahead of me so I need to get going. As Snoopy would say, "It's a new day. Dive right in!" :) Actually Snoopy wouldn't say that. He doesn't talk. But he would think it.
Next week, memories of my great-grandma. :) TTFN. :)
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Most Relaxing Place on Earth
Do you have that one place? That place that makes you feel better no matter what? That place that you can go to or even think about when times seem worst, or are most stressful? Mine is the cottage.
My husband's family (first his grandparents and now his parents and aunt and uncle) has owned the cottage for more than 40 years. It is on a lake in Northern Wisconsin and is everything a cottage should be.
The cottage is just that--a cottage. It has running water, electricity, two bedrooms and a fireplace; to be a true Up-North cottage a fireplace is mandatory. It is not a house. It is very small. When all of us (10 total) go up for Independence Day, at least 5 of us usually sleep in tents outside. That is not very easy that weekend; many people go north for the 4th of July and the lake is busy and many people sit up late drinking and listening to music, LOUD music. Sleep does not come easily. Even at midnight people are outside.
The time that is best to go to the cottage is basically any non-holiday weekends. I would love to be able to go during the week when it is even quieter, on the lake and in towns nearby, but that would mean taking time off work. So we go weekends--its still basically free for us.
We drive for an hour and experience a getaway that would be worth a much longer drive. We bring up our food, pick the bedroom nearest the water and sit on the dock and fish. Maybe later we will take out the boat and fish on the other side of the lake. Or we could go for a bike ride to the ice cream shop that is one of our must's whenever we go up. Tomorrow we might go mini-golfing.
Yes, it relaxing. Yes, most weekends it is quiet. There are many fun options for things to do. But why do I love the cottage? Why is it my favorite place in the whole world? There are several parts to that answer.
3. Sometimes getting away, even just a short distance, is the best medicine. I don't know about your family, but I come from a family of chronic hard-workers (I also married one). You can't just take a weekend off at home. Sitting at home all you can think of are all the projects that you should be working on. Getting away, there aren't the stresses of the house and the projects.
2. We have a history there. :) When me and A started dating, I was a chicken. He told me after a month that he loved me. I kinda freaked out and didn't say it back. The next weekend, (my first ever at the cottage) after I met his sister, her husband and their kids, I told A "I love you" while sitting on the deck overlooking the water.
1. There are not many places in the world that are truly quiet. Where you can hear the sound of the water moving in the lake. You can at the cottage. It makes me feel closer to God just being there. It is truly the most relaxing place on earth. Just sitting on the deck listening to the water and the loons. *Sigh* I wish it was summer now.
Well, I'm moving on to the rest of my day. Next week the plan is to talk some about the new budget plan that A and I are starting. So far so good. :) No big fights yet. Hope you have a great week.
My husband's family (first his grandparents and now his parents and aunt and uncle) has owned the cottage for more than 40 years. It is on a lake in Northern Wisconsin and is everything a cottage should be.
The cottage is just that--a cottage. It has running water, electricity, two bedrooms and a fireplace; to be a true Up-North cottage a fireplace is mandatory. It is not a house. It is very small. When all of us (10 total) go up for Independence Day, at least 5 of us usually sleep in tents outside. That is not very easy that weekend; many people go north for the 4th of July and the lake is busy and many people sit up late drinking and listening to music, LOUD music. Sleep does not come easily. Even at midnight people are outside.
The time that is best to go to the cottage is basically any non-holiday weekends. I would love to be able to go during the week when it is even quieter, on the lake and in towns nearby, but that would mean taking time off work. So we go weekends--its still basically free for us.
We drive for an hour and experience a getaway that would be worth a much longer drive. We bring up our food, pick the bedroom nearest the water and sit on the dock and fish. Maybe later we will take out the boat and fish on the other side of the lake. Or we could go for a bike ride to the ice cream shop that is one of our must's whenever we go up. Tomorrow we might go mini-golfing.
Yes, it relaxing. Yes, most weekends it is quiet. There are many fun options for things to do. But why do I love the cottage? Why is it my favorite place in the whole world? There are several parts to that answer.
3. Sometimes getting away, even just a short distance, is the best medicine. I don't know about your family, but I come from a family of chronic hard-workers (I also married one). You can't just take a weekend off at home. Sitting at home all you can think of are all the projects that you should be working on. Getting away, there aren't the stresses of the house and the projects.
2. We have a history there. :) When me and A started dating, I was a chicken. He told me after a month that he loved me. I kinda freaked out and didn't say it back. The next weekend, (my first ever at the cottage) after I met his sister, her husband and their kids, I told A "I love you" while sitting on the deck overlooking the water.
1. There are not many places in the world that are truly quiet. Where you can hear the sound of the water moving in the lake. You can at the cottage. It makes me feel closer to God just being there. It is truly the most relaxing place on earth. Just sitting on the deck listening to the water and the loons. *Sigh* I wish it was summer now.
Well, I'm moving on to the rest of my day. Next week the plan is to talk some about the new budget plan that A and I are starting. So far so good. :) No big fights yet. Hope you have a great week.
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