Afternoon sisters and brothers of the BOC!
This thread will be for the purpose of having regular old conversations about our everyday lives, sharing memories hopes and dreams, or even excerpts from written works you find enjoyable/inspirational. (You know ME, I'm always quoting something :smile2:!)
Hopefully this thread will be a cozy (warm and comfortable) place for all BOC members to feel welcome and at ease, and just be themselves.
Also, anyone who has questions (especially the newbies) about the BOC board, please feel free to post here! I will do my best to provide any answers you may need (and if I don't know, I'm sure someone else will be of assistance).
Here's my contribution for 3/5/08.....
Today would have been my paternal grandmother's 92nd birthday. You may have seen me mention my mom's mom before. Well, my two grandmothers were about as different as night and day, except for the fact that they both were excellent seamstresses. I'm so thankful that they taught me how to sew, it's a skill that is being lost in today's world.
Dad's mom was named Grace, and she had it. Never had much as far as material possessions go, and went through a lot of stuggles in her life - none of that phased her. She was 'bout as country as they come, and I loved her for that.
I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I did Gran T, because my paternal grandparents lived in another town. But occasionally I would pack my l'il red suitcase and be dropped off to spend the weekend. (Mom wanted me to go, but she would wash every piece of clothing I took with me as soon as I got back. Grandaddy smoked cigars. :wink
Grandma Grace was a lot of fun. I'd wake up in the mornings to the sound of the twangiest AM radio station you ever heard in your life.......had to be some of the worst bluegrass and gospel in existence. At least I think so from what I recall, but I didn't like either of those musical genres then :big_smile:. She always cooked me breakfast, usually rounds of Irish potatoes fried in a big cast iron skillet, or gravy and biscuits. Obviously she wasn't worried about the fact that I was a plump l'il kid :roll_eyes:, as far as food went anyhow.
I can remember very well her telling me to "hold my stomach in". I listened, and due to the practice of this technique for years upon years, I can make myself look 20 lbs lighter when necessary :smile2:. Anyhow, that radio station would play, and she would cook, drink black coffee, and dance around the kitchen making me laugh.
One mornin' she left me sitting there eating by myself, and went to do something in the back bedroom (it was ALWAYS cool in that room, even though there was no AC in the house). She had a set of Blue Willow dishes that were her everyday wear. Everything was all quiet, and I was munching on my food......don't know why the music was turned off that particular day. When all of a sudden, BANG!!!
I sat really still, I thought I'd been shot or somethin' and was waiting on the pain :big_smile:! She came runnin' back into the kitchen, looked around, and immediately started laughing her head off.
"You're okay Tanya. Look over here on the floor."
She'd left one of the Blue Willow plates on a stove burner that was turned on by accident, and that thing had blown apart into several pieces, which were strewn out everywhere. For years afterward she told that story, about how I was "white as a ghost" and "sitting like a statue". Said she never saw me look more "peak-ed" unless I was very sick.
Grandma Grace died in her early 80s, suffering from the same conditions my Dad has now, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. She didn't know anything or anybody at the end, and slept most of the time. That was a good thing, because if she was awake she could only cry :sad2:.
I still miss you, my wonderful grandmother. Thank you for helping make me the person I am today.
This thread will be for the purpose of having regular old conversations about our everyday lives, sharing memories hopes and dreams, or even excerpts from written works you find enjoyable/inspirational. (You know ME, I'm always quoting something :smile2:!)
Hopefully this thread will be a cozy (warm and comfortable) place for all BOC members to feel welcome and at ease, and just be themselves.
Also, anyone who has questions (especially the newbies) about the BOC board, please feel free to post here! I will do my best to provide any answers you may need (and if I don't know, I'm sure someone else will be of assistance).
Here's my contribution for 3/5/08.....
Today would have been my paternal grandmother's 92nd birthday. You may have seen me mention my mom's mom before. Well, my two grandmothers were about as different as night and day, except for the fact that they both were excellent seamstresses. I'm so thankful that they taught me how to sew, it's a skill that is being lost in today's world.
Dad's mom was named Grace, and she had it. Never had much as far as material possessions go, and went through a lot of stuggles in her life - none of that phased her. She was 'bout as country as they come, and I loved her for that.
I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I did Gran T, because my paternal grandparents lived in another town. But occasionally I would pack my l'il red suitcase and be dropped off to spend the weekend. (Mom wanted me to go, but she would wash every piece of clothing I took with me as soon as I got back. Grandaddy smoked cigars. :wink
Grandma Grace was a lot of fun. I'd wake up in the mornings to the sound of the twangiest AM radio station you ever heard in your life.......had to be some of the worst bluegrass and gospel in existence. At least I think so from what I recall, but I didn't like either of those musical genres then :big_smile:. She always cooked me breakfast, usually rounds of Irish potatoes fried in a big cast iron skillet, or gravy and biscuits. Obviously she wasn't worried about the fact that I was a plump l'il kid :roll_eyes:, as far as food went anyhow.
I can remember very well her telling me to "hold my stomach in". I listened, and due to the practice of this technique for years upon years, I can make myself look 20 lbs lighter when necessary :smile2:. Anyhow, that radio station would play, and she would cook, drink black coffee, and dance around the kitchen making me laugh.
One mornin' she left me sitting there eating by myself, and went to do something in the back bedroom (it was ALWAYS cool in that room, even though there was no AC in the house). She had a set of Blue Willow dishes that were her everyday wear. Everything was all quiet, and I was munching on my food......don't know why the music was turned off that particular day. When all of a sudden, BANG!!!
I sat really still, I thought I'd been shot or somethin' and was waiting on the pain :big_smile:! She came runnin' back into the kitchen, looked around, and immediately started laughing her head off.
"You're okay Tanya. Look over here on the floor."
She'd left one of the Blue Willow plates on a stove burner that was turned on by accident, and that thing had blown apart into several pieces, which were strewn out everywhere. For years afterward she told that story, about how I was "white as a ghost" and "sitting like a statue". Said she never saw me look more "peak-ed" unless I was very sick.
Grandma Grace died in her early 80s, suffering from the same conditions my Dad has now, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. She didn't know anything or anybody at the end, and slept most of the time. That was a good thing, because if she was awake she could only cry :sad2:.
I still miss you, my wonderful grandmother. Thank you for helping make me the person I am today.