My Grandma...

I've been thinking a lot about her lately. Not sure why - maybe it is because my daughter mentioned her the other day. Her name was Irene. I thought I would jot down some simple things I remember about her and a few memories so that my daughters and my sister could know what I remember of her. This isn't all, of course - some things I keep to myself.

Grandma loved to cook. She would call me (just me) occasionally and say, "I've made a chocolate pie, want to come over and have some?" And since she was only around the block, I took off. We usually ate the whole pie between ourselves! We had GREAT conversations over that made-from-scratch chocolate pie. She also made something she called "goulash." Never knew what all was in it - but it was always good!

Grandma worked as a cashier at the local grocery store. That's the only out-of-the-home job I remember her having. She loved animals. Over the years there were horses, cats, dogs and chickens in her back yard.

Grandma taught me how to crochet. She sewed a lot of her own clothes. She rarely wore pants, mostly dresses - unless she was working in the garden. She wore a straw sun bonnet. She had a purse for every occasion. She sometimes had a hard time keeping up with her keys - because she changed purses so much. She wore aprons a lot.

Grandma loved Avon's Roses, Roses perfume. She always smelled like roses to me. She always wore red lipstick and always cleaned her face with Ponds cold cream, nothing else. She loved to powder herself after bathing and throughout the day. She always used the loose perfumed powders and the big "poofs."

Grandma had skin like silk (had to be the Ponds). She went to the beauty shop weekly for a shampoo and set. Sometimes I drove her.

Grandma kept greeting cards for every occasion. She liked to hide things, so others couldn't find them. She'd call me and ask, "do you remember when I put so-and- so?"

Grandma was a member of "the garden club." I never really figured out what they did, except have parties, eat and gossip. But I do remember they always had fun. She always had beautiful flowers - must have been "the garden club."

Grandma liked to hum and sing. She loved to swing in the porch swing under the trees in her back yard. It was one of my favorite places growing up. She had a voice that went straight into your heart. Grandma was soft and feminine. I used to lay my head on her lap and she would play with my ears and hair - I'd go to sleep. This was another of my favorite places.

Everyone loved her. At her funeral, she was referred to as a "deaconess." I believe that was fitting.

Grammie P