Just yesterday, I was talking to my daughter about my grandmother and sharing some of my memories with her. Imagine my surprise when hellogiggles.com brought up this very topic just today. So I decided to write about her in my blog :)
My grandmother wasn't a huge baker so her house didn't smell like cookies, but it always smelled like grandma's house. Let me explain.
My grandma developed Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was 35 so by the time I had any real memories of her she had tiny, gnarled almost boneless little fingers. Her legs had huge scars from sores all over them and she could not walk without crutches and after a while not at all. Her left foot was soon twisted at nearly a 90 degree angle. Her house was carpetless and she had a wheeled office chair she would sit in at the kitchen table or push herself around the house in. There was a lazy susan on the table with coffee, tea, cream, sugar, Vick's VapoRub and anything else she may need. Now keep in mind this was a while ago so she still had a rotary dial phone mounted on the wall above the table. It was too high for her to reach so she had put a metal hangar on the hook then stretched out the hanger and hung the receiver on the hanger. Later, she would get a wireless phone but my earliest memories were of that rotary phone and that hanger.
My grandma let me cook, I think I made my first scrambled eggs at 5 yrs old. I remember barely being able to see over the top of the stove, with grandma sitting in her chair next to me giving me encouragement.
My grandpa was a gruff, disagreeable old man who was very set in his ways. Not that he didn't love us but he was old-school and was more into tough love and helping to teach responsibility and how to live in the real world. Anyway, this same man remade the downstairs bathroom to create a huge walk-in shower (or really wheel-in) so that it was easier to assist her in her shower.
Even with all the pain my grandmother must always have been in, she never lost her temper, never complained, never bemoaned her fate and yelled 'why me?' She played the hand she was dealt with calm, composure and humor.
So for me grandma's house always smelled like grandma. Love, compassion and Vick's.
Sometimes I can still hear the slap of cards as she played yet another round of one of the dozens of different solitaire games that she knew or the scratch of her pen as she filled out yet another one of her many crossword puzzles.
It's been nearly 16 years since her death and I still miss her now as much as I did then. And I can't help crying just a little bit for myself for all the years that I have been without my grandma.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The 8th Wonder that is Vinegar
The many uses of vinegar:
Freshens your clothes/dishwasher and garbage disposal
Streak free shine on stainless steel and windows (tip: use an old newspaper for glass, it won't leave lint)
Clean rinse for your hair
Deodorizes your microwave and loosens grime
Deodorizes cooking smells (1:2 with water simmer on stove)
It kills germs but is food grade so you can clean cutting boards and your refrigerator with it
Ant deterrent, spray around doors and openings
Removes hard water stains so can be used to clean the bathroom
Removes stains on clothing, can remove smoke smell from clothes and brightens clothes
Can remove the skunk odor from dog fur but you can also use it to spray areas you don't want your cat to go
Use dilute vinegar to clean dog's ears
Can be used to kill weeds but prolong the life of cut flowers and some plants that are acid loving like rhodies, gardenias, or azaleas
Boil better eggs by adding a tbl or 2 to the water
Tenderize meat
Refresh limp vegetables by soaking in water with 1 tbl of vinegar
There are so many more uses for vinegar, it's better than Windex and better for the environment than Windex. Not that I'm bashing Windex because it's a great product. But vinegar is better and cheaper.
Freshens your clothes/dishwasher and garbage disposal
Streak free shine on stainless steel and windows (tip: use an old newspaper for glass, it won't leave lint)
Clean rinse for your hair
Deodorizes your microwave and loosens grime
Deodorizes cooking smells (1:2 with water simmer on stove)
It kills germs but is food grade so you can clean cutting boards and your refrigerator with it
Ant deterrent, spray around doors and openings
Removes hard water stains so can be used to clean the bathroom
Removes stains on clothing, can remove smoke smell from clothes and brightens clothes
Can remove the skunk odor from dog fur but you can also use it to spray areas you don't want your cat to go
Use dilute vinegar to clean dog's ears
Can be used to kill weeds but prolong the life of cut flowers and some plants that are acid loving like rhodies, gardenias, or azaleas
Boil better eggs by adding a tbl or 2 to the water
Tenderize meat
Refresh limp vegetables by soaking in water with 1 tbl of vinegar
There are so many more uses for vinegar, it's better than Windex and better for the environment than Windex. Not that I'm bashing Windex because it's a great product. But vinegar is better and cheaper.
BlogName DoubleEntendre
So, On the Lighter Side has a double meaning for me.
On the one hand, it is a lighter take on things than my other blog DueToInflationMy25Cents. On the other hand, it has to do with my struggle with my weight.
I have been working out for about 2 years now and have been unable to lose any weight, though I am now in better shape. Then, about two months ago, I started a food journal and decided to take a drastic approach to my eating life style. This is technically a diet but since most people now associate 'diet' with a short-term solution, I don't want to use that term to describe my decision to alter my life choices. I don't have anything against the term 'diet' though, I just want to make clear what I am now trying to do. And what I am doing is working. In the 69 days I have been using my food journal, I have lost 23 lbs. I am still working out; strength, cardio, and stretching. I am sooo happy with myself that I decided I should share this and the techniques I'm currently using. I in no way believe that my way is right for everyone but as it has been agreed upon by most that calorie in must be less than calorie out and that is exactly what I am doing I feel that it is one of the best ways to do things. Along with that I am no longer eating fast food or packaged foods. I eat brown rice and whole wheat pasta and whole grain bread. I use several of the new varieties of sandwich thins to hold the calories down even more and eat mostly whole and just steamed fresh vegetables. There is a farmers market in town and as I live in a fairly rural area, I have access to a truly large variety of local, fresh produce.
If I can help anyone else with my story or what I am doing then all the better.
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness
I love this site.
On the one hand, it is a lighter take on things than my other blog DueToInflationMy25Cents. On the other hand, it has to do with my struggle with my weight.
I have been working out for about 2 years now and have been unable to lose any weight, though I am now in better shape. Then, about two months ago, I started a food journal and decided to take a drastic approach to my eating life style. This is technically a diet but since most people now associate 'diet' with a short-term solution, I don't want to use that term to describe my decision to alter my life choices. I don't have anything against the term 'diet' though, I just want to make clear what I am now trying to do. And what I am doing is working. In the 69 days I have been using my food journal, I have lost 23 lbs. I am still working out; strength, cardio, and stretching. I am sooo happy with myself that I decided I should share this and the techniques I'm currently using. I in no way believe that my way is right for everyone but as it has been agreed upon by most that calorie in must be less than calorie out and that is exactly what I am doing I feel that it is one of the best ways to do things. Along with that I am no longer eating fast food or packaged foods. I eat brown rice and whole wheat pasta and whole grain bread. I use several of the new varieties of sandwich thins to hold the calories down even more and eat mostly whole and just steamed fresh vegetables. There is a farmers market in town and as I live in a fairly rural area, I have access to a truly large variety of local, fresh produce.
If I can help anyone else with my story or what I am doing then all the better.
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness
I love this site.
Ethereal
Ethereal is just the most interesting word. It brings to mind the color pink and Zooey Deschanel. Butterflies, hummingbirds and dragonflies. Fluffy baby bunnies and kittens. The fluff that floats on the breeze when you blow on a dandelion head. Being funny without being mean. Being right without rubbing in the fact that they are wrong. Being wrong and admitting it. A babies laughter. Getting someone to laugh so hard they pee...just a little. Getting in to a giggle fit with your siblings (born or earned). Standing in a river with a fly rod, just you and nature. Going on a hike and stumbling across something amazing. Learning that the world has become a little more open minded and fair. Finally realizing that you are amazing just as you are.
And understanding that it comes back to pink, the pink in the sunrise and the pink in the sunset, and the pink that will be there again in the morning at the start of yet another ethereal day.
And understanding that it comes back to pink, the pink in the sunrise and the pink in the sunset, and the pink that will be there again in the morning at the start of yet another ethereal day.
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