My grandmother (Nana) received her birthday package from me yesterday. She lives in Canada and I haven't seen her in about 9 years but I think of her often. She is such a dear one and I have the most wonderful memories of her and Papa... She is an accomplished quilter (she made the hunter green and burgendy for our wedding) and loves to do the most beautiful embroidery! She made a dainty, little tablecloth that the girls use for tea parties in their little yellow house and I am using the gorgeous bluebird one (pictured) on our kitchen table to celebrate Spring. When I was young, we would visit Nana and Papa at their heavenly home in British Columbia. It was unbelievably beautiful, with flowers everywhere, a huge cherry tree, a grape arbor, apple trees and homegrown vegetables. Nana would make the BEST pickles and preserves and serve us "ho cakes" for breakfast on her wood stove. Creamed honey was always one of my favorites and Nana and Papa had friends that kept bees, so there was always lots of delicious honey to go around. I believe they got about 3 TV stations, so we wasted no time on that. Instead, we had bonfires, hiked to the creek, read books and watched family slides in the evening (such fun!). Their cellar was full of books that my Dad and Aunt Rita had enjoyed when they were young and we were always lucky enough to take a few home with us. I still remember the change in temperature as we went down the stairs... It's almost like we stepped back in time as Dad always had stories to tell us from when he was young. How I wish I could go back and take my girls to those special days...
Sounds like heaven minus the cold :o) Sydney has stated it is time to get rid of some of her things to make space for a table to have tea parties in her room!
ReplyDeleteOh I LOVE reading your memories of days gone by. I know just what you mean. It seems like only yesterday, and at the same time a million years ago. Oh what I wouldn't give to just have one more day as a 10 year old out on my grandparents farm looking for fairies in the woods with my cousin until dark....sigh.
ReplyDeleteI drove by their old place the last time I was up home. The new owners (or maybe the next owners... it might have changed hands a few times, who knows?) have a GATE across the driveway, and a big WALL of fence. You can hardly see the place. It made me sad, because it's so different now. But I can close my eyes and see it as it was. I Loved the bookcases in the basement with all your dad's books on it. I think that's the first time I read a Tarzan book, was in the basement, taking one of your dad's books off the shelf. Those old-style semi-hardcover books with the red-edged pages... and right beside them, racks and racks of preserves in glass jars on narrow shelves.
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