A Visit to Granny's House

Sundays, as a child, meant church, formal lunch, and then at 4:00 p.m. (or thereabouts) a trip across town to visit my Granny.  Now if you are my age and remember back in the 60's, then you know 4 o'clock meant Lawrence Welk was on TV.  Granny would greet us at her door with the sound of "and a one and a two" playing in the background.  My Granny loved to dance and was very smooth on her feet.  She was quite musical.  Although I was never lucky enough to hear her, I learned that she also played the harmonica quite well.

On those lazy afternoons, Granny would always prepare a treat for us.  Anything, and I mean anything Granny cooked or baked was delicious.  What amazed me more than the mouth-watering taste was the fact that Granny could not read and so all her dishes were sheer genius in my book!

Granny reserved two doors on opposite ends of her buffet for toys for her grandchildren.  She and Papoo had eight children and 21 grandchildren.  Most of the family still lived in the area and would visit quite often.  So my sister and I sat in front of the buffet with the toy door open wide, playing with our motorcycle and pink pig while listening to Lawrence Welk on the TV and Momma and Granny visiting behind us.

As we got older, we would sneak off to Granny's bedroom, sit on her tufted chair and brush our hair with her matching hairbrush set, just like they did in the movies.  At different times, her bachelor sons would live with her as well in her three bedroom home.  I could peek in their rooms, but never, ever go in.

Off of the back porch, was the old washing machine.  The ringer type.  We would watch Granny operate that antiquated machine with ease and precision.  Her children offered to buy her a new washer and dryer, but she was content with what she was accustomed to.  After washing, she would carry her baskets to the line strung across the back yard.

Further back in the yard were my most favorite memories.  A huge fig tree that we visited every summer and picked to our hearts content so Momma could make some fig preserves.  It was a tradition.  Hot, summer day, coupled with a lightweight, long sleeve shirt, long pants and headed out to Granny's to pick figs.  Why the long sleeves?  I understood the leaves were itchy, so it was a precaution.  I don't know if that was true for everyone, but evidently it was for me.  I'm so special, aren't I?

And the very back of the lot, behind the fig tree was a shed and a chicken coop next to it.  I never had anything to do with the chicken coop, oh, but what was inside that shed,  I had plenty to do with.

My uncle, that lived with Granny, loved to play pool.  So much so, that he had purchased and placed a pool table in the shed.  The older the grandkids got,  they left those buffet toy doors and headed to the shed for several rounds of pool.  Oh the memories!

Next to Granny's house, just a few steps away, was a Tastee Freeze ice cream shop.  Not frequently, but often enough, we were treated to some ice cream there.  Some time before Granny died 22 years ago, that establishment had been torn down and replaced with a popular chain of Mexican fast food.  Granny's house was later rented out and ultimately sold.

Last week as I drove near there, I saw a bulldozer knocking down the walls of the drive-thru.  I was shocked because it is so popular.  I asked around and was told they were going to rebuild.  Whew!  I was relieved.  However, last night, as I was taking my mom to eat after church, I was describing what she was going to see on the left.  As we passed by slowly, in the dark, my mom said, "Elle, I think Granny's house is gone too."  O, my heart sank!  I whipped that car around as fast as I could, struggled to find her street since the landmark restaurant was no longer there, and when we drove up, it indeed had been demolished with only a two foot pile of rubble left standing.  We both burst into tears.  Not able to utter a word.  Memories came flooding back to my mind and I just wept.

I was so thankful for Granny's house and the memories I hold dear.  The love of my grandma, the music, the food, the hard work, the entertainment, the memories of my Sunday afternoons.  I so want my future grandchildren to hold fond memories of me and my home long after I have passed too.

So,  to the little gray house on Garrett Drive, I say farewell.  After all, it was not the building or the foundation, but the woman who lived inside your walls that made it a home and forever a part of my memories.

With a smile and a happy heart,

Elle

A Moving Service

Last night, our youth group entered quietly into the youth room with instructions to turn off phones, be seated and be quiet.  After receiving instructions from our youth pastor, they began making their way to one of five stations.  I was positioned at the "play-doh" station.  Students approached the table, read the sheet with directions and proceeded  to  start shaping the play-doh.  The directions reminded them that sometimes we let things or people or attitudes come before our relationship with God and in turn they can become our idols.  They were asked to use the play-doh to make a model of what it is that is an idol to them that they put before God.  Think about it...what would you have molded?

I don't claim to have seen every mold, but I did repeatedly see three things...cell phones, sports, and stick figures of people, i.e. boyfriends, girlfriends or just friends.  I was so proud of these young men and women for taking this seriously and searching their souls before they began stretching and squeezing their clay.  When they finished with their creations, they smashed the model and placed it back in the can.

Other stations that I found especially moving were the one where you wrote down anything you needed to confess and then shredded it!  No fireplace required:)  Another one said to write on a dry erase board something you need forgiveness for or someone you need to forgive.  Then they used their hands and erased it, just like our loving Father does!

The last station each student went to after completing the other five stations, was at the foot of a wooden cross.  They were asked to write on a slip of paper a burden they have that they want to leave at the cross and let God handle it for them.  They were given a piece of tape and taped that burden onto the cross.  It was quite moving and I was, no surprise here, reduced to tears.

Now you and I both know we don't need to be in a youth group to have this kind of special reflecting time with God.  I encourage you today to go through these steps and see if there are idols in your life, see if you need to confess to our Father something you've been holding back, to forgive someone or be forgiven and lastly to lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus.

Let me hear from you.  I know God is going to doing something wonderful!

With a smile and a happy heart,

Elle

Out of the mouths of ...pre-teens!

This should put a smile on your face.  My 13-year-old daughter came home from school and was complaining about how sore she was from the "conditioning" exercises they were forced to do in P.E.  She said one particular movement was called herpes!  Now, talk about get your mother's attention!  My head spun so quickly it nearly fell off and I watched as she demonstrated the movements.  I am scratching my head and asking repeatedly, "Are you sure it's called herpes?"  Yes, yes, yes.  The answer always the same until her sister walked in and began demonstrating the movement.  I asked her what it was called and she said, "burpees."  Whew!  I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear that.  I then had to explain what "herpes" actually was and I thought their eyes were going to fall out of their sockets.  Oh, I love innocence.

With never a lack of entertainment with my family, yesterday, as we were eating at Olive Garden with my mother, the conversation somehow came around to the term, "waist."  My 12-year-old daughter asked where that was located?!  I said, "Excuse me, you are a banner roll student, and you don't know where your waist is?"  We laughed, of course, but truly I was stunned - even beyond stunned!  Then, it dawned on me.  This generation doesn't  wear  anything within 6 inches of their waist so it's no wonder they didn't know where it was!  Is that an excuse?   Nah!  I can guarantee, we had Anatomy 101 when we got home and then we had a belly fully of laughs.

With a smile and a happy heart,

Elle

An honest look at myself

I noticed something about myself the other night, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  You see, every Saturday, I take my mother to Mass and then out to eat.  This week, my hubby and two daughters met us.  I noticed as we sat at the table, there was a lot of banter between the three of them and I actually found myself telling all THREE of them to settle down!  After countless sobering remarks from me, I took a quick look at myself and wondered where this was coming from.

Looking at my husband and two daughters sitting across from me at the table, laughing, hugging, making funny faces, sneaking food off each other's plates, I wondered why I was so serious.  I love to have a good laugh as much or more than anyone.  Why was I determined to be the stick in the mud?  I looked at them and glanced at Mom sitting next to me.

Then I came to this conclusion:  when I am with Mom and  tending to her needs, which in this case, included choosing something for her to eat and drink, I am honed into her body language and reaction to everything said and done around her.  She can begin to feel very left out and alone if she doesn't understand the topic of conversation, the private little jokes, the muttering, and she begins to shut down.  In an effort to avoid her impending downward spiral, I continually try to nip these things in the bud.  After some self-examination, I think that is where my head was and in my attempt to focus on my mother, I overlooked the special and sweet relationship my daughters have with their daddy.

I spoke with my husband after we returned home and told him why I believed I was so persistent in them "behaving" in the restaurant.  I apologized to him for not quite knowing how to balance my attention on mom's needs and enjoying my precious children's blooming personalities.  He was understanding and knows how protective I am about my mother.

The atmosphere surrounding that meal still haunts me and I continue to try to work through my thoughts and feelings.  I've only been introduced to dementia the last few years so I am a fairly new student in this realm.  I just hope I am a quick study concerning all areas.

With a smile and a happy heart,

Elle

Sticking to my guns

When I last wrote I was determined to set aside time to consistently cook for my family for many reasons:  I love to cook, it's better use of our funds and its a great family time to share my love of cooking with my daughters.

 I went to the grocery store with a list in hand.  I "planned" on cooking Chicken Fried Steak for supper on the night my hubby returned from a week long business trip but he insisted he would "treat" me to a night on the town.  We went back and forth and I finally succumbed to his offer and we went out.

The next morning I was determined!  We would have a home cooked meal on our table that evening if I had to ....well....you get my drift.  As soon as my 13 year old daughter came in from school she jumped right in to help me with preparations.  The dinner was absolutely wonderful with one exception: I am not capable on my own accord nor with the help of a pictorial cookbook for crying outloud to competently make white gravy!  Everything was wonderful except the white gravy.  So thankful for my handy dandy jar of brown gravy in the pantry:)

Another new recipe I was excited to try that night was first introduced to me at our church's small family group.  We meet every Friday and each bring a dish and share our food, enjoy some fellowship and then have a short  interactive bible study.  I really enjoy my Friday nights with my church family group.

This next recipe was made by my friend Sunne and it was a huge hit at family group.  Are you dying to know what it is? Well it's simple, but oh so delish!  I found it in the Pioneer Woman's cookbook and it is called Olive Cheese Bread.  We don't like olives so my bread just consisted of french bread loaf, mayo, shredded cheese, green onions and butter.  When I tell you it was amazing, I am understating the obvious.  It actually tasted like a loaded baked potato to my family.  Next time (and there will be a next time) we will add bacon bits and see how that taste.

Now that I am getting into the swing of things, I got up this morning, a Saturday of all things, and made kolaches for the family.  As I begin to make preparations for bedtime, I smile at the aroma of the pot roast that has been cooking all-day-long on my stove.  I can't wait to serve that for lunch tomorrow after church for my gang of nine.

With a smile and a happy heart,

Elle

One of my priorities - home cooking

I love to cook!  All of my children love to cook!  My hubby likes to cook.  Then why do we find ourselves eating out so much?  Because like so many others, we live in the fast lane and it's all about convenience. I've done it a hundred times - scour cookbooks with good intentions,  make my list, get the family's approval of any new dishes and purchase all my needed items and then,  life happens.  I plan on cooking dinner but then we have a ball game, or we need to go to town  or we have visitors or ....you get the picture.  As a result, I have food that's gone bad in the fridge and hubby is mad that we have wasted money again and I feel guilty for not being a better role model for my daughters - you know the whole June Cleaver syndrome.

So, this year, I am trying earnestly to first and foremost, not waste money.  That may mean not buying a week's worth of groceries but instead buying only a couple of day's worth.  It also requires me to be more organized, checking my calendar for scheduled events.  Even if I do have an event, I could and should still cook and just freeze it.  How simple is that?  

I've been a follower of Pioneer Woman's blog for some time and recently purchased her cookbook.  I love it!  It's interesting, full of photographs of her home and family and more importantly, step by step photos of her dishes.  Do I need that many photos?  No, but it is fun!  I am a visual person and a photographer, so this is right down my alley.  The recipes look wonderful and something my family would love to eat.  

This morning, I opted to try my first recipe from her book.  We went for the infamous, Egg in the Hole.  I have heard of that my whole life but have never seen it in person nor eaten it.  It was easy to make and tasty (what's not to love about the taste of butter).  However, we are fans of the scrambled egg and today was no different.  Yes, we love the buttery toast; yes, we love the flavor of the egg, but we would prefer scrambled eggs.

I've added pictures I took with my phone this morning.  What made it extra special was I was using my momma's old skillet.  Many, many a day she would whip up French Toast in that skillet.  I may try that tomorrow.

So I've made my list for three days worth of meals and I'm heading out to the grocery store.  I'll let you know how my week goes.

With a smile and a happy heart,

Elle

Read more about the Pioneer Woman

Old photos of teacher's gifts

Sweet, sweet wedding

I was so blessed to be asked to photograph this very special wedding. Aubrey is my friend, my brother-in-Christ and my lawyer. LOL. His first wife passed away about three years ago and he is lucky enough to have found love again. Best wishes Mr. and Mrs. White.

Christmas Card that didn't make it to the mailbox

Well as all good intentions go, I wanted to send cards out to friends, clients and family this year. But, alas, I have failed again. So although it is too late to send out, I will include the card here so I won't feel quite as guilty for not getting it done yet another year. Oh and by the way, Happy New Year. I'm only 10 days late!

With a smile and a happy heart,

Elle

Blogging Revisited 2011

It has been on my mind in recent months, to begin blogging about photography, my crazy, fun-filled life, caring for my mother, raising my four great children and being a wife to my sweetheart of 30 years! I hope as you read my triumphs, struggles, doubts, fears and general pondering, it will brighten your day or maybe let you know you are not alone in this great big world. So....here I go, jumping off, once again, into blogging. Wish me luck.....!

With a smile and a happy heart,

Elle