Chronicles of Nana

 

 

IN LOVING MEMORY

OF A FABULOUS GRAM

26 November 2007

 

May Heavenly Father wrap His loving arms around her

and care for and comfort those who mourn her loss…

She will be greatly missed.

 

Dearest Gram,

On behalf of our grandaughter I pledge to you my constant love to be heaped upon her and your son. Until we all meet again as family, know you will be greatly missed and I shall keep our kinship and friendship always close to my heart….save a seat on the bus for me!!

Nana

Well………..it has come and gone for another year. The calm before the storm at Thanksgiving time…when peace is broken by the realities of the impending holiday season and the Mall mania that begins with a fuller than normal stomach. This year’s shopping celebration seemed to start earlier than most. I saw Christmas or holiday decorations in the stores before Halloween….

 GETTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE…?

Not only do we need to be politically atuned to correctness concerning this sacred “holiday” season but we face the commericalism way before the spooks come out at Halloween. Like so many, I braved this year’s Black Friday, with thousands of others. It started at twelve midnight at most of the Malls. We elected to miss that adventure. Instead, we watched the mayhem on televisions as thousands rushed the Malls bent on bargain basements prices for a handful of carefully selected loss leader merchandise.

ARE WE NUTS….PROBABLY!!

My daughters and I have made it a custom to wake up early on Black Friday and cruise certain selected stores. This year we started at five in the morning…hitting a non electronic store an hour after it already opened. To our surprise we still receive a free snow globe as we entered to buy clothes. The parking lot was crowded but as fate would have it, we spent out time looking for treasure in relative quiet and calm. This place was organized and ready for the onslot, the cash registers were humming and the helpers plentiful and helpful…

BIG BOX BRAVERY….

Once our mission was accomplished there, we braved the big box store across the parking lot. We waited until all in line entered and slowly saundered into the main doors. Once out of the potty, I stayed close to the check stands as my daughter plundered through the store. With walky-talkies I heard one daughter tell the other that she was being held hostage in the toy department by a bunch of shopping carts in grid lock. My other daughter told me to stay at the checkout as she attempted a rescue!

We managed a few other stores that carried nothing that plugged in or tuned out. It was mildly sane…by nine we were in line at a local coffee shop for fuel up time. Ironically our longest wait was here…the masses were getting surly and the bellies were grumbling!

GOING WITH THE FLOW…?

The rest of the day we did not necessarily go with the flow..we shopped the stores where the crowds did not. And we trudged home with our booty, satisfied that we survived and just about completed our holiday list. We liked being together and laughing about how serious people can become at this time of year…

Of course, it helped that most of us had already done our shopping online..in our jammies cuddled up with the morning newspaper…

There just was no pressure and even less stress..

I can’t remember when shopping has been more pleasurable or nearly completed before December 1st.

Maybe this year I will actually enjoy the holiday..and remember the reason for the season!!!

As the world turns…there are definitely times when you want to stop the train and get off! When did busy get to be too much…we have the same time our ancestors did…they seemed to handle it just fine….

STRESS TEST…

How did they manage with the life stress so long ago…were there stresses then? Have we become just a bunch of couch potato whimps..? Maybe…..

BURY THE BURDEN…

There are times I feel I am wearing magnifying glasses…everything is close up and very personal, even the trials and sorrows of those around me. There have been times I have literally pulled my blanky over my head and determined not to come out until it’s over…

“IT’ IS NO GOOD…

What is IT?..IT is just too much! We pound It out at the computer, we see IT on the news, we hear IT from the neighbors or pulpit on Sunday, or we read IT in the barage of mail that fills up our mailboxes each day.

It seems like we breathe IT, eat IT, Digest IT, smoke IT, and sleep with IT restlessly….give me drugs!

MONEY TO BE HAD…

People are making plenty of $$$ off of IT. Products are being manufactured to relieve IT. Studies have been made to examine IT.

I don’t know..it’s just stressing me out!

 

The Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving

By Edgar Albert Guest 1881-1959

 It may be I am getting old and like too much to dwell

Upon the days of bygone years, the days I loved so well;

But thinking of them now I wish somehow that I could know

A simple old Thanksgiving Day, like those of long ago,

When all the family gathered round a table richly spread,

With little Jamie at the foot and grandpa at the head,

The youngest of us all to greet the oldest with a smile,

With mother running in and out and laughing all the while.

 

It may be I’m old-fashioned, but it seems to me to-day

We’re too much bent on having fun to take the time to pray;

Each little family grows up with fashions of its own;

It lives within a world itself and wants to be alone.

It has its special pleasures, its circle, too, of friends;

There are no get-together days; each one his journey wends,

Pursuing what he likes the best in his particular way,

Letting the others do the same upon Thanksgiving Day.

 

I like the olden way the best, when relatives were glad

To meet the way they used to do when I was but a lad;

The old home was a rendezvous for all our kith and kin,

And whether living far or near they all came trooping in

With shouts of “Hello Daddy!” as they fairly stormed the place

And made a rush for mother, who would stop to wipe her face

Upon her gingham apron before she kissed them all,

Hugging them proudly to her breast, the growups and the small.

 

Then laughter rang throughout the home, and, oh, the jokes they told;

From Boston, Frank brought new ones, but father sprang the old;

All afternoon we chatted, telling what we hoped to do,

The struggles we were having and the hardships we’d gone through;

We gathered round the fireside. How fast the hours would fly-

It seemed before we’d settled down ’twas time to say goodbye.

Those were the glad Thanksgivings, the old-time families knew

When relatives could still be friends and every heart was true.

 

Dear Loved Ones…To all the family near and far I send my everlasting love and best wishes for a safe and thankful holiday season. I send my hugs to all…you are greatly missed! Go ahead and gobble, it’s just one day!!

Nana

Thanksgiving is just about everyone’s favorite holiday…at least for the older folks. It is a time for genuine reflection of the past and the many blessings that have come our way. It is a time to gather family and feast beyond endurance. As Martha says…it’s a good thing….

OVER THE RIVER….

It used to be that Grandma’s house was the place to gather but not so much nowadays . Alot of families have opted to dine together in a public restaurant so as to avoid the hot steamy kitchen and the days of planning that are required. Perhaps…Grandma’s just have wised up!

THE HARVEST…

The modern world does not put much thought into the blessings of the harvest…we have all become city slickers!! But the past dealt with farmers whose yearly toils depended upon a beneficial harvest. Once the crops were sent to market or painstakingly stored in the cellar families would gather to celebrate the start of the great earth’s sleep for a season. So..put with the founding Fathers and the pilgrim story Thanksgiving touched most everyone working the farms.

PROGRESS…?

Modernization aside, I am sure there are still small towns America out there that still welcome the end of the harvest with local events that surround the demise of the planting season. Remaining remnants of squash, goards, pumpkins and homemade jams and jellies dot the fruit and vegetable stands along side the country roads. Small town harvest celebrations occur through out the nation… still.

ROOTS BOUND…

These events bring us back to our roots…no pun intended here. But, nearly all of us come from down to earth ancestors (pun intended)! Farmers have and continue to plant the fields of America. I find it remarkable that the bread basket of our nation can feed the world…and satisfy hunger.

As advanced as we have become, it is interesting that we still depend upon Mother Earth to keep us feed …therefore Thanksgiving is an important holiday…

Let us remember our roots and give thanks for our many blessings…like super markets, convenient foods and pre-plucked turkeys!!

May His gentle hand guide you through the coming New Year…

The spooks have been put to bed in the graveyard for another year. The trees yellow hues have turned ugly brown and leaves are blowing in the wind. We have fallen back in time and should be feeling more rested when the morning alarm goes off…The heart beat of mother nature is slowing down and soon we anticipate the dawn of winter as the earth sleeps.

SEASONS OF LIFE…

I love the seasons…such a definite display of routine. There is something stabling about natures seasons as they turn on earth. As they pass one into another…there appears a new beginning, a hope for something different and a desire to bring out the new toys and put away the old. How well do you remember your childhood..? Time could stand still then…a child can capture a moment and live within it forever..or until Mom called you in for dinner!

CHILDHOOD…

I strain now to remember those moments in my childhood. The passage of time and experiences, good and bad, have fogged my memory. Do you remember when you tried a new food for the first time..? I once tasted sourkraut…it smelled awful and tasted worse. Still does…

I remember when margarine was a white colored block and was packaged with a button of yellow dye that one had to stir into the mix to make it look like and taste like butter…it didn’t! I remember powdered milk and when one added cold water and stirred forever it would taste just like it was from the cow…it didn’t! Then there was the liquid concentrate for milk and added to the powdered milk would taste like the real thing..no way!

REMEMBERING MORE…

I remember going to school in the only school in town where the elementary, intermediate and high school students attended together all under the same roof. The big kids seemed sooo big then…I was one of those students who had to learn to dive and duck under my desk during an attack drill. I’d bring my lunch to school in a paper bag and the tuna would melt to mush and the cookies tasted like melted tuna..ugh!

ADOPTED GRANDPARENTS…

I lived in an area of sporatic houses…before the suburbs were. Across the street resided an older couple who many times became my sarogate grand folks. They had a pig farm….no I mean, a really big pig farm! Those pigs were humongus, I could not see over their heads! Pigs are dirty, messy and noicey,,,they did not become my favorite thing. However, I spent alot of time with these dear folks. They lived in a one room farm house and it took then years before they finally built on a private bedroom. Outside stood a walk-in freezer and I thought it to be a marvel. Who would have such a thing..? But, of course, it was for the pigs that were periodically butchered and I carefully avoided watching.

I grew to love the little farm lady, Pauline. She was from the Chech Republic, probably driven out by the turmoil there during an earlier time. She was plain looking but she could cook and bake like a professional chef. Every time I walked into that one room house I would be hit with sweet smells of something wonderful baking in the woodstove oven. It was heaven…and she became the grandma I never had.

THE INVASION OF PROGRESS..

As with the seasons, time marched on and ‘progress’ invaded my small town. The pig farm and that great freezer became history and Pauline and Walter now rests in peace down from my Mother’s grave. The town is not the same, of course, but there are times in my mind travels that I harken back to what was.

I am sure I will amble along about this again…back to a time long gone to things only I can remember. The mind is a great storage vault that contains treasures of the past.

One day I will  see Pauline and Walter again..to embrace them with my tears and gratitude and love.

Thanks for the memories….and being there for me!!

My Mother was a great cook. I don’t know if it was her upbringing or just good old yankee ingenuity but she could make anything taste good. Perhaps she learned her skills while she served as a domestic for a wealthy family in New York. She had to be good, because she married my step-dad and had to learn how to be a southern fried cook and mastered it very well. Takes a good cook to master a great southern cornbread…

GOOD EATS…

Needless to say, once she married the southern plowboy her yankee culinary roots got buried to produce the southern way of eating. However, now and then she would rustle up some really good stuff. Marconi and cheese, chicken and dumplings, potato salad and baked beans were some of her favorites. Her holiday meals were marvelous to the point one really had to push themselves away from the table.

She was a volunteer room mother at my school for years and she would paintakingly take on the challenge with great determination. I remember her spending hours decorating holiday cupcakes with green leaves and cinamon candies to look like Christmas wreaths. I believe she invented the original snowballs…round scoops of vanilla ice cream rolled in coconut and decorated with green holly leaves and red berries!

SHE CAN CAN…..

There was one canning season that she tried canning brandied peaches.. it was her first and last attempt. She spent all day in the hot kitchen and by evening’s dawn she was looped higher than a kite. It would have made a good Lucy episode for sure!! She decided to stick with the customary canned peaches and string beans with bacon!

My step-dad built a pump house next to the garage. At each harvest passing would be a freezer filled with butchered meats and shelves filled with beautifully canned fruits and vegetables. Those were the days when food storage was a real necessity…

FAVORITES PASSED ON…

I have passed down a few of her recipes and I spent years doing some canning myself…it’s hard work. Nowadays I stick to making fruit jams and syrups to be past around to family. We live far away from the produce laden valleys of California now. I surely do miss being near all that great produce.

It may sound corny(no pun intended) but I am missing the fruit laden fields of home…

I had a good and fun experience last week. I and my yard became the service project of some of my grandchildren. I called my daughter-in-law to enlist the help of the grandkids to help rake my yard of all the accumulated autumn leaves. Now that we have a fenced in back yard we are left with piles of leaves that have no where to blow by against the fence…

SEASONS CHANGE…

Last week I was admiring all the golden leaves as they clung to the tree branches and this week they have all turned brown and fallen to the ground. Our home is situated on the hillside more than halfway up the mountain, thus we normally get to pick up the blown garbage that comes down from the hill…it is so with the leaves.

SETTING THE SCENE…

So…it was a warm, windy day when my grandkids piled out of the car with rakes and garbage bags in tow to chase the floating leaves about the yard. I must say such a chore is so much better done by more than one person! In no time the leaves were piled up mile high and stuffed into the bags. Once tied securely, the bags became the trampoline for the littlier ones. I now have several squashed leaf bags sitting along side the garbage cans.

THE REWARD…

I wanted to reward the children with  money that could go toward their Christmas shopping, but Mom said that she wanted her kids to learn to serve others. Understanding that… I dumped the left over Halloween candy bowl upside down and told the kids to have at it!!

Such a little payment to see the grandkids all working together….and having fun as well! It would have taken hours for me to complete this job, instead I was able to sit on the stoop and watch… and have one or two grandkids come over to me and say..I love you Nan!

It was a good day….

I sat upon my computer perch watching a snow storm accumulate upon the tops of the mountain. Tomorrow the white stuff will glisten in the daytime sun. It is Sunday… and I have returned from  my daughter’s church to see our youngest grandaughter sing in a children’s program. Since we have very early morning church, it was nice to sleep in alittle more and have more time to put myself together….as one gets older that does take more time!

A SLOWER PACE TIME…

I like Sundays where we live. It, somewhat, reminds me of Sundays long past. When the town buttoned up for the day and nearly everyone was at a church giving their gratitude to Heavenly Father. Life becomes slower, the pace easier and family and friends gather…it really can be a day of rest!

Since our immediate household holds two full-time employees and a full-time student who work five days a week, Saturdays become the “go get it done” day and Sunday is so appreciated as a day of rest and reflection. Weekends go too fast!!

THE CHILDREN SPEAK…

So we sat in church watching the little children heartily sing their songs and intently listened to their messages, sometimes spoken so softly that only Heavenly Father could hear….that’s okay He was listening! I love watching the little children sing….loud at the good remembered parts and alittle apprehensively during the long lost words of the other parts! Their faces illuminate their innocence, eyes wide, wide open and smiles that sneak in between the words….

FOLLOW THE CHILDREN…

It is said that one should become like little children to know Heavenly Father… today’s theme concerned faith. Faith is not always a tangible thing and life is hard and does at times test that faith. I know…because in my weakest moments I struggle…

Here, I am an old Nana with vast experience in life and I learn at the feet of little children whose faith is unrelenting and pure. They are life’s treasure..you know. Like puppies, they grow up and have to weather the storms that life’s passages bring…I hope life does not steal away their childhood and dreams. I hope parents realize the importance of their mission in bringing forth strong, righteous and faithful men and women.

However, for now I will enjoy the wonders of children and their innocence and the sounds of their sweet voices lifted up in praise of Him…

It’s been a renewing and good rest day indeed!

Well, have you seen the latest interview with political candidate John McCann and his mother..? Another case of open mouth and insert knitting bag… for sure! I guess you take a chance bringing dear ole mom along for the political ride without suspecting she just might open her 95 year old mouth and tell you what she really thinks…

MORMON BASHING…

Seems candidate Mitt Romney was the focal point of critcism this time. Commending Romney’s turn around of the Winter Olympics with all the financial and scandalous operations associated with it, Mama basically lumped all Mormons as the cause for the problems. Could be some truth to that, however, a national televised comment of such does not bode well for Mr. McCann campaign for president…

WHAT’S A PERSON TO DO…

In hind sight, one can say McCann was the soft spoken dutiful son allowing mom to speak her mind. But for all his Mormon neighbors just north of the Arizona border..he just stepped into some pretty messy do-do! I don’t know what kind of damage control he plans to take to smooth the ruffled feathers of his Mormon friends…

However, I do suggest next time he leave Mama home to tend to her own knittin’…

Bigotry has no place in winning votes!