my kind of crazy: Grandma Jean

My grandma passed away today. She is only a few months away from turning 97 and has lived such a long great life. I am so glad that she is back in heaven with grandpa and Danna. But it's hard to see her go. My mom was able to get up to see her and be there with her for her last few days and I am so grateful for that. I wanted to write down some of my fondest memories of her so that I have them documented.

The story lady -they would record her reading stories and then kids in Spokane could call the number and listen to her - she was the best story teller!

Swimming - for years and years and years my grandma would go to the pool and swim a mile everyday. I even got to go with her a few times when I was a kid. She was in great shape.

My Fair Lady - every time we would go to grandma's house when I was little I would go down in the "blue room" and watch this movie. The first time I saw it was with grandma and it's one of my all time favorite movies.

Oldies - down in the blue room there was an old 8 track player and we would listen to all the oldies. I know every word to the song "Chantilly Lace".

Snow Skiing - the first time I ever skied was a year we went to Spokane for Christmas. We all went up to 49 degrees north resort and I went ahead up the bunny hill thinking I'd be fine even though grandma told me to wait for her. I of course ate it big time about 10 feet off the lift and I remember grandma yelling down to me from the chair asking if I was ok. Then she came to get me and help me down. She was one heck of a skier. I'm pretty sure I know where my mom gets it from.

Purple - grandma always wore purple and she looked absolutely beautiful in it. I can't see the color purple without thinking about her.

Fairmont Hotsprings in Montana - when we were little we went here with grandma and grandpa over Christmas break one year. It was so much fun! In 2009 I took my kids there when we went up to Spokane and it was exactly the same as I remembered it as a kid. I am very excited that after her funeral we are going to spend a day there.

Red Camaro - grandma and her sports car. She loved driving around in her speedy red sports car. I always loved when she would take me places in her cool car.

Cheerios - when we were little and would go to grandma's house I remember sitting around her circle table and getting to eat cheerios for breakfast. What a treat that was for me. I totally thought cheerios were "sugar cereal" back then and I loved that we were allowed to eat them when we were at grandma's house. And I loved her awesome nook with the circle table.

Chinese Food - my earliest memories of eating Chinese food are all with grandma. She and grandpa would take us out to the Chinese place and order all the food for us and it would come out in several different courses. I never had any idea what I was eating and grandma and grandpa would just serve me up. I still love Chinese food.

Bread & Butter pickles - I know it sounds funny but the only time I ever remember eating them is when we would have a big bar-b-que in her backyard. Grandpa would be at the big outside grill cooking us up burgers and we always put bread & butter pickles on them. They always remind me of grandma and grandpa.

Nordstrom - I love to shop and I LOVE shopping at Nordy's. The first time I ever went there was with grandma. She taught me to love shopping and to love buying nice things.

Pecan Pie - I am allergic to pecans but I LOVE LOVE LOVE pecan pie. I remember the first time I ever had it was at grandma's and thinking I had died and gone to heaven. I will still eat it at least once a year knowing my mouth is going to break out in hives. It's totally worth it.

Heidi said...Another favorite memory for me was that she could make pancakes in whatever shape you wanted. I always loved my Mickey Mouse pancakes!

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