"Grandma-isms"

  It seems like ever since my grandma passed away last January, I find myself repeating some things she used to say to my brother and I when we were little. 
  When I cook and it seems like it takes "forever" for a pot of water to boil I find myself saying "a watched pot never boils", my grandma bestowed this wise observation on me when I was just learning to cook.  For the most part it definitely feels true.
  Our 2 pugs are "our children".  Our youngest pug Lilly (she's 3 years old), besided she wanted to play instead of go to bed at around 11pm last night.  My husband had to work this morning so he went ahead and went to bed.  With my husband and other pug in bed, that left me with Lilly.  Lilly decided to run circles around the first floor of our house while i chased her in hopes of tiring her out.  Yeah right!  Lilly then raced into the kitchen and quickly started to kick her bowl into the oven, making a loud "BANG" sound , meaning she had worked up an appetite now!  I gave her just a few kibble to satisfy her (this usually works, then she goes to sleep).  Well my plan didn't work this time.  It was now just after 12 a.m. and she was demanding to go outside, we don't have a fenced in yard, so this means of course that I have to walk her outside.   Lilly does her "business", I bring her in.  I picked her up and sat her on my lap for a little bit (which usually calms her down), no luck.  She jumped off my lap and started yet another race around the house complaete with and occasional toy tossing.  Now, we were looking at 2 a.m and thats when my grandma's wisdom again came into mind.  I looked into Lilly's face and told her "I love you, but I don't love your ways".
   "I love you but I don't love your ways" was always used by my grandma when my brother or I (usually my brother) got into some kind of mischief.
  It amazes me how much impact just one person can have on your life and how things can get repeated through the generatiions.

P.S  Lilly did finally calm down just after 2 a.m.

Strange things are happening!

  Strange things are happening around our house lately!  My grandma passed away this past January 23rd in California.  I was extremely close to my grandma, I called her and my grandpa at least once a week without fail, and saw them at least once a week before I moved to the Midwest.  I spent most of the last 2 weeks of her life by her bedside, I returned home 4 days before she died (she did not want a funeral), the last day I saw her was the last day she was awake, and she knew who I was (she suffered from Dementia), I feel like in way she was waiting for me.  The last thing I said to her was "I love you Grandma" and gave her a big hug and kiss on her cheek.  I looked at my Grandma's face, and she had tears rolling down her cheeks.  My Grandma looked at me and said "I love you too".  "I love you too" were the last words I heard from my Grandma!  I couldn't have asked for more!
  The strange things that are happening, started after her death.  It was very early in the morning one day when I heard her voice.  I woke up so startled that I woke my husband!  I could swear I heard my Grandma say my name into my ear so clearly, like she was standing right next to me!  It was a weird feeling that both startled and soothed me at the same time. 
  A few days later, I was looking through a desk drawer and found a photo of my Grandma and me and realized it was the last photo we ever took together!  Later that same day I found some Christmas cards that my husband had just "stuffed somewhere" instead of throwing them away last Christmas, and one of them was signed by my Grandma and Grandpa (that's definitely a keeper!)
  Another thing is that it seems everytime I turn around I see things dated with her birthday like, documents, used checks, old receipts etc...These all feel strange o me.
  The strangest thing is, my Grandma's favorite flower was "Forget me nots".  We've lived in our house for almost 7 years and have never had flowers in our backyard, just grass and a tall bush.  This past weekend I was in the backyard, and saw something that made my jaw drop and brought tears to my eyes!  We have a whole bunch of "Forget me nots" growing all along the bottom of the back wall of our house!!
  I told you strange things are happening! 

  What do you think?




Forget Me Not
Forget me not, for I am there
In the beat of your heart,
On the wing of your prayer.

Forgive me my parting and leaving you thus,
A joyous reunion is waiting for us!

Continue to strive toward your goal and be brave.
Know that my love didn't stop at the grave.

My spirit is with you through good times and bad.
I share all the joys and the sorrows you've had.

Feel my presence within your next breath
And realize there's no distance in death.

Ask for my help and I'll answer your call.
Reach for my hand when you stumble and fall.

Run the last mile with a smile on your face.
My arms will be waiting when you finish the race.

Always remember, my love is right there
In the beat of your heart,
On the wing of your prayer.


~© Linda Shelburn Reagan~

Grandma would be proud!

While going through some things in my kitchen yesterday, I stumbled upon my Grandma's recipe for bread pudding! Once I found the recipe, I just couldn't get it out of my head! So what did I do? I read the recipe, then quickly got the ingredients out of my cupboards (I was lucky I had the ingredients, because I really didn't want to go to the grocery store). The result of my efforts was the most delicious bread pudding ever! I want to spread the "deliciousness" so here is the recipe:


Grandma's bread pudding:

2 slightly beaten eggs
2 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups 1 inch day-old bread cubes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins (optional)


Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in bread cubes. stir in brown sugar and raisins. Pour mixture into 8x1 3/4 inch baking dish. Place pan in larger shallow pan on oven rack; pour hot water into larger pan 1 inch deep. Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes or till knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Makes 6 servings

Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!