Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Gramma's House

This is the front of the house we visited every summer.

When I was a kid, every summer we drove halfway across the country to visit my grandparents in upstate New York. My dad's parents lived in a little tiny town called DeKalb Junction, and it became one of my favorite places in the world.

Gramma always had lots of goodies ready for us when we arrived. Her freezer would be stocked with ice cream and cookies and black bottom cupcakes. I remember one time sneaking a cupcake and eating it while it was still frozen.

 Beautiful Gramma who was always working in the kitchen.

Gramma had white wicker furniture on her back porch and I loved to sit out there and pretend that it was my house and that I had guests over.

Grampa had a riding lawn mower, which was such a novelty. I remember watching him mow their huge yard, and the smell of the fresh cut grass.

 The huge yard

We always slept upstairs at Gramma's house. There was one room that we slept in that had weird shadows at night. I remember laying in bed with my sister and making shadows on the ceiling with our hands.

Grampa always made us homemade ice cream when we visited. It seemed to take forever as we waited and waited for the ice cream to firm up. Then he'd call me and my sister into the kitchen and we'd get to eat it straight off of the beater.

Gramma took a snooze almost every afternoon on her couch. She'd stretch out her legs and sometimes would put a homemade afghan over them. Sometimes I would sneak in and watch her sleep. She looked so beautiful.

One time Grampa chased me all around their house with a squirt bottle. I was in high school, and screamed like a little girl as he shot me with cold water.

Gramma sometimes let me and my sister play with her old lipsticks. We would stand in the bathroom and make kissy faces at the mirror and think we were the most beautiful girls in the world.

 The bathroom where we'd put on Gramma's old lipsticks.

Gramma and Grampa's house always smelled like coffee. Grampa drank his black but Gramma put lots of cream in hers, and once in a while she would let me have a sip. I thought it tasted so awful, but I loved it when she shared it with me.

 One of many coffee cups.

Grampa had a leg brace that he would take off in the evenings. It looked like a leg sticking out of his shoe. I thought it was one of the coolest things ever, and when nobody was looking I would stick my foot in his shoe and try to walk around with the brace hitting my leg mid-thigh.

Grampa without his "leg" on.

I haven't seen my grandparents in nearly 8 years. Way too long. I am thankful for technology though, so we can video on the computer once in a while. And we can talk on the phone, and write letters. But sometimes, I miss them so much that it hurts.

1 comment:

  1. It's funny what you remember. It's different than what I remember. :)