Grandmothers Say the Funniest Things

All right, what funny things did your grandmother say? I know there's probably something. Some odd turn of phrase or perhaps mispronunciation, something that still makes you smile when you remember. Jackie called her grandmother's wise little saying "grandma-isms." So here are a few of those grandma-isms I gleaned out of your e-mails and comments.

Susan said her grandmother would load down the table with food and then say, "If there's something you want that's not here, just tell me and we'll hunt it up!"

LuAnn's grandmother-in-law said this to LuAnn's husband because he had waited so long to bring his family to visit her. "I oughtta throw you across the yard." 

Sandi says her grandmother was ready with "that'll do" whenever they were "acting up." I heard that one some when I was a kid and know I said it a few times myself. My mom was also fond of "cut the comedy." Her father told her the same thing and she said she got in a lot of trouble once when she told him she would if he'd let her have the scissors. I knew better than to ask for the scissors.

Teresa says her grandmother's favorite saying was that she "loved us all the same." And that she meant it even if she did have 50 grandchildren to love the same. She'd stand at the door and kiss every child who came through the door. 

 Patty used to spend the night with her grandma and no matter the temp outside she would load the bed with quilts. Patty says, "She would have so many of those heavy quilts on the bed I couldn't move! When I thought she was asleep I would wiggle out from under those quilts (not only were they heavy, I was burning up. Summer is way to hot for quilts!) get cooled off and comfortable and then I would hear grandma say "poor little thing is going to get cold" and all those quilts would cover me up! 


It's a fact that grandparents are determined to not let their grandkids catch a chill. My father-in-law used to build up the fire until we'd be roasting and thinking it might be good to go sit on the front porch in the middle of January. But he made sure the "babies" didn't get cold.

My aunt who was like a grandmother to me said "bum" for bomb. Every time I heard her I had to think twice about what she meant. She also liked to say "You'll never notice it on a galloping horse" whenever a seam in something I was sewing wasn't perfect. And when we took sponge baths at her house, she'd tell us to wash as far down as possible and then as far up as possible and then wash possible. 

My other grandmother was famous for saying "Go to sleep. You'll feel better in the morning" whenever any of her children complained with any kind of ache or pain. I've been known to say the same and more often than not, it turned out to be true. One of my other favorite sayings for my kids was "If you don't like, don't eat it." I don't say that to the grandkids as much. I just ask if they'd like a little candy instead. :) My kids have plenty of my oddities to grin about, but if they get to grinning too much, I'll just tell them to cut the comedy and dare them to ask for the scissors.
  
I want to thank all of you for sharing your grandmothers with me. Some shared about loved ones who acted the grandmother role for them. Others of you shared how you never knew your grandparents but that you were making the most of being grandmothers yourself. I always enjoy my giveaways more when the stories come in with the entries. You didn't have to share a grandmother story to enter, but I'm glad a lot of you wanted to walk down memory lane and remember your grandmothers. I also hope you've enjoyed the stories I was able to share forward.

Monday I'll be drawing for the winner of the lilac Grandmother's Bible, so there are still a few days to throw your name in my hat if you haven't already entered. The picture up top is the Bible open to one of the devotionals "The Art of Grandparenting." I'm quite confident that many of you have that art figured out.

Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear something your grandmother said that maybe made you smile.

A Grandmother's Time

A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.  ~Author Unknown

Time - it's been on my mind this week because of Daylight Savings Time. Mom can't adjust to the time change very well because while she's forgotten many things, she hasn't forgotten that meals come at certain daylight times. Manipulating the hands of a clock doesn't change that overnight. And the numbers on a clock mean little to someone who has spent years on a farm ruled by sun time instead of artificially legislated time. My father refused to observe Daylight Savings Time and just did the math when it was necessary to deal with the world.  

Time is also something a grandmother understands well and by the time she has grandchildren, she knows how quickly time slides past. She has walked through the garden of life gathering experience and wisdom. And patience and love. A grandmother is a gift and a joy and for many of her grandchildren, a lesson in fortitude and hard work. Tonight we have a couple of stories that show that. First from R.D.

 
"My grandmaw lived for 98 yrs at the home she went to as a bride at 14. She could outwork most until a few years before she passed away. We all called her Maw. She dipped snuff. Was a tiny little thing. She could tell you about more history in the area than a  book...she would call the area the trail. The Indians would cross that area. Many people found buckets of arrow heads,and artifacts. She picked cotton,had ten children; the youngest (85 now) is still living there and never lived anywhere else. He had 8 kids. Some others had 8-9-10 kids. Some 2. Her only daughter living is 96 and still lives at home with a great mind and still cooks her pintos and fried taters. Maw used to stay with us some growing up. We loved it. She was quarter Indian,and we loved that we were kin to Indians. Maw was so special. We always visited her,(and all our grandparents)but she was the one that I keep in my heart close. She gave me a very ugly whatnot and I’d never been prouder of a gift. It was special to her, thus to me. I miss her."

Holly also had a special grandmother who made it through some hard times. Here are some memories she shares of her grandmother.
 
"My grandmother was a hard working woman who raised 5 children during the depression by herself.  My grandfather passed away when my Dad was only 4 years old. She took in laundry, babysat, and worked however she could in order to provide for herself and the children. I remember her as a happy person who tried to find the good in everything. She knew how to make do with what she had.  I know that she has a beautiful mansion in heaven now!"

The good Lord knew what he was doing when he provided us with grandmothers. Helpers. Teachers. Friends. Dispensers of pure love. 

More grandmother stories are on the way. And if you haven't entered my Scent of Lilacs Giveaway Celebration, you still have time. Just leave a comment here with a way to contact you or send me an e-mail from my website. Great first prize of a Grandmother's Bible. Jocie told a grandmother story on her blog post on her Hollyhill Book that I think you might like. She loved her Mama Mae the way so many of you loved your grandmothers. Please keep sharing your stories. I love hearing them and hope you are enjoying reading those stories I've been able to share forward. 

  Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever.  ~Author Unknown

More Grandmother Stories to Make You Smile

My grandmother always taught me, "If you don't have a home, family, and church, you don't have anything." ~Jennifer Hudson

See the beautiful grandmothers here. At my book event today, I asked the grandmothers to raise their hands and almost everybody there did. Well, there were a couple of guys in the back who didn't. But I love grandmothers. Often when I'm at a book fair or festival, young people will stop at my table and buy my books for their grandmothers. While I happen to think my books are good reading for anybody, I'm fine with grandmothers reading them. And I was fine with having so many wonderful grandmothers come to my book event today. Thanks to all of you and to the rest of you who wanted to come, but too many miles or other circumstances kept you away. Maybe I'll have another book party in the summer when Small Town Girl is released.

Now on to a couple of grandmother stories. The first one is from Diana.

Grandmothers are very special. I only had one growing up. I remember her walking over 20 miles one way to work to support her family. The laundry was done by a wringer washer and I would get to help hang the clothes up on the line. She smelled of peppermint and in the spring her home smelled of fresh lilacs which is also my most favorite thing. When I smell those things I think of her. I have a picture of her, probably one of the last ones taken of her, sitting and reading her bible. O, it is so precious to me. Loved my grandma B so much.

 

Another thing I can remember is as we were growing up she would teach us our ABC's. Only her version was we had to learn them backwards. I must say I never got it. She went to be with the Lord in 1998. But the day she died I had visited her. I think it was the holy spirit that told be to visit her that day. For it was our last time together. Now grandma hadn't really talked at all much in the last couple years of her life. But this day while I was visiting, she said Diana, have you learned you ABC's yet? I said sorry I had not. She said ok let's do this one more time.  I said ok. So she starts to say them and she said them the right way not backwards. My grandma had alzheimer's  for a lot of years. So I know God was there for her to have one good day with us. My grandma B went to be with the Lord that night. I miss her. But I'm always reminded of her in the smell of lilacs and her peppermint candy.

 

Thanks, Diana, for sharing about your Grandma B. I love that you had that last time to get the "ABC's" right, even if your grandmother had to change the way to do that. It's interesting how smells can lure us into the past and take us back to times with our grandparents or loved ones. 

 

Sue has a different kind of grandmother's story, but one I think will make you smile. She said her grandmother had a little trouble with left and right. I was one of those slow learners about left and right too. Who had time to think about all that when there were Jacks games to play? I was really good at Jacks. I did finally start getting the left and right bit straight in the 3rd grade when I got a ring to wear on my left hand. Sue says her grandmother was even a bit slower on the direction finding than me. Here's Sue's story.

 

When I was a kid, my official job was navigator when we took long trips. I would give my grandmother ample warning when we were going to change directions, because she could never remember which hand was left or right, and she told me not to point, that she had it under control. (HAH) So on one trip, after turning the wrong way and looking for somewhere to turn around I got pretty upset and said, LOOK, I'm gonna straighten you out once and for all. Your RIGHT hand is the one you WRITE with and your LEFT hand is the one LEFT over, GOT IT? She said she would be able to remember that and off we went. After another half hour or so, we had to make a turn. I told her way ahead where to turn, so she could think about it awhile. I had told her to go left and sure enough, we went (you guessed it) right. When we stopped to turn around, I got out of the car and said I was just going to walk, I would get there faster. After that, she let me point the way without complaint.

 

Isn't that the best thing about grandmothers? How they make us smile as we remember. I'm sure Sue wishes she could do some more navigating with her grandmother now. So many of you were fortunate enough to live close to a grandmother or to have one of them live with your family for a while. Patricia remembers going to visit her grandmother. 

My grandmother lived on the next farm so it was our custom to run across the field multiple times a day to visit. Nany taught us to make cookies, told us stories, and watched tv with us. She died at the age of 93 in 1990. I think that I will miss her for the rest of my life.

 

And her grandmother will always be alive in her memory. Thanks to all of you who have been sharing your memories. If you haven't entered, there's plenty of time. The deadline for entering in April 1, and we'd love to hear your grandmother stories too, with your permission, of course. 

Setting a High Mark - Your Grandmother Would

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark." ~Michelangelo

Last week I got to proof the pages of my Rosey Corner novel, Small Town Girl, that will release this July. When a writer gets the pages to proof, the book is almost ready for the printer with the pages as they will look in the book. Here you can make minor changes and correct typos and other typesetting errors. It's a writer's last chance before the book is published to make it as right as she can. I never mind doing these edits. To me this is the easy part, the icing on the cake. 

This time it was even better because when I started leafing through the pages to get to Chapter 1, I came across this page 4. And it hit me that this was a dream come true for me. When I first began trying to write for publication, I used to open up books of favorite authors and look at their "Books by" pages and dream of someday having a page like that. And now I do! This isn't all the books I've published, but it shows the books that are in print or soon will be. The list isn't as long as many authors might have in the front of their books, but it's my list. 

When I looked at it last week, I had the feeling that yes, I've been blessed with stories. Blessed to have those stories published. Blessed to have readers who want to read those stories. Blessed to have these books in print. That's what a writer wants. His or her stories to be out there for readers. That's easier now than when I began writing. Then most of us wouldn't have ever imagined reading an entire book on an electronic device you can hold in your hand. A device that can store hundreds of books for you. We thought a book would always need paper and a printer and binder as well as a bookshelf. Now even after the paper copy is off that shelf, it's easy to have the e-copy stay on the electronic bookshelf for readers. That's been true of my Heart of Hollyhill books, but being an old fashioned reader, I'm thrilled to have my Hollyhill books back out in paper for readers too. You can have a chance to win one of those paper Scent of Lilacs books now by checking out Jocie's interview on Margaret Daley's blog. Jocie had fun answering her questions.

Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about the wonderful grandmother stories. In fact, many of the stories you're shared fit right into this theme of setting a high mark for our dreams and goals. Your grandmothers could imagine you doing wonderful things. They dreamed big for you and encouraged you and were proud of your successes. Here's a story from Connie L. about her grandmother encouraging her to use her talents for the Lord.

"What I remember about my grandmother was that she was always singing. I can still hear her singing 'Tell it to Jesus.'  Both my grandmother and my mother instilled a love of music in me. Their desire was that I would serve God with music. I became a church organist, and played at church for many years. Now I sing in the choir, and fill in on the organ when needed. I will always be grateful to my grandmother for her love of music."

When Connie wrote to give me permission to use her story, she said she's looking forward to singing with her grandmother again in heaven someday. 

I'll share more of your Grandmother stories on Sunday. Patricia said it for so many of you when she wrote this after telling me her grandmother story. "I think I will miss her for the rest of my life."

 
Thanks for reading and you still have plenty of time to enter my giveaway and share your grandmother stories. Deadline for entries is midnight EST April 1, 2013. I sent out copies of Scent of Lilacs to two of the winners in my blog giveaway, but one of the winners turned her prize back over for another winner. Pam, you're it. I'll get in touch. 

Smiles, Memories, and Grandmothers

"A life-long blessing for children is to fill them with warm memories of times together. Happy memories become treasures in the heart to pull out on the tough days of adulthood." (Charlotte Davis Kasl)

My book, Scent of Lilacs, was released for the second time March 1 and I'm celebrating. Scent of Lilacs was my first novel published in the Christian market. I'd published thirteen books in the general market, two historical romances and eleven young adult books, but I'd hit a dry spell in my writing before I decided to explore my own background as a setting for story. I came up with a fictional family living in a small rural town modeled after the town where I grew up. I let a lot of the story be told through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Jocie. It's her story, but it's also the town's story. Small Town, America in the Sixties.

I enjoy celebrating a new release by giving away things and if you read my last post you know I decided to give away a lilac colored Grandmother's Bible because of those lilacs in my story. And to make it more fun for all of us, I invited you to tell me a grandmother story when you sent in your contest entry. A story isn't necessary to enter. (You can still enter just by sending me an e-mail from my website or leaving a comment here with a way to reach you. Deadline for entries is midnight EST April 1.) But the stories you readers share with me are always wonderful. Some are touching. Some are amusing. All are interesting. Some of you don't have memories of your grandmothers, but you're having fun being a grandmother. That's good too. The picture is of my grandmother and her sisters. I don't remember this grandmother, my father's mother. She died when I was very young. I think, but I'm not positive, that she is the one on the right on the bottom row. So I don't have memories of her. My older sister does. She was much loved by this grandmother.

That's what comes across in most of your stories. How loved you were by your grandmothers. How much you cherish the memories of time spent with them. And sometimes how much they made you smile. That's where we're going with the memories in this post. To the smiling times.

Most grandchildren love the stories their grandmothers tell me. Mine certainly do. Carla's grandmother taught her the value of telling a good story. Here's what she says,

"My grandmother mostly raised me and there is no one quite like her in this world. When I was a child my grandmother was a great storyteller - she added sound and adventure, included herself, me, or other family members (that is also how she would sing songs, putting names in them). I was in second grade when the teacher asked about our family history - where I raised my hand, told the greatest adventure about covered wagons, Indians attacking, circling the wagons, using guns - pow, pow. When I was done everyone was mesmerized - but this is a story I have heard a thousand times before. Later, the teacher called the house explaining how amazing the adventure was and what a great story - whereas my grandmother laughed, this was just a story but apparently I told it right."

That's the kind of stories I need to be telling. :)

Jim shares this story about a shirt his grandmother made for him.

Granny sewed a lot when I was young and one Christmas I was the receiver of her talent. There was just one problem. She sewed mostly for girls and the shirt she made for me buttoned the wrong way. I was too young to know better so I wore that shirt until it was way too small and then one of my sisters got it.

See, Jim, your granny was just thinking ahead to passing down that shirt.

Last is a story N. sent me. It presented such a wonderful picture of a woman who celebrated life that I asked her if I could share it with you. When she wrote back to say I could, she added a little information to make the story even more meaningful . Here's what N. says.

    "I have countless 'Granny' stories as I was raised by my maternal grandma! This one came to mind because of the lilacs...She loved flowers!
    I recall being on the North Sea coast and that particular Summer, a swarm of lady bugs arrived on the pier. People were stunned and were swiping them off but not Granny. Only barely 5 feet tall, happy to be back in her hometown and wearing the most beautiful flower print skirt, she stood, arms askew, covered with lady bugs and just smiled...and said: 'Is it not grand to be alive?'
   I never forgot the sight, neither did others as people stood there just smiling at her! Her happiness was very contagious I imagine!"

 
Now for, as Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story.  When N.'s grandmother was in the third grade, the Germans marched on her hometown, removed her from school and forced marched her with other coastal residents to a town 26 miles away. N. says her grandmother survived two wars and many hardships but LOVED life!

 

Thank you for sharing your stories with me and I hope you're are enjoying the ones I'm passing along. I have more to share in future posts - some that made me smile and some they brought tears to my eyes. Grandmothers and memories just seem to go together. And since so much of the background for Scent of Lilacs came from my memories, this contest fit the book even better than I at first imagined.

Thanks for reading and don't forget that Jocie is going to announce my blog contest winners tomorrow night on her Hollyhill Book of the Strange post. Thank all of you for your comments this month. It's been fun.

 

 

 

A Giveaway to Celebrate Scent of Lilacs & Grandmothers

Mom with one of her great-granddaughters

Every time I have a new book release or in the case of Scent of Lilacs re-released, I like celebrating with my reading friends. And what better way to celebrate than to give away some things?  

And what am I giving away?

Funny that you should ask since I was just about to tell you. A Grandmother’s Bible. Some of you may remember I did a giveaway with this Bible a couple of years ago, but so many people commented on really, really wanting to win it that I thought why not give another copy away? I’d been trying to think of something that would tie in with my book’s title, Scent of Lilacs. Maybe I should have hunted up a garden catalog and mailed the winner a lilac bush. That would have been neat, but then the winner might have lived in an apartment without a yard. With lilacs on my mind, I remembered that purple Grandmother’s Bible–a very lilac purple. Plus, in the story, Aunt Love is always trying to improve Jocie’s behavior by quoting Scripture to her. Not in a sweet, grandmotherly way, but verses from the Bible at any rate. 

So top prize in my new giveaway is a beautiful lilac leather-bound Bible (NIV) with all kinds of extras for grandmothers to help guide their grandchildren along the right paths in life. Two second place winners will get their choice of one of my books and a grab bag book by a different Christian author. And I haven’t forgotten those of you who say you never win. One by one, we’re changing that. If you tell me you never win when you send your entry, then I’ll enter you in a special drawing for a lilac scented candle and your choice of one of my books. To enter send me an e-mail from my website or leave a comment here. 

Since I’ve got two giveaways overlapping a bit here, you can leave that comment on this post and also scoot in at the last moment for an entry in my blog giveaway. Jocie on Hollyhill Book of the Strange will be shouting out the three winners of Scent of Lilac next Monday on her blog. Thanks to all of you who have made the month fun with your comments. Deadline for entering the new Scent of Lilacs celebration giveaway is midnight EST April 1, 2013. You must be eighteen to enter.

For fun, I invited you to tell me a grandmother story. You don’t have to in order to enter, and a bunch of you have loved telling me about your grandmothers. I haven’t gotten to read all your stories yet, but I will. Meanwhile, I have read a few to share with you tonight with the permission of the writers. So here goes.

First, can any of you top Mary’s grandmother in numbers? She says, “When my grandmother passed away I was one of 101 grandchildren and she also left 103 great-grandchildren. I had 3 more children after she passed and I have lost count of all the cousins and great cousins in the family now. We have started having a Cousin's Luncheon every month, and try to get different cousins to come each month. There are just too many of us to get all together at once.”

Now if they all showed up, they’d have to reserve the whole restaurant and make sure it was a big one. My dad used to look around the table when we all got together and tell Mom “Just look what we started,” and there were only three of us girls and seven grandchildren.

 

Grandmothers can be teachers too as they help us learn as we grow. That’s plain in this story from Jeanne.

“When I was growing up during my teenage years my mother opened a little dress shop and it seems like she was always at work.  We moved to be closer to her shop but since she worked long hours she just didn't feel like cooking when she got home and neither of my older sisters ever leaned how to cook.
My sister's were much older and I didn't like being alone at home so every day after school I would stop by my Gramma B’s little apartment for a "chat." As soon as I told her about "dinnertime" she told me not to worry that she'd teach me how to cook on her old coal stove - you know the kind - the ones that make the best cookies in the world!

During the days and weeks ahead she didn't teach me just how to cook. She also taught me that I had to learn how to do the things I needed to, as she said, "survive in this world." My Gramma taught me the important life lessons and she taught me to not only cook but to also sew. She taught me to be independent but to remember the importance of friends. Most important of all she taught me about tolerance, giving to others and helping those less fortunate. This was all taught me by a woman who had little in possessions or wealth. She taught me from the heart what was truly important in life.

Most of all she taught me to never think badly of others and I remember the day she inscribing in my bible - Never judge that ye be not judged -  and in parentheses after it "Always give everyone you meet a second chance."

I'm 65 now and I only hope that I am teaching my own grandchildren those important lessons as well and spending time in the kitchen with them teaching them how to bake.

That’s the way of grandmothers. Wisdom passed down from one generation to the next along with a lot of love. Some of those who’ve entered say they never had a grandmother, because of distance or death. But all of them have said how much they love being grandmothers now. For the last story this week, we hear from M.

When I was little my grandmother (knowing I liked chocolate) would take me grocery shopping with her. As we came to the checkout counter she would say, "I LOVE Hershey Bars but I couldn't possible eat a whole one. Would you share one with me?" Then she would open it, take one or two squares and hand me the rest. Eventually it dawned on me what she was doing. Even today when I see a Hershey Bar I think of her.  

I’m glad so many of you have loving memories to share with me. I’m looking forward to reading more of your grandmother stories in the days ahead. And if you haven’t entered, please do. Remember no story necessary to enter, but the stories are fun.

Also I’ll have a guest post on "Scattering Hope with a Smile" about Scent of Lilacs giving me "New Writing Hope." Leave a comment there on Jo's blog for another chance to win an autographed copy of Scent of Lilacs. I hope I'm not giving away so many books that nobody will have to buy one! :)

Thanks so much for reading and I hope these stories have made you remember how much you were loved by your grandmothers.