It's been snowing here off and on all week, but the last three days we have gotten about a foot of snow. It's so rare for here. Esther and I have talked a couple of times a day-- sometimes I call her and sometimes she calls me. If she's got something on her mind she calls me. She's had a lot on her mind yesterday and today. Yesterday she said that she didn't want to go out anywhere and the way she was going to enjoy it was to "pretend that I am in jail".
This morning she wanted the phone number to the Post Office (two blocks away) so she could call them and tell them not to deliver her mail until she calls for it. (To get her mail she opens the door and reaches into a little mailbox mounted on the wall about 6" away from the door opening.) She also said that the snow was deep and Jerry needed to bring a snowshovel on Christmas Eve when he comes to get her. Then she said that she was skipping Christmas Eve altogether and she'd "just see you next year", meaning next Christmas. Of course, she's not getting off that easy.
Monday, December 22, 2008
That's not lemon juice
One time Dale and family were visiting us and some of us decided that we would go out to the Columbia river gorge and go hiking. We went out to Eagle Creek trail and Grandma Esther decided to come along. We all grabbed little day packs to bring along with us and Grandma grabbed a plastic lemon juice bottle with a string tied around the top as a "strap".
The trail starts out pretty flat but goes up very quickly as you hike past a tall waterfall. There's one place where the trail is at the top of a 100 foot cliff and there is a cable to hold on to for safety. Grandma had been getting a little thirsty and sipping from her "lemon juice" as we were hiking. When we got to the cliff she didn't feel it was necessary to hold on to the cable. I was hiking behind her and grabbed her shirt and pulled her back at least once to keep her from falling off the cliff.
When you get to the top of the waterfall the creek makes a nice pool and there is a smaller waterfall that some of us were jumping off. Grandma was feeling a little warm so she decided to wade a bit in the creek which is only about a foot deep but has a lot of slippery stones in it. When she got out to the middle of the creek she slipped and ended up sitting in the creek, she wasn't too happy about that.
It was about this same time when we discovered that she had brought along some homemade wine in her lemon juice bottle.
The trail starts out pretty flat but goes up very quickly as you hike past a tall waterfall. There's one place where the trail is at the top of a 100 foot cliff and there is a cable to hold on to for safety. Grandma had been getting a little thirsty and sipping from her "lemon juice" as we were hiking. When we got to the cliff she didn't feel it was necessary to hold on to the cable. I was hiking behind her and grabbed her shirt and pulled her back at least once to keep her from falling off the cliff.
When you get to the top of the waterfall the creek makes a nice pool and there is a smaller waterfall that some of us were jumping off. Grandma was feeling a little warm so she decided to wade a bit in the creek which is only about a foot deep but has a lot of slippery stones in it. When she got out to the middle of the creek she slipped and ended up sitting in the creek, she wasn't too happy about that.
It was about this same time when we discovered that she had brought along some homemade wine in her lemon juice bottle.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Trip to Canada
I don't remember very many details of my childhood, but a few a just priceless memories. When we took our family vacation to Canada we took with Grandma and Grandpa Swertfeger. I remember Grandma in particular drinking a beer, but it was in a brown paper bag so no one would know that she was drinking a beer.
Also on the same trip Grandma decided that Grandpa's nose hair was too long. As we were driving down the road she whips out a pair of scissors, not tiny scissors, we are talking 8 inch scissors and proceeds to trim Grandpa's nose hair.
Also on the same trip Grandma decided that Grandpa's nose hair was too long. As we were driving down the road she whips out a pair of scissors, not tiny scissors, we are talking 8 inch scissors and proceeds to trim Grandpa's nose hair.
Housekeeper
In May of 2007 for Elizabeth's baptism, we had a lot of family come to visit us in Utah. I spent so much time making sure the house was clean and presentable and organized, except for my sewing area. As we were showing all the house Grandma Esther makes the comment "Someday I hope you can afford to hire a housekeeper."
You've Had Enough. Time to Go.
In 1999, right before Elizabeth was born, Veronica and Zoe made tiny heart shaped sugar cookies (1 inch across) for Dad. He ended up bringing Grandma Esther with him. Dad got to work right away and when he was finished he sat down with the girls to have cookies with them. He had ONE cookie and Grandma Esther said, "You've had enough. It's time to go." Dad just smiled, thanked the girls for the cookies, and gave them hugs.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Which one of you is Miss Piggy?
For Christmas one year my dad sent Lee and Esther a copy of John Denver and the Muppets Christmas album. When he called to wish them a Merry Christmas they talked about how much they enjoyed the tape and how good it was. They just had one question, which one of us had done the voice of Miss Piggy. Apparently they thought that WE had recorded it especially for them.
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