In honor of my grandparents' wedding anniversary (and my grandpa's birthday) next week, I am posting about them. It's a few days early, but I didn't want to miss it.The picture and title are in reference to my grandma's green thumb. She had hundreds of iris varieties on their Kansas farm and she transplanted many of them when she moved to town in 1988 shortly before my grandfather's death. There, she spent another 19 years cultivating her flowers until her death just days before her 85th birthday in September 2007.
I was actually prompted to post this blog after I saw a commercial for the 2009 Kentucky Derby. My grandma LOVED watching the horses and the rodeo, and on the last day I saw her, we watched the 2007 Derby. It was just weeks before I moved to D.C. I picked Circular Quay, since quay is one of my favorite Scrabble words. I think she picked Curlin. We had a great time talking and watching the run up to the race and eating yogurt for a snack.
A few fun memories of my grandparents from the 1980s - back when my brother and I spent parts of our elementary school summer and winter vacations at their farm:
Grandma's cure-all: cough drops were the answer to everything that ailed you.
Biggest adventure for a city kid: When a steer got loose at the county fair and charged! A woman was hospitalized after she got plowed over. Grandma - in her flowery blouse - served as a distraction as the rest of us took cover. There was newspaper coverage about that day. . .
Biggest project: Speaking of newspapers, she kept books of all of our newspaper clippings and pictures. That was practically a full time job when Ryan and I were in high school on sports teams and in debate. I can't wait to get the books out of storage when we move and do my annual flip through. (For me, it was making and baking Shrinky-Dinks! Ha!)
Best outdoor summer fun: playing with Grandpa's homemade toys and setting up fishing poles at the "crick" after navigating a pasture full of "cow patties."
Best outdoor winter fun: sledding behind the barn, although I only remember it once. . . .probably because I almost broke my leg when I got it stuck in the runner. Ryan tried to haul me and my sled up on his sled, and then Grandpa had to haul all of us up! I spent the rest of the day inside with Grandma watching Phil Donahue and the other TV programs she got on one of her 3 channels.
All of these memories are from childhood when my grandpa was still around. My best memories of adulthood are definitely our shared love for travel. She had already been around the U.S. via bus trips in their early post-retirement years (and around the world via the Travel Channel), so she liked to see my close up pictures and stories of all the places I was seeing!
