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Keeping in Touch:  Sweet Memories of Grandma  |
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wildflower17
True Blue Farmgirl
3043 Posts
Judy
KY
USA
3043 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 19 2010 : 05:50:20 AM
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Beth,
What a beautiful story. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!!!
Smiles...
Judy
Love as if there is no tomorrow!!!
"Country Girl at Heart"... |
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cgonyer
True Blue Farmgirl
220 Posts
Cindy
Petersburg
MI
USA
220 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2010 : 3:58:33 PM
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| These were all great stories to read and very touching. Both of my grandmothers have passed and it seems the older that I get, the more that I miss them. My one grandmother tried to teach me how to crochet and knit when I was 12. Boy, do I wish that I could have stuck with that better! Now, I find myself wanting to learn how to knit and crochet and mad at myself for blowing the opportunity to learn from grandma! Youth is so wasted on the young! ;-) One of these days I'm going to learn though! I've promised both myself and Grandma! |
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solilly
True Blue Farmgirl
726 Posts
Lillian
Williamsburg
Virginia
USA
726 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2010 : 1:10:58 PM
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It is so good to know that people have a lot in their lives to be thank-ful for even better to know that it was a family member who made that happen. These are things that will stay with yu for ever God bless you and your past. Lilly 
learning the life I always wanted. |
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corabela
True Blue Farmgirl
79 Posts
Laura
Mount Vernon
Ohio
USA
79 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2010 : 07:34:13 AM
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My Grandma passed away 2 years ago this May...on my other Grandma's birthday. She had just lost her husband...my Step-Grandpa...and decided to just give in and go with him. I thought I might always remember her in that hospital bed and that scared the heck out of me but over the past 2 years, I've come to see that I remember her each and every day in both small and big ways.
There was this meatloaf my Grandma used to make on the stove top in a dutch oven. When I lived on my own, far away in Oklahoma in my early 20's and I wanted to feel close to home, I would call Grandma and say "Grandma, can you tell me how to make the meatloaf again?" And she'd tell me and I'd make it but I never wrote down the recipe because it always gave me an excuse to call her and chat. I still haven't written it down so now I call my Mom every time I'm feeling down and I want to make the meatloaf. "Mom...is it carrots on the bottom of the pot or potatoes?" I think of Grandma every single time I make it. I remember how her hands would smell like potatoes after she'd made it. And the process of making it is every bit as comforting as the eating it is. : ) I miss my Grandma dearly but I've been realizing lately how much I've come to be like her and how she lives on through my Mom and me. : )
~Laura
Please stop by my blog and my etsy site and say hello : )
www.corabela.blogspot.com
www.corabela.etsy.com |
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gypsy goat
True Blue Farmgirl
673 Posts
mary jo
michigan
673 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2010 : 08:12:35 AM
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i honor the memory of my grandma everyday when i get up and tend to the small hobby farm that she lived on most of her life. her father bought the farm during the great depression when the president was giving land grants to poor farmers. the orginal farmhouse is gone now-some of it buried in the front yard when they tore it down. one barn is still standing well over 100 years old. she has been gone for a few years now-sometimes i can still smell her in the house and it makes me miss her so. i love it when her peonies bloom every year and remember her words on how to take care of them as she was dying of cancer. i dig in the same earth she did to plant my garden to feed and nourish my family just like she did. i am so thankful she taught me to be happy with the simple things in life-to be a farmgirl
whatever you are be a good one-abe lincoln |
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corabela
True Blue Farmgirl
79 Posts
Laura
Mount Vernon
Ohio
USA
79 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2010 : 08:24:56 AM
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Mary Jo, it really touches my heart and makes me glad to hear that you live and sustain yourself on the space of love your family created for you. In my eyes...the most valuable inheritance of all.
~Laura
Please stop by my blog and my etsy site and say hello : )
www.corabela.blogspot.com
www.corabela.etsy.com |
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patchworkpeace
True Blue Farmgirl
478 Posts
Judy
Jackson
Michigan
USA
478 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2010 : 08:57:54 AM
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My grandmother baked like you couldn't believe.Her parents had a bakery in Holland and she obviously inherited the baking genes. Mouthwatering marzipan, pfefferneusse, all yummy. That is my number one memory of her. Her baking and cooking.
The second thing I remember about her, was she try to act scared when my twin and I would climb to the top of our willow tree and sway at the top. We thought we were so brave because Grandma was clucking, and holding her heart.
She used to knit these socks for her church to send overseas. She could knit so fast. She called them booties.
She used to call me Joo dee, my sister Roo dee (Ruthie),... cause she still retained some of her Dutch accent.
She died twenty or more years ago in her nineties. I wish my daughter could have known her because she bakes just like her Great Grandma. Grandma Doorneweerd would have been very proud of her.
This is a nice thread. I've enjoyed reading everyone's stories.
Judy
Farm sister #932
Success is measured not by the position one reaches but by the obstacles one has to overcome to reach it. Booker T. Washington |
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bjhuff
True Blue Farmgirl
325 Posts
Betty Jo
Sturgis
South Dakota
USA
325 Posts |
Posted - Apr 06 2010 : 12:10:25 PM
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Wow this is so touching to reading about the memories of our grandmothers~~ My fondest memories of my grandmother was on the farm at about the age of 2 maybe three she raise some of the best Red chickens in the area the hatchery that was near by would ask her for fertile eggs to sell and I remember being upset because that is how she got extra money to get material for quilting as well as to feel her family. In the later 40's early 50's she finely got electricity to the farm so no milking 20 head of cow by hand anymore they thought they were in heaven and they got there first electric cook stove. Wow she could make the best breads again she ground her own wheat to make bread and what ever else she did that clear up after she moved to town in the late 70's and I recall it once we moved away when I was 4 but we came to see her almost every year and she did. Any way the seeds that she had planted my heart for life are the ones that to be furgle and to be wise in our ways. She introduced me to Jesus as a little girl and they did not have television in there homes their children played instruments and I loved to hear them play when I was gone. I think the most important thing that she taught me was that she always had a quilt going for one of her children,grand children or someone~~~I love to quilt and I treasure those that she has made me and my children and the love that she has shared for me and as my youngest daughter who is 13 now her memories of her great grandma was very special and the photos of the two of them are so precious to her and me~ my grandma has been gone for five years and her birthday is in a week our family take flowers to her grave and have a special time in memories of her. I only had one grandma and so is very special to me and a very special memory as well. My dad mom passed away when he was 18 months and I wished I had an opportunity to know her but my dad did not even get to know her I just received the first picture of her from my aunt about two years ago and my dad never even had one so it was so awesome to have that treasure of a life time. Grandmothers are so awesome--memories from her aprons to hankies to homemade wheat bread and of course the quilting will live in my heart for a life time.
***BettyJo**** |
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wildflower17
True Blue Farmgirl
3043 Posts
Judy
KY
USA
3043 Posts |
Posted - Apr 06 2010 : 12:32:29 PM
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Ladies,
Thank you so much for sharing your sweet memories of your grandmothers!!!
Smiles,
Judy
Love as if there is no tomorrow!!!
"Country Girl at Heart"... |
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katalind
True Blue Farmgirl
177 Posts
Kathy
Chapin
SC
USA
177 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2010 : 06:04:29 AM
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| I miss my Grandparents so much. But it was my Granny who understood me the most, although I didn't think so at the time in my teenage years. I had a very difficult childhood, but my Granny always made sure to let me know I was loved. I couldn't imagine how my life would have turned out if it weren't for this beautiful strong lady. My fondest memories of not just my Grandma but both Grandparents are the early morning breakfast (which was always a feast), feeding all the animals, and collecting the eggs out of the coup, working in the garden, all the family getting together to shell peas, or shuck corn, then the canning, and at night at bedtime my Grandma piling quilts on top of me to keep me warm. Then when morning came the sound of the whip-poor-wills - I love to hear them sing. It's been 11 years since my Granny died and I still miss her terribly. I think when you have that kind of connection with a Grandparent their passing never gets easier. |
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staci860
True Blue Farmgirl
838 Posts
Staci
Newville
PA
USA
838 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2010 : 11:38:09 AM
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I ran across this thread and thought it needed a bump...
Blessings, staci FG# 973
:o )
Joshua 24:15 - ...choose this day whom you will serve,...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
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Edited by - staci860 on Jul 15 2010 11:39:03 AM |
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Oggie
True Blue Farmgirl
526 Posts
Ginny
Machias
Maine
USA
526 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2010 : 8:13:30 PM
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I am so glad you bumped this up Staci! It was wonderful to read all the memories and what Grandma's played a part in one's life. Family is so important and we should never forget it. I know reading everyone's posts that I found myself remembering the same thing, laughing out loud, and almost in tears they are so beautiful.
My father died when I was a child leaving my Mother with 4 children and no money. My Aunt's husband had died shortly after they married and she was pregnant with her child. Needless to say, we all ended up at my Grandparent's along with my Great-grandmother for a while. I was the only "girl" with three brothers and a male cousin. While I learned a great deal from all the women in my life the two most important things I learned was that as women we are stronger than we will ever imagine and we can do anything and everything we put our minds to. The second thing is that family is everything!
There are too many great memories but a few special ones are: fizzies as a treat; a candy bowl on top of the TV always filled with something we would like; learning about the stars at night; learning the piano and how to sing; watching wrestling and Lawrence Welk in succession on a Saturday night; along with learning how to cook, sew, embroider, and such.
Two of my most prized possessions are from my Grandmother. One is a sock monkey she made me when I was born and the other is a beautiful wooden candy box she kept all her threads in. That candy box was the first gift she had ever received from her first date. By keeping things like it as "useful" items, Grandad never knew!
Life is Beautiful with Bunnies
www.thedewhopinn.ning.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/thedewhopinn
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prairieprana
Farmgirl in Training
13 Posts
Kelley
Dickinson
ND
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2010 : 08:00:19 AM
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What wonderful memories are shared here. I also had the best grandmother. She played the piano so wonderfully. She taught me how to play, too. She would play the piano while my grandpa sang along. They were just about the cutest couple ever! They were married for 67 years...a lifetime. When Grandpa died, Grandma was so lost. She talked about him all the time and how much she missed him. I know they are together now for eternity. I wish my children could have known them. Fortunately, my mother-in-law is about the anyone could ask for. Talk about a true farmgirl. She is teaching my daughter how to sew, crochet, embroider, cook, bake, garden, quilt, you name it. And she does it all with a patient, loving heart!
Choose Vitality Daily!
Farmgirl Sister #1708 |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1404 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1404 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2010 : 4:01:16 PM
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Ladies, it was so interesting reading about your grandparents. My experience was similar.
It is sad to say that my children (one doesn't even care about family) and the other will never know their great grandparents. Mine were wonderful people and I will cherish their memories until the day I die.
Thank you all for sharing.
Betty in Pasco |
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2010 : 08:41:27 AM
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I didn't know my maternal grandmother very well because she lived a distance from us. My earliest memories of her was waiting for her Christmas gifts in the mail. I always loved what she sent even though it was always small, useful things like a four pack of patterned knee high socks or a notebook and colored pencils. I loved that kind of gift. It was a way that I felt loved and remembered as a kid and now I enjoy passing on those same kinds of gifts to others.
My paternal grandmother lived closer and she was a crocheter and crafter and excellent cook. She kept her hands always busy and loved her family by feeding them. She crocheted Christmas stockings for all her many grandkids and each of her children's families (she had eight kids) received a crocheted afgan from her. I copied her stocking for each of my kids. I also have many of her recipes that I still use. It's a way that she made her family feel loved and I feel that I am carrying on that kind of loving thoughtfulness, too, in her memory.
My favorite grandmother, however, is the one I married into. My husband's paternal grandmother lived very close to us when I got married. She was a gardener, excellent cook and hostess, and just always ready to lend a hand to anyone in need. She used to come to my house and leave veggies from her garden. She served our family dinner many times, no matter how many little ones we brought. She was helpful when I brought home my new wee ones. When she died, we found an apple pie in the freezer. That was just how she was.
I am proud to say that I am a compilation of all the wonderful women God has blessed my life with. I do what I do because in some way it keeps me connected to each of them. I look forward to being a grandma someday, and hope that I can pass on each of these blessed characteristics!
www.totallykadeshfarm.blogspot.com
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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FG-Terri
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Theresa
Newport News
VA
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2010 : 7:58:55 PM
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Awesome memories!
I had an inside grandma and an outside grandma. Grandma Mac could do anything outside, lol, bring the most sickly plant back to life. She was also an amazing cook, but her passion was outside. Growing up, I lived right beside her. Now, I currently live in her house and was inspired by living here to plant my first garden this year. My other grandma, Grandma Jones could do anything inside. She passed down her love of crafts, knitting, crocheting and sewing. Those were her passions! I remember going through her button box, each button had a story. Thanks for the sweet, sweet memories! |
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wildflower17
True Blue Farmgirl
3043 Posts
Judy
KY
USA
3043 Posts |
Posted - Aug 02 2014 : 7:30:46 PM
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It's been over 4 years since I started this thread...I still think about my sweet grandmother all the time...and have so many wonderful memories of her...this time of year was very busy for us as we always tried to can and freeze as much for the Fall and Winter as we could...I have been breaking green beans but instead of putting them outside in the sun as my mom and granny did for them to dry...I put mine in a dehydrator...as the weather doesn't always cooperate with rain or humidity being a possibility...besides canning and drying beans...freezing corn and canning or freezing tomatoes and juice was two of the main things we stored for Fall and Winter...my sister and I still follow the traditions of storing things away each year for the cooler weather...if you have sweet memories of your grandmother...please post them here...
Hugs!
Judy
PLANT SEEDS OF KINDNESS EVERYWHERE YOU GO!!!
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened...
"Country Girl at Heart...Blessed Beyond Measure"!!!
Farm Girl #5440
Farm Girl of The Month September 2013 |
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auntjenny
True Blue Farmgirl
277 Posts
Jenny
San Luis Obispo
CA
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - Aug 02 2014 : 9:18:12 PM
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| My maternal grandma died in 1992 and I still miss her every day. Not a day goes by that I dont use a skill or craft that she taught me. She was the oldest child in her family of 12 kids and my childhood was centered at her home. Her family came to California from Oklahoma during the depression. She always had a pot of beans on the stove and bread or cookies cooling on the counter.i couldn't have asked for a better role model. |
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wildflower17
True Blue Farmgirl
3043 Posts
Judy
KY
USA
3043 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2014 : 12:11:06 PM
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Jenny...thanks for sharing about your grandma...I like you couldn't have asked for a better role model...unfortunately...I never got to meet my paternal grandmother as she passed before I was born...I always love to hear stories about the "old days"...
Hugs!
Judy
PLANT SEEDS OF KINDNESS EVERYWHERE YOU GO!!!
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened...
"Country Girl at Heart...Blessed Beyond Measure"!!!
Farm Girl #5440
Farm Girl of The Month September 2013 |
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5 acre Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1007 Posts
~~~*Terri*~~~
WA.
USA
1007 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2015 : 07:39:43 AM
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OH all of these memories are wonderful...
I didn't have a Grandma, so I am trying to make memories with at least 7 of my 18 Grandchildren,,,and now I hear them say ...when they hear me on the phone,,,"we want to go to Grandmas"...it just floats my boat to hear that(even though Grandpa is gone from this earth)..
Farmgirl Sister #368
~~*Terri*~~
Life is too short, it is just a vapor, live it like you wont have another minute with the ones you love......
http://thecontentedwomannow.blogspot.com/ |
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Calicogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
5216 Posts
Sharon
Bruce Crossing
Michigan
USA
5216 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2015 : 10:57:40 PM
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Judy, what a wonderful thread! Thank you gals for sharing!
Terri, good for you! That is a precious thing :)
I grew up knowing my grandmothers but when we would visit, my brothers and I were to go outside. I really wish that I had gotten to know my Meme and Nana more. I do remember my Nana at her rocking chair holding a small red can and dipping a stick into the can and then in her mouth. I asked her what it was one time and she replied 'medicine'. Little did I know that it was snuff :) I have heard things about her for example, 'she used to walk barefoot in the dew of the grass every morning (in the summer). She loved to play the piano. I remember her visiting for Easter all dressed up (wig included, she had her hair but it was thinning)in her pale blue suit (jacket and skirt) with her fox stole :) I do remember playing with that :) I wish that we had spent time talking more.
Farmgirl Sister #5392
By His Grace, For His Glory
~Sharon
http://amerryheartjournal.blogspot.com/
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peafarm
True Blue Farmgirl
182 Posts
Penny
South Dakota
182 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2015 : 9:08:49 PM
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The thing I remember most as Grandma and I both got older, is that any time anyone stopped she served sweets. While in her apartment, she had bit sized deserts frozen that she would pull out when visitors stopped and even after she moved to the nursing home she always had a well-stocked candy dish and continued to play hostess. I don't think I ever showed up unannounced at the nursing home to find her alone. She always had company!
Penny
www.444Farm.com |
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wildflower17
True Blue Farmgirl
3043 Posts
Judy
KY
USA
3043 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2015 : 6:21:42 PM
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I love hearing all the stories about "Sweet Grandmothers":):):)
Hugs!
Judy
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened"...
"Country Girl at Heart...Blessed Beyond Measure"!!!
Farm Girl #5440
Farm Girl of The Month September 2013 |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Feb 06 2015 : 7:42:23 PM
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What wonderful stories and memories of your Grandmother's! I just loved reading them all. I was only two when my Paternal Grandmother died so I have no memories of her at all. I do have memories of my Maternal Grandmother though. She worked as a cook for a small restaurant while raising 8 children. Her last one was born when she was 45! She was the best cook I have ever seen. She cooked without ever having a cookbook or recipe. I remember the first time I saw peered over her kitchen counter and saw what looked like five naked dolls with no heads, feet or hands. I was horrified when I realized they were squirrels getting ready for the dutch oven! Even though she and my Grandfather lived in town they had a milk cow and chickens and also heated their home with wood that my Grandpa would cut at the golf course where he was greens keeper. They never had a car or driver's license so would walk everywhere. Not until later in my 20's did Granny tell me about her past. She was in love with a booze runner from Chicago and they were engaged to be married when he was killed in a Prohibition sting. She was heart broken. Back in the day it was common place for the brother of the departed to become the new fiance'. My Grandma married her beloved's brother and raised eight children. I could see that her heart never mended. She would read every minute that she wasn't working. I never saw as many books except in the library. Since my Grandfather never drove and didn't want to travel, Granny would come along with any one of her eight married children when they went on vacations. She was along with my family on many traveling adventures. One of my last memories of her was when I visited her in the nursing home. I was pushing her wheel chair down the hall to the front community room and starting running, heading towards the front door telling her we were going to escape and run across the country! She was laughing and squealing all the way! We never made it across country but did do a lovely journey around the parking lot. She died there, peacefully in her sleep with a book about other lands laying in her lap.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
I am trying to be the person my dogs think I am.
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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wildflower17
True Blue Farmgirl
3043 Posts
Judy
KY
USA
3043 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2015 : 7:34:49 PM
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Diane...Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories with us:):):)
Hugs!
Judy
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened"...
"Country Girl at Heart...Blessed Beyond Measure"!!!
Farm Girl #5440
Farm Girl of The Month September 2013 |
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Keeping in Touch: Sweet Memories of Grandma |
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Sweet Memories of Grandma
