Grandma Marylou

I am dedicating this blog entry to my grandmother, Marylou Jean Ellis Britton.  She lived 90 years and had a well lived life.  I thought I would share some memories here so I will always remember them and the love I have for her.

1.  When I was young we would sometimes spend the night with grandma and grandpa at their farm. I remember the pigs - oh they were BIG!  They were in the barn and made a lot of noise when we came in, crashing against the stalls.  The cows would come in from the pasture when grandma banged a spoon against a metal pail - they knew it was time for dinner!  They had one milk cow that was black and white and the rest were white faced herefords.  Grandma had names for all 100 of them!

2.  I discovered my favorite flower at grandma's farm - Sweet Williams.  They grew everywhere and the smell was amazing.

3.  I remember grandma taking me school clothes shopping once.  I begged her to by me a dress.  She did - and I wore it a ton.  It was white with short sleeves and lace - I felt so pretty in it.

4.  I remember telling my mom that grandma wasn't a "rocking chair" type of grandma.  Mom laughed and laughed.  I said that because I thought of grandma's as people that knitted and baked cookies - instead of hauling bales of hay out to the cows and fixing fencing. 

5.  Grandma used to feed us boiled dinner (yuck!) with cabbage, rutabagas, beef, and whatnot all boiled together.  We did the dinner dishes and then before bed she would give us toast - with real butter that she had made.  I thought it tasted terrible - the butter that is.  What did I know?

6.  I remember my parents spending time with my grandparents - they would listen to twangy country music and talk and talk.  Sometimes I felt like they could talk all night!  Looking back I think it was cool that they could do that together and have a good time.

7.  I remember when it was time to butcher cows and pigs.  It was SO cold while my parents and grandparents cut and wrapped the meat. 

8.  Haying time was the opposite - hot and sweaty.  It was fun to me though - riding in the hay truck back and forth from the fields, the sun shining, and then a big meal cooked by grandma at midday.

Grandma was full of life and was a great grandma.  I will miss her, but I look forward to our joyous reunion someday!