Grandkids Scattered in GrammyPam's Yard

Grandkids scattered fast like released birds from a cage.  We opened the sliding glass doors and out scrambled the grandkids.  Zoom!  "I'm first, the swing's mine",  "give me your butterfly net, here, you can have my stick" and "go ahead, throw the ball in the pond"!

It's the first of Spring, the first day outside at GrammyPam's, and the kids act like balloons expelling air, propelled here, crazily flying everywhere!

Noelle put her hands in the birdbath immediately.  Durn, I didn't even think to hose it out beforehand.  So, that was a "hold your hands out" moment while carrying her inside to get washed.   

This 1 y.o. is good at being evasive.  Earlier she was carrying a pink ball, bigger than her width, and I was blocking her path to the water fountain so she diverted along the fence, looked at me, tacked back, went to the stumperary, looked at me, tacked back, and toddled around the elm tree.  Finally, grinning and giggling the whole time, she lost interest. 

Jacob, also a 1 y.o., they're cousins, was sitting on the picnic table eating a banana.  When he spied the tumbling kids in the yard he stuffed the remainder of the banana (which was a lot, a piece from each hand) into his cheeks, rolled onto his belly, and began dangling his feet over the edge of the table to scoot off.  If I hadn't caught him, he would've taken quite a fall.  Getting down to play was just that exciting.

Silly Alaynah, who's 3, put a rock almost as big as her head in a butterfly net then dropped it on her toe!!! Oh my, the crying, and "It's still bleeding, GrammyPam".  Solace comes in blue bandaids and pieces of candy.  Yay, for candy! 

I had asked Alaynah, "Have you seen the cat?"
She did her little drama queen thing, pursed her lips, screwed up her face in a "Yep, I know" look, wound up her right arm like a baseball pitcher and did a straight arm arrow-like pointer to the cat behind the couch!  She was hilarious.

Lilly, 4 y.o., has a great memory.  Though they'd been put away for over seven months, she wanted the play dishes out of the wooden box that sets by the fence, and "Where's the kitchen, GrammyPam?"  Well, Dora the Explorer play plastic kitchen was buried in the garage under boxes, and so it remains for now.  

Jayden, 5 y.o. kindergartener, served me muffins, chocolate from him, of course, and cake with a nice big cup of tea.  If it was from Miss Lilly, it was tea.  If it was from Jayden, it was coffee.  Aluminum plates, crushed sticks and leaves for tea, means snacks are served!

And how do they say good-bye?

Noelle gazes towards parents car, but both her little hands are flexing their fingers in and out; it's her goodbye wave.

Alaynah, with her back to us, walking away, her right hand reaching behind her in a wave, said, "Bye GrwammyPam."

Jacob, clad in pajamas, from his daddy's arms, made little fists then opened his hands in a "Bye-bye."

Jayden and Lilly are done.  On to the next phase of the day, "Bye," "Bye, Grandpa John", "Bye GrammyPam, bye."

Spring has sprung, day is done, grandkids said their good-byes, 

still I'm anticipating the next "Hi's".  

They're loads of fun.

IRISH SPRING / CLARE BUDS (FRIDAY)

 

Irish Spring

First Day of Spring -- tomorrow!
And aren't we all waiting,
with open arms welcoming?
Equinox means equal, and "the vernal equinox is considered the first day of Spring; finally, the day and night are of equal length". 

The accompanying photo rightly depicts some country roads on the Emerald Isle.  And like our Spring, the Irish have a little bit of rain almost everyday. And every day they DO have a rainbow.  
Rainbows are so treasured here, and
as common as clouds there.

On our own little hill in Clare,
we have bushy growths of day lillies,
little nubs of crocus and tulips,
sprouting blades of hyacinths, 
promising green stalks of surprise lillies,
and an abundance of daffodil buds.

The hyacinths have the best smell, I would love a whole bed of them.  The surprise lillies came from my own father as he was demolishing a building where they would be destroyed.  He was their savior and them I continually savor; especially since they surprise us with beauteous pink blooms in August. 

I'm sentimental about the daffodils, too, they were given to me twice by my mother-in-law.  I will forever think of her with tendre affection in the spring when up shoots new life from her gifts. 

As noted in Monday's blog, this week is always momentous -- Ides of March, and grandpa's birthday
--St. Patrick's Day, and Mitch's transcendence
--and finally, the first day of Spring.

Happy Spring!


"If you do not sow in the spring,
you will not reap in the fall." -- Irish Proverb

CÉAD MILE FÁILTE, A HUNDRED THOUSAND WELCOMES (THURSDAY)

 

Céad Mile Fáilte!
A Hundred Thousand Welcomes

To Ireland! It was November of 2000 and we went to Ireland.  

And I have the books to prove it.

First, we had to get those little blue books, PASSPORTS, but Calvin's would only be good for a few years as he was a minor, an 8th grader.  We were welcomed on Aer Lingus by the green suited, red haired flight attendants and again at the gates to Dublin/Shannon airpot before we went on to Limerick.  

A nice MAGAZINE titled Cara was in the pockets on the seat backs of Aer Lingus which also contained the mandatory air masks, and excrement bags.  Cara contained a Welcome (one hundred thousand), a map, articles about the peoples like Gay Byrne and Marian Keyes, and destination guides.

On the trip home, again via Aer Lingus, an airline CATALOG called SkyShop was in the seat back.  It was a book of all things you could purchase "In-flight, Duty and Tax Free."  I was tempted but wasn't confident so the offer of souvenir ink pens, toy airplanes, traditional Ireland cap, and Waterford crystal remained unpurchased.

Smyths had a CATALOG which came home with us.  One evening, Calvin and I walked from sis' apartment to the shops and browsed Smyths.  We took the catalog for fun-perusing later, we wanted to shop the store shelves now.  Much like here they offered the trendy Pokemon cards, lunch boxes, and battle figures.  I bought a Barbie doll dressed like an Irish lass.  You couldn't purchase an Irish VHS (the most trendy techno item at the time) because they wouldn't play in the U.S.  I wonder, if I take the coupon from the catalog for 2Ł off a Symphony Gym would they honor it, LOL.

WE KISSED THE BLARNEY STONE!  

We have the PACKET to prove it.

Blarney Castle's image is printed on the envelope, their crest is stamped on the certificate, and it's signed by Sir Richard La Touche Colthurst, County Cork.  Calvin was promised the double gift of gab 'cause he kissed the stone twice, once for a friend.

All this was written down in my red book, I kept a JOURNAL as I traveled.  It's one I've referred to several times over the years. So many details get lost in the memory banks, such as

 like the Irish's love of tea and how they offer it up with the phrase, 

"It'll all come out in the wash".

Back to our native land, days later, Sis very kindly gave us each a SCRAPBOOK.  It's green, appropriately, and contains post cards of St. John's castle, our luggage tags, confirmation of my "international incident", and photographs of Calvin participating in ceili dancing, sis petting a sheep, and many, many other things.

From the Garda, to the rental clerk, to the store keeper, to the man who's truck I hit, 

from the owner of the fish and chip shop, and the landlord of the bed and breakfast,

we were given "A Hundred Thousand Welcomes".

I have a stack of books that says it all.

"Tis glad I am

and glad I'll be

that you like knowin'

the likes of me!"

WELCOME! IT'S ST. PATRICK'S DAY (WEDNESDAY)

 

Welcome!  It's St. Patrick's Day!

A day it is!  A day to celebrate heritage, having some Irish ancestry, and all those fun things connected with it:  the lucky charm, the four-leaf clover, the devilish leprechauns, and the hope and goal of following the rainbow to find that pot o'gold.

The early settlers thought they were going to get their pot of gold when they traveled across the seas from the United Kingdom.  Dad spent years and hours researching our ancestry, before internet, and traced our roots to pre-Scot-Irish era.  Our lineage goes back to Lamon Mor, a very old family of Celtic origin.  

Closer to the birth of our nation John Leman, who accompanied George Olgethorpe back and forth across the seas, became captain of his own ship.  Leman was a forefather on Dad's side of the family.  In a duel, Ensign Leman, took a bullet to the leg, and eventually 

replaced that leg with a wooden leg.  Now, isn't that fun trivia!

We don't sport red hair, but we do have the dark ring around the iris of our eyes, and our genes lend us towards some birth defects that don't affect everyone.   

Our second son had Spina Bifida. We were told it's more common amongst those of Irish descent.  Knowing he wouldn't have a long life, there was poignant significance that he died on a St. Patrick's Day.

And a leprechaun he could've been!  Fine boned, brown eyes, and a sense of humor.  He laughed, putting his little hand to his mouth when Calvin pushed a toy car.  He read books with Rusty laying on their bellies on the carpet.  He stunned his therapist by saying the two syllable word grandma as "Ga ma."  And he insisted his dad drive the truck to Uncle Andy's house, indicated by a fisted letter A in sign language.

What a lad!

Celebrate the day.  

Play the harp, enjoy some golf, recite a limerick, and be proud of your Irish.

You're strong, you're witty, and you're blessed.

May the sunbeams light your way

and the moonbeams guard your night

and until your days are finished

may the stars shine ever bright.

"GET YOUR IRISH ON!" (TUESDAY)

 

"Get Your Irish On!

      "Get Your Irish On" I wondered about that phrase and went internet searching.  I found everything from Gaelic printed t-shirts to purchase, to Guiness drinking at O'Malley's, to Patrick's Day inspired baby names.  What a variety!

     If you're of school age, you'd best "Get Your Irish On" wearing something green and visible, long before stepping in and off the bus.  Ever lie and say, "My underwear's green" just so that devilish mate wouldn't pinch you?  Of course you did!  Sport a shamrock, or wear garments of green; that should bring you luck.

     Once, when I was barely a teen, my young uncle who was a teen found a four-leaf clover.  The family was just standing around talking, saying our good byes after a day of play, when he looked down, bent down, stood back up, and proudly presented it between two fingers.  He was just that quick without any studied searching, "Check it out, it's a four-leaf clover."  Dad assured him he'd have the luck of the Irish.

    He is quite successful.  He's a home owner, a family man, and well-to-do with a good sense of humor.  Another time we were all together at my maternal grandmother's in Kentucky.   Her little beagle was just a bouncy, happy tail-wagging, and slurping bundle of brown and white fur.  The Beagle was giving uncle's younger brother all kinds of giggling attention, "Hey, look at this.  He likes me."  My uncle laughed, "That's because you're a messy eater."

     Coming home from Ireland after a two week visit, I didn't think to even look for a shamrock, but I did bring home a pair of black owls made from peat and a clutch of smooth green rocks from the Ring of Kerry.

     With 32 million American's claiming Irish ancestry, according to 2019 census, tomorrow 10% of the population will be getting their "Irish On".  

"Wherever you go, 

whatever you do, 

may the luck of the Irish

be there with you!

TOP O' THE MORN' TO YA! (MONDAY)

"Top o' the morn' to ya!"

For years I thought that was a good Irish greeting.  Then Calvin and I went to Ireland to visit my sister who was there for her job.  We never saw a leprechaun (until Calvin stuck his head in a cardboard cutout of clicking heels, and a feathered hat) and we were never hailed with "Top o' the morn' to ya!"  Since then, I've learned it's most likely a product of American greeting cards.  Interesting.

 The leprechaun no-face cutout was happy and lifesized but oddly just standing there along side the road on the Ring of Kerry.  Not much traffic on Ireland's country roads.  Rocks, fences, the occasional sheep, and short tough green grass made the scenic background.  Behind the jig dancing cutout were exposed places of black peat.  Calvin's teenage face grinned mischievously through to the camera.

Anyway, this week, for me, will be all about St. Patrick's Day, and the Irish.

Like today, it's the day John's father was born.  He was a moral man who expected the same from his sons.    He wasn't afraid of hard work.  Actually, he got very little sleep; instead worked at the local factory by day, ran a dirt machine and big equipment in the evening, and spent hours in the barn at night.

He had a good sense of humor 'cause when I dared drop an ice cube down the back of his shirt that freezing touch to the base of his skull made him jump right out of his recliner.  I'd never seen the big muscular man move so fast before, so I laughingly shrieked, hot-footed it out of the living room, through the kitchen to the garage, and hearing him still coming behind me, I ran around the pool table.  Never did I get near enough for him to exact his own revenge.  It was a cat an mouse game for days and days.

As for the rest of the week there'll be St. Patrick's Day, the day Mitch passed away, and quite soon the first day of Spring!   It's a grand week, a momentous week.

"Until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand,

Slán."

 

Two Jeweled Stars

(NOTE:  The idea for this came after participating in some online writing prompts.  You've probably seen a couple earlier that were a little out of the ordinary, and will probably see more this summer.)

TWO JEWELED STARS

It was an explosion!  Little pieces of embers and sparks spit fired on the earth's surface. 

Many of them rose from the earth, breaking through the atmospheric barrier to become stars on the black suede of night.  They sparkled and shimmered and glowed with happiness -- blink here, flicker there, twinkle everwhere. 

Two jeweled stars, one amber with kite shaped facets, and the other blue jade with teardrop cuts, gravitated slowly downward and towards each other.  Amber, drifting alongside gave blue jade a gentle kiss.  They stayed paired as gravitation pulled them through the atmosphere to earth.  There they bounced, barely glancing off the surface.  From the bounce came little explosions, bits and pieces that hovered near with winks, and little bursts and blitz of brilliant light. 

Blue Jade and Amber looked on, attentive.

They once again rose, side by side, floating higher and higher breaking through earth's protecting arc.  As they rose beyond the stars they were gathered into an ethereal arm where they were nestled -- comforted and loved.  From there, in contentment, they watched the embers and sparks bounce and scintillate on earth below, their little jewels of diamonds, rhinestones, and gems, soon to become stars, too!

Caped Lilly, Power, and Proclamations

Lilly's an absorbing sponge.  Whatever she's encountered in the past week, whether it's new television programs, or activities with her ma maw, or educational work with her mother, her current interest shows up on Sundays when she's here.

I'm just walking around in my church clothes, doing my Sunday thing, hanging up my coat and purse, checking for snacks for the grandkids, getting hubby a drink, when unexpectedly, I feel a little push in my behind.  "What?"  I turn sharply as I hear a giggle, spy tendrils of blonde hair, and catch a glimpse of brown broom handle.  Brown broom handle???

 

4 y.o. Lilly says, "I will poke you!"

 

Intrigued I asked, "YOU will poke me?"

She's never physically teased me before, this is new!

 

More giggles as I try to outmaneuver her, avoiding hitting my hip on the edge of the counter, going around the kitchen table, and staying a broom's length away.

 

She says, "To get the power out of your body."

 

Chuckle, what has she been watching now!  Around and around the table we go.  These kids think chase-me games are the best fun.  "Run, GrammyPam.  RUN!"

 

********************

 

Son and wife went on a Valentine date.  I babysat Jacob, and Miss Lilly who was all over the place.   Not only was she acting like a witch on a broom, hopping like a frog, slithering like a snake, bunching up like an inch worm, she was also acting like Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.  Let's include coloring pages, snuggling with Ty babies, watching Bluey, and using the cloth road map as a cape!

 

Caped Lilly rushed down the hall, feet flying, circled one of the bedrooms, came back, with giggles reverberating, and cape a'swirling -- right over baby brother Jacob!  

 

With arms outstretched, clutching the cape edges, she covered him.  He was nabbed!

 

*********************

Grandpa John boiled the spaghetti.  GrammyPam made the meatballs.  Jessica dropped off the grandkids.  

Master Jacob was bumbo secured.   Miss Lilly was studying her bowl.

Suddenly, with alacrity, Lilly rises, stands up in the middle of her chair, stretches both arms to the sky, tilts her chin up, and proclaims,  "This is the best restaurant!  Noodles AND MEATBALLS!" 

ALAYNA - GET IN, GRAMMYPAM'S YARD, DRINK

Alayna, fast moving, drama queen Alayna, dearly wanted to go outside.  Mom said, "You can't, there's no one to watch you out there, Alayna.  Please, go play."

Still Alayna wants to play outside.  Mom reaffirms, "You can't go out there right now.  When Daddy gets home, if he wants to watch you, you can.  Now, please, just go play."

Not to be out-reasoned, 3 y.o. Alayna, gasping, holding up one finger, standing in the doorway to the living room has found the answer, "I know, we can go play in GrammyPam's yard."

**************

As stated above, Alayna is full of energy and bounce, she's theatrical.  Most little kids will come up to you and nicely ask, "May I have a drink of water, please."

I'm rolling on floor laughing thinking about Alayna's version!  Afterwards, how can you not give her a drink?  How can you reprimand her for her lack of manners?  You can't.  You're laughing too hard.

Here's Alayna, very short, bouncy curly brown hair, and 3 years old, comes around the corner very fast, does a pirouette, stops sideways with legs apart, leans a bit towards you with right arm outstretched and pointing right at your face, says, "I want a drink!"

**************

Alayna, her brother Jayden, and little sis Noelle, came to stay with us while the foks got groceries.  I had them keep on their coats while I donned mine to join them in the Roger Run, a fenced area 50 ft. square designed for play with a swing, a soundboard, a log for balance walking, a stumperary, and a childs picnic table.

After a bit, with rosy cheeks and red noses, they went inside the house.  But, I had to step back out to take a phone call.  It was too noisy inside.  Just when the call was about to end, the front door opened, and grinning Alayna insisted, "GrammyPam!  Get in here.  It's so cold outside!"

REM, And MEN

 

DARLING HUBBY, JOHN

10:30 at night, I hadn't gone to bed yet, I dropped the remote control, it bounced "Bang, clang, thud." John, who's about to fall asleep, rolls over in bed and sleepily says, "You're having a negative affect on my REM."

Rapid Eye Movement?  Who taught him that?!

***

Looking from his place in the blue recliner John spies Lilly being silly with a large Quaker Quick Oats container,  "Girl don't know what to do in life -- she just stuck her head in a can!"

***

As a baby, my first bank was pink, ceramic, designed like a string string bag of money.  Another bank was yellow paper cardboard with metal tops and bottoms like a short Pringles can.  There was 5 of them lined up on top of the refrigerator and Mom would help each of us kids drop in pennies to save to later open a bank account.   They were an early 60's promotional gimmick from a local savings and loan.  In early married life we had a Colorado Pig to save for a vacation trip.  Nowadays, we have 2 banks of a movie character.  I love it when John forgets to check his pants pockets before washing them, change rattling in the washing machine means "food for the Minions!"

DARLING SON #4, CLINTON

Can you guess how many pieces of pie Clinton ate before he got home to his young wife?

I can't either, but I know he ate two in my presence, and I sent two home.  It's a long drive for a dog with a bone on his nose.  Ever see that?  They salivate something fierce!  What's your guess, did he eat only 2, or did he gobble down all 4?

DARLING SON #5, SPENCER

Piper, I typed with my computer keys.  "No!"  Spencer's adamant as I continued typing our cats name.  He's being insistent,  Obviously, she's made an impression because I heard him correct me, "She's all shiny black with those yellow eyes and when I come in at night you don't know she's there!  She's not Piper, she's VIPER!"

DARLING SON #6, IAN & NIKKI

Later in the afternoon Ian and Nikki came to eat supper with us, and brought some mollies for the ducks to eat.  We all knelt around the pond to give the ducks a tempting look when Piper the cat walked up, all curious.  Would you believe Piper wasn't the least bit interested?  She sniffed at the fish then turned away from the dish????  What cat does that?

When we went on vacation, Nikki took care of our animals.  She has 7 cats of her own and she worked part time at PetSmat which we feel makes her knowledgeable.  When we have questions about character and antics of the felines we invariably turn to her.  One day, the four of us were casually sitting at the picnic table talking about mundane things when out of the blue Nikki catches us quite off guard with, "I'm not a cat!"