my granny grant

so you may not know that my beautiful little daughter is named addie after her great grandmother...also known as my "granny grant"....she passed away about five years ago...my grandma, joan, talks about her every now and then...she told me that every time she hears addie's name, she thinks of her mom...this makes my heart swell! my grandma is so special to me...it is strange to think of myself, as a little girl, visiting my granny grant...and now, when my daughter visits her grandma cross, i wonder if she is storing memories of her that she will think of long after grandma is gone...
we used to visit granny on sundays...she always had the best dinner prepared for us...biscuits, and potato soap, roast, etc...a huge spread...(we would always hear her whistling, as we walked in the door...she couldn't really whistle that well! it was kind of breathy, but she would be giving all that she had! EVERY TIME!)...she would be up and down constantly fussing over whether you had enough to eat and drink...she always had a bag of fruit flavored tootsy rolls...and always spoiled us with candy...
we went there every christmas eve..she had the biggest most beautiful christmas tree...and a big picture window, where you could see it as you came down the driveway...this was when i still believed in santa...
we lived with my grandma, so we visited granny about once a week...it was a very comfortable place...the other night, i lay in bed and tried my hardest to imagine every detail of her house...and to my surprise, i could still see most of it as if i had just been there last week! it made me sad...i don't even know what made me think about her...maybe it was eli...he told me, the other day, that addie was in heaven...and i said, "no she's not!" he argued with me, back and forth, that yes, she was in heaven! so, finally i said, "eli! you sweet baby sister is right here...she is NOT in heaven!" and then he said, "Not her...the other addie...grandma's mommy" so was like ah hah! and then i guess that is when i started thinking about granny grant...i try to tell them things about her, because she is a part of who they are...and addie shares her name...
so, back to her house...she had a storm door to the side of the house, which is where everyone would come in...just down the hallway, on the right was my grandma's bedroom from when she was a teenager...i couldn't imagine my grandma, a teenager! now, it seems a little easier to imagine, seeing that i have been out of school for ten years! gasp! then to the left, was a bathroom, with carpet! i remember the toilet was cushony and every time you sat on it, it pinched your butt! beside the bathroom, was a kind of junk room...this is where the grand christmas tree lived during the off season...the men just pushed it into this room and would push it out each christmas! we (me and brandon) would open the door every time we were there, just to look at it! i remember the smell of the room! it was musty and cold...then to the right, was a den...now that i think about it, granny was kind of cutting edge for those times...i guess! she had a black leather couch... and red, black and silver lenoleium(?) this room led you to the dining room, where her big table sat...behind the table was a china cabinet...and on top of that china cabinet was a huge container of peperment sticks...it was always full! the only thing i remember about the kitchen is that it was green! and all of this circled into the living room...she had a little chair in the corner, with a picture of her parents (my great great grandparents) on the wall...i always thought they looked like the old painting of the farm couple...you know, where the man has the pitch fork...and then to the left of the living room, was the "blue" room...and that is where the kiddie table sat during our dinners...i remember the old furniture with the wash basin and chenille bedspread, of course...granny's room was kind of peach...and lonely...she had a picture of my great uncle, gary, in his army uniform...not really sure which war he was in....and she had a tray of fancy perfume bottles...and in the living room, there was a big tv, that sat on the floor...can't remember what you call them! and behind the front door, in the corner, was a small shelf with pictures of all of the kids and grandkids...and i remember the only picture of me was one of when i was a baby...and now that i think about it, i was only four years old, so that wasn't too far in the past, at that time...can you believe that all of this comes from the memory of a four year old? i could probably remember more, if you want me to...and we wont venture to the outdoors, because that's a whole (nother) (sorry, i had to do it) post...
i was in the first grade, at the most, when she came to live with us for a while...me and brandon were little jerks...we used to get so mad, because she sat in the recliner in the living room and read every commercial that came on...i mean any kind of writing in an advertisment or tv show, she read...non stop...and now, i would love nothing more than to have my little granny sitting in my living room reading sub-titles out loud...
there...if you are still with me...you probably know granny grant...or you are sentimental...or you just didn't have anything else to do...but, back to my point...i wonder what memories addie is making about her great grandma...my little precious, joanie...i love her so much and just can't really face the facts that history is repeating itself... i can't believe that my firecracker grandma is now someone's great grandma...
she made addie a handmade doll on her first birthday that says grandma+ addie...on the dolls belly...and there is a heart around their names...and addie loves that doll...she sleeps with it every night...and has peed on it several times...it looks kind of antique(from all of the pee) i just can't imagine looking at it when addie is my age and i am, possibly a grandma...wow...and i am sure that my grandma looks back on her life...when she was having her babies...or even when she was a baby...and i just think of how fleeting it all is...
i am so thankful for my family and our little life...i hope my grandma lives forever, but in the mean time, i am trying to get every little tidbit out of her...any memories that she has...one day i will be an old great grandma, if the lord wills it...and i want all of my children and grandchildren and great grand children to think as hard as they can about every little detail that they remember about me...i miss my little granny grant...

five little birds

so i have this new hobby...who would have thought throwing old bread out to the birds every day would be something i look forward to?! when i go to my grandama's house, she always has the prettiest birds in her yard...and of all kinds! well, she told me that if i would just throw bread and seed out to them every day, then they would come! so, i am starting to see all different colors...they come here every day to get a little snack...so, i guess that kind of means that i have pet birds:) i mean, i feed them EVERY day! this morning i have clay and ethyn graham, along with my little darlins...so we were watching the tree to see what decided to show up...and it was hilarious because there was a red bird that we named ethyn...and a frisky bluejay named eli...a pretty little bird that looked like he had a mohawk...of course we named him clay! and then, on the ground were two little baby birds named addie and ellie...i am not kidding! and the kids just ate it right up! even ethyn, who is five, and sometimes too cool for school, was like "oh, wow! i am really high!" so i guess the talleys are now officially "bird watchers"!

the ice breaker is the hardest part

here is is! this is the long awaited blog of nichelle talley...i'm sure it will be all that you have anticipated and more! i don't have time to write much, but for now i will leave you with this...apparently, cream cheese makes a lovely mohawk...when you smell poop, it could be from two sources...and some days you look at the time and it is 10:57 am and you wonder how it is that you have accomplished nothing, even though you are a domestic goddess...but life is still good and even these moments are fine...now show me some love, Janet, Jenny, Karen and Libby, and start your own blog!