It's BAAAACCCCCCKKKKKK

At long last, I have picked up my camera from my Grandma's house. It is soooo sad that it took me nearly 3.5 months to pick it up. September brought school and sports activities and it became really difficult to find a time to bring the kids to Hoodsport. Welcome back dear friend (my camera)! Lovely to see you Grandma!

Hopefully having my camera back will help me blog more often. I blog about things that I photograph, so I have more to talk about when my camera is in my hand. Ironically, though, I am going to blog about Grandma's house...and I took no pictures of her house to show you.

My dad's mother (Grandma Bea) is passing away this week. She is in hospice care and they don't expect her to last much longer. Since she has had Alzheimers disease for years, she has lived in Memory Loss Care Centers. She hasn't had a home for years that is filled with "grandma-ness". Today I went to visit my mom's mom (Grandma Dot) and her house is filled with "grandma-ness". I think I was extra-sensitive today to all the things in Grandma Dot's house that I may not be able to experience in 10 years. Here is my highlight list:

The cushioned toilet seat
You know the one. It is the cushioned seat that slowly loses air as you sit on it, providing its own theatrics to whatever noises you've got happening as you use the toilet.

The large print Reader's Digest in the bathroom
I don't have to fear about this one. I'm sure I'll be able to order the large print Reader's Digest for my parents bathroom in another 10 years.

The endless silk flowers
Grandma has silk flowers everywhere. In the bathrooms. In the kitchen. In the sun room. On the deck. In the landscaping.

The wood fireplaces that keep the house at a toasty 80 degrees at all times
Woe to the person that forgets how hot Grandma keeps her house and wears a sweater to go see her. It is like your own personal hot flash for the entire visit. Of course, Grandma is always freezing and wanting to put on a third pair of socks. A side effect to being less than 100 lbs I guess. I wouldn't know.

The gilded gold mirrors and wall sconces
Clearly something from another time, but who knows...maybe they will return to interior design fashion someday.

Avon booklets
Both of my grandma always had Avon booklets for me to flip through at their houses. I guess I'll need to get my own.

There are also 2 experiences common to each visit to Grandma Dot's house. First, she tries to feed me constantly. Today she asked me if I wanted a snack as we were putting our jackets on to go out to lunch...like I'm going to faint from hunger on the 12 minute car trip. Second, and this one is always my favorite, Grandma's need to give me something of hers. Today I got a pair of Halloween tights and some support hose. Who could live without those?