Salt Dough Ornaments

 

Paint and glitter day at grandma’s house.

Salt dough ornaments were made and dried in advance so they were ready to paint and decorate when the boys arrived. Their sister came later… she was out shopping with mommy.

I found the recipe here (link). Using a straw to make holes for the string works great, until it gets plugged up with dough, but a dowel rod inside the straw makes it easy to push those dough dots out.

Each child decorated four of their own to take home. I painted trees and snowman scenes.

It was fun… thanks for reading!

 

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Mist of August

Alas, a moment alone… it has been awhile.  The mist of August is fading fast.

I’ve been busy doing the grandma thing, between testing biz ideas and dealing with some health issues. Oh, not much…  had moles removed from my back, my blood pressure’s been jacked, and my tolerance for pain has been out of whack since last November.

To quote a seven year old out of context, “Don’t worry grandma, it will be alright.”

Yes, I’m quoting out of context, totally off topic, as that was her response to a “what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Oh yeah, I love being grandma.

Blending families, next generation down, has sweet moments as our grandchildren are just now starting to get to know each other.

Odds are, the girls in the photo will grow up to be friends.

As for the boys? I don’t know… his oldest granddaughter is the same age as my youngest grandson, and they got into it within an hour of meeting each other.  One minute, they were both sprawled out on the living room floor with coloring books, engaged in kiddie conversation while sharing a box of Crayolas, and the next… he was airing complaints on the verge of tears.

Yes, he copped a little attitude when he found out “that girl” had baked cookies with HIS grandma! And, to make matters worse, when he asked her for a cookie, she said, “No, those cookies are for Santa.”

His mama took him home, so I did not know that he had asked her for a cookie until a few days later.

How easily the problem could have been solved by just talking her into letting him have a cookie. But, no… for eight months, from mid-December to mid-August, these two little kids had been in a stand-off over a cookie.  She would not speak to him, would turn and walk in the house if she was here when his mom pulled up with the kids in the van. She claimed he had spit on her when he was upset in December, so she was not going to have anything to do with him until he apologized. He doesn’t remember spitting on her… odds are it was an accidental spittle, but he finally agreed to apologize.

Now that they are finally speaking to each other, a whole new problem has arose… he likes her…. as in REALLY likes her. He likes her enough to act like a goofy screwball idiot around her, totally out of his “normal” realm of behaviors, and that’s like wow… I knew some boys did that when they liked girls, but at his age? He is only 4-1/2 years old, way too young to be totally enamored by a girl.  It is so obvious that he likes her that, when we were all at a birthday party, other kids started singing that “sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g” song about them.

Her grandpa thinks she likes him, too. He noticed how she watches him, that wherever he goes, her eyes follow.  She also managed to sit beside him when it was time for cake.

I asked if we should tell them that they are sorta kind of cousins so they will grow up thinking of each other AS cousins… they would be, by marriage only, if her grandpa married his grandma (which we have absolutely no intention of ever doing) and he said no, just let it be… can’t stop what a heart wants anyway.

Do I want to fast forward 20 years, see if these two babes end up together as adults?

Nah… the future will unfold itself… and what will be will be.

Roots

Grandma, please stay in this house.
I want to visit you here when I’m all grown up.

Awe, such an odd request… have I really moved so much? A quick mental count of addresses (five) since this child was born eight years ago reveals a short list compared to my lifetime change of no less than 36 addresses.

Maybe more… it is easy to forget some places.

I grew up moving, new school every year, and never grew too attached to anywhere as an adult. Home is where you hang your hat, no matter where you are. Perhaps a little too Winnie the Pooh for cartoon psychology? Was it Piglet who said, “I go everywhere I go?” Twirled with Popeye’s “I am who I am” on down a life path of Paddington Bear adventures, clicking my heels together three times will not land me back in some magical place called home.

Okay Zarah, grandma is putting down roots… bought the house, with full intentions of staying put for the duration, if I am still alive and breathing on this planet when she is all grown up.

I requested a Burpee Seed Catalog… all wish books should be made of paper, even if you can flip pages online. I need to plant daisies, strawberries, and sunflowers to make the beds feel like mine.

Has it only been three months?

I lived downtown for three years, but obvious changes made me feel like a visitor to DoYo when I hopped the bus to run some errands in my old neighborhood. I had planned to buy Sumatra at Friends… but, the coffee shop is gone now, with brown paper “closed for business” signs plastered on locked doors. Circle revamped their store layout. That’s cool… they are adding more grocery items. Crossed paths with a bearded man who used to hit me up for a buck now and then, when he was clean shaven. New employee at Joe Maxx, who made me repeat my order.

How hard is it to understand that a request for a “tall” coffee means the customer wants coffee in the tall cup? Small, medium, and large are heights baby, not diameter sizes… they all take the same size lids.

Whoa… when did Joe Maxx change their to-go cups? The new not-as-stiff white paper cups totally suck… I ended up fighting with the lid as it kept popping off with the slightest pressure on the sides from just trying to pick it up. Before walking out the door, the dude was kind enough to swap the large for a medium cup, on which the lid stayed on better. Wish they’d go back to serving in the old brown cups, they were insulated a bit, kept the coffee warm longer.

I don’t mind change… as long as it is for the better.

Come Spring, the grandchildren can help me put seeds in the ground and we will grow some roots right here on the south side of Youngstown. We might grow some tomatoes, too.

Thanks for reading!