Mother's Day Theme Week Part 2

I am very lucky to have married into a family that has accepted me as one of their own. If it wasn't for the Nieman and Voglis side I don't really think I would know what it's like to have an extended family of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. (My side is a little dysfunctional). I was lucky enough to also find more grandparents to love. If you know me really well then you know my love for the older generation. Sometimes I think was born in the wrong era.

I'm going to share some of my memories of our Grandmothers aka Great Grandmas to the kids.

Tommy's Paternal Grandma:

When I first met Grandma (Audrey) Nieman I thought that she looked like June Cleaver. There was just something about her that that reminded me of June. Some of my favorite memories of Grandma was down at LBI for the annual Nieman bash. We would sit around the table playing dominoes and other games all while glancing at the TV to watch Miss America. Tommy and always enjoyed being down at LBI with the family. I also remember the first and only trip that Grandma made out to our house. It was around Labor day and we went to the Garlic Festival. It was so hot. Grandma had chemo therapy the day before and she was determined to go to the Garlic Festival on this very hot day with us. She was a trooper.

Tommy and I remember her fondly every year on her birthday. We named both kids after Audrey, and last year we walked in the Susan G Komen 5K in memory of Grandma.

Tommy's Maternal Grandma:

Grandma (Joan) Voglis is someone that I enjoy going to visit with the kids. She is very animated and I love listening to her stories. One of my favorite stories is when a black bear came and paid her a visit in the back of her house. Grandma always makes sure to call us for all of our birthdays and all of the Jewish holidays. It's nice that she always remembers us.

Maternal Grandma... BUBBIE

Bubbie (Beatrice) Hirshhorn was not in my life too long. Bubbie died right before my 10th birthday. She actually died the night before her 65th Birthday. Bubbie was always sick and in the hospital or some rehab center to get help from her strokes. One thing that I remember about Bubbie is how much she loved red pepper flakes. She would put half the bottle on her Italian food. I always thought it was strange but I've learned that she did that because she didn't have much taste buds left from all those years of smoking. My greatest moment with Bubbie was taking her to the Rehab center with my father. I was pushing her in her wheel chair and she was telling everyone with her slurred speech that I was her precious granddaughter. She told me during that same visit that I should become a nurse and take care of older people. It's funny how this always stayed with me especially since I went into the geriatric field partly because of her.

Something that I always thought was a little ironic is Audrey's birthday was October 1st, Tommy's birthday is October 2nd, my Bubbie died on October 3rd, and her birthday was October 4th. Weird haaaaa?

My Paternal Grandma...Nana

Nana Walters, Shafer, Densten. I know she has been married three times and found the love of her life in her late 80's. She lost him soon after they started to date. I have so many fond memories of Nana. Too many to list and we are still making memories together. As I have said many times before Nana is one of my role models and someone that I am often compared to. Me and Nana are like peas and carrots. Nana is enjoying the next generation of her family.

On Another Note:

Today I worked on my Herb Garden.

Here are some pictures of the garden:

Pictured above is the garden before. It had a lot of weeds!!!

Here is the garden after. On the left side is the perennial garden of strawberries, chives, and green onions. On the right side is the herb garden. I love to grow herbs. We use so much of the herbs during the season. I also bought some flowers for the kids to pick. The more they get picked the more the flowers grow.

Next I work on the vegetable garden.

Hope you have a great day. Right now I am just hoping the house doesn't blow away.

Love and Hugs,

Janine