October 2009

Trick or Treat Costumes Made by Nana

Posted by teresak on October 25, 2009 Leave a Comment

I am a NOT a crafty nana, but I know some who are. Since this is October I thought it would be fun to take a look at kids Trick or Treat costumes made by nanas.

kruz

This adorable little guy is Kruz. Sounds like a motorcycle guy, doesn’t it?  Proud mom, Jessica says, “My grandmother, Barbara Curry, made the chaps for Kruz’s 2nd Halloween in 2007. When I was a little girl, my grandmother made all my costumes… I was always dressed up as a cheerleader, so each year she used the same pattern, just a little bigger size.”

marthabutterfly1 (2)

This cute butterfly is Martha. Martha’s mom, Char, said that the wings were made by Martha’s nana, Cheryl Booth, after Martha picked out the material. Nana also made Martha’s brother some blue wings but he was too busy playing to have his picture made.  According to Char, “Life has come full circle, I’m attaching a photo of me and my siblings from 1980.  It’s not the best picture, but my sister and I were butterflies… (I’m the one in green, my sis in yellow) and my mom went ALL OUT with making those.  I have such good memories of that Halloween – the wings were HUGE and we loved, loved, loved them!  They had batting and were quilted and we even had little finger loops, so we could spread the wings wide and FLY!  I wish we still had those wings…

halloween1980 (2)

Char also says, “I’m attaching some photos of Samuel when he was 2… my mother-in-law (Faye Huskins) made this adorable costume for Samuel.  He has a stuffed Tiger named Bob that is his most prized possession in all the world (and his best friend), so she made him a “Bob” costume.  We still have it and Martha wears it now for fun.

samueltiger3Aren’t these nanas crafty? And aren’t these little trick or treaters cutie pies? I just love watching kids play dress up!

And kids aren’t the only ones who can play dress up….

elle 004This is Elle the dinosaur (aka dog). Mom Ginny made her costume for her. Elle has requested dog biscuits instead of candy in her trick or treat bag.

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Woolly Worms and Little Bunny Foo Foo

Posted by teresak on October 23, 2009 1 Comment

Did you  know that there are folks who predict the weather by watching woolly worms? These are probably some of the same people who watch for the groundhog on Groundhog’s Day. My grandparent’s knew all about signs associated with the weather but now that they are gone I can’t remember what they were. So yesterday when I saw two woolly worms on my porch step I decided to do a little research.

According to www.woollyworm.com it is believed that if the woolly worm has more brown on its body than black, it will be a fair winter. If the woolly worm has more black than brown, the winter will be harsh.

black worm brown worm So if there is a black one and a brown one on my porch steps, what does that mean? One side of my house will have a more severe winter than the other side?

Intrigued by a web site that devotes it’s self to worms, I kept reading and learned that Banner Elk, North Carolina hosts a Woolly Worm Festival, complete with worm races. Now that’s excitement! I can just picture little kids getting excited, jumping up and down and then accidentally stomping the first place race winner.

If you’d like to attend you will have to wait until next year, this years festival is over. 1, 604 worms raced. The winner gets $1,000 and is expected to share with their owner. I may just go get those two worms off my back porch and start training them for next year.

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Abby was here Wednesday and she kept singing a song about a bunny named Foo Foo. I decided to Google it and see if I could get the lyrics because she only remembered six or seven words. It turns out You-Tube has more versions of Bunny Foo Foo than you can shake a stick at, but nanas beware…not all versions are suitable for young children.  I clicked on one and a bunny bops field mice on the head and blood squirted everywhere. After I gasped in horror and closed out of that video, I tried another one and it was worse (I’ll spare you the details). It turns out that Bunny Foo Foo is a mean old rabbit that scoops up field mice and bops them on the head. This good fairy gives him three chances to straighten up, but Foo Foo declines and keeps killing mice. Finally the fairy turns Foo Foo into a goon. Hare today-Goon tomorrow (gag me with a spoon) is the moral to the story. What a plot.

Anyway, if you are curious by now and have never experienced the delights of this adorable (?) children’s classic, the G version is here.

If you want the gross version with blood squirting (shame on you) you will have to look it up yourself.

Warning: Listening to Bunny Foo Foo more than five times in one day can be hazardous to your health. After I found the G version Abby made me play it over and over and over. I went to sleep dreaming of Bunny Foo Foo in my head and woke up with it still ingrained in my brain the next day! It’s driving me crazy!

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Cooking with Nana-Hot biscuits, melted butter, and homemade jam

Posted by teresak on October 22, 2009 1 Comment

My mom and grandmother could make biscuits in their sleep. Grandma made them for breakfast and then again at lunch. Supper was usually leftovers. Mom made them for supper, almost every night. Now days you can pop biscuits out of a can or buy some really good frozen ones in a bag that taste good, but they don’t compare with homemade ones fresh from the oven.

As a little girl I would sit on Grandma Layne’s counter top and she would give me my own little pile of dough to work with. Usually she’d give me a cookie cutter and I’d make a star or a heart biscuit. When I got older mom let me use the rolling pen and I thought that was a big deal.

Grandma always had homemade jellies, jams and preserves.  Mom made some great crab apple jelly and some cherry preserves, but not as much as Grandma did.

During my teen years my friends would drop in and eat mom’s biscuits cold and declare them “wonderful.” I prefer mine hot with butter and jam. The more fattening the better!

Mom’s and Grandma’s Biscuits

4 tablespoons crisco

2 cups self rising flour (Grandma preferred Martha White)

1 cup milk

Mom and Grandma both made biscuits so often that the biscuit bowl, rolling pin and biscuit cutter were kept in the same place under the sink. Evidently this was my great-grandmother’s custom as well because Grandma Layne said that once Ma (Great-grandma) got some arsenic (they used it for rat poisoning) mixed in with the biscuit flour. Someone had put it under the sink next to the flour (a definite no-no) Thankfully she got just enough to make everyone sick, but not kill anyone or I might not ever have been born!)

Sift flour into large mixing bowl. Drop crisco in. Add milk and then mix by hand (you can use a spoon but not nearly as effective) Scatter flour on clean counter top where you will knead dough. Mix flour and crisco by hand until you have a nice round ball. Plop it on the flour.  Knead until well mixed. Coat rolling pin and your hands with flour to keep it from sticking so much. Roll out dough until it’s about one half inch thick. Take cutter and cut out biscuits. Give spare dough to grandchild and let them make shapes, play with it, whatever.  Then let them put their biscuit on the pan next to yours. Bake at 450 degrees until golden brown. Take out, melt butter, add jam and enjoy!

biscuits

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Memories of my Nana

Posted by teresak on October 22, 2009 Leave a Comment

One of the biggest differences between grandmothers today and baby boomer’s grandmothers is that today’s nana most likely works outside the home. My own grandmother, Grandma Layne, was one of the hardest working women I’ve ever known but it was all done at home or on the farm.

Nettie Lee Shirley DeMumbrum (Grandma Layne)

Nettie Lee Shirley DeMumbrum (Grandma Layne)

Another difference was that Grandma Layne lived right down the road from us and I could visit daily. Today’s grandmothers may live on the east coast with grandchildren on the west coast, or they may be like my friend Connie who has grandchildren overseas.

Because Grandma Layne lived so close and was home all the time I spent a lot of time with her.  I have so many memories of the white farm house where they lived.

This is the front of the house. It has porches on all sides.

This is the front of the house. It has porches on all sides.

When mom went back to college after my brother and I started school, we visited Grandma Layne daily.  There was a hen house where we collected eggs and a brooder house for the baby chicks. Several more outbuildings included a wood shed, a two seater outhouse (I guess if you gotta go, you gotta go) a wash room and a room where they hung the hams to cure. All those buildings are gone now.

The last two barns left standing on my grandparent's farm

The last two barns left standing on my grandparent's farm

My grandfather and his siblings grew up on this farm and they used to have corn cob fights around these barns.  For city folk who don’t know what a corn cob fight is, you find the wettest, muddiest cob you can find and when your sibling isn’t looking you throw it at them. That’s all it takes for a corn cob war and yes, getting hit with one hurts!

Do you have memories of grandparents you’d like to share with us at NanaHood? If so, send them in. We’d love to hear them.

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Increase your brain activity-Read NanaHood Daily

Posted by teresak on October 21, 2009 Leave a Comment

I have scientific proof that NanaHood will stimulate your brain! Isn’t that great news? Send an email! Call your friends and neighbors! But before you do, read the rest of this post.

While surfing the web yesterday I ran across an article by HealthDay News and another byScienceDaily, both articles reference a study conducted by a UCLA team of scientists. They tested 24 neurologically normal volunteers (age 55 to 78). Half had used the Internet daily, but the other half had limited experience. They hooked up these folks to an MRI and instructed them to conduct Internet searches for one hour.  Then after this initial MRI scan, they were sent home and told to do Internet searches for an hour each day for seven days over a two week period. When they came back for the next brain scan guess what the scientists had learned?

Those folks who had prior Internet experience showed a much greater extent of brain activation, than those who had not browsed the Internet. But those who had just been introduced to the Internet were making gains after just seven days of browsing!

Conclusion: No matter how old you are, using your brain is good for you. Browse the Internet. Do research.  Read NanaHood every day. We want to keep those brain cells happy!

Warning to new Internet surfers: Spending hours on the Internet shopping can be potentially harmful to your health and your bank account!

Sources:

ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 21, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/10/091019134707.htm#

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20091019/hl_hsn/websurftosaveyouragingbrain

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Nana’s quilts: A Legacy of Love

Posted by teresak on October 20, 2009 2 Comments

Every winter my mother and grandmother would “piece a quilt.”  Years ago my mother bought material and had my childhood clothes made by a neighbor lady. She kept the material scraps to make quilts from. Now that both my mother and my grandmother are gone, those quilts have become some of my most prized possessions. I look at the material from my dresses and the memories warm my heart.

yellow quilt

There’s something about wrapping up in a quilt when it’s cold outdoors that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside: especially when the quilt was made by someone you love. In fact, it’s the next best thing to a hug. These aren’t just quilts, they are a representation of how much my mother and grandmother loved me.

Over the years I’ve collected other quilts because I admire the craftsmanship that goes into making one.  While I don’t love the newer ones as much as I do the ones that mom and grandma made, I still appreciate them.

star quiltI wish I had the patience and talent it takes to make a quilt, but I don’t. This nana runs wide open 24/7 and doesn’t have a crafty gene in her body.  I’ve tried being artistic but it doesn’t come easily for me. Before our first child was born I did cross stitch a baby blanket.

nick's blanky

There were four more babies born, but none of them got a cross stitched blanket. Wonder why? The baby I made this for will be 28 years old next month. I showed it to him and told him how lucky he was to have it. He looked at me like I was crazy. “I guess I could frame it,” he said. “What else can I do with it?”

“You are supposed to look at it every day and think about how much your mother wanted you and loved you from the moment you were conceived! You are supposed to look at each tiny stitch and remark about it’s delicacy!”

He looked at me as if I’d lost it, shook his head and said, “I’ll save it for Abby.”

Now that’s a good idea. Maybe someday my granddaughter will appreciate how much her nana loved her daddy.

I have tried my hand at other crafts as well. My biggest undertaking and by far the most difficult project I’ve ever tackled was making a stained class piece. My oldest son and I took the class together and I have a deep seated appreciation of the work that goes into making even a small piece of stained glass.

Here’s my stained glass piece (my one and only….there will be no more!)

stained glass 3

We were building our house at the time I was making this and I asked our builder if he would help me find a place to put it in our house where we could all enjoy it.

stained glass 2

We placed the stained glass piece on the screened in porch that over looks our back yard.

Today I’m giving thanks for the wonderful legacy of love my mother and grandmother left me.  I may just go get a quilt, wrap up in it right now and rock on my back porch. Thank you Lord for loving moms and nanas! They are truly one of your greatest blessings!

gratituesdayfall2

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