Saturday, October 9, 2010

Happy 100th Birthday!

Today my grandmother is 100 years old!  In celebration, I'm listing some of the memories I have of her, me, and life on the farm in Iowa.

I remember:
Her enormous flower garden... especially the big calla lilies that had to be dug each fall and stored for the winter.  There was a big lattice archway leading to the entrance of the garden.
Gathering fresh eggs from the hen house.  The eggs were always so warm as I removed them from under the hens.
Butchering chickens.  I can still recall the smell of scalded feathers.
Eating her noodles made from scratch.  They have a completely different taste and texture than store-bought.
Skippy, the dog.
Listening to the "Farm Report" every day on the radio at noon (a listing of current market prices for corn, hogs, cattle, etc.)
Playing in the corn crib.  We kids would climb to the highest point on the pile of corn and slide down over the ears of corn to the bottom.
Feeding corn to the hogs and watching them go wild when I tossed a few ears into their pen.
Eating big plates of chicken and pot pies.  Delicious!
The big, lacy fern displayed on a tall wooden fern stand in the dining room.  It had been passed from her grandmother to her mother, to her, and then to my mother, and now I have a piece of it.  Once it got to Florida, it escaped from the pot and is now spreading unchecked under a couple of citrus trees.
The dry cistern where potatoes were stored for the winter.
The old two-story farm house and the various outbuildings where the machinery was stored.
Swimming in the creek on hot summer days.
Riding in a horse-drawn sleigh through the empty fields of snow at Christmas, with the whole family singing carols.  In later years, the horses and sleigh were replaced by tractor and wagon.
Sitting over the hot-air register in the floor of the kitchen, trying to thaw out after riding in the sleigh!

These are just a few of my recollections from the old days.
Happy 100th Birthday, Momo!  Thanks for all the fond memories!

1 comment:

Rohrerbot said...

That sounds incredibly wonderful. I had a similiar experience growing up in Wisconsin and I have to admit that I miss those days. What great memories! Happy Birthday to your Grandmother! 100 is a landmark:)