blue nordic

last week we joined my mom at my grandma's house for thursday lunch. lunch at grandma's on thursday used to be something i enjoyed on a regular basis. this was ages ago (or so it feels) when i had a real job and little to no children to attend to. it's more difficult now to make the forty minute trek to grandma's for lunch so i was thrilled to have an opportunity to do so last week. i love my grandma. i really love my grandma.

grandma is 90 years old. it overwhelms me to think of all she's seen, experienced and felt in her lifetime. i imagine she has loads of things she could talk about and tell us about but she would much rather sit and listen in on our boring lives and act genuinely interested when i try to explain how the internet works. she will make comments while i'm feeding the baby or changing the baby about what she used to do or how they used to do it and i can't believe she remembers, i hardly remember yesterday let alone sixty five years ago.

grandma doesn't keep recipes. everything she makes is by memory or made up right then and whatever it is, it's always yummy. when we arrived on thursday she had her dining room table set for a celebration. she even had her nice blue nordic china out ... for lunch. she wouldn't dream of serving mustard or mayo directly from the bottle and she remembers that when i was younger, i loved pickles so she always has a bowl of pickles out when i come around. i would never tell her that my taste buds have changed since i've had kids along with the size of my butt and my previously flawless skin.

i am certain it took grandma all morning to prepare the meal and set the table for lunch. she doesn't move fast, she can no longer walk unsupported yet even still, she made us home made chicken salad. it was delish. she meticulously placed a piece of lettuce on each of our plates and spooned the homemade salad onto the lettuce. it's all about the presentation. i couldn't help but think of how much easier it would have been for her to just buy already made salad but she wouldn't dream of it!

we clear the table and do the dishes while she sits and protests "i have nothing else to do today, leave them." she walks back to the bedroom and brings out two old stuffed animals, something she "got" for the kids to take home.

every time i'm around she tells me over and over how much she loves the book i made for her for her birthday last year. how she sits and looks at it over and over again. she tells me it's not the pictures so much as the words meant just for her. i'm glad that i've found a way to show her i love her. the process of making the book was stressful and tiring yet my heart was in it 100% because the recipient means the world to me. i was terrified she might have thought it to be an odd gesture and put it up on the shelf never to be opened again.

after lunch we sat around and tried to convince gavin to move. we discussed the various pieces of artwork she has randomly placed throughout the house, no rhyme or reason to her decorating and i appreciate that so much. my grandma was and incredible toll painter. it easy to think of toll painting as a cheesy hobby but some of the things she has done are incredible and i always leave inspired to learn how to toll paint although i know i wouldn't be any good at it. everything is just so simple and so relaxed at grandma's. i feel so content when i'm just hangin' with grandma ...