Gram's Place

I’ve been experimenting some on twitter this week.  Months ago, I started like three different twitter accounts and couldn’t figure out how to do it.  The one that I named “Tortelitha”?  Yeah, can’t figure out the password anymore. So, this past week, I’ve figured out a few things on Twitter. 1. To get followers you have to tweet. 2. To get followers you have to follow. 3. One message = a tweet, More than one message=tweets, and when you are posting these messages you are tweeting.  Simple to some, but not to me. 4. Peeps are everyone in the “Twitter Community” that you follow.  Yes, you are part of a community here.  And a “re-tweet” is like a Christmas gift… the best one you can give your fellow peeps. 5. It’s good to follow “master peeps”…whoever they are in your world. 6. tinyurl.com makes your superlongcrazyurlIcan’tbelieveitsthislongbutithinkyoushouldcheckitout.coms into a usable format. 7. Those things you never do in texting – Gr8 – w/ – 2- and so forth… are ver

Right now, I’m supposed to be cleaning the kitchen.  But, the coffee isn’t ready yet.  So, I refuse to do it without at least two cups of coffee.  Yes, two. Come on, it’s Saturday! So, I moved my laptop to the kitchen where I am sitting… working on my LIST.  You know… the list of things to clean in the house.  I can definitely tell what I have to clean by well… just opening my eyes.  But the list gives me a sense of accomplishment.  And it helps me to know how fast I need to move.  I mean, if at 2pm, only three things are crossed off the list, I know I better do as my mom used to say “get a move on”. I was tempted to really get detailed on my list… like, instead of “dishes”.  I could say 1. wash dishes 2. dry dishes 3. put away dishes (which is an anomaly in this house) But, I won’t.   In honor of cleaning day, I leave you with this list.  Things on my countertops 1. newspapers from last week 2. grocery list 3. pen 4. kleenex 5. empty milk container 6. 20 di

I went out this morning just as the sun was coming up and took a few photos around town.

Lately,  I’ve been messing up a lot with my camera.  I have been absent-mindedly deleting pictures before I save them… or not taking them when I think I am … or other bizarre photography behavior! This morning, I was holding my granddaughter and she gave me the biggest smile.  It was absolutely beautiful.  I could barely see the dimple on her cheek form and the sparkle in her eyes.  It was one of those moments that I couldn’t wait to get to know her and she what her personality will be.  Instantly, of course, my reaction is to want to grab my camera.  I resisted. Yesterday, my mom called to tell me that someone I don’t know died.  As she described the event, my mind raced back to when Shawn’s grandmother passed away. We had been called and told that she wasn’t doing very well.  We went to the nursing home she was living at the time.  We went to her bedside and kissed her frail cheeks and held her thin hands.  Her eyes were closed, but I knew that even if they were open, they woul

My Dad’s birthday is in November.  He will be 70.  We all say he’s 70….going on 18.  He’s funny.  In his retirement, we always joke around that he can’t do more than one thing a day. Like, on Monday, he’ll go to the bank.  Then, on Tuesday, he’ll head to the grocery store. Wednesday he might go to the post office to see what it costs to send something to Trinidad from here.  Then, on Thursday, he’ll go back and get the stamps.  And yet… when he goes to California to visit family, he still likes to get out the boogie board and try his old tricks. My brother Todd and I have been discussing what to get him for his birthday.  I usually rely on Todd for the gift ideas.  We decided to go in together and get him a new truck box for his truck. For a girl, a truck box as a gift is really. really. dumb.  Dear husband, do not ever buy me one for my birthday. But, for dad… it was good times.  Todd found the truck box on a swap sheet.  He bought it, sanded it, painted it, and then he and

I have several people that I’ve been praying for lately. Big stuff going on in their lives… huge things.  Not just your everyday little issues.  Life changing. This morning, I read Psalm 77:1-20.  The Psalmist cries out to God.  He is in deep deep trouble.  He prayed all night long.  He was not comforted.  He was overwhelmed with desire for God to rescue him. He thought of the days gone by… when there was joy.  He questions “Has the Lord rejected me forever? Have His promises forever failed?  Has He forgotten?” He decides this is his fate… God…forgetting him. Then he remembers God’s deeds from long ago.  He can’t stop thinking about the things God DID do.  He redeemed His people, the Red Sea…he parted….the earth…it trembled and shook and He made a path through the treacherous waters.  He made a path through a way that nobody knew existed… and then, He led His people along that road… the road nobody knew existed before.

My husband says it’s an absurd thing to be mad at.  But, I have to blame someone(thing) and I don’t want the blame. This week I went to my daughter’s home…two hours away.  It was blasted hot in the beginning of the week. And the AC in my car didn’t work. I came home on Wednesday and drove the whole way… 70(ish) mph down the interstate with the windows down. (It was hot.) That evening, I discovered that Kohl’s had sent me a 30% off coupon for the sale that started Wed.  I met Shawn at church… and told him I was going to go to Kohl’s…. instead of church.  AND… I was hot…so I was taking his truck instead of the car with no AC. I found some great deals at Kohl’s…it was a lot of fun.  And, just in time to pick up Shawn and Em at church, I departed the store. And I couldn’t find the keys. At all. I dumped my purse out. Twice. I retraced my steps. Thrice. I inquired at the service desk. Frice. I searched the carts. Fiftice. And I even looked to see if the ‘secret’ key wa

A while ago, I mentioned that I was starting my own business.  I decided this morning that I should finally blog a little more about that. Throughout the last 23 years, I’ve worked, stayed home, worked, stayed home, worked, stayed home…it’s been a fluctuation between working outside the home, and staying home with the kids.  For the most part, I’ve been blessed to be a part of a family that has a home building business.  So, the majority of my work has been for the family business.  But, I’ve also worked… at an insurance agency,  McDonald’s, several nursing homes as a nurses aide, a hotel as a desk clerk and auditor, church, as an after school nature program coordinator,a rubber manufacturer’s plant, and a medical billing office. All of these places have taught me things.  I could go on and on about the lessons I’ve learned in my employment.  Both good and bad, my bosses, coworkers, supervisors… have all played a part in who I have become. Last year, we did a book club on the b