madameblogalot

My granny is pretty awesome. We have always thought she is the coolest Granny around. She had a full set of Dr. Seuss books. She had my uncle’s old surfboard. She loved the “in” music. She took my cousin to Disney World. She was hip and cool. Growing up, all my friends called her Granny too. When my other grandmother died during my sophomore year, Granny let me just sit on her lap and cry. That really touched me as a teen. The immature thought that she could do that for me without feeling “bad” or “jealous” over my grief for my Grandma.

Since she lived in Pasadena, TX, we would refer to her as “the little old lady from Pasadena.” We could literally say “go Granny, go Granny, go Granny go” as she was always busy, busy, busy. She helped tutor at the school several days a week. She got a commendation from President George H.W. Bush for that work. When she wasn’t doing that, she was working with ladies bible class and the elderly at church. She would visit shut ins and cook food for those in need. She regularly made time to come visit me and my kids when they were young. She would also make the extra effort to go to ball games and plays to see them perform. She was official scorekeeper for my cousin’s Little League Baseball team.

Today my Granny is very sick. She is not doing too well. She has decided that she will no longer continue her dialysis treatments. It makes me sad to see her so ill. But I know she will soon be free from her pain and discomfort and be in a much better, happier place. She has been ready to go for sometime now. It is hard for us.

I know she will be busy and happy in the place she is headed. I want to be able to continue to say to her here ever after “go Granny, go Granny, go Granny go”. I love that little old lady from Pasadena.

A blogging friend of mine, Susanne, at Sue’s Daily Photography, has just embarked on a longtime dream of her and her husband. They have packed up and are getting ready to travel the United States from coast to coast. For now, they are headed back to Florida where they resided for several years to warm up a bit before they head out on their journey. As they travel, they hope to see interesting things for her to photograph and him to paint. They hope to meet many new people and have even asked for places to pick up a hot meal or a night in a bed along the way. Of course I told Sue I would love to meet her and have her here for a time during the course of her trip.

Sue is originally from Switzerland and has been in the US for some time now. She is a professional photographer and does a lovely job, as seen on her blog. In thinking about having Sue and her husband here for a night or two, I began thinking about how to host them. I am not much into big dinner parties, but a small neighborhood get together would be nice, especially since our neighbors regularly get together on Friday nights. Since we live in South Texas, I thought Tex-Mex might be in order.

On the Celebrations website there is a party planning menu for a Mexican dinner party on a budget. It includes a menu, shopping list and estimated price for the items. They even include ideas for table decor. Their menu feeds six for an estimated $43!