Grandma Ree's letters

Dear Family and Friends, SURPRISE ! SURPRISE !! SURPRISE !!! Yes. It seems that life is full of surprises! Especially mine, in the last little while. FIRST: A couple of years ago, Dan, my steady, level-headed son, announced he was marrying someone he hadn’t even met yet and didn’t know much about, only through their conversations on a website for church members. WOW! How could he do such a thing? What a great surprise that was! A real shocker! But it turned out well, because he and Cathy are now serving a mission together in Hawaii. So, you just never know. SECOND: Just over a year ago, Carol, my 85 year old sister and a widow of 10 years, announced that she was getting married! That, too, was a shocker! But we all wholeheartedly approved of it and were happy for her and Morris. And I was shocked again, when I saw her energetically dancing Jitterbug style at their wedding reception, after having had a hip replacement sometime earlier. What a great couple they are! THIRD: Just one month...

Dear Family and Friends      What was interesting during September? Well, let’s see... Labor Day came and went without much to-do on my part. The hydroplanes went speeding by, again, up and down the river. I heard them long before they reached here and long after they passed, their noise is quite unmistakable, but I didn’t actually see their little boats from my spot inside the house. They won’t be back until next Memorial Day.      We are still having fun with our cat, Haiku, as it chases after the laser dot and a small feather and then for no reason at all, runs lickety-split up and down the hardwood hallway and ends up sliding into a small rug at both ends. Maybe that’s her way of getting some daily exercise, but it's fun to watch her do it. She’s definitely True’s cat and cuddles and purrs for her, but not for me. I don’t have a proper lap anymore! She utters some meows once in a while, which are a little loud, but not bad. So, I guess we’ll keep her. ...

 My Dear Family and Friends,                                                                                                September 1, 2023      Remember when I said last month that we had acquired a cat? Well, she has succeeded in making herself at home, all right. She is on my bed each morning wanting to be rubbed by the roller thing I have. At first, being a two year old cat, she wasn’t too gung-ho about playing with toys, but when True started to shine her laser dot around, boy, she was jumpin’, hoppin’, and chasin’ that thing all over the place. Being curious about everything, she has learned to open kitchen drawers and cabinet doors and roam around among the pots and pans and oth...

  A few things of interest did happen in the month of July.  The first was the acquisition of a foundling (a cat, that is), who was among many being housed by a friend in preparation of being adopted.  We thought it was perfect for True and me.  So we brought her home.  She was scared of the wheelchair that came rolling towards her, but soon got used to it.  We really enjoy having her here, as it sleeps under True’s bed and is not much trouble at all.  She’s a cute little furry thing.  Gray, with a white face, neck and legs. True gave her the name of “HaiKu.”   And so now, she is a new member of our family.     Because my stump began stinging from the inside, due to a few nerve ends being aroused again, and kept stinging so much, I was unable to wear the prosthesis for many days until it quieted down.  I hope that doesn’t ever happen again because I need to be up on my leg for at least a few hours every day or I’m never going...

  Dear Family and Friends           July 1, 2023 Seems like each month, it is getting harder to come up with something special to write about.  In fact, I’m thinking about writing letters only every other month or so, because I’m sure you are not interested in knowing about every time I go to a potluck or have doctor or physical therapy appointments, which is all that my life seems to be filled with now.  I’m not even able to include any new puzzles, because I”m now using ones from previous years, unless I happen to acquire one from somewhere else to include with my own. But I shouldn‘t worry, because towards the end of the month things always seem to pick up, as they did in June. After the Park’s huge yard sale in early June of this year, where I did buy a few things, Dan and Cathy did come here as planned from their home in Florida for a week, before leaving on July 31st  to fulfill a two year mission in Hawaii.  From h...

 Dear Family and Friends,      I can’t believe that May has come and gone already. I hope you don’t get bored hearing about my daily activities, but it’s just my way of keeping in touch with everyone. So, here goes………      Since I was asked to be “Sunshine Lady” for the Park, I am required to attend the 1st of the month Residents Board Meeting to report how many cards were delivered the previous month. This also gives me the chance to get in on the discussions and plans for the next month and feel more involved here.      On the 5th of May I made up “Cinco de Mayo” puzzles to share with the Church’s ‘older ladies’ as we enjoyed the lovely ‘tea party’ prepared for us by the Primary girls, ages 8 thru 11, who did all the decorating, food preparing, and serving. It was delightful for us and good training for them. They had sent a really cute invitation, but I failed to see the notation at the very bottom which said, “Dress an...

  May 1, 2023 Dear Friends and Family, The month of April started out with inspiring messages from our prophet and apostles and others at General Conference in Salt Lake. Then the very next week was Easter with beautiful music from the Tabernacle Choir and more meaningful messages from our inspired leaders. Later, in our own ward’s relief society, a very resourceful former school teacher presented the Easter story very effectively by using objects to represent the various activities of that week. Very appropriately, she had small items hidden inside plastic Easter eggs that were numbered from 1 to 12. These were among the basketful of eggs that were passed to everyone, but containing only candy. As each number was called for and opened, we had a chance to guess what it might refer to, and then were given biblical information connected to that event. I can’t remember them all, but a few stuck in my mind:--- a leaf - palm leaves, a few coins - clearing the temple, bread - the last su...