Reminiscing

I've been thinking a lot about my grandma and grandpa lately. I think it's because my grandma REALLY wanted a little great-granddaughter. I mean, really, really wanted one. Ever since she found out I was pregnant she's been referring to the baby as a girl. We kept telling her it might be a boy, but she'd look at us with a *knowing* eye.

She cried when we called to tell her baby A was going to be 'Allie'. Cried. And cried. I didn't quite know how to respond.

Well, turkey was on sale this week at Harris Teeter. I LOVE my grandma's cooking. Love it. Love it. Love it! She makes this amazing dressing. I asked her to write it down for me, step-by-step last Thanksgiving. Well, she did - and this is what I got a few weeks later.














My mom was quick to let me know that she had actually gotten the recipe from Grandma when I first got married and put it into a cookbook for me. But this one was hand written. By my grandma. And I must say that her handwriting looks just like my great-grandmas. Which makes it even more special to me.

Here's the kicker. The dressing includes the 'insides' of the turkey. Hmmmm. Pretty sure when I was enjoying it last Thanksgiving I didn't know that. So I'm going to try and make it. Not sure how it will go when my pregnant self tries to mix the (cooked) 'giblets' of a turkey into a dressing. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I know exactly how it will go. My dressing will turn out to look nothing like my grandmas. It will also taste nothing like my grandmas. Because she is a good cook. And I am not. But I'm trying anyway. And oh yeah, she makes homemade biscuits and puts them in her dressing. Mine will be coming from a can for sure.

So I've also been thinking about my grandpa a lot. He must really love gardening (the vegetable type - not so sure about the flowers). For as long as I can remember he's had tomatoes and okra growing in his backyard. I'm sure he has other stuff, but I only remember tomatoes and okra. I really don't like tomatoes, but I remember everyone RAVING about his homegrown, vine ripened tomatoes. Well, I must've gotten some genes from him because although I still really dislike tomatoes, I like to garden. We bought some okra this year, just for kicks. Neither Doug nor I thought we would like it. Turns out we love it. As a matter of fact, this is what I had for dinner tonight. Yup, just this.












Maybe it's Allie's salute to my grandparents (her great-grandparents) because I've been eating okra like CRAZY since I've been pregnant. It's so delicious.

I always, always think about Papa when we are planting our garden, and when we pull our first tomatoes. We even talk a little gardening around the holidays. If we come up around mother's day, we always get a tour of Papa's garden. This year I noticed that he saves the little black plastic packs that seedlings come in and plants his 'starter seeds' inside early to get an earlier crop. He has this little rolling cart that he rolls around to well-lit parts of his house. Guess what? This year I saved my little black plastic packs and we'll be doing the same thing next year. Who says one generation doesn't appreciate the others knowledge? :)

Well, enough reminiscing for one day. Perhaps me and baby Allie should get us some sleep. After all, there will be more okra to pick tomorrow!

Love you Grandma Jenny and Papa!