It's All on your Head

Hair. Aren't we obsessed with it? There is even a musical, for gosh sakes!

I have tried to recall at what point in my life, my hair became a thing. I remember going to the beauty shop with my mom as a young girl and getting a permanent. It was to mark my entrance into school, and she had me looking very pretty. There would follow multiple trips to the salon with every hairstyle imaginable. The Pixie,Twiggy, Cher, Hamill, Farrah Fawcett, crop, perms, wavers, straighteners,and on and on.  One day, my stylist said, "You know, there are only so many ways to style your hair." I am pretty certain I have tried most.


Kid Hair Books


In my teens, the stylists started noticing gray hairs underneath the thick locks on top. I laughed it off. In my twenties, I played with hair color for fun. I loved it, too. There are so many pretty ways to highlight and enhance one's hair color out there. Then in my early thirties, I had to shift to covering gray instead of just playing with color. I considered going 'natural' many times over the years. There were lots of reasons I didn't.  I enjoyed my trips to the salon, and my hubby thought I was too young to be gray. I agreed.

Now that I have 100% white hair, coloring it has become more of a hassle and less of a reward with the outcome, so I am giving my real color a chance. I won't tell you I love it. I don't hate it either.  At this point, it's about accepting more than the hair color. It's about accepting and loving myself the way God created me. It's about deciding what to do in this next phase of life that will make a difference, regardless of the color, length, or style of my hair.

For my boys, remember this. No matter what color you hair is or whether or not you have any, Grammy loves you. It's just hair. It's all on your head...

Gator Gumbo

The summer before Katrina struck the beautiful and unique city of New Orleans, Papallama and I had a chance to visit.  I remember we walked around the French Quarter all night to the point that when we woke up the next day, we thought our feet would fall off!  I don't think my feet have ever been so sore from walking.  But New Orleans is sort of like the Worldwide Web, once you start exploring, there is no stopping.

While we were there, we enjoyed the wonderful food, and ate probably one of the best meals of my life at Commander's Palace.  It was so fancy smancy that even my best duds couldn't get us a table with the locals.  They were decked out in hats and gloves, let me tell you.

Yes, they know how to cook in NOLA, so we decided to take a cooking class.  We learned how to make jumbalaya, red rice, how to cook shrimp their way, and last, but not least, how to prepare gumbo!  It is a well orchestrated event, cooking gumbo, and you best have it all at your fingertips with a sous chef by your side. (That was my job.) Papallama has prepared this meal only one time a year, and it is an all time family favorite as much for the entertainment as for the food, which is delicious!

That brings me to the latest installment in what Grammy Reads these days.  PDub paid her a visit at the new house.  The new house has some unusual neighbors.  Gators!

So, I couldn't help but be reminded of Gator Gumbo, one of my favorite read aloud books.  Call it a cross between Brer Rabbit and the Little Red Hen.  This book is a hoot and a half to read! A hoot and a half!  P Dub absolutely loved it! And be prepared, because when you mess with a gator, things do not end well for you.

Later, Gator~

Mission Accomplished

All three grandsons, and a Papallama as a bonus!  I sure do love these guys!

Cheeeeese~

Swish!

Sometimes the best books are the wordless ones.  That was the case this past weekend when I visited Baby Bird.  On display in his room was his new favorite book, Where's Walrus?, by Stephen Savage.  The adventure begins when a bored walrus escapes from his zookeeper and heads into the city.  He cleverly disguises himself in a number of urban locations before discovering an unknown talent...the high dive...for which he receives five 10s!  Baby Bird gave this book a ten, and I read it at least that many times or more.

Another recent addition to his library is Red Sled. This sweetly illustrated book consists of onomatopoeias to give life to a wild adventure on a red sled left outside by a child and discovered by her nature friends.  Get your sound effects ready when you 'read' this one!

The boys will all be together over the holidays, so my goal is to capture them all in a picture just being still for a split second to be in focus.  Is that too much to ask? 

Swoosh~

Gonevember

November!  That month of feasting has come and gone.  Here's a taste of ours...

Surfing

Giddy-upping



Voting



Cheering



Riding



Growing



Singing



Walking



Gobbling

 Now wobbling into December.  I'm sure it won't go nearly as fast, right?

Put Your Feet Up and Stay Awhile

It's been a busy month or two around here with football season in full swing.  In between home games, I have been meeting delivery people at the new house on the island, and just having a good time hanging pictures, and pulling projects together that I started even before the ink was dry on the deal. 

Let me show you a few of the projects, and I promise to get back into books very soon.  (We HAVE been reading!)

Thanks to Country Boys, I have a very pretty basket arrangement on the door.  I love how the designer incorporated some low country feel into the flowers by adding cotton.  It was her suggestion to go with something other than a wreath given the oval window in the door.  I would have never thought of that. 

I went crazy with spray paint on some my projects.  Yay for spray paint!  Here is a sneak peek of the guest room.  The bed, the side table, and even the lamp got sprayed! I wish I had a more recent picture because I have added a lampshade and FINALLY gotten the best possible knobs for the old computer hutch.  Remember that project from last summer?  It's found a great space in the new home.

One of the 'funnest' rooms to plan has been the bunkroom for the grandchildren and other young at heart guests.  It has a nautical theme, and there is no end to the possiblities there.  I have an old oar, ship's wheel mirror, and lobster buoys still to be hung...see what I mean?  Happily, all three grands have already tested this room out and given it their stamp of approval!

 

And then there is the blank slate on the porch that Mama Cat is working on as a Christmas gift for us.  How many days til' Christmas?  Can't wait to see her 'vision' of what this area should be. 

That's just a small glimpse into some of the projects that have been occupying this Grammy's time instead of keeping up the blog.

I hope everyone has a spooktacular Halloween!

 

 

A Grammy By Any Other Name...

will answer.  Yes, there are many names for a grandmother.  Nana, Mimi, Grandma, G-Ma, Lovely, Honey, MayMay...and of course, Grammy.  Before PDub was born, I was asked many times what I would be called.  "Whatever he chooses will be fine with me," was my basic opinion.  Still I was pressed to choose something.  At the time, Candice Bergen was in a popular TV show, Boston Legal.  I enjoyed the show and thought Candice was a pretty attractive woman of my 'age', so when her TV granddaughter appeared in an episode and called her Grammy, I decided that I liked that.  It sounded like someone who would be fun to hang out with and that's what I hope to be to my grandchildren. 

The name has worked out well.  Gammy, as PDub, now pronounces it, has been used with great success.  Just let me hear that around 6:00a.m., and I am by the crib in a heartbeat.  When I hear it on the phone, I can't help but smile.  Yes, the name certainly seems to fit.

But a Grammy by another name works, too.  Baby Bird has dubbed me GaGa.  I love that name, too!  He picked up the Papa name for Papallama very quickly and follows him around like a little duckling, but he seemed confused as to who I was...namewise.  Then on our last visit, the magical moment when I officially got my title occurred.  When asked to point to Grammy, he smiled, looked at me, and said GaGa.  (Cue the sappy music)  Now he is quite satisfied as to who I am and what to call me.  And so am I.  I have asked Mama Cat not to correct him and tell him I am Grammy.  No, I am GaGa for as long as he wants to call me that. 

Just call me~