Day 8/9 ops!

We were in shopping yesterday among other things and missed getting anything written. W spent a great deal of time looking for what I had thought would be an easy task, finding a set of plastic stacking cups for our grandson. Who would have thought that some thing that simple would be so hard to find. It seems that he loves other kids sets and wanted some to play with. When our kids were little they were a standard toy at every house. We had two sets for the kids, one was round and he other pentagon shaped. After having no luck at the Duluth toy stores, I went on line today. I did find some but it would be hard to get them here to ship to Texas in time. And I do like to see what we are sending. I called our local Pamida today and they have two sets in stock so tonight we will head to town to get them. At least I hope they are what we are looking for.

But I guess, these are todays that don't talk, play music or move around - in fact no batteries involved at all. It is very hard to find toys that kids have to provide their own sound and movement to. Every things talks, makes noise or moves on it's own. All that the kids need to do is press a button. Rather sad, I think.

Today is a day of remembrance in our household. It is the anniversary of my Grandmother's birth. A date that she shares with Frank Sinatra......but much earlier then his. I am a very lucky person, my grandmother was my best friend much of my life. Grandma took me to baseball games, taught me to do needlework, played cards with me, allowed me to pluck her chin whiskers and listened to me. She is a person that grows wiser every day that I live. She had an eighth grade education - not all that uncommon in her day - but kept on learning until the day that she died.

Grandma was a great ball fan and would take the streetcar to the old Nicollet Avenue stadium where the Minneapolis Millers played. Wednesday was Ladies Day and women would get in free. Much of the time she took me with her. Grandma would coach from the sideline and tell umps just how blind that they were, all the time wearing a hat and white gloves. But then all the ladies wore hats and white gloves. She also would have 'a little glass of beer' while we sat in the warm sun. Grandma never drank a big glass of beer, at home she had a small jelly glass, but she did have more then one of those 'little glasses of beer'. She never drank enough for it to 'go to her head' but she did like her beer. She loved to tell about the great Giant players that came through the Millers including Willy Mays. When the stadium moved to the Bloomington and shortly after the Twins came to Minneapolis, Grandma still went to games but it wasn't an easy streetcar ride any longer and they played at night so she went with Grandpa. Once in awhile they took me but it wasn't the same as being in the old stadium in the sun.

Grandma also took me to the Minnesota State Fair, parades and the circus we would take the streetcar and off we'd go. One year at the Fair, it rained and at that time Daytons had a store under the grandstand ramp. We went into Daytons, bought new clothes, skin out, sent our wet clothes home with the Dayton's delivery truck and we finished doing the fair.

But Grandma was also a sly one. I love polishing silver to this day because Grandma made it the reward for being good. Only 'good' children were allowed to polish silver so on a rainy day Grandma would bring out her very ornate Sterling Silver and we would be allowed to polish it, if we had been good. And she would have us polish with our little fingers to get into those groves and swirls. The smell of silver polish still makes me feel so happy.

Grandma would take a nap and she would lay on the couch with her head in our laps and we would use the tweeters and pull out her facial hairs.....for a penny a piece. At other times she would sit on the couch and we would use her foot stool and play shoe clerk with her shoes.

So today I remember and celebrate my Grandma's life - Mable Winnifred Loberg your are still loved and missed but I revel in memories of you. I love you still and you are still one of the most important people in my life.