If you look at the top of this page-you’ll see Grannyisms-this link takes you to a page where I’m collecting memories-precious, funny, and inspiring about people’s grandmothers.
Growing up I called one grandmother Granny and the other Mamaw. There are so many things I wish I had paid better attention too-so many things I wish I could ask them now.
I’m going to highlight some of the wonderful comments folks have left about their Grandmothers. I’m going to start by sharing a comment I left about Mamaw.
Tipper said:
One of my earliest memories of Mamaw is a snowy day I spent with her when I was about 6 years old. Mamaw made Snow Cream for my brother and me. I remember her gathering the snow and explaining to me the first snow of the year was posion, but since this wasn’t the first snow of the year it was o.k. to eat.
Snow Cream is simply a bowl full of snow with a little milk, sugar, and vanilla mixed in. I would guess it started out as a poor man’s icecream. I don’t know if Snow Cream is a recipe relegated to Appalachia or if it is widespread. If anyone knows about it or has an experiece of their own with Snow Cream please post it. I would love to hear about it.
Jamie said:
My gramma was the matriarch of our family. She was a school teacher and wife of a baptist preacher. She was a strong personality and didn’t put up with foolishness. She was the best cook on both sides of the family and I’d never tasted food of any kind as good as what she served when we visited her and my Grandpa. I can never get my tomatoes to taste as good as the ones she grew–I’ve tried many tricks and suggestions over years and nothing works. Guess she had the magic touch. She could make things grow and thrive and I like to think I am a better person knowing she was a big influence in my life…
Cheryl said:
My dad’s mom we called grammy Zo. She would make hats out of newspaper to keep the sun off of her when we were down at the creek swimming and or fishing. She would always come home with her pockets full of pretty rocks.
Jennifer in OR said:
My Gramma T., I just loved her and was so lucky to have spent a lot of time with her, and we even lived with her for a while. When I didn’t feel well, she would send me to bed with a glass of warm milk. She always said “The world is going to hell in a handbasket,” and when she got old she called all her grandkids “Annabelle” for lack of remembering names!
I learned hospitality from my Gramma. I heard many stories of her writing to soldiers during WWII, and after the war, so many came to see this woman who so graciously sent them comforting letters. She took several soldiers in to her home for a season as they needed, and some became lifelong friends. This is how I have some “adopted” cousins.
Marlene said:Â
My grandmother was 4’10” tall and part Native American so she had the characteristic coal black hair and high cheekbones. Grandpa wouldn’t let her cut her hair (they married at 16) so by the time I was a little girl it came to her knees and she kept it in a little knot down by her neck. She saved rainwater to rinse it when she shampooed and would sit in the sun combing it until it was dry. She made me macaroni necklaces and wrote wonderful poetry. When my own children were small they would get a big fat brown envelope from her once in a while with stuff she thought they would like – pretty pictures torn from magazines, the fronts of greetiing cards….never stuff that was bought but always things that would catch the eye of a child. She never lost her child-like spirit and seemed to be able to think like children knowing just what was wrong when one was crying and just what would make one laugh. I miss her still.Â
Fishing Guy said:
My granny was very special to me, being the first born boy child to carry on the name and heritage. Being named after my grandfather certainly helped. I remember them as very kind thoughtful people and I would ride my bike across town to visit them. Oh the memories of the past are so sweet. Granny would bake small loaves of bread especially for me to eat.
Cousin Dewayne said:Â
Hey Tipper, it’s your Cousin Dwayne. I wondered the other day, when I saw you, if anybody still called you Tipper. I was good to see you and see how much both my Aunts that were there, are looking like our Granny.
I remember sitting on Granny’s front porch and waving at EVERYBODY that went down the road. It didn’t matter if you knew them or not, you waved.
I remember playing under the tree in the front yard and making mud pies and then putting them out in the sun so they would bake.
Do you remember how Granny used to dry what she called ‘fruit’? They were actually apple slices that she would lay on a table out in the sun so they would dry and then she would make some dessert with them.
Of course there was always canning time. If it was time for kraut, when you got to her house, she would give you a dishpan full cabbage to chop with a ‘chopper’ (made from a ‘Pet Milk’ can that she had burned the rim off of to make it sharp). If it was time for green beans, you got a ‘mess’ of them and broke them up so she could can them. When it came time for apples and peaches, everybody had a knife and we all sat around peeling, slicing (and sometimes eating) the fruit to help Granny, so she could can the peaches, and make applesauce and apple jelly.
I have so many memories of Granny and I hope I can share as many as possible.
SharonLee said:
I had a really special grandmother (she worked at the local school in the lunchroom and also as a janitor).She was the kindest, sweetest lady on earth. The school (grades 1-12) dedicated their School Annual to her one year, they all loved her so much too. It was considered quite an honor!!! I went to her house every chance I got … fed the chickens, helped milk the cow, make the butter, gather wood for the wood stove in the kitchen and yes, had the experience of using her old outhouse. Never heard a harsh word out of her mouth or a bad word about anyone. Guess the worst she said about someone was if she called them a “salty dog”! She had a hard life. My grandfather died when she was pregnant with their 9th child and she’d never worked a day in her life. Talk about hard times.
I hope you enjoyed all the Grannyisms! There are many more on the Grannyisms page-so jump over there and read them. And please leave one about your grandmother.
For those of you who have already left one-there is no limit-just keep posting your memories as they come to you-the more the merrier!!
Tipper
Oh what beautiful stories, i loved my grandmothers one was Irish the other one was Mic Mac full Native blood,she was very soft spoken and i have never seen a house as clean as hers, her white hair was braided clear down to her ankles. My Irish Grandmother always had a twinkle in her eyes and an Angelic smile, she made me butter sugar sandwiches as a treat, they were not aware of the dangers of sugar back then, i would fall asleep on the swing on the porch then she would wake me up later on and let me sit at the player piano. will never forget those times we still cherish the memories. Grandmother Joy
OK Tipper I posted the one from my blog about my grandmother on your Grannyisms page. I love reading about everyones grandmothers. Fun!
Great idea…nice memories. Thanks for sharing!
LOVED the grannyisms and really wish I had some.
Drat.
I’ll have to live vicariously through you guys!
Blessings!
Lacy
Tipper,
I loved my maternal grandmother and she lived right next door. She had a rare blood condition and that meant that I spent a lot of time with her, helping her with chores. She taught me to cook on a woodstove and told me many things that I tell my grandsons today. She also taught me a love of God.
Grandma was a loving woman who always had a kind word for everyone. I never heard her speak badly about a person in my entire life. If anyone came by at mealtime, she set an extra place. One more was always welcome.
Grandma brought me up to have good old fashioned values, as did my parents. She grew Beefsteak tomatoes, flowers to sell at market and always wore an apron.
So many happy memories of her. I would love to spend time with her again.
I certainly enjoyed all of the grannyisms.
Blessings,
Mary
Great job, thanks for collecting these inspirational memories.
Morning Tipper! What beautiful grannyisms! I wish I had one or two to share. Both my grandmothers died before I was old enough to visit them in Europe. But I have the stories handed down by my parents
which I hold on to dearly. A beautiful post, Tipper! Thank you!
Snow Cream? We still make it–snow, sugar, vanilla and milk are the only ingredients. Chocolate syrup if you really must have chocolate.
My grannies were different. My mother’s mother was a real English granny who visited us ever few years. She was a treasure, sweet and ladylike. My American grandmother was German, modern (for the times—50’s-70’s), hard on us and not around much. I learned to be a granny from my mother and her mother. Lots of love, tea and support fixes almost anything!
I loved this post very much. All the memories it brings back to me of my own grandmothers. Will go and put one there now. Thanks Tipper! xxoo
What a wonderful idea!! How exciting to be creating a modern day treasure trove of memories, reflections, and moments that you want to capture, and never forget!
blessings,
kari & kisja
Such great memories!
I love this. My “good” grandmother died when I was 10. And she lived more than 2 hours away, so I didn’t see her ALL the time, but enough to have some memories. I’ll think about that. The other grandmother died less than a year ago, and there isn’t one nice memory there.
The biggest memory I have of my Grandma is seeing her bent over in the garden. One time she thought a bee got stuck in her hair. She ran screaming through the yard. Nobody knew what was wrong. Afterward we all giggled, but not in front of her!
Ah well, now I miss my grandma! 🙂
Grandmas sure do have personality! These are wonderful memories. (I didn’t know the first snow was poison!)
I loved reading those!! I’ll have to go over and post a few of my own. 🙂
Tipper , sorry i haven’t commented in a while! i’ve been reading though. things have been … well , crazy bizzy here. i love to hear your stories they are always such a treat and this was no different! it definitly makes you appreciate “gannies” a lot more! funny you have a mamaw and i have a manaw – i’m told i couldn’t say grandma as a child :0)
What a fun post Tipper. Thanks for collecting these. blessings, marlene
I LOVE this! Thank you for stopping by my blog… I will definitely be a repeat visitor here.
My grandmother – we called her “Sweet Pea” – taught me how to can things, which I do today to remind me of her. The thing I remember most about her is that coffee. She always had a percolator going on the stovetop, no matter what time of day it was. And when any of us granddaughters got married, Sweet Pea gave each of us our own percolator. I still use mine.
She would only let us help her in the kitchen after we’d put an apron on.
My grannies were great. Now I’m married to one. Pappy
Those are great memories! My girls have made a snow concoction with my mil, snow and syrup. They love it! Thanks for sharing Tipper 🙂
Tipper: I remember the memories that this post recalled in my mind at that time. Thanks for sharing it with all your friends. I feel I’m making the same type memories with my grandchildren and hope I’m remembered with fondness.
I love your entire blog, but one of my very favorites are your Grannyisms.
One memory of my Grandma Simmons is of her playing on a summer evening with all of us kids in the back yard. Grandma would always show us up by standing on her head. We loved it, of course!
Thanks for digging up the good memories of my grandmas today.
They were the tradional grandmothers of the 50 and 60’s with their white hair, aprons always and black chunky heeled tie on shoes. Both of whom always used handkerchiefs never tissues.
At Grandma C’s if we were good, we could get a piece of horehound candy from her top dresser drawer.
As a grandmother of 2 and one on the way I wish I could be more like them, but then the world would call me weird now a days.
Got your Pappy’s Whispering Hope CD yesterday. Thanks we love it just as much as the other 2.
Osagebluffquilter
What a wonderful post, Tipper! I loved reading about your grandmother, as well as all the others.
My grandmothers were totally opposite~one a modern granny and one a country granny.
I knew my country granny best. When she wanted a new dress, she would lay newspaper on the floor, tape the pieces together and draw her pattern, free hand! She used to make little ‘doll’ houses for me out of cardboard boxes. She would also decorate the rooms with cardboard furniture that she painted. Once, she made a piano with all the keys! If we spent Saturday night with her, she always made us fried chicken and biscuits and gravy for breakfast on Sunday morning. She made the best biscuits! I remember that she always wore an apron, unless she was going to town or to church.
Thanks for making me take a pause and remember!
Mary