Things Your Grandmother Had

muddypaws

JupiterKid wrote: »

I mentioned it in my OP. The Sacred Heart of Jesus picture. Also pics of De Valera and JFK were popular too.

Depends which side they were on. Mine had a print of Beal na Blath over the fireplace, after my Grandad died and the house was sold it disappeared, nobody seems to know what happened to it, but it is the thing that I remember the most about their house. There was also a head portrait of Collins and one of JFK.

She made the best soda bread, and every dinner had a big bowl of spuds in the middle of the table, with salt and butter. Home made gooseberry jam on soda bread, you can't beat it. She would mind us for the night and let us stay up to watch Kojak and give us a glass of milk with digestives with butter and jam, still one of my favourite snacks.

Outside, non flushing toilet, with spiders. We used to visit each summer and stay there for 2 weeks, and would have a potty under the bed for night time, my parents, my two brothers and I all in the same room, all sharing the same potty. There was running water, but no bathroom, so we'd be washed in the kitchen sink.

It was a lovely cottage in what was rural north county Dublin then, now its surrounded by modern houses, (and failed apartment blocks) across from Father Collins Park, but is still standing, although the lovely hedge all around, and the garden that my Grandad worked so hard in is long gone.

My paternal grandmother passed when I was quite young and I don't have many memories of her other than an impression of her always being busy.

My maternal grandmother is still going strong, I hope for many years yet. One of my earliest memories is of being bathed in a big Belfast sink in the scullery, and of sitting on the butchers block countertop with my feet in the sink as a toddler, so she could wash the mud off me. I remember the mud washing down the sink and getting scolded for not wearing shoes in a voice that wasn't even trying to sound annoyed.

Every Sunday she would do a giant roast beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and vegetables from her own garden, and I couldn't bear to see how the gravy was made with all the icky stuff in the roasting pan even though its the best gravy I've ever had. The best thing about Sundays were the toasted left-over roast beef sandwiches on Sunday evenings, sitting on the high stools at the breakfast counter, with the big old Bush radio with a twisty dial I wasn't allowed to touch on the windowsill.

The kitchen and breakfast room were at the back of the house, and a sitting and dining room to the front. Every Christmas there would be a tree in the front window of the living room because that was near the big fireplace where there was a stocking for each grandchild - loads of us. She would lay the table for Christmas dinner on Christmas eve and the favourite grandchild* of the time would be her extra special little helper.

When my grandfather was alive, he would read the paper in his fireside chair and his dog would sit on the top of the back of the chair with his head on my grandfathers shoulder. Granny used to say the dog read the paper faster than granddad, and I used to wonder how they taught the dog to read.

I've never seen a lapel pin on anyone but Granny. She has a collection of animal pins she wears on her coat lapel, my favourite is the crocodile. She also has a collection of about 15 lipsticks, and every last one of them is Revlon Red. She never leaves the house without it.

When my grandfather passed, we rented a boat to scatter his ashes in the sea as he wished. The crew took the whole family out and the urn was opened and as we had planned for everyone to scatter some ashes themselves, the realisation hit us that we had no means of scooping out his ashes in portions. Granny, always prepared, pulled a washing powder scoop out of her handbag, and with that we each scooped out a dose of Granddad like so much biological detergent, and committed him to the ocean. I think he would have laughed at the thought. She waved as we turned back and quietly said "Bye, love". I can't think of that without choking up.

*It was always me.

Murrisk

A bitchin' sideboard.

A great, shapely pair of legs, even in her 80s.

Lia_lia

My grandmother (who's still alive at 93!) has a fabulous fur coat that was given to her by her Mother. Probably worth a fortune. Myself and my Mother are both very against fur though so neither of us will take it off her...

She was also in the Wrens in London in WW2. She has many medals from this time and some crazy stories.

My favourite grandmother was born in 1895. It's always struck me that she had clear memories of her own grandmother, a woman who lived during the potato famine and who was an elderly woman in the time of Parnell. Unfortunately her only stories about her Grandmother related to her dress sense.

Now, my Granny was a firm Christian, a very stern woman, although she was very gentle and encouraging towards we her grandchildren. I remember how she would beckon me and my sisters over to her big chair using her pet name for us, "come here, snowflakes".

I always found her so cute, but now I wonder if she wasn't just an old battleaxe who would have voted Trump in her disdain for us millennial snowflakes. Ah well.

prinzeugen

A towel. Not just any towel. This was made from bits of towel that had started life in the 1850's.

When a bit fell off a new bit was sewn on from another towel that had fallen to bits.

Bit like Triggers broom. Not sure how much of the original is left but it is "the kitchen towel".

Everyone wants the towel. Causes more arguments than who gets the house!

JillyQ

My grandmother had a butter churn and always had fresh soda bread coming out of the oven as we drove up the avenue to her house

GB FAN GALWAY 30

Two rooms and a kitchen and a fiddle by the wall. And an oil lamp in the window burning low.

dreamers75

A ridiculously sized 1st step in Carnlough road in Cabra, it was made for giants!!!!

BalcombeSt4

My Great Grandmother owned this giant house out in Ardee right beside Ardee Castle.

8 Bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 living rooms one of them was huge, I remember in one of the bedrooms they had this big, old black & white picture of a young soldier from WW1. I remember this fairly large statue of the Virgin Mary halfway up the stairs sitting high above some sort of wooden balconey that used to scare the piss out of me, there was also lots of pictures of Jesus that also scared the piss out of me around the house. She had this really old sowing machine, it must have been from the 30's they kept in a bedroom/walk in closet that had this really low roof & very uneven floor for some reason. They also had "holy" water in a bronze cup thing you had to bless yourself with once you walked in the door, I mean they were real hardcore Catholic, I think my Great,great,great,great,great Grandparents must have set up the Catholic Defenders or AOH.

diomed

A work ethic, business sense, a kind heart.

Imallrightjack

Imallrightjack wrote: »

She had a lovely bush we used to pick blackberrys from.

Good Lord.

Did she never hear of a napkin?

Donald Trump

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Imallrightjack wrote: »

She had a lovely bush we used to pick blackberrys from.

Good Lord.

Did she never hear of a napkin?

Or a feckin' pair of scissors. Wouldn't be expecting the Brazilian treatment....but weird all the same to be getting it out for the Grandkids, never mind hiding blackberries in it!

Donald Trump

GB FAN GALWAY 30 wrote: »

Two rooms and a kitchen and a fiddle by the wall. And an oil lamp in the window burning low.

It was her house, she was entitled to have a fiddle, whether it be by the wall or anywhere else for that matter....but still, probably a good idea to wait until the grandkids have gone home!

99problems

A walking stick , she beat me with it