Saturday at Granny's

Saturday morning we got up and made a big breakfast. They sleep in, so we didn't actually end up finishing until about noon. My grandmother has insomnia like me, and sleeps very poorly, when she does sleep.

I fixed the drapery rod on my grandmother's front drapes, since it wasn't drawing properly. She likes to have everything just so, and was very happy to have that done.

Usually, we take my grandfather to do the shopping, but mom dropped Granny to have her hair done, and they got the groceries on the way back. We usually always have a big trip to Wal-Mart and stock up on staples, but my grandfather is blind, so he can't see what they have and what they don't. My grandmother had been upstairs (she has rheumatiod arthritis in her hips, and rarely goes up there) and seen the toilet paper, paper towels, etc, that pretty much cram every closet, and decided that no Wal-Mart trip was due right now. So we just had lunch when she got back from the beauty shop. Then her sister and brother-in-law came over for a visit. They always come when my mom is there. Aunt Kathleen is a really funny woman with a good outlook on life.

It amazes me how my grandparents have worked out a system. They do have help that comes in to help them keep house now, but that is a recent development. Since his eyes are bad, she sees for him. Since her hips are bad, he does her walking and fetching. It is amazing how well they get along. Granny is almost 90 and Poppy is 87. They have been together so long, and have been working together so long, they are almost like two halves of the same person. They have been married for 67 years. I can't imagine. Mom says that when something happens to one of them, the other one won't last long alone. I can believe that. But maybe that is as it should be.

That's not to say they don't get on each other's nerves, spending so much time together. The woman that comes in to do some cooking and a bit of cleaning for them is named Louise. By all accounts, she is a very nice and accommodating woman, but the best thing about her is that she gives them something to complain about besides each other! They spend so much time with just the two of them, they need a break every now and then.

After Kathleen and Pete left, we talked and watched the news, then got ready for dinner. That turned out to be quite a discussion. We used to take them out for dinner, which they liked, since they are usually cooped up in the house. Because of my grandfather's eyes though, he gets food on himself when he tries to eat, which embarrasses him. So he won't eat out any more. That means my mom usually gets stuck cooking when she's up there. They are VERY particular about what they will eat. It's pretty much country food and nothing else, and they won't try anything new. They like Italian, but my grandfather won't eat anything if he sees you put garlic in it. Mom wasn't up to cooking, so we ended up going to get them hamburgers. I think my grandfather likes eating those because he doesn't have to manage a knife and fork.

After that, more talk, until another 2am bedtime. We always take a pie up for them, and have coffee and pie late at night, so we had pie and coffee at about 11pm.