Where I remember seeing Grandma Seigal most is standing in her kitchen or playing her piano. I remember helping pick strawberries out back in her strawberry patch, but I wouldn't eat them, still won't. I remember the musty smell of her basement where we stayed when we visited and grandpa's bedroom window that opened inside the back porch area over the basement stairwell. The large, enclosed back porch used to be the outer wall.
It was because of grandma's stove that I had my heart set on a stove that had a range with a griddle in the middle. As a young wife and new home owner I had just about given up when we found it. My range with the fifth burner that changed out to a griddle in the middle. But most of all, what I remember of grandma's house was her flowers....
...here's a color picture taken looking toward the road.
There was one flower in particular that I specially loved... the Snapdragons...
...did you see them above? Look over the back of the donkey and trailer. (I loved her donkey too.)
This year I finally had Snapdragons bloom...
I planted them two years ago...
...and just before they'd bud, something bit them right off the top.
The whole plant wasn't eaten, a stalk three or four inches tall was always left.
So they came up again, last year. But it wasn't till this year that they bloomed. I think it was the rabbits that live in my yard. This year a little rubber snake got tossed at the base of them.
Do you know WHY they're called Snapdragons? See the picture below...
If you pinch their jaws just right, they'll open their mouths, wide.
It was because of grandma's stove that I had my heart set on a stove that had a range with a griddle in the middle. As a young wife and new home owner I had just about given up when we found it. My range with the fifth burner that changed out to a griddle in the middle. But most of all, what I remember of grandma's house was her flowers....
...here's a color picture taken looking toward the road.
There was one flower in particular that I specially loved... the Snapdragons...
...did you see them above? Look over the back of the donkey and trailer. (I loved her donkey too.)
This year I finally had Snapdragons bloom...
I planted them two years ago...
...and just before they'd bud, something bit them right off the top.
The whole plant wasn't eaten, a stalk three or four inches tall was always left.
So they came up again, last year. But it wasn't till this year that they bloomed. I think it was the rabbits that live in my yard. This year a little rubber snake got tossed at the base of them.
Do you know WHY they're called Snapdragons? See the picture below...
If you pinch their jaws just right, they'll open their mouths, wide. 
10 comments:
Wonderful post.. Love the story of the stove... :)
... and I love your snapdragons!! So pretty!
As you know, my grandparents practically raised me, and were my best friends until they were killed in a car wreck when I was 19... Their house was the last safe place on earth for me... Not a day goes by that I don't think about them...
Thinking about what I was going to write in this post I hadn't realized exactly HOW MUCH grandma Seigal influenced me. We didn't get to see our grandparents but a couple times a year, usually Christmas and then a trip in the summer. Mom's folks lived in Goodland and Dad's folks lived across the state line in Burlington CO. We'd spend a few days with one then a few days with the other. I wished I'd had more time with them.
Thank you for posting. Same with my Grandmother. She had the most amazing ability to grow things. Self-sufficient and strong. My Grandmother made a lot of her own dishes from her garden and fruit trees.
Your beautiful post is a wonderful gift this morning.
Cheers
Thank you for visiting my blog, psi! I hope all is going well with you and am happy to share small comforts.
This was an awesome post, and an inspiration for me to do something. I bothers me that when I think back over the years, yes, there are alot of things that "stick out" in my mind, but it scares me that there is so much I can't remember. See these pictures of yours, reminded me that I have tons of pictures just like this, that my uncle took my mom's photo albums, and scanned them on to CD's. So... a new blog is on the way.
I had the inspiration last week to start a new blog "for my family" -- that would be my mom's side. We do a lot of emailing back and forth and such. But, I thought it would be cool to send everyone to a blog, and update all their news there (like, my cousin who has cancer -- posting how he is doing). But, my vision for this blog is not "ME" doing it, but everyone contributing. I scribbled down a bunch of notes of things that I thought would be cool to incorporate into it. I even took a leap of faith that the family will go along with it and bought a domain for it. Now, to get it set up like I want it, and then letting them all know, and see how it goes.
Anyway.... off of that domain, I did a subdomain of "Carolyn". And called it "Remember When". I'm going to take those old pictures and blog about them there. And maybe my aunts can fill in some of the gabs, or give their recollection of it.
I have several dozen "ideas" for this new venture ... its just a matter of following through with it! Keep posting these kinds of posts, Moonshadow. They are truly an inspiration to me.
And, oh, back on topic -- I LOVE LOVE LOVE snapdragons. I used to play with them for hours! -- little puppet shows, one flower talking to the other.
Hi! I only got to meet one side of my grandparents unfortunately, but the one grandmother that I did meet was great at cooking scones. Always great with strawberries and REAL cream. Nan lived out her days with mum and dad.
My in-laws owned a pianola and I would have loved to have got my hands on it. But that was not to be.
Your pictures actually remind me of their old place, same look and everything.
My wife's grandmother was a great character. I would often see her out of the back of her place chopping off the heads of chickens and playing with the ram she used as a lawnmover.
As for snapdragons, I do love them but with the water restrictions, it's hard to grow anything like that. Dad used to grow them and we would pick them and use them as little monsters in our backyard games.
I just stick to Australian natives as they're less likely to keel over in the heat.
As for cooking, I'm ashamed to say our greatest asset is our microwave.
Take Care and thank you!
Peter
Carolyn - I'm glad that my blog post can be an inspiration to you. I look forward to seeing your old photos and hearing your memories. I hope you manage to get family to comment and share their memories, you find out things you never knew before sometimes and definately bring photos to life. The family blog you have planned sounds something like a "Round Robin" type of affair, except that it's not actually going to be passed around. Sounds like a good thing.
I show all the little kids the snapdragons, I hope a lot more come in, at least I've finally got flowers this year.
Peter - I find it interesting that we find so many things in common being so far apart. With you doing so little travel and I doubt I'll ever leave the shores of U.S. mainland, we will probably never physically meet one another. It's wonderful to be a part of this electronic age where you can have friends that live across oceans you'll never cross. It makes the world a much smaller place.
Knowing that you're familiar with snapdragons I will now have to see if I can find out where they originated.
Thanks for visiting!
If I'd only seen your grandmother's picture, I'd be able to tell that she really appreciated beautiful things. And my, wasn't she pretty. My grandmother had a huge flower garden too and I really don't know how she did it with all of her other daily chores.
Hmmm... when I think of grandma, I don't think so much of beauty as I do strength. To me, grandma was a force, a strength that gives security and she had a smile that you knew was sincere because it came more from the eyes than from the mouth. I think they accomplished more because they didn't have the distractions that we do.
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