Nanny's Treasures

Today I am going to blog about somebody very dear to my heart, my grandma. I am lucky to have 2 grandmothers still living. Unfortunately, one is a 24 hour drive away, but fortunately the other lives only 30 minutes away.

We took the kids up on Sunday and spent a little time with Nanny. I am always amazed that, even at the ripe age of 93, Nanny still enjoys having a lot of little ones around. She did have to tell the kids to be quiet a couple of times, because " the old lady" who lives next door isn't as fond of squealing laughter and the pitter patter of little feet.

Here Hope is saying, "I love you Nanny. You are so soft."

Nanny has a treasure chest with a collection of all kinds of things that she saves for when her great grandchildren come to visit. Every kid is allowed to pick one thing per visit. Jude picked this wig.
And Hope picked this hat for Ava and a little porcelain bird figurine for herself.
I have no idea where Nanny gets all of these things, but I know for a fact she doesn't spend a dime on any of them. She is the thriftiest person I know, even thriftier than myself! ( I guess that's what happens when you live through The Great Depression). She has been known to salvage things out of dumpsters, trash cans, she has even found a thing or two on living room floors.....
.....Like this doll of mine that had been chewed up by a dog, probably in the early 80's. Nanny sewed a new outfit for her and turned her into Mary, Mother of Jesus, complete with a tinier "Baby Jesus" in her arms. And now that doll decorates her living room.
I don't even want to know what this doll looked like before she painted new eyes and lips on it.
Her ancestors came from Holland, so her house is full of little Dutch dolls with wooden shoes, paintings of tulips and windmills....
I love that Nanny rescued this old lampshade and decorated it with lace and silk flowers. Look! There is even a butterfly and a reindeer glued on. Nothing ever goes to waste.
If you look real close, this lamp is made from fabric that says "I love Jesus".
And here is a doll (made from panty hose and glasses and a wig) that reminds me an awful lot of Nanny with one of her great grandkids on her lap. Nanny's house is full of many treasures, and she is one of them. I love you, Nanny.
(And I purposely made the pictures small on this post, because when she prints this blog post out as she does all the blog posts of her grandkids, I don't want her to feel like she has just wasted paper.) I love you, Nanny!