I was confused...

I just remembered something else real quick. Not too long after I met Deanna (we were 10 years old, wow, I really feel old right now), I was at the house in Whittier, Lashburn St. I think it was, right? Anyway, Nana had to go somewhere and she asked Dee and I to get the dishes done while she was away. Well, we were having fun doing something. Probably practicing our "Purple Skies" routine, and time got away from us. We didn't get the dishes done. Nana got home and saw that the dishes were still in the sink. She went in the kitchen and was laughing hysterically as she did the dishes. I was confused. I asked Deanna if she was really laughing? She said "Nope, she is really angry". We felt so bad that we had disappointed her. I thought it was odd that she laughed like that when she was angry, but as I have had children and have been so angry for some reason or another, I find myself doing the same thing, laughing hysterically. It keeps me from killing my children and out of prison. Every time it happens, I think of Nana and how she helped me once again. She is so beautiful. Even now, when I look at the pictures of her on this blog, I think, "Beautiful".

Amish Weekend...

I remember the time in the house on Apache in Westminster when the Ward was asked (I don't remember who asked, the Bishop or the Stake President), to live for a weekend without running water, electricity, or modern conveniences. And, being the faithful person Nana was, she wanted us to do it. What an experience it was. We all had assignments. Someone was in charge of food, someone was in charge of water, etc. I don't recall who had what, but I do remember that Danny was the fire guy. It was funny because we called him "Flame". Any time we needed a candle lit or something, we would just yell "Flame" and there he'd be with the matches. It was fun at first. We had the Victrola for music and we played games. But, as the weekend went on it was more difficult. Nana was there any time someone started to complain to encourage us and keep us from going too crazy. I think the worst part was that we weren't supposed to flush the toilet unless absolutely necessary. Yuk! But we made it through. We actually did it. We were so proud of ourselves. I don't think any of us would ever want to do it again though. Once was definitely enough!

The Magic Cookie Jar

Its hard somtimes to sit alone these days. Thoughts always drift to mom. On this Sabbath day I find myself tearing up quite a bit. Sorry, but there is the sad times with the happy times. As I sat in my living room, I remembered something that brought a smile to my face. Something about mom I will never forget...
My mom could bake! She was in the kitchen quite often baking goodies of all kinds. Christmas time was a real treat! The table would be sagging with all the different cookies and candies that she would create. I remember an Easter when she tried her hand at Greek breads. Oh my gosh, soooo good.
I was in grade school and we lived in Whittier, again. I think it was fourth grade. I have this very vivid memory of coming home to the scent of fresh baked cookies nearly everyday. This was before Grammy Bears and "dunkin' donuts".::grinning::. I would drop my school things and jump up onto the counter next to the cookie jar. Opening the top, the smell of Toll House Cookies would knock me over! I would sit on that counter and start in! After a few good mouthfuls, mom would come in and pour a glass of milk and set it next to me. She would smile, put the lid back on the cookie jar after about my 3rd cookie and ask me how my day was.
I don't believe there was a day when there were no cookies in that cookie jar.

I just had another great thought! But that will wait...just a hint...Hey mom, remember my high school days?? LOL

Is this Heaven?

That's what Nana asked me this morning after I tucked her back in bed after a good shower, clean jammies, teeth & hair brushed, a small glass of strawberry cranberry juice and Perry Mason! She has been asking about Perry Mason for awhile, now. You see he's on at 10:30 at night and she hasn't been awake during that time to watch it. I kept saying I would tape it for her and I just kept forgetting. So yesterday, I stopped at Smith's Market (I've decided you can find any series you're looking for at Smith's) and sure enough I found the first season and bought it for her so she could watch it when ever she wanted!!

Nana did not have a very good day yesterday. She really didn't "wake" up much at all. As a matter of fact she had a little bit of disorientation again. Last night I went in to give her an itchy pill on time, she smiled at me and said okay. When I tried to put it in her mouth, she kept sticking her tongue out so I couldn't get it in. I asked her what she was doing. She said in a very slurred voice "You are going to overdose me with those things!" I told no I wasn't, it had been six hours and we needed to keep her on schedule so she wouldn't get too itchy. She said, again in a slurred voice, "if I let you give it to me, will you leave me alone and let me sleep?" I laughed and said "yes, I will let you sleep if you take the pill." So she said, "okay, give it to me then." But when I tried again to put it in her mouth, she stuck her tongue out again and wouldn't let me put it in. "Mom, what are you doing?" She then started to tell me about her dream, I guess I was the mom trying to give her a pill because she was sick. She didn't want to take it. She asked me if she was in Grandpa's bed. I told her she was in her own bed, in my house in Bountiful. She seemed surprised,

"I'm in Bountiful?"

"Yes, Mom, You're in Bountiful."

"Am I in Grandpa's bed, in Bountiful?"

"No, Mom you're in your own bed, in Bountiful."

"Oh."

Then it seemed she was back to where she was my mom again, she said what are you doing? I said I'm trying to give you this itchy pill and you won't let me. She said Oh, give it to me then. I asked her if she was going to let me this time she said yes. And she did. I kissed her and tucked her back in and went to bed. This morning when we were getting her in the shower we were talking and I told her about what she did last night. She didn't remember any of it, until I got to the part about the dream and grandpa's bed. I guess that seemed more reality than me trying to give her the pill!

I thought we were going to have another bad day today, because when I went in this morning her eyes were open. I greeted her and she was looking around as though she wasn't sure where she was. I greeted her again, "You're awake! How are you this morning?" She looked at me like she didn't know who I was. So I asked her if she knew who I was, she just looked at me and didn't answer, so I told her I was Donna, her daughter. She said,

"Donna????"

"Yes, Donna, you're daughter."

"My daughter???"

"Yes, you're at my house in Bountiful."

"I am??"

She looked around and seemed to come out of the fog, then knew who I was and where she was. It never ceases to amaze me how she can come in and out of the confusion, so easily.

She's sleepy, now, but seems to be coherent. She didn't know who Jenn and Charlotte were by sight, but once I explained who they were, she seemed to recognize them. She asked me to take a picture of them.

A Couple of Disney Princesses

Mom and I love Disneyland! We would go whenever time and money permitted. Our favorite thing to do was to "people watch". Can you imagine spending 25.00 a ticket (Now, remember folks, this was back in the 80's) to sit on a shade covered bench in New Orleans Square just to watch people! Anyway, I believe it was our last time there before we moved to Utah and we decided to have a quiet peaceful lunch at the Disneyland Hotel. We discovered a very nice restaurant with outdoor seating. We ordered our sandwiches and began chatting about any ol' thing. I was single again and always gussied up when I went out. Keep this in mind. Our sandwiches came and the food was delicious. As we were eating, I noticed a young man with a group of friends had taken a table outside as well. He was very good looking and my eye kept drifting to him as his eye kept drifting to me. Of course, mom noticed and pointed out to me that a pretty young woman was sitting next to him. I just smiled and continued my flirting. After some time and to my surprise, mom reached over and with a very royal air, flicked my nose. Yes, she flicked my nose. I looked at her, took on an equally royal air and said, "Why did you do that?". Now we were talking in very thick British accents and she replied "There was a crumb on your nose."

"And how long had the crumb been there?" I asked, a bit nervously but maintaining my proper posture and character.

"About 3 (now here was when I was sincerely praying she was about to say minutes) quarters of an hour." Was her queenly reply.

My eyes got wide and I quickly glanced at the young man I had shamelessly been flirting with. He had a great big beautiful smile on his face and with a quick wink I knew he had seen "the crumb".

I turned my head back to mom and, holding in my chagrin asked, "Why did you wait so long to let me know?"

She sat back and smiled at me ever so sweetly and said, "Well, my dear, you were having so much fun flirting with that nice boy, I did not want to interupt you."

Suddenly, we both started laughing....and laughing...and laughing until we had to get up and rush to the woman's restroom. Mom really needed to get to the restroom!. In there, we continued our outloud bursts of laughter. Imagine our surprise when a woman came out of one the stalls, looked at us rather funny, then started to laugh to! She was laughing as insanely as we were as she tried to ask why we were laughing. Now we were really going, all three of us! We couldn't answer her! My stomache, face and sides were hurting!

Anyway...after that, whenever we went out to eat, I would always ask her if I had any crumbs on my nose. The answer I usually got was just a smile.

Taking a Drive

I remember one day we were really bored and couldn't think of anything to do. Nana came up with this great idea to choose a street and see where it began and ended. Nana, Dee, David, Donna, Denise and I pretty much folded ourselves up and to our amazement we all fit into this tiny little blue and white car and off we went. We chose Lambert Rd. It seemed like it went on forever. I don't know how long it really is, but I'm sure the fact that we no longer had any feeling left in our bodies due to being so crammed into the car had something to do with how long the road felt. We were so glad to reach the end on a dirt road with a wooden road block. We turned around and when we got home, we almost couldn't get out of the car. It was wonderful when the feeling came back to our arms and legs! It was a fun adventure and we laughed a lot, but it would be a long time before we thought about doing it again.

The Mystery Box

It was the most wonderful time of the year! The streets were covered in snow, the lights and ornaments were beautifully hung on the tree and we were snuggled up warm under the blankets, sipping on our steaming hot chocolate. (This is still a favorite Christmas pastime for me! I cant think of anything more wonderful!) We were definitely enjoying the sights, smells (Nana used to have a home air freshener that smelled EXACTLY like homemade gingerbread! Nothing I have found since has had near that delicious smell!) and songs of the season.

Mom was out with Troy and Nana was babysitting. We were reminiscing about past Christmas's when Nana suddenly spotted an oddly shaped package under the tree. What was it? We picked it up for examination! It was to me! It was one of the gifts our Grandma Francis had sent so it had to be good! (Grandma had great taste when it came to toys- not so great when it came to clothes.) We shook it. Not too much noise. Whatever it was stayed pretty stationary. We squeezed it. The box was definitely plastic. It had to be a doll! But could it be? We all knew that Barbie had started a holiday collection. It couldn't be? Could it?

Nana could take it no more! She swore us to secrecy (Sorry Nana) and than she taught me the most useful technique. You see, with the magic of a butter knife you can cut the tape on one end of the package in just the right spot and actually slide the gift right out! No tearing of the paper! No evidence! Perfect!

We held our breath as she slid the doll right out of it's wrapping! And guess what!? It was her! The most beautiful doll we had ever seen! She had beautiful blond curls and a stunning dark green velvet gown. We stared at her for what seemed like ages.

Than it was time for Mom and Troy to return. We must put her back. Was it possible? You betcha!! Just slide the doll back into the wrapping, put a new piece of tape over the old and TADA!!!

Thanks for the tip Nana! It definitely helped out every year since!

Car Crisis!

I as well have some very fond memories that I wanted to share.....This one always makes me smile...
Twas the end of summer at around 1990 and Gina and I ( I don't recall Richard being there) had finally gotten home from our long summer vacation in Las Vegas, visiting our father. As we unboard off the plane, to our great surprise, Nana was there to welcome us home. Our mom had just gotten out of surgery and couldn't be there. Well as we hugged and kissed with very warm greetings we went to get our luggage and head home, it was very late at night and we were all ready to get home to our warm beds. We reach the parking lot and our voyage had begun........where in the world did Nana park??? We went through row of row cars unsucessfully. I don't remember how long we searched, but I was about 7 so it seemed as if hours had gone by. Nana then started to become upset and frusterated at this situation. Then out of nowhere, like a ton of bricks, it hit her! The shuttle!! If we just get onto the shuttle it will take us throughout the whole parking lot til she could figure out where she parked! Absolute joy overwhelmed her as though she just blew Einstein out of the water! Success was hers! So we get onto the shuttle and were riding along until.....Are we going onto the freeway...wait....wait....Houston we have a problem. We found ourselves out of the airport parking lot, onto the freeway, off the freeway, and now in the driveway of some hotel! I believe that this was the first time I had ever seen a grown woman cry! The shuttle driver felt so bad for her we didn't get charged for the drive. They took us back to the airport, and I don't exactly remember how we found the car, but I remember finally getting home and telling our mom about the our little adventure! Ever since then she officially inherited the name "Cuckoo Nana". Now everytime I think of that night, I get very warm inside, and I give a little chuckle.

"The Magic Clothes"

I must share with you a dream that my sister Diana told me about several years ago. First of all, I want you to know, my sis never at any time in our lives, said anything about why I was always so slim (not so slim lately!) and why she always had weight problems. In fact, she always complemented me on how nice I looked. She always showered me with complements!!! But I do remember one day, she wanted to share this strange dream she had about me. I sat and waited anxiously to hear what she was going to tell me and it goes like this: She said that she dreamed that all of the clothes I owned were magic! That when I go to bed at night and removed all my clothes, that I was just the same as her!!!!! And when I got up in the morning and put my magic clothes on that I was back to being slim. I laughed so hard, in fact, we laughed together for several minutes. I'll never forget that because she may have been wishing for some of those magic clothes I had, but she never made me feel that she was jealous or in any way made me feel that she was not so proud of her little sister. Little did she know that there were times that I longed for the powerful faith in God that she shared with all she knew. That is the wonderful legacy she will leave to her family and friends. Sister, Thank you for your undying love and support you have always shown Ralph & I . I am happy to say that before she leaves this earth that I was able to tell her that Ralph & I have given our hearts to God. Love to all

Itchy, Itchy, Itchy!!!

I know I just posted, I couldn't resist. I'm having fun getting stuff on here. Nana is having a not so good day. No weirded stuff, just feeling achy, itchy, and sleepy. BUT... Dee was here today and she got her to eat some Berries & Cream yogurt, with granola, even!! She's hasn't been eating very much these days (very little, in fact). Even pastrami sandwiches (her favorite) aren't enticing enough, it seems. Dee found out that she likes the yogurt, maybe not so much work to eat it.

Weird crazy dreams, she says. Sometimes that's all she says about them, sometimes she talks about them. She said she had a scary one yesterday, one where poor Lady got hit by a car. Fortunately, Nana didn't have to see that in her dream, just heard her yelping and someone came to the door to tell us that he hit her. So Sad. She says that she's getting better at not getting so upset at the "people" she hears and sees. She also talks about a white place where everyone is beautiful and dressed in white. She likes it there.

She's been very itchy and scratching, scratching, scratching. I ask her "hey, are you scratching?" She says "nooo"...(as she's reaching around scratching). I say "didn't your momma teach you to always tell the truth?!" She just gives me the puppy dog eyes. A couple times she tried to sneak in a scratch under the blankets, or behind my back. She always wonders how I know. I can't say I'm as good as she thinks I am, but when I see the scratch marks and sometimes have to rub triple antibiotic on them, it's kind of a give away! I've had to make sure to give her the "itchy pills" more on time than waiting for her to ask for them. I also had to cut her nails last night so she couldn't tear her skin so easily, ouch!!

She definately hasn't lost her sense of humor. She cracks jokes at herself and others even when she's half asleep. Sometimes she'll pretend to go off on some weird story and try to make me believe she believes it. I have to look at her and say are you serious or are you kidding me? Then she'll crack me a smile and say, No, I'm kidding.

Guess What I Found??

I have a great memory to tell, but I'm looking for the perfect picture to go with it. I know I have it, I just have to find it. So stay tuned, because it's coming... In looking for it I came across a couple of pics I had to put in to go with Heather and Gina's last posts!

This is a picture I found of RJ, Gina and Jenn when they ate (or didn't eat) the "Dunkin Donuts"! I couldn't resist! Remember your bedroom, kids? I remember how Nana was always coming up with ways to keep your rooms organized and clean. Look at that metal shelf, hilarious!! I think one of my kids inherited one of those snoopy dolls on the dresser behind you!

This one was a Christmas party at my Nana's house. (At least I think that's where we were, help me out, Jackie!) Looking at Me and Denise, it had to be 1970, maybe 1971. It just reminded me of Heather talking about how we danced for Nana while she played her accordian. Well, that's not the only time we danced. We sure had a lot of fun! I can't help but smile when I see this picture and decided I had to share it with you. Besides, I wanted to see if I could actually get a scanned picture on here all by myself! Guess what? I can!!

This one is just for fun...This was taken in 1945 according to the notation on the back. I don't have too many that have actual dates on the back, but this one does! That would make her about 3 years old. I don't know where it was taken, maybe their yard in Santa Barbara.

Now that I know I can do this, I'm hoping to be putting all sorts of fun things on here! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!

The Secret of the Ooze

Ninja Turtles (Cowabunga, Dude!) were all the rage, Vanilla Ice was at his peak, and I was a big fan of both. So I'm sure you can imagine the overwhelming sensation of utter joy that swept over me as I learned that Nana was going to take RJ, Jennifer, and I to see the new Turtle movie!

We had our popcorn and drinks ready as we eagerly looked up at the "big screen" and watched scene after scene of ninja action and comic relief, known as Michelangelo! And than it happened! The moment we all had been waiting for...Vanilla Ice took the stage and sang (or should I say rapped) the Ninja Rap! The same overwhelming sensation of utter joy that swept over me when I found out that we were going to see the movie, swept over Nana. Suddenly, she stood up! She was doing a side stepping dance! We were now past the point of no return! And to my complete horror, she started rapping! "Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go!" It was at that very moment that I learned that the secret of the ooze was more than radioactive sludge that turned ordinary sewer turtles into the superheros that we know and love today, but it was also how a child could actually physically ooze out of a chair and turn into a puddle of complete embarrassment on the floor. Needless to say, it was a long time before we went to another movie with her.

The funny thing is that the thing that embarrassed me as a kid, I now admire as an adult. No one ever has to guess how Nana is feeling. She wears her emotions right on her sleeve! When she's happy it is such an exciting thing to be around. And when she's disappointed, you know it! And believe me, Nana's disappointment is far worse than any punishment!

Well...now my son is into TMNT and I've been looking for that movie so I can show him the Ninja Dance! "Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go!!!"

Fond Memories From Heather...

I was reading the comments and found this one from Heather and felt this needed to be in the post so it won't be overlooked. This comment and Gina's post right before this one is just what I am looking for in this blog. Anyone who has stories, memories, pictures, etc that they want to share with all of us about Nana, email me and I will send you an invitation to write to the blog and then you will be able to post directly into the blog. Together, we can smile, laugh, cry and enjoy these thoughts and memories. Then even after her passing, we can and will be able to dwell on the good things in her life! I could really use all of your help to make this truly a success. Thanks Gina & Heather for leading the way!! The rest of you...Think about it, and let me know when your ready!!

"Hi, For those of you who don't know me, my name is Heather Bonney-Pearce and I have known Nana and the family for 36 years. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever known. She has helped me throughout my life more than she'll ever know. Even when I wasn't around her she was helping me. Knowing her has made me a better mother to my children. I have wonderful memories of her. Like when she would play her accordian and Deanna, Donna, Denise and I would dance around the living room "entertaining" her (or we thought we were pretty good). We would put on short plays for her. She would sit so patiently and enjoy them (or atleast she pretended to enjoy them). One of the things that I am most thankful to her for is, that she would ALWAYS listen to us. She may not have agreed with us or how we felt, but she kept an open mind and tried to understand. She NEVER laughed at us or made us feel silly for what we said or felt. I love her so much for that. Because of her, I try to do the same with my children. I know it has made a difference in our home. She's an amazing lady.
Heather
March 24, 2008 5:17 PM

Dunkin Donuts!

I wanted to share a memory from my childhood that makes me smile.

We had just moved to the beautiful state of Utah and we (RJ, Jennifer, and I) were blessed enough to share an apartment with Nana. Mom (Deanna) was working and Nana was the "stay-at-home grandma" Nana had always made sure we had a wonderful breakfast to start out our day and never failed to have snacks (I cant eat a Teddy Graham without thinking of her!) waiting for us when we returned from school.

One morning Nana decided to give us a surprise treat for breakfast! Donuts! Every kids dream! So she broke up the donuts into bite sized pieces, put them in a bowl and poured milk over them. "Breakfast is ready!" I can only imagine how excited she was to tell us we were getting sweets!

Well, I'm not sure if any of you have had bread and milk, but needless to say...it gets soggy REALLY fast! It turned out not be such a sweet treat! I can't recall if we choked it down or utterly refused to eat the mush that was once a delicious treat (Most likely the latter! Believe it or not...I wasn't always perfect. LOL) but I never will forget that she was constantly thinking of ways to make our day special! She taught me to be thoughtful (I've gotta add that my Mama did a good job at teaching me too!) and I thank her for that.

Thank you for being you and being such a wonderful example in my life!

I love you Nana!

Wow, What a Night!

Well, Nana decided that a haircut and shower wasn't enough accomplishment yesterday. She decided that she needed to finish her "to do" list so she could be ready "to go". We had quite the full house yesterday as we all spent time, visited and gave love and kisses to her. It was hard to go home and to bed for all of us, thinking that she very well might not be here this morning. Lady, her puppy, was very restless all night. She kept getting me up to check what the matter was. So while I was up, I would go check on Nana...still breathing, so back to bed and try to sleep only to get up with Lady again just an hour or so later. It was a long night!!

We visited a little bit this morning, well... I talked, she listened. Then she went back to sleep. She's been asleep most of the day so far. Not sure what last night was all about, but we very well could be very close to all this coming to an end; then again... maybe not!

Big Day for Nana!

Today was a very big day for Nana. I was able to drag her out of bed and get her in the kitchen and give her a haircut! I just put her in her walker/chair and pushed her in there. She has one of those walkers that has a seat in it. On occasion, we use it as a wheelchair kind of deal. Anyway, I put her in the walker, which actually worked real good because she could hold herself up by the handles. She was way tired today, but we were both determined to get it done. Whew, her hair was getting long and unruly. We got it all cut and trimmed and then I pushed her into the bathroom and put her into the shower. While she was finishing up (staying warm under the hot water) I ran into her room and changed the sheets and freshened her pillows. So when I got her out and all dressed, shaved and teeth and hair brushed...I rolled her into her room and there was her bed all ready for her. I got a great big smile out of her. I just kept telling her that this was all she had to do all day today and she would be very happy when it was over. Sure enough, she cuddled under the blankets, with a great big smile. She looks good, smells good, and is all comfy, cozy & warm in her bed!!

Tomorrow will be a big day for visitors and phone calls, I think being Easter and all. I just wanted her to look her best for Easter and all her visitors.

Hello Everyone!!

I decided to go ahead and give this a try. I guess we'll see how it goes according to the response I get and just how hard it is to do it. We're going to start real simple and hopefully it will grow as we go.

I just thought it might be fun to put updates here as well as anything else that comes to mind. I'm going to try to find pictures and stories (we'll see how that goes). I don't know a whole lot about it, but I'm going to try.

Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Nana is doing good today. She seemed pretty awake and alert, but then in the middle of the conversation she was somewhere else, in dreamland. She wasn't sure how she got here. She told me this story. She said that I called her this morning and asked her to come over and babysit the girls so I could go to the temple. She said yes, when do you want me to come over. I told her 10am. She said ok. Then she was sitting on the couch in her pajamas, when Jon came in and she said her legs didn't feel good. So he told her to go lay down and put her legs under the covers. She said she could help, but he said she needed to go lay down. I told her that part of her story was true. Jon was coming over at 10am so I could go to the temple. We had talked about that earlier this morning. I told her that she's been living here at my house for 5 months. She was surprised, "I have?" She couldn't believe it at first.

It sure is interesting to hear her dreams and to watch her phase in and out. She will be fine and know where she is and then all of a sudden she's somewhere else. We had the same little girl sitting in the same spot again today. She's been here before, but of course Nana is the only one to see her.

More stories later....

Let me know what you guys think, okay??