Melita, I meant to comment earlier on how much I enjoy reading your posts. You have a gift for it. Even before reading your poem, which is wonderful, I was taken by your way of writing. You should consider writing stories or something. And of course, all of our grandmas are so special, I felt like you were talking about mine.

Melita-

Your "folksy poetry" nearly brought me to tears. I have a collection of thin notebooks in which my grandmother recorded her "folksy poetry." From a scholarly point of view it is really awful, but I wouldn't trade them for the rubies in the world.

She recorded not only her own family's life in verse (my father and his siblings) but also about ancestors several generations back.

I have an assortment of my mother-in-law's "folksy poetry" too. She wrote about the neighbors, a little granddaughter who died while waiting for a liver transplant, people she'd known as a young lady, etc.

Nola

Thank for the hug Jacqui, I think I needed it! A combination of hormones and the realization that my two babies are growing up had me feeling a little bereft. Add the family journals and Meg, Jane & Nola's recollections and I was a goner. I can just imagine my grandmother 'tsk tsking' and telling me to 'get on with it', but she would also be there with a helping hand and some good common sense advice. As the saying goes, 'God couldn't be everywhere, that's why he made Grandmothers'.

You are so lucky to be custodians of your families 'folksy' poetry Meg and Nola. As far as I know my Nan didn't write poetry, with 10 kids and no husband her creative endeavours were inevitably practical in nature. Nan could whip a a boys suit from an secondhand mans suit she bought at a church fete, and patch toddlers overalls with little applicate motifs with great panache. Her Methodist pride meant it was ok to be poor, but never ok to look poor! I do have her handwritten cookbook though and its greatly cherished. There is something about the handwritten messages of the past that really adds colour and texture to their lives.

Thanks for the compliment Jenell, I love to write but I do tend to waffle on. I blame Dickens! I loved reading him when I was a teenager and I've got into the habit of never using one or two words when I can use a dozen! LOL I have a couple of friends who are published writers and they are awesome. As well as being wonderfully talented they are incredibly disciplined. Even if I could hone my writing skills to their standard I can't see a career in literature any time soon. I wouldn't like to claim to have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) but I do seem to get distracted rather easily! LOL I guess that's why I have so many UFOs! LOL

Thanks for being here just when I needed it. Sychronicity is everywhere.

Melita

quote:

Originally posted by Melita:
I've got into the habit of never using one or two words when I can use a dozen!

Oh goodie! A kindred spirit! (as folks around here will certainly tesify!)

quote:

Originally posted by Meg :
Oh goodie! A kindred spirit! (as folks around here will certainly tesify!)

LOL That's good to hear!

Melita

Melita-

For me it wasn't Dickens, although I do like him. For me it was J.R.R. Tolkein, and Jane Austen, and Rudyard Kipling, George Eliot (love Silas Marner) and my very favorite of all, Thomas Hardy! Not sure which I like best, Return of the Native, The Mayor of Castorbridge, or Tess if the D'Urbervilles.

Wow Meg, you are so right. Thomas Hardy is my favourite as well. I think its because he writes with a very sympathetic understanding of his characters, and there is a great sense of warmth in his books even when his heroes are flawed.

I love Jane Austen, and I have introduced her to my children through the BBC production of Pride & Prejudice a few years ago. Imagine my delight when my then 16 year old son read the book! I don't think he told any of his friends. LOL

Tolkein is probably our family favourite. I read the Hobbit to the children when they were younger, its a great book for reading aloud. And of course we were all in raptures over Peter Jacksons movies. We celebrated the New Year for 3 years by going to a movie. Poor little Ket was too young for the first movie and I spent much of the time in the foyer! I haven't managed the Silmarillion though, even though my then 13 year old son did. I think you need a different kind of brain!

I started Kim by Rudyard Kipling when I was a child but never really got into it. I should read it, especially as it was my father's favourite book and I'm named after it. My family all call me 'Kim' rather than Melita...my name is Melita Kim, and with so many Kims in the forum I thought I'd better not add to them! LOL

As for George Eliot I haven't read any! I'm sure I've got one in the bookcase, I'll hunt it up.

Its great to talk to another reader of the good stuff. Not that I don't read a lot of other stuff as well! LOL I just love to read and I'm delighted my younger children share my passion. I think there is a whole generation of mothers indebted to JK Rowling and her wonderful world of fantasy. The great news for me is that once the habit of reading starts for children it just grows.

Melita

Wow ladies what a wonderful thread, I don't usually make many comments, but I can't help myself this time, I had goose bumps after reading the first few, and the grandmother stories are great. I can't remember my grandmaother so hearing about others is terrific.

Hi Margarita, its sad you don't remember your Grandmother, but who knows, after reading Meg, Jane & Nola's experiences, maybe you'll be able to 'connect' with your Grandmother in a different way! Sharing her stories with your parents and relatives is always fun too. I have heard some rippers about my Grandfather that really make me laugh. Even though he died many years before I was born I still have a feeling I 'know' him a little.

Its nice to meet you. Where in our 'Wide Brown Land' are you?

Melita