grandparents say the darndest things: dope

we have started planting our yearly summer garden at my grandparents and things are starting to grow! 

tomato plant

this is corn seed. below is what this seed looks like when it starts to grow, a mini corn stalk!

okay so lets get to the meaning of this post, dope. no, i am not referring to any type of drug ( unless you consider yummy chocolatey syrupy goodness a drug! it is pretty addicting :) ). my grandpa has an unhealthy obsession with ice cream. when he's sick and doesn't have an appetite, he can always still eat ice cream. and his favorite kind is homemade chocolate ice cream. he doesn't like anyone else being in charge of icing and salting the ice cream as it churns and freezes. for years they had a hand crank ice cream maker but after breaking the handle last summer, we have resorted to a automatic one ( all of us who had to take turns cranking the old one are secretly over filled with joy inside saying yippee!!!! ).  anyways, my grandparents call chocolate syrup that you put on ice cream dope. it always seems to give people a chuckle when you hear a 90 year old asking "pass the dope?"

there'e a whole story behind this building. i'll get to it in another post!

grandparents say the darndest things: crab claws and cards

my grandparents were over for dinner tonight and brought some crab claws they brought home from florida. they were sooo yummy! it's quite an adventure eating these shell-y chunks and you definitely have to work to be able to eat them! then we played some euchre and am sad to report that the ladies lost. but we all still managed to have a good time laughing. :)

my grandpa's hat says "fungi to be with" haha :)

grandparents say the darndest things: musharooms

we spent the day today visiting with my grandparents frying mushrooms ( or according to my grandpa, musharooms! ) he goes mushroom hunting every year when they come back from florida and hit the jackpot this year! these mushrooms are called spikes and snake heads and are super yummy when fried up. my grandma is the ultimate fryer when it comes to mushrooms ( and fish! ) so i wanted to record something that it such a special little thing that i will remember for the rest of my life. i love her recycling of her frito bag to flour them. :)

some classic jokes from grandpa today:

• "neeter hates paying taxes, she signs her name with a knife."
• "i asked him if he catches fish and he said 'i can catch them if i want' and i said well did you catch any today? and he said 'well i didn't want to."

grandparents say the darndest things: welcome home basket

i've decided to start a section of "grandparents say the darndest things" because my grandparents have been known to have some of the funniest jokes and best tid bits of wisdom. they haven't even gotten back to ohio yet but their return has been known... for one reason in particular. my parents are going to visit my brother in san diego tomorrow which also happens to be the same day my grandparents will make their grand entrance into ohio and this brought one tough reality for my grandpa: he might not get his annual welcome home basket from my mom. every year my mom makes up a basket of goodies with everything from the staples of bread, milk and eggs to chocolates and beer (for grandpa), circus peanuts (for grandma), and any other item to help stock their kitchen when they return after being gone for 6 months. this year my grandpa was worried. so worried he managed to mention the fact that he might not get his welcome home basket from my mom this year to everyone he talked to. lucky for him, my mom would never let him down :)

my crafty grandma made up this little piggy stool topper. so cute! they raised pigs for many years and then went to raising only produce.

when i was a little girl my grandma gave me a start from her bleeding heart plant because i thought it was just the neatest plant. she showed me how to take a flower off and bend it down so it looks like the flower is a ballerina. ever since i have always seen bleeding hearts as upside down ballerinas waiting for their time for someone to pluck them off and let them dance their hearts out. 

i told my parents to act like they liked each other and this is what i get :)

spring is springing

it's beginning to feel like spring in ohio... well at least for today. okay, let's be honest, today felt like a hot summer day in ohio with high's in the 80's! and i am not complaining one bit. my grandparents will be back this coming weekend from their annual 6 month hiatus at their warm weathered home in the florida keys. so we went to their ohio farm and helped clean up so they don't have to worry about it when they get home. did i mention my grandpa's 90 and my grandma 86? you'd never know it if you met them! my grandma is a lover of flowers and i know she will be happy to see her daffodils in bloom when they return. it's so exciting seeing flowers and trees starting to burst to life in spring. i am ready for the warm weather and nights spent with bbq and friends on the screened in porch.