Great-Grandma Visit

I wish I had a picture, but my grandmother really hates having her picture taken.  What I do have is right here in my heart, the feeling of overwhelming happiness and deep contentment at seeing my grandmother sitting on the deck of our new house, holding Maeve on her lap, looking so satisfied, so filled with love.

My grandmother, who I wrote about last year, is someone so special to me.  But in the past year, she's had major surgery, along with radiation treatment, and a long, slow recovery.  She does not climb the stairs at her own house anymore.  But our new home is a split-level, and I basically thought she would never see it, because of the eight stairs it would take for her to get up to the main level.

But my grandmother is a stubborn gal, and not the kind to just give up on something if she wants it badly enough.  And I think it was hard for her to picture the house just based on photos and descriptions from me.  So she came, and my aunt helped her get here.

I was so happy to cook for her in my own kitchen, I made Parmesan chicken and spaghetti Alfredo, and it turned out marvelous, which is pretty impressive since my grandmother doesn't like garlic, and it's tricky making an Alfredo sauce taste good without garlic.  My trick?  Half-and-half, lots of pepper, and a bit of onion powder.  It worked!

But I am pleased, proud, and deeply happy that my dear grandmother has now seen our beautiful house.  What a memory to keep forever.

Maeve Elenore, takes after her great-grandma in the stubborn category.