While thinking back on my mother-in-law’s funeral and how it affected our children and grandchildren, I began wondering what parting message I would want to leave for those grieving my death. Our daughter Kari wrote a lovely funeral poem that I have shared with my visitors. My brother-in-law has it hanging on the living room wall, in a small way to keep Mom Mom near. As I sat here at the computer tonight, the following poem came to mind. I want my children and grandchildren to know that I am always with them in spirit, everywhere they go for we are all part of nature. I can’t imagine a nicer way to stay with those we leave behind.

Nana Can’t Be With You

Nana can’t be with you, but remember this…

When you are lonely, curl up your fingers
Feel my hand in yours…

When you are happy, look to the stars
See my shining eyes…

When you are sad, sit in the sun
Feel the warmth of my love…

When you need me, walk in the garden
See me everywhere…

Know that I am with you, always

~ Nana’s Corner ~

Columbus Sailed

Author Unknown

Columbus sailed from far off Spain
A long, long time ago.
He had three ships that only moved
When winds would pull and blow.
We’re mighty glad he was so brave
And every year we tell
Of how he found America
The land we love so well

Christopher Columbus

Meish Goldish

Christopher Columbus was one of a kind.
A way to the Indies he wanted to find.
People said, “Chris, you’ll never succeed.”
But he had a plan, he had a need.

Sailing from Spain was Chris’ idea,
On the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
People said, “Chris, you’ll fall off the earth.”
But he followed his dream for all it was worth.

The year was 1492
When Columbus set off with an eager crew.
People said, “Chris, you’ll never reach land.”
But on he sailed, just as planned.

Two months later, an island was found.
There were Native Americans all around.
Chris and his crew began to explore
What the Indians discovered long before.

Chris didn’t know the trip he led
Was not to the Indies, but America instead!
Even so, he gained such fame
That now the whole world knows his name!

Christopher Columbus

Meish Goldish

Columbus sailed over the ocean,
Columbus sailed over the sea,
Columbus sailed over the ocean,
An eager explorer was he!

In Spain, many people were laughing.
They said, “He’ll fall flat off the earth!”
Columbus said, “I’ll find the Indies!”
And sailed on for all he was worth!

Columbus soon came to an island,
With Native Americans there.
Columbus had sailed to the New World,
And so he explored everywhere!

Columbus did not find the Indies,
But land others found long before.
But still we remember Columbus,
Who followed his dream to explore!

A New World

Alice Crowell Hoffman

Columbus found a new world
Because he dared to do
A thing that was unheard of-
A thing that was quite new.
Columbus found a new world
Because he made a start,
Instead of merely pond’ring o’er
The thoughts within his heart.
Columbus found a new world
Because he saw things through
And you can find your new world
Precisely that way, too.

Christopher Columbus

Gertrude M. Robinson

Columbus was a wise man
Who thought the earth was round;
He planned to sail across the sea
Where trading could be found.

Though kings did not believe him,
And men thought he would fail,
He found one friend, the Spanish queen,
Who gave him ships to sail.

The crew rebelled, the sea was rough
In 1492;
Still this brave man kept sailing on
In spite of sea or crew.

But when they spied America,
They landed with a cheer -
And that is why we celebrate
Columbus Day each year.

 Like Columbus

Eleanor Dennis

Columbus said, “The earth is round.
Across the sea I’ll go.
Although some say the earth is flat,
I’ll prove it is not so.”

Columbus crossed the ocean.
When his sailors cried, “Turn back!”
He would not listen to their pleas,
But kept the onward track.

Then when Columbus sighted land,
Their cries and fears were gone.
I hope that I shall be as brave
As he was, and ’sail on!”

Sometimes we think we always have tomorrow to say thank you or I love you to our grandparents, parents, children, friends…. But, eventually, we may run out of tomorrows. This has happened to me three times.

I always thought there would be tomorrow. I put off what I wanted to say, but I never got the chance with three people very dear to me. So, now I say “I love you” everyday and I take the time to wave goodbye from the door…or when I think of someone close to my heart, I pick up the phone even if it is to just say “Hi, I was thinking of you.” 

(more…)

Grandchild,
If apples were pears and peaches were plums
and the rose had a different name,
If tigers were bears and fingers were thumbs,
Nana would love you just the same.

~ Anonymous ~

Here are 5 Halloween poems for grandparents to share with your grandchildren. The first four Halloween poems are fun and not too scarey for young grandchildren. Caution, the fifth Halloween poem should probably be saved for older grandchildren…it is a Halloween poem that could cause your grandchildren to be hesitant about going to bed on Halloween…or any other night. Don’t forget to turn on the night light!!

Happy Halloween

It’s late and we are sleepy,
The air is cold and still.
Our jack-o-lantern grins at us
Upon the windowsill.

We’re stuffed with cake and candy
And we’ve had a lot of fun,
But now it’s time to go to bed
And dream of all we’ve done.

We’ll dream of ghosts and goblins
And of witches that we’ve seen,
And we’ll dream of trick-or-treating
On this happy Halloween.

~ Author Unknown ~

Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said,
“Oh my, it’s getting late.”
The second one said,
“But we don’t care.”
The third one said,
“I see witches in the air.”
The fourth one said,
“Let’s run, and run, and run.”
The fifth one said,
“Get ready for some fun.”
Then whoosh went the wind,
And out went the lights,
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

~ Author Unknown ~

Trick O’ Treat

Witches, ghosts, and goblins.
Stealing down the street,
Knock on every doorway,
Trick or Treat!
When your door is opened,
This is what you meet,
Scary creatures shouting,
Trick or treat!

~ Author Unknown ~

The Goblin

There’s a goblin as green as a goblin can be.
Who is sitting outside and is waiting for me.
When he knocked on my door and said softly,
“Come play!”
I answered, “No thank you, now please,go away!”
But the goblin as green as a goblin can be.
Is still sitting outside and is waiting for me.
Trick or treat, trick or treat,
Give us something good to eat.
Give us candy, give us cake,
Give us something sweet to take.
Give us cookies, fruit and gum,
Hurry up and give us some.
You had better do it quick
Or we’ll surely play a trick.
Trick or treat, trick or treat,
Give us something good to eat.

~ Author Unknown ~

Pumpkin Time

Pumpkin time is here again,
Time to play Trick or Treat.
Pumpkin time is here again,
Our spooky friends we’ll meet.

See the costumes we have on,
Monsters, ghosts, goblins too.
See the costumes we have on,
Hear us all shout “Boo!”

~ Author Unknown ~

 and one for older grandchildren…

Advice on How to Sleep on Halloween Night

The thing to remember, when you go to bed
Is hang strings of garlic, high over your head,
So werewolves and vampires won’t come to call.

In fact,
You won’t get many callers at all
‘Cause garlic is smelly.
Besides,
its success with magical creatures
Who visit distress on humans who read scary stories at night,
And sleep in their bedrooms, without a night-light.

The thing to remember, when you go to bed
Is putting a cross, at your foot and your head,
‘Cause witches and vampire bats are religious
And touching a sign like a cross gives them hideous
Goosebumps and warts,
Hives, the welts and the itches,
Which nobody likes, even vampire bats and witches.
But try not to toss or to turn in your bed.
If you kick off the crosses you’re gonna wake the dead.

The thing to remember, when you go to bed
Is watch out for goblins, who’ll munch on your head.
What stops them is water, so ask for a glass,
Then pour it around, so the goblins can’t pass.
Or else make a run
for the bathroom and turn on the hot and cold faucets
and watch goblins squirm.
As a last chance,
since goblins all fear running streams,
If you don’t own a bathroom, dream water-filled dreams.

So, that’s my advice.
Now, just turn off the light.
Hope you sleep well the next Halloween Night!

~ Author Unknown ~

Have you ever experienced skunk spray up close? If you have, then you know it is the most offensive odor. And, since skunk spray is oil based, it is also the worst to get rid of.

Last week I was upstairs in the office organizing notes for my Algebra 2 students. The night was perfect with a light cool breeze coming in through the open windows. All of a sudden I got a whiff of the neighborhood skunk. I yelled, “Where’s Buddy?” My husband yelled back, “Too late!”

Oh, no! Here we go again. Our dog (Peanut) who we had before Buddy had been sprayed also so we knew what it entailed…lots of continuous bathing with solutions of white vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, etc….and lots of deodorizing.

Only this time, Buddy got away from my husband in the den as he brought him in from the backyard. He rolled around on the carpeting in attempt to remove the pungent odor from his back and face. Luckily, we still had the furniture covered to protect it from our granddaughters’ visit earlier in the afternoon.

Needless to say, the carpeting stunk from the skunk oil. Poppy rented a carpet shampooer from our local supermarket. But to no avail, the odor just wouldn’t come out. The den was the only room where we didn’t have the carpet replaced three years ago so it’s time we replaced it anyway. The den gets a lot of use and has started to show more wear and tear lately mostly because the grandchildren are more active - and therefore, the dog is too. They love the fact that they can run in and out of the back door with Buddy following them. The den is also between the garage and kitchen which can show you just how much daily traffic the carpet gets.

With our busy schedules, it’s difficult to find time to go carpet shopping and besides, we use enough gas as it is. To save time and gas, we’ll make an appointment with Empire Today to take advantage of their in-home flooring sales and next day installation. Poppy and I rarely agree on anything when it comes to decorating, but in this case we’ve decided to choose a Berber carpet installed in the den instead of a plush because my research tells me it endures people and dog traffic which we do have coming and going from the kitchen, backyard, and garage. It will also be easier to vacuum up the dog hair.

When the real estate market picks up, we’ll try selling our house again. This time, we plan on having the bedroom wood floors replaced with laminate flooring which Empire Today also installs. Through the years, with three children of our own (and now Kaitlin and Emily) and several dogs, the wood floors have been terribly scratched. We don’t want to bother with the lengthy refinishing process. Another alternative would be to cover them up with more carpeting, but buyers are looking for attractive flooring instead. When we were looking at houses ourselves, It was really difficult to tell the difference. I had to touch the flooring to know for sure. The best part is that it will withstand scratching from our grandchildren’s toys and our Buddy’s claws when he runs around or jumps on or off the bed. That’s always a good selling point, too.

Before I decided on Empire Today, I visited their website and read what others had to say about Empire’s in-home flooring sales and installation. Follow this link to read what their customers had to say:  Empire Carpet Stories.

Nana’s advice: If you suspect a skunk may be visiting…before you let your dog out at night, turn on bright lights and make loud noises…then give the skunk time to leave your yard.

Recipe for washing:

One quart 3% hydrogen peroxide*
¼ cup baking soda
one teaspoon liquid dish soap

1. Wear vinyl gloves and an apron.
2. Rinse your dog completely down to the skin with water.
3. Wash with the above solution and leave on 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Protect yourself - your pet will try to shake off the water.
5. Rinse off with water.

* White vinegar can be substituted, but it is not as effective
*Use a wash cloth for the face area and do not let it get into your pet’s eyes.
*You may have to wash several times but be careful not to cause irritation.
*The odor will still be there, but only faintly. Over time it will disappear.