Kathy Remembers her Grandmother Kathaleen:

    My grandmother was the way grandma's should be.  As a child she would take time out of her busy day to play games with you.  She would not let you win, because as she said the real joy was knowing that you had actually won for real.  She was creative in her home and surroundings.  Her ideas and Grandpa's inventiveness and craftsmanship made for beauty, practicality, and generally cost savings too.  Grandma taught me her vision of a garden that was in perpetual bloom; planting plants that bloomed in sequence over the year.  Grandma was a cook that didn't need a recipe.  Her style grew from the days when she helped her Mom bake bread for a family of seven to feeding her own family with Grandpa, a hard working railroad man.  I loved staying overnight because breakfast was a filling affair with sausage, eggs, or pancakes.  All the grandkids loved her toast stand, where she would make eight slices of toast and bring them to the table in a stand so you could grab one or more.  Having gone through the Depression and WWII rationing, Grandma could make the simplest things taste great.  Grandma always played along with Grandpa's joke when she had us hide when he would come home from work.  He would pretend he couldn't find us for awhile despite the fact I'm sure we were probably giggling in our hiding spots.  I loved the way my Grandparents were a team.  The greatest gift probably she gave us all along the way was being someone who would listen.  The world can get pretty hectic, but most things seemed to improve in perspective after a visit with Grandma.