I don't know why we didn't know my grandmothers names but growing up we called them Grandma George or Grandma Archie. Only now do I wonder how this came about. How did we start calling them by their husbands names? How odd this seems to me now.
Thinking about it I don't remember calling Grandpa George, grandpa George. I grew up with only one living grandpa, so did my parents tell us as kids Grandpa George to help us remember.
Both sets of grandparents lived on a farm, which growing up we referred equally as going to the farm. Grandma George's was the favourite to go to. This was for many reasons one was my grandfather. He had a kind manner with good hugs. All the grandkids wanted to have time with this kind but gruff old farmer.
Then there was Grandma George, who would no doubt be making or just made homemade bread. We would hope she was just making it...though now thinking back I have a feeling she may have put a portion of dough aside for us. If she was making bread we would get a portion to make into dough people, and most likely to eat half of it prior to it being baked. I remember that feeling of your stomache as the unbaked bread expanded inside.
After saying hello we would likely be ushered outside to play with the cousins. The fields were a childs treasure trove. Old farm equipment, that now looks to be torture devices, were our jungle gym. We had the crows nest which I believe was some sort of harvester was one of my favourites. I could get in and out of the grain shute without the worry of being stuck like on some of the others.
There were two things that could only be played on with multiple grandkids. These were the culvert and the "teeter-totter".
With the culvert we would get 6 to 8 of us to rock it slowly and until we could acted like hamsters skirting around the paddock. I remember getting rust bits mixed with dried manure all over me and by the end in my eyes yet it was something we wanted to do.
The teeter-totter would connect to the back of a tractor but didn't rest with the front on the ground like the other pull-alongs. This would allow three or so of us (no more could fit without falling off) to run back and forth on it to create the teeter-totter.
Thinking about it I don't remember calling Grandpa George, grandpa George. I grew up with only one living grandpa, so did my parents tell us as kids Grandpa George to help us remember.
Both sets of grandparents lived on a farm, which growing up we referred equally as going to the farm. Grandma George's was the favourite to go to. This was for many reasons one was my grandfather. He had a kind manner with good hugs. All the grandkids wanted to have time with this kind but gruff old farmer.
Then there was Grandma George, who would no doubt be making or just made homemade bread. We would hope she was just making it...though now thinking back I have a feeling she may have put a portion of dough aside for us. If she was making bread we would get a portion to make into dough people, and most likely to eat half of it prior to it being baked. I remember that feeling of your stomache as the unbaked bread expanded inside.
After saying hello we would likely be ushered outside to play with the cousins. The fields were a childs treasure trove. Old farm equipment, that now looks to be torture devices, were our jungle gym. We had the crows nest which I believe was some sort of harvester was one of my favourites. I could get in and out of the grain shute without the worry of being stuck like on some of the others.
There were two things that could only be played on with multiple grandkids. These were the culvert and the "teeter-totter".
With the culvert we would get 6 to 8 of us to rock it slowly and until we could acted like hamsters skirting around the paddock. I remember getting rust bits mixed with dried manure all over me and by the end in my eyes yet it was something we wanted to do.
The teeter-totter would connect to the back of a tractor but didn't rest with the front on the ground like the other pull-alongs. This would allow three or so of us (no more could fit without falling off) to run back and forth on it to create the teeter-totter.
