I remember she had a fridge in the basement that was stocked with sodas and juice. Almost immediately after arriving at her house and hugging hello (she made sure to hug EVERYONE hello and good-bye), my brothers and I would run down the steps to grab a drink. Normally we'd stay down there, playing pool on the enormous pool table, board games (though a bunch of the games didn't have all the pieces, like Mouse Trap...but we tried to set it up anyway!), or later down the road, ping-pong. Being the competitive family that we are, there was a lot of smack talk going on and gloating and such.
I remember getting pizza from Regina's, I think just about the best pizza ever. I don't remember many holidays, just a few, but there was always laughter and joking and everything was very loud! Grandma would always have us go wash our hands before we ate, and she always had Caress soap in the dish (which is the reason why I use it in my own home...it always reminds me of her and her house). She made THE BEST apple pie (sorry, Mom, but I don't think anyone could compete with it) and I'd always try to get more than one piece. After dinner, we'd clear the table and a pack of cards was brought out. It was from Grandma that I learned War, Rummy, and 10/Oh Shucks/Oh Hell/Trumps (the last one Grandpa Moore had taught everyone, but I learned it AT Grandma's).
My grandparents, brothers, aunt and uncle, and cousins (and occasionally mom and dad) would go down to Lake Kerr, where we rented two cabins beside each other right on the lake. The kids would get the lofts and the adults would get the two bedrooms. I think the last year we went the kids got one cabin and the adults got the other. One year there was a huge spider that decided to build its web completely across one of the doors and we just left it, amazed at the web she made, the detail and the sheer size of it! We'd all wake up, eat cereal, then head down to the lake...sometimes swimming in front of the cabins, sometimes going to another small beach, usually within walking distance, though Aunt Karla would sometimes drive herself, Grandma, and the younger of us that didn't want to walk as far. My cousins and I would go to a little store to get snacks and bait and such. I thought it was so cool because it floated on the water (which was really handy when the lake flooded one year). My cousins and I went to the loading dock one time and I slipped, slicing my big toe open. They helped me back and Grandma went to the store, bringing back bandages and a foam thing to put on my toe. I thought it was weird, so it didn't stay on long.
There was a neighbor behind Grandma that had a big pool with a slide who would let us come over and swim in the summer. One time the jet on the slide wasn't on and I had no back to my bathing suit, so when I went down I burned myself really bad. Grandma taught me how to cup my hands, keeping my fingers together, so I could "push" the water out of the way and swim better. She had apple trees and a grape arbor (which I thought was cool because it was like a little hideaway). She had an ENORMOUS tree in the backyard that we used to climb (the tree is actually listed in a book on the largest trees documented in the US(?), my brother found out). We played soccer and football in the backyard.
Other things I remember:
Grandma's the reason I finally got my ears pierced. Mom didn't let me, and then Grandma had thought they already were and bought me a jewelry set for Christmas one year that had pierced earrings in it.
Her coffee table was a huge slab of a tree trunk, which I thought (and still do) was the coolest thing. There were two stools I would sit on and either eat there or do puzzles or some other activities.
She always had candy, which I'd get when I was there. They were like Tootsie rolls, but flavors like vanilla, butterscotch, and butter rum (my favorite one!).
Grandma had the oddest collection of furniture and decor (including a huge set of carved wooden spoon, fork, and something else that hung on the basement wall, as well as an African-looking drum she used as a side table) that I think she and Grandpa Miller got when he was in the military.
I remember hunting Easter eggs in her front yard a couple years.
She had the oddest (and coolest) sayings, like, "Bwess 'em wittle teensie!" when you had a boo-boo.
Dad always called her "Rady" (I always wondered why he called his mother this, and he explained that he called her Ol' Rady (old lady) and she called him something back which I can't remember).
Grandma used to always call me Tada. I had always accepted it as an endearment, then one year I asked Aunt Karla why she called me that (I was afraid to ask Grandma herself because I was young and for some reason thought it'd hurt her feelings if I questioned her). Apparently, when I was born, my brother Eric couldn't say "Samantha" and all that came out sounded like Tada, so it always stuck with Grandma.
But the most important thing I remember about Grandma and Grandma's house was the love and laughter that was always shared there, starting with the big bear hugs and kisses on the cheek upon arrival and ending with the reluctant waves as our car pulled away.
I love you, Grandma.
