Quilters Part 13

Sun Bonnet Sue and Sid Quilt Blocks

And then the Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren arrived:
The grandchildren shared many memories of time with grandma. As with most families, themes of food and cooking are center stage. They remember warm bowls of cream of wheat and fluffy French toast lovingly prepared for breakfast when they spent the night. Delightfully soft Christmas caramels individually wrapped in wax paper squares, homemade eggnog and oatmeal cookies are other grandchildren favorites.

They remember working in the garden to pick vegetables. Picking tomatoes was a highlight, because a salt shaker always went with them so they could appropriately taste the tomatoes! They also loved snapping beans and seeing who could fill one of Grandpa’s boots first.

When they weren’t in the garden, they went over the hill to get the mail, took walks, hayrides or chopped wood. Of course when you spent all that time having outdoor adventures, you got dirty and that meant bath time! Grandma would sing See Saw Margery Daw as she bathed the girls and always had a fun time getting everything clean!

More recently they have taken sewing and cooking lessons from her. One request, chicken and dumplings, and another, how to develop lumps in cream of wheat like Grandma. The latest adventures had them learning to milk a cow and make butter.

There were thoughtful and sometimes funny hand crafted items. She created stuffed skunks for her grand kids since grandpa always called them “pole cats.” She made aprons and chef hats, purses and wall hangings. She made prom dresses and entered us as models for fashion shows of her work….

Rayanne: My favorite memory was last summer when Grandma and I did volunteer work together at the Refugee Center in Louisville. My favorite thing was Grandma Boley’s toast! Turns out it was only Texas toast with margarine, but apparently it was the way she did it!!
I was such a picky eater as a child, sometimes Grandma would make me toast at gatherings since I wouldn’t eat anything else!!!

She loved whole-heartedly and without judgment. She welcomed new and perspective family members with open arms and treated them as part of the family.

The great grand children also received Betty’s love in abundance. So much so that Karson took his favorite stuffed animal for her to sleep with during her last night on earth. In her last days she longed for Karson’s wit, Abbagail’s singing and the tender touch of Raleigh.