Today I suppose I'm simply feeling nostalgic for the people and places of my childhood. I read a good friends blog this morning about bottling tomato's and it made me miss my Grandmother and my sweet Mommy.

I miss canning so much. But more then the canning, I miss the sweet women who showed me how. When I was a little girl, I lived down the street (5 houses to be exact) from my Grandma and Grandpa Ellsworth. Many a wonderful afternoon were spent at her kitchen table with my mother and grandmother, bottling the Mountains (and I mean Mountains!) of produce my grandpa had planted, just because he loved to grow things. We made salsa with grandpa and bottled peaches and made jam. I miss those days, and those people some times!

I remember wandering down the road about lunch time because Grandma always had something tasty for lunch, like homemade soup and bread. And who could forget the small white buckets, which were used to pick cherry tomatoes and berry's until our tummies were sick. Much better then Peanut butter and jelly! I remember watching game shows like Super Market Sweep, and Shop 'til You Drop with my Grandfather, and loving the way he called me Ann-a-roo, or Annie Oaklie, and Annie Get Your Gun. He was full of love and wisdom that I still treasure to this day. I would easily count them both as two of my greatest hero's!

There home was a warm and welcoming place where I grew close to so many of my cousins who lived so far away, but I must admit, I cherished the time I got to spend with just them. I only wish I had realized then just how blessed I was to have them so close.

Time has taken me from my childhood home, as it does to all of us, and that home that I remember so many good times, is no longer a part of my trips home. But I do still have my sweet Grandmother with me here on Earth. Our visits have changed (although she still make a mean lunch for you when you visit), but my love for her is just as strong. She's full of stories of my Mother, which I cherish more now that she is gone then I ever have. So this is for you Grandma. I love you so much. Thank you for helping me to become the woman that I am today, and thanks for the memories!