grandma is all a-glitter

My darling grandma celebrated her 90th birthday with a whole bunch of us, thanks to mom, Aunt Linda, Uncle Bob and Aunt Jan, and all the grandkids who pitched in. What a great party!!

Amy took some great pics of Grandma, all stunning in her yellow sequined party dress. Stacy (and Krista?) made an awesome slide show of 90 years of pics - yes, that was baby Grandma in the big white bonnet. Debs played guitar and sang along with a whole batch of great-grandkids. And then sang with Susan and Carolyn - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - Debs attributes her dancing skills to Dad's "groovy dance," and truly, the similarities were quite apparent. Carolyn nailed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in a big way - I was beyond impressed. Sandra played the piano. Children sang. There were speeches. There was crying (way to go, Ames). Brad ate three (or four) pieces of cake while we were talking through the NBA playoff scenarios.... all in all, an amazing party.

(Quiz: can you spot which ones are siblings?)

Later that night, a bunch of us went over to Grandma's for the party after the party. Grandma had MORE cake (carrot - her favorite) and we watched the end of the Chicago/Boston game. It's been a lot of years since I just hung out at Grandma's house, and I can't remember my grandparents living anywhere else.

Grandma was adorable. Her party dress was stunning. Her hair was perfect. She is a lady full of grace and beauty. Cousin Jim rocked the apple cart when one of the guests introduced herself and said that she played bridge with Grandma, and Jim replied "Oh, you must be the one she always beats." Oh, that was certainly NOT her, the lady replied. "I beat her all the time." Sorry, Grandma - there may be ongoing repercussions from that little conversation.

Becca and Kristen and I organized a gift book for her: Things that are as Old as Grandma. She loved it. Here's a sampling:

Lillian May Belliston Farrell
May 4, 1919


Things that are as Old as Grandma:

• dial telephone
  
• Spanish flu
  
• parachute patent
  
• followed closely by the first parachute jump (made to prove that one could do a delayed free-fall jump without becoming unconscious)
  
• rodeo bucking chute
  
• neutrons - not the neutrons themselves, just the theory
  
• Grand Canyon National Park - just the "park" part
  
• Einstein's theory of relativity is proven
  
• zipper
  
• gas tax - $ .01 per gallon enacted by the state of Oregon
  
• pop-up bread toaster

Things that happened in 1919:

• Black Sox scandal
  
• Spanish flu killed more people than WWI (that had just ended)
  
• The horse Sir Barton won the Kentucky Derby
  
• Prohibition began
  
• Jackie Robinson, Red Buttons, and Eva Gabor (and Grandma) were born
  
• The average salary was $750 per year
  
• The Zeigfeld girls made $75 per week
  
• Milk was $ .32 per gallon
  
• Whiskey was $3.50 per gallon
  
• The U.S. population was 92,407,000
  
• 30 million people went to the movies every week
  
• There were 76 lynchings that year
  
• The tango was banned in Boston, New York City, and Cleveland for promoting loose morals, lipstick, and leg exposure
  

It was good to see some of my cousins that I haven't seen in a long time: Tom, Krista, Stacy, Carolyn. It dawned on me too late who Bobby was, and he was already gone. I don't think I've ever known Cousin Tyler - how did I end up with children older than my own cousins? It's beyond difficult to sort out the great-grandkids, but they were all adorable. I did recognize Stacy's littlest one from her family blog, and she's just as darling in person, too!

Spent the night in Ogden at Aunt Linda and Uncle Roy's along with Jim, Stephanie, Carolyn and all the kids. It was the first time I've met Stephanie in person for the first time, and she is a beautiful, amazing woman of strength and depth. I adore Jim - and not only did he make me breakfast the next morning, but he drove me to get coffee. Cousin Jim ROCKS!

Got to spend Sunday dinner with Marne and Scott and the little ones. Thanks to my mother for pulling together a meal after my impromptu invitation.

I came home late Sunday night with lots of gratitude and love for my enormous family. Thanks to mom and dad and Marne for getting me there, dad's truck to get me around, and for then for getting me on a plane when my return flight fell through at the last minute. (Rick also thanks you for that)

Sherri