Flashback friday: Nana Dell

My sweet Grandma passed away this last week. I thought I'd write some of my favorite memories about her, mostly for my family. 

She was unique, fun, spunky, witty, smart and so full of life. She was such a fun person to be around, and had so many adventurous stories to tell about her life. She always made sure to ask all about your adventures too, and made you feel like what you had to say was important. She wanted to know details of your life and she'd  pass them along from family member to family member. She was very proud of her daughters as well as her grandkids. I remember her saying not long ago, "I am afraid to take a picture of Gracie to bridge, because I don't want to make everyone feel bad because their grandkids aren't as cute as mine." So funny...

Here I am with her when I was probably around 18 months old.

She was so good at sending cards for holidays, random letters with a newspaper article or clipping that related to you somehow, or just a newsletter of things she's been up to every so often. Growing up she'd hand paint every birthday card...she was an amazing artist (and gave grandkids painting lessons all the time). 

Here are a couple of my favorites that I've saved:

I loved her home growing up. It was cozy and warm...some things I remember about going to Grandma's:

she always stocked the red candy dish filled with hot tomales and coffee nips.

she had a one-of-a-kind mexican christmas tree

the big bench in front of the fire place you could lay down on and get warm

the big windows looking out to the backyard, where there was most likely a game of croquet going on.

all of the art hanging, and so many little trinkets from her travels around the world

she had mini boxes of cereal we could pick in the morning for breakfast. She also was an amazing cook, very health conscious and made things like salmon quiche or carrot chowder for family dinners. 

She had the world's best climbing tree in her front yard. I always played "monkeys" with Elliot and Drew.

She loved to pull out her slide machine and give slide shows...they were famous. Many prospective family members (Jared included) got to see Grandma Dell's slide shows before they entered the family.

She had big wheel bikes in the shed out back. We'd race around the backyard, through the gate, down the walk, down her steep driveway and back...over and over. 

For Christmas she always wrapped her presents in tin foil and yarn and gave very thoughtful gifts.

She'd read us such fun books for bedtime stories...luckily I snagged one from my Mom a few weeks ago and have been reading it to Gracie.

She wore the greatest jewelry...big chunky necklaces and hand-made rings. 

She loved to tell us stories about our ancestors and relatives and knew our family history by heart.

Her memory was absolutely amazing. My mom always said that her mom can remember more about her life than she can.  I was always impressed with the little things she remembered about me too.

The last time I talked to her on the phone was a couple of months ago. I had fallen off of the stage at my church during Activity Days (my calling) and landed on my shoulder and head. It was embarrassing and pretty painful....she called, very concerned about my head, then we ended up laughing about it for a while, and she told me some embarrassing things that had happened to her recently to make me feel better. :) 

Gracie's middle name is Della, after my Grandma Dell. Grandma was so happy that she got to know Grace, her little namesake. When she was born, she sent a long letter about how proud she was to pass on her name, which was actually her mother's middle name. It's a wonderful name and I can't wait to tell Gracie just how special it really is.

Here is Grandma Dell with Grace Della, and cousin Ruby. 

Love you Grandma!