Thursday, February 19, 2015

She Loved Red

She loved red velvet dresses.

I don't know how she did it, but every year at Christmas time, she would buy all her littlest grandchildren and her great grandchildren a dressy outfit for church.  If at all possible, the outfits had red in them. The boys usually got little outfits that would have a vest and tie.  She especially loved it if she could find red velvet for the girls.


Elissa's dress courtesy of Granny Violet


But if not, blue or green velvet was okay. A teensy touch of red made it better.





Janae in blue velvet


Malia in green velvet - with a touch of red



She also loved home furnishings in red.  She had a couple of her chairs reupholstered in red velvet – one a plain red, the other in this crazy red, white and black pattern.  She had all kinds of red silk flowers about the house, and red damask curtains. I so wish I had a picture to share with you of all her red décor, and all the cute little red outfits she bought the grands over the years. I didn’t own a digital camera while she was alive, and I was notorious for taking pictures on my little Kodak and then never getting them developed.

(I was also notorious for cutting people’s heads off in photos, too, but I digress …)

Granny had very little money so her gifts of church outfits were a sacrifice. It was worth it to her because she loved her family so much and was proud of them and wanted each of them to have a special outfit for church.

I love the memory of Christmas church outfits. I've decided from now on, I’m going to take up her mantle and continue the tradition.

I’ll try to buy red in her honor.


~~~




Did your grandmother have a favorite color or something specific she liked to buy her grandchildren? Leave a comment and share. Inquiring minds want to know.





Mama's Losin' It




This post was written in response to Writer's Workshop prompt # 4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: red.  If you'd like to link up, visit Kat Bouska's blog, Mama's Losin' It.

10 comments:

  1. Sadly, I don't have wonderful grandmother memories but...as a mother, I did the "red" thing every holiday season with my children.

    Those special outfits just wrapped each of them in the warmth and beauty of the season!

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  2. My grandmother loved personalized things. One day she bought one of those round label makers - you know, the one with the dial you turned for the right letter and then squeezed the trigger and out came this plastic label with words imprinted on it. She was in love with that thing, and everything she gave me after that - if she could stick a label on it - it was personalized with my name. I still laugh when I think of it.

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  3. Red is a lovely color. It sounds like the color made her happy, and she wanted to share that.

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  4. When my girls were very young, I would always try to find matching red velvet dresses for their Christmas church outfit. If I couldn't find what I wanted, I'd make them all matching dresses... always had to have red in them. Three little girls was so fun to dress up!

    My mother always found an occasion to buy the new babies or young children a special outfit. It didn't always fall on Christmas, but she was always looking for that "something special" for a specific child.

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  5. What a lovely tradition that you will be carrying on. I wish I had memories of grandparents but I only remember my mom's mom, everyone had pretty much passed by the time I was born and we had a language barrier (she spoke no English just Polish) and we moved when I was 7 years old. I hope if I'm ever a grandmother to make a bit more of memories with my grands.

    betty

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  6. My grandmas didn't have a particular color or an outfit but they both sewed. That's what I remember most about them - the outfits they made, the beautiful stuffed animals, the quilts. They never taught me any of that, so as an adult, I'm learning. My mom helps me when she comes to visit. It helps me feel closer to them.

    Jen - Pierced Wonderings

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  7. Beautiful. I loved reading this. What a treasure of lady she sounded like.

    That photo is so sweet, too. Old family photos are so special to look back on.

    Have a wonderful weekend, Jerralea!!
    Hugs and blessings,
    Jazzmin

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  8. What a wonderful Grandmother! Thanks for sharing this memory!

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  9. Wonderful to be remembered this way! That's a blessing.

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  10. How sweet! And you have still have the photos to treasure. :) My Grandma gave us angel ornaments every Christmas. I always think of her when I decorate my tree!

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