At Grandma's Place

Make your life a little easier.... I really thought that, by the time I became a grandma, my life would be slow, relaxed, maybe a little mundane but certainly tranquil. I had certainly created sweet, though fictional, cameos in the recesses of my mind: of curling up in a cozy little nook to read for hours, cooking fragrant cupcakes and biscuits in my well-designed kitchen and preparing for the occasional visits from grandchildren, pottering around for hours in picturesque craft and novelty shops as I searched for unique and enthralling gifts and crafts.  Ha! Little did I know that this part of my life would become, arguably, my busiest! The role of today's grandparents has changed considerably. Certainly, the only time I manage any reading opportunities is on my iPad. Sometimes I'm able to listen to an audio that I've downloaded from audible.com while driving to one or other of my grown children's homes or their planned events. And yes, I do take time to cook.....

How uncomfortable are hiccups! And once you start, it's hard to stop.Yesterday, my grandson had them.. and, everyone was suggesting remedies. "They just won't stop!" he cried in frustration between hiccups. I suggested he try a spoonful of sugar. He laughed and said, "That's not going to work." I was pleased to note, though, that it did. So I checked, and a number of studies have shown that, yes, a spoonful of white sugar will stop hiccups in 95% of cases. Researchers haven't been able to figure out why the remedy works, but they think that 'the sugar may irritate the throat so that the nerve impulses that cause the hiccups are interrupted'. It's interesting to note that many of the simple, old remedies and solutions for common problems are being proven accurate. Maybe gran does know best. Have you come across any true 'old wives tales' recently? What about a nice hot bowl of home-made chicken soup when you're feelin...