Grandma Lu And Marlee Discuss Thanksgiving

One day close to Thanksgiving Day Marlee asked Grandma Lu what she was thankful for. Grandma Lu kind of tipped her head to one side and thought a minute just like her daddy used to do. She said, "Well, there are so very many things that I am thankful for this year. It's really hard to say just one thing. Of course, like all moms are I am thankful that I got to be a mom of three children, but this year I am especially thankful for my health. Before you ever were born I was really sick. I couldn't sit in a regular chair, so my husband bought some really heavy chairs that they use in a nursing home. That's where people live that need help with things. They need really strong chairs that don't tip over. I have had to use these for many years, but now I am so much better those chairs are in storage and the chairs that belong to our table are back in the kitchen. Yes, I am so very thankful for my good health again."

"Well, what else are you thankful for Grandma Lu? I'm thankful we are going to have fun and eat a bunch of turkey and pies. Grandma B is making a great big roaster full of noodles the night before Thanksgiving, but she let me practice making them. It was so much fun, but I might have gotten some flour on my nose."

Grandma Lu chuckled and said, "Oh me too. I love to eat and have my family around me. My husband always laughs at me because I get flour all over the floor. We have something in common, Marlee. Oh, I know something I am thankful for that you will laugh at."
"What's that Grandma Lu?
I am thankful for my electric roaster."
"Why? I think everyone has one of those, don't they?"
"No, a lot of people don't, Marlee. Mine is really special though because it is almost as old as I am. My mama used to bake in it as well as her stove. She even baked angel food cakes in it. I use it every Thanksgiving to bake my turkey so I have an empty oven just for pies!"

Marlee laughed and said, "Grandma Lu, you like sweets just like me, don't you?"
Grandma Lu gave her a hug and said, "I sure do, Marlee. One other thing I'm thankful for is Marleewood and all of your friends and family that come to visit and listen to my stories. Happy Thanksgiving, Marlee."

                                                       
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And a very happy Thanksgiving to all of you who read and participate in my little stories. You all make me so very thankful to have shared Marlee's Adventures with you along the way.

Be Thankful For Best Friends

One day Grandma B was showing her friend, Grandma Lu some pictures of Marlee when she was sleeping in her big comfy bed. Marlee's first best friend, Stashia was all curled up beside her in one of the pictures. "My goodness they have been friends for a long time haven't they? I can remember some farm dogs that we had when I was a little girl, but I don't remember them staying for very long at a time. I was never a pet child. I can remember my mother chuckling when I told her one day that I didn't believe our outdoor cat liked me very much. I told her that every time she saw me she would run away.  She said, "Well, I wouldn't like you either. You keep carrying her around her neck." I think I was about three years old, but I can remember it. Our memories are either very good or we have heard the story so often it seems like we remember it."

Grandma B laughed and said, "I know what you mean. When I got our two little kittens Marlee did the same thing. It seemed like we had to constantly remind her not to carry them around like that. Oh, that was a crazy time on the mini farm. I had gotten the little mini goat, Ranger Rex too. So we had two little kittens and a little goat that just terrorized poor Stashia.

"Stashia has had to go through a lot hasn't she? Grandma Lu chuckled. I remember when you got Zoie. Oh dear. Zoe always thought that Marlee's adventures were cool and Stashia always had to go along with Marlee's crazy ideas just to watch over her."

" Remember the prospecting for gold and the hot air balloon mystery? That poor dog. Zoe encouraged her to do everything and Stashia always told Marlee,  'No you better not or you and I will get into trouble.' Marlee keeps her busy doesn't she?"

"I can remember Marlee doing her dance routine and Stashia was right beside her. She was so little then, wasn't she? And now Whitlee has come along."

"Stashia pretty much stays out of Whittlee's way. Just today she got into the snack basket and down it went onto the floor. Stashia was nowhere to be found."

Grandma B said, "Well, I am so very thankful that now that Whittlee Jo is a little bit older Marlee seems to like her so much better. But sometimes I wonder if they aren't already starting to make a pact to act really innocent when they get caught doing something they shouldn't. Look at this, Grandma Lu. What do you think? I think we are in for trouble in a couple of years. And poor Stashia....

Thankful for best friends.....

Grandma Lu Is Ready To Tell A Story

When Marlee woke up from her nap Grandma B said, "Let's quick run into Marleewood. Grandma Lu called and said that she has a story that she would like to tell you. She just happened to think of it when she and her husband were out raking leaves. Want to go?"

Marlee hurried and got her boots on. She said, "It's been forever since I have seen Grandma Lu. Let's go."

While Marlee was getting herself ready to go Grandma B put together some snacks. "Heaven forbid I don't take my old friend some snacks," she chuckled.
When she walked through the living room with the snacks she noticed that Marlee had dropped her new capes that Cynthia Sue had made for her. "I bet Grandma Lu would love to see these. So she picked them up and put them in a sack to take along.
                                                 
When they drove into the Marleewood parking lot it was amazing how many people were there. There were folks doing yard work for them. "Oh how nice. Look Jordan is helping his parents burn those leaves so the grass will be pretty and green in the spring. I know Grandma Lu loves the flowers and our pretty lawn."

She thanked Jordan and then she and Marlee went in the back door. Oh it smelled so good. "Who's cooking and what is it?"
"It's me, Kylan. I'm making cookies. Is it alright if I take some home to my mom for a surprise?"
"Well, of course, it is. What a kind and wonderful thing to do." said Grandma B. "Have you seen Grandma Lu? She said that she was going to be here soon."
Kylan grinned and said, "She's in the sitting room. She already is eating a warm cookie. She was in here watching me bake. She said I did a very good job."
"She has a new story to tell. She said to tell you to come on in with a cup of coffee and a cold drink. She is going to start soon."

Grandma B and Marlee went into the sitting room. They each had a fresh cookie. Grandma Lu noticed that her friend, B, had a bag with her. She said, "What's in the bag? Something for me?"
Grandma B laughed and said, "No these are those capes that Cynthia Sue made Marlee. I thought you would like to see them."
"Oh, I certainly would. That's the story I was going to tell today. It's all about a peacock and a ladybug."
Marlee ran out of the room screaming. "No, no, no, not again!"

The Beautiful Peacock Backs Down From The Ladybug

"That noisy old Jeep scared me. I had to scream a little. I hope no one sees me up here."
Marlee could see through the timber that Grandma Lu and her husband were raking leaves. She was not a bit happy when her husband said that ladybugs were beautiful. She was the beautiful one. After all she had many many different colors in her feathers. I have so many beautiful colors. There are three different shades of green and beautiful blues. There are even yellow and copper colors. Yes I am so very beautiful. Ladybugs only have two colors; red and black maybe a little bit of yellow or gray, but they are ugly."

 "My tail feathers can get to over seven feet long. I am the most gorgeous bird there ever was. Silly ladybugs They don't even smell nice."
"I love to sit in these beautiful trees. All ladybugs do is crawl around and get dirty. I have a wonderful diet of fruit and berries. Hmm, I even eat a few bugs. I wonder how a ladybug would taste. I think I will sneak around this big old tree and watch to see where she goes. She can't be far away. I'll catch her for sure."

What Marlee didn't know was that ladybugs have two sets of wings and they can fly really fast. It just takes them awhile to get up off the ground, but when they do they can go as fast as Grandma Lu drives or as fast as a race horse can run and as high as a kite on a windy day. The only thing they can't do is fly in the rain.

Marlee saw the ladybug on the ground and decided that this was her chance. She was going to eat that lady bug, but the ladybug knew she was in danger and started to run, but not fast enough. She quickly laid on her back and pretended to be dead. Well Marlee wasn't fooled, she was going to catch her and eat her, but the ladybug had another trick up her sleeve. She oozed out some drops of bad-smelling, bad-tasting yellow stuff from her legs. "Oh yuk, you not only look ugly but you smell bad too. Yukkie!"
Well the chase was on. Marlee chased that ladybug down the driveway as fast as she could. She was going to prove that not only was she beautiful, but she was the strongest as well.

All of a sudden the ladybug stopped and said, "I am not afraid of you, peacock. You should be ashamed of yourself. Yes, your feathers are gorgeous, but you can't fly like I can. The farmers don't like you like they do me. They love me. And furthermore, I hibernate all winter and sleep with hundreds of my family and friends. How many friends do you have? I bet not very many with your bad manners and naughty mouth. My mama always told me no matter how nice I look on the outside, I have to be nice on the inside too. So now why don't you go back to your park where there are other peacocks and be nice to them."

Well the peacock, (Marlee), felt really bad. She told the ladybug that she was sorry and hung her head. She was sad. She decided that she would always be nice to other bugs and animals. She wasn't going to brag about how beautiful she was anymore. But secretly she smiled to herself. She was from royalty you know. The kings and queens of foreign lands in the olden days would treat their pet peacocks like family. They made special homes for them in their palace grounds or as they called it, the keep.

But then they were also served as a specialty for dinner when they had royal friends visit.....

Marlee Dreams She's A Beautiful Peacock

Grandma Lu went outside as quick as she could. Her husband said, "Look at what the children did to my piles of leaves. Now I have to start all over again."
Grandma Lu grinned and said, "Have you forgotten what it feels like to be a child in the fall? Didn't you ever play in the leaves and laugh with your brothers and sister? Come on. I'll help you rake some more. It's a beautiful day."

Grandma Lu's husband grinned and said, "Okay. Let's get busy."
He stooped over and said, "Look what I found. It's a ladybug. I've heard they are good luck. Isn't this little ladybug beautiful? I have always thought they were really good for our flowers. You know they eat little mites that ruin our rose plants, but they don't eat the plants. They are good to have in your gardens. Hey, where did you get that hat?"

"I have heard that too, but if I remember right Marlee found out that making wishes on ladybugs didn't work when she tried it. You never mind about my hat. It keeps my head warm and besides that I think it's beautiful. Let's rake these leaves, Mr. Grumpy."

As Grandma Lu and her husband were raking leaves that day Grandma Lu was still thinking about the story she had heard about ladybugs and peacocks. "It's really strange that my husband should find a ladybug today just when I was thinking of that old old story. I wonder if Kaysyn has remembered the day she found a ladybug all those months ago. Probably not, she was so little."

While Grandma Lu and her husband were busy busy doing yard work, Marlee was fast asleep with a stuffed peacock in her arms. It was a gift from her Grandma B's friend. She was having a wonderful dream. She was such a beautiful peacock. She could see Grandma Lu's husband picking up that lady bug though. She didn't like him calling it beautiful. She was the most beautiful in all the world not some silly old ladybug...

Grandma Lu heard a scream in the timber. "Mercy, it surely can't be a peacock in this neck of the woods. They usually scream when they hear planes or loud cars. Oh wouldn't you just know it, there goes my son in his Jeep. It sure is noisy. I'd like to scream too sometimes when he goes down the road." But she grinned when she thought of him and how much he loved his Jeep.

Grandma Lu's Yard Is A Playground For Leaf Angels

The morning after the sale Grandma Lu felt bad she hadn't told her husband about her new hat that she had gotten at the Senior Center sale. She put it on and thought, "This hat really is a wonderful hat. I might just save it for good." She pranced in front of the mirror and grinned. "Oh it is such a beautiful hat. It's

just what I needed."

About the time Grandma Lu was going to go to the living room to show her husband, she heard him yell. "No, no no. Please don't play in those leaves. I have worked and worked getting them all raked up so I can burn them. Oh look what you have done. Lucky, not you too!"

Grandma Lu rushed to look out the window and there in their front yard were children and dogs having a ball in the piles of leaves her husband had raked up to burn. "Oh my. He's probably not in a good enough mood to show him my new hat. I'll go outside to see if I can't calm down this situation."

About that time the phone started ringing wanting to know if their children were there. They had seen them heading over towards their house. "I will sure go look. It seems that there are several children here this morning. They are making leaf angels. Do you want me to send them home or will you come over to get them? Never mind, I see Bradshaw and Johnnie Belle's daddy now. No that's just fine. You have a good Thanksgiving too."




"Oh mercy. What am I going to do now. I promised Grandma B and Marlee that I would be at Marleewood. Now I am going to have to help rake the leaves back up into piles to burn. I wish oak leaves would go back into the dirt like other trees' leaves, but they don't. If we don't burn them they will kill our grass. I think there is a big word for that; biodegradable. They are not," she chuckled.

"Oops, there's Erica's little dog. Oh she is so doggone cute in her jogging outfit. Listen to me. I'm making jokes. It's probably good they didn't stop for coffee this morning, it's not the more the merrier in my husband's estimation. Poor guy. I'll help him."

"Hmm, I can't see who those children are, but they are helping rake the leaves back up. Oh good my husband will be so pleased. On second thought, they are raking the leaves into a pile so their little sister can play in them. Oh I remember those days. In fact it reminds me of a story. It was a beautiful autumn day. Kaysyn was just a little girl....

Nothing Better Than A Bargain And Good Friends

One day Marlee went out to the kitchen and said, "We haven't seen Grandma Lu for awhile. Not since she told us all about alpacas and her coat when she was a little girl. I think you should call her and see if she will go to Marleewood tomorrow and tell a story."
Grandma B agreed. She said, "I think you are right. I'll call her now and see what's happening over at her house. Maybe she will have a brand new story for us."

When Grandma Lu answered the phone she said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I can't. Joann called and said that the Senior Center is having a yard sale inside. Actually she called it a Junk Sale. She knows I love a good sale especially when it's
inside in this cold weather. So that's where I'll be. Tell Marlee I love her whole big bunches and I'll see you soon. I sure hope I find some good bargains."

By the time Grandma Lu got to the sale the the next morning the parking lot was full of cars. "Oh dear. I hope I haven't missed all the good stuff." She walked in the room where they were having the sale. "Oh there is a lot of bargains. Look at all the tables. They are loaded with things."

Joann was sitting at the desk welcoming folks and taking their money. There were fresh cinnamon rolls for sale. Oh Grandma Lu hesitated and almost bought some. "Oh I had better not. I've got to watch my girlish figure nowadays. Besides Grandma B should be bringing in some snacks. I had better get to looking for a good bargain."

About that time an old friend tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Are you looking for a bargain because we have lots of them."

They visited and caught up with his family and and friends. Then off she went looking through the tables of things. She would pick things up and put them back. She looked at things on the racks. She peeked out the door to see if the cinnamon rolls were still on the table. They were. "Hmm I think I will go...No I'm not. I just have to quit eating so many sweets. Mercy."
She had traveled the room several times when she saw it. A hat. It was a beautiful hat. Oh. I. Need. That. Hat. But where will I put it? My closet is full.

The hall closet is full. What will my husband say when I bring home another hat? Well, I guess I don't have to show it to him. I'll just wear it tomorrow when I go to Marleewood. He probably won't even notice. Of course, if he does say something, I will just tell him the money went to a good cause. The Korth Senior Center always needs a hand to be able to give others a helping hand. They always pay it forward."
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Senior Centers no matter their name are all blessings to those that need a place to gather to eat, play cards, listen to music, dance and most of all to just plain have fun and socialize. Meals on Wheels is a much needed and used program for those that can't get out of their homes. Folks depend on those meals and appreciate the help.
Marlee has been to some of the Senior fun activities. You can look back and see that she is an Honorary Red Hat at the ripe old age of two.

Alpacas, Goats And Giggles

Grandma Lu continued on with her story about alpacas. "We have all been having fun humming like alpacas do, but why do they hum? There are all kinds of reasons. Alpacas are almost always wanting to be around other alpacas. They love other animals too. They will play with dogs and cuddle with kittens. They hum when they are happy and when they see the feed bucket. They get very sad when they are alone, so they always need to have other alpacas that live with them.

"Oh look! Our newest Marlee has on a new unicorn dress today. Guess what? She has brought suckers for all of us to share. How wonderful. Thank you, Marlee."

The Anderson Family Farms have sent me some pictures of their animals. They have alpacas, goats, cattle, chickens, and some dogs. The goats like to climb on things, so they have put up boards so they can jump up and see what the other animals are doing. Aren't they cute? You can see Butters, the cream colored alpaca. They have fixed a hay bundle that hangs on the wire fence. He loves to share his hay with the goats. They have invited us to the farm to visit the animals when the weather gets nice. Would you like that?"

The goats like to snuggle into their hay to keep warm in the winter.

 In the back of the room the talent scout raised her hand. Grandma Lu smiled and said, "Yes, Cheryl. Do you have something to tell us? The lady smiled and said, "I just came from there. Did you know that alpacas don't have top teeth? They only have bottom teeth. How would you like to eat an apple without top teeth?"
Everyone laughed and decided that would be really hard to do. The talent scout's eyes were sparkling. Teaching people about something new was really fun. She had to think a minute. "Oh something else they told me was that they squeak when they think they are in danger. They saw a fox out in the field and they all started squeaking to warn each other that there was a stranger close by. I guess we do the same thing in our own way, don't we?"

Grandma Lu got up from her chair and said, "Well, I think that's all I know about alpacas." Then she stopped and started to chuckle. "No, there is one more thing. They always poop and pee in the same place. They even line up to go." Everyone started to laugh out loud and talk about the fun alpacas. Grandma Lu realized she had lost her story group to the giggles. Miles and his cousins were all in the end table giggling and thinking how funny the alpacas were.

As Grandma Lu was going out to the kitchen to see about some snacks she heard something about glitter and poop in the same sentence. She stretched her neck around the doorway to see who had said that. Oh the smiling faces and giggles. She'd never tell. She was a grandma after all.

She said, "I think it's time for a snack, what do you think?"