91 and Going Strong

This is my grandma Alice. She turned 91 years old yesterday. She lives in a nursing home in the town where we live, so I can drop in and see her whenever I want. A couple of weeks ago I asked her what her favorite meal was and she told me fried chicken.

When I was a little girl, we had family dinners at my grandma's often. One of our favorite meals was fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy. She used her china, her gravy boat, the whole 9 yards. She would serve us all at the table and would stand at the counter next to the stove to eat her meal. I have such fond memories of those dinners.

So yesterday evening I made her a homemade meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, and corn bread, and we had shamrock mini-cupcakes for dessert. She was so happy! I sat next to her and we just enjoyed our dinner together. She went on and on about how good it was and wanted to keep the leftovers for another meal.

We have always celebrated St. Patrick's Day big at our house because of my grandma's birthday. The kids made her a sign and banner for her door. I bought her a new zip up jacket and two shirts. She was so excited that she had gotten new clothes from everybody and my mom and come out and polished her fingernails for her.

And, she had the honor of leading the St. Patrick's Day parade through the halls of her home. They decorated her wheel chair, dressed her in a St. Patty's t-shirt with a tall green top hat and green elf booties. She got to go around and hand out candy to all the residents. (Oh how I wish I would have been there to get pictures of that!) When I got there yesterday evening the residents were all decked out in their green clothes and were wearing little green party hats at dinner. Everyone was in a festive mood. It was so cute.

I was so glad to be able to give back to my grandma something that she had given us for so many years. I think she had an amazing birthday. Here's to many more!