Happy Valentines Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hi there BIG and little kiddo's!

Today is a day of being thoughtful for those you care about.  I wonder how I can show Dudley that I care about him...oh yeah, I can take him for a walk and feed him.  That's what's important to him. 

I've put some fun Valentine's stuff in the blog today.  I hope you like them. 

I guess I will need to take down all my Valentine's decorations outside tomorrow.  The next holiday is Easter, I wonder what I should do for decorating for Easter?  I know BIG bunnies would be cute.  Do you have some ideas?

Gramma wants you to know that 'I love you' and can't wait till we get together again. 

BIG squeeze and messy kisses - Love Gramma

What do you call two birds in love? Tweethearts!

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

 

   Valentine Smile

On Valentine's Day we think of those
Who make our lives worthwhile,
Those gracious, friendly people who
We think of with a smile.

I am fortunate to know you,
That's why I want to say,
To a rare and special person:
Happy Valentine's Day!
 

PAPER LOVE BUG

What you'll need:

• Empty toilet paper tube
• Pink paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pipe cleaners
• Pen, maker, crayons, or pencil

How to make it:

1. Paint or cover an empty toilet tube with pink paper to make the body of the bug.
2. Cut two hearts from construction paper.
3. Attach these with tape or glue on either side of the body.
4. Draw a face on the top of the tube. Pipe cleaners make great antennae.
5. Write a cute message on the wings such as "Valentine, you make my heart flutter."

Doing lots of crafts...

 

The Adventures of the 'Giggling Gramma'

Well kiddo's another week has passed and all the wonderful snow is gone. Such sadness.  Gramma got to build a snowman, did you?

The snow was sooo pretty when it was coming down it was hard for Gramma to get any housework done. 

These days I spend my time doing a lot of crafts.  Sewed a couple dresses for myself this week, you know Gramma's favorite dress, it's call the moomoo!

I've been learning how crochet...

The Adventures of the 'Giggling Gramma'

It's Claire's Birthday! Happy Birthday Miss Claire!  She is seven today and getting prettier every day.  Gramma, Grandpa and Dudley want to sing you Happy Birthday...Click the arrow below!

We hope you have a wonderful day Claire and we look forward to planning a party for you...real soon!

Gramma is still waiting for some beautiful snow to arrive.  Grandpa and I got caught in the hail storm yesterday when we took Dudley for a walk.  The wierd thing was that it was hailing on the side of the road we were walking on but not on the other side of the road, really strange.  Unfortunately there wasn't a sidewalk on that side of the road so we had to endure the hail bouncing off our heads.  Poor Dudley!

Gramma's still trying to make good whole wheat bread.  I think I'm on my 4th try now.  They all seem to come out of the oven like a big brick.  That doesn't sound yummy does it? Gross!

What's new?
Gramma will update the 'Fun at Grandma's blog every Monday! That way you have time to see what's new during the week and can look forward to the new stuff every Monday. 

Why was the baby ant confused?
All his uncles were ants!

Bear Footed

Bears walk flat footed like humans do rather than on their toes like most animals.  This allows them to walk upright like people.  From far away, this looks really cool, but close up it might be a little frightening to see a really big bear standing in front of you!  This is definitely a good way to scare off danger!  

Their feet are wide and flat with long, sharp claws.  The claws on their front paws are longer than on the back, which is useful for climbing trees.  Two species that have special feet are the polar bear and the giant panda.  The polar bear has partially webbed toes for swimming and walking on snow (kind of like snowshoes!) as well as furry bottoms to keep its feet warm on the ice.  Giant pandas do not have a heel pad so they walk more on their toes.

Have you ever noticed that bears look pigeon-toed?  This could be to help them hold onto trees that they are climbing and make it easier for them to put food in their mouths.

A tongue twister for you:
Freshly-fried flying fish.

Too Many Chickens

My chickens all had chicks

And I’ve got more than I can keep.

Perhaps you’d like to purchase one?

They’re cheap, cheap, cheep!

 

"I'm a firefly," said Freddy. "and I don't know where I am." Freddy felt better each time the deer breathed on him because the warm breath seemed just like the soft breezes of home.

"You have a light on your tail!" exclaimed the deer.

"That is why they call us fireflies," said Freddy as he kept his light on for a long time. "Do you mind if I sit on your nose?" Freddy asked. "Your nose is warm and I'm quite cold."

"You won't burn my nose will you?" answered the deer with amazed eyes.

"No! My light is very cool." answered Freddy, "You won't even feel it." The deer put his nose right up to Freddy, so he hopped on. "You and your friends are a lot bigger than the deer where I come from." said Freddy looking into two crossed eyes trying to watch him.

"We are reindeer," said the deer, "but the others are not my friends. They won't play with me. They say I'm too little."

"But you are big!" shouted Freddy. "You are almost as big as the others and lots bigger than all the deer I know."

"The other reindeer always call me names and make fun of me." said the deer.

Figure It

Look at the clues below and fill all the numbers you can into the grid. Then start again and use your answers to help solve the other clues.

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Puzzle Choice

Down 1. Six times six 2. A third of 15 across 3. 2921 doubled 4. Number of weeks in a year 6. 17 across minus 1 down 7. 243 doubled 9. Half of 1680 11. 2143 doubled 14. A dozen 15. A third of 276 17. Seconds in a minute 19. Hours in a day

Across 2. Days in a year 4. Half a century 5. 2 down plus 4 down 7. Six times seven 8. 6284 rearranged 10. Hours in two days 12. Half of 15 across 13. Five times 1225 15. Six times fifteen 16. Number of days in four weeks 17. 4 across plus 14 down 18. Half of 1240

 

There are times when you want to give a special gift to a friend or family member and want them to know that you took a great deal of trouble to make it yourself. On days when you feel like that why not try making flowers that always bring a smile to the sternest of faces! How's this for a great brainwave - flowers made of egg cartons...

 

The things you need:
1. An empty egg carton
2. Poster colours
3. Brushes
4. Glue
5. Scissors
6. Thick straws

Step 1:

Step 4: Stick a thick straw to the bottom of the cup and the flower stem is ready. You could even use a piece of wire for the stem.

Step 5: Now give this flower the shades of colour that you want. The choice is yours - whether you want to give a bunch of roses or a mixed bouquet!

Cut one egg cup from the carton.

Step 2: Make six to four cuts on the broad part of the cup.

Step 3: Bend and curl the cuts in different ways. Your flower petals are ready and you can make a budding flower or a flower in full bloom by the way you arrange the 'petals'.