She's a Grand Old Dame!

 Mom turns 99-years-old tomorrow so we had a little Open House for her today at the nursing home.  She was all dressed and ready to be wheeled down to the lounge when we got there and even had a tiara on.  We had a lot of fun with that.  At one point, some of the nurses that came in agreed with us that she should be declared the "Queen Mum" of the nursing home.  Mom gave us all an imperial wave and some of the ladies there even curtsied.

 My brother flew in from Michigan for the weekend so we've been over to the home several days already.  Yesterday we read some more of the farm girl story that I've been reading to her.  It was all about ironing before they had steam irons (you had to sprinkle your clothes with water and then roll them up to await ironing) and washing with the old wringer washers.  We ALL remembered those times and chuckled over the memories.

John tried to get a picture of the two of them with his cellphone and Mom gave us all a regal smile.  Unfortunately she couldn't see the pictures because of her eyesight but we will enjoy them as documentation of a memorable time.

Besides the nurses and staff that dropped in to say "hi" to Mom and have some food and cake, good friends Linda and Vince Joslin stopped in for a visit as well.  Their little dog Schatze is a favorite of Mom's and she always enjoys a visit from them.

Then granddaughter Laura and husband Jason arrived up from Maryland to add to the fun.  Mom was certainly glad to see them as well.  I think my brother was delighted to have the chance to visit with Jason because both of them are hunters and gun enthusiasts and enjoy talking "shop" when they get together.

While the men discussed archery bows and hunting blinds, Laura brightened her grandmother's day, helping her to open presents and even sing some songs.

You can't hear Mom singing very well in this little clip but listen to the end when she rallies for a "BIG" finale. She still loves to sing.

Finally, while Mom was dozing off, we enjoyed looking at the lovely fish in the freshwater tank.  They had some very unusual fish, including a freshwater mantis.  Vince knew the names of many of them so we had fun trying to spot them and identify them all.

Then it was time to take Mom back to her room for a nap and head back to our house.  We got quite a good laugh when we saw Jason and Laura's new truck parked next to the Commander's Ford Escape.  My, my....I always thought the Escape was a big car but next to the truck, it looked like a puny "little brother."

Happy birthday, Mom!  One more year and you'll make it on the Smuckers jelly jar on the Today Show.  Hip Hip Hooray for a grand old dame!