100th Birthday of Leona McCaslin

100 years and no looking back!

This weekend, my Grandma, Leona McCaslin, turns 100 years old!

Grandma is such an amazing woman.  She is the cornerstone for her midwest family.  She's been a teacher, a farmer, a writer, and a poet.  She feeds the birds and plants flowers, and is everything a grandma should be and more.

I've always loved to go visit her, and see her smiling face at the kitchen window, waving when I arrive.  Grandma always has nice stories to tell, and gives great hugs- but if you get too close, her hearing aid squeaks and we all laugh!

I remember as a child, Grandma bouncing me on her knee, singing "this is the way the babies ride..."  the song would build up until we got to "this is the way that grandpas ride..." and she'd bounce me so hard I'd fall on the floor. What fun!

I became a vegetarian at age 10, and when I'd visit her, she would ask "Are you still a vegetarian?"  and when I'd say yes, she'd say "Well, you know where the peanut butter is!"  Later, though, when I was older, she told me that she liked lots of vegetarian foods, and didn't eat too much meat anymore.

Grandma is meticulous about feeding and watering her birds- such lucky sparrows and finches live on Weissert Rd.!

Grandma has an artists' eyes and soul.  Some of my favorite things are those that she made, including my purple quilt (with it's place of honor on the guest room bed when special guests visit!), and an awesome flower pot with grapes painted on it.  One summer, we dried gourds and painted them to be birdhouses together.

Grandma has always been such an inspiration to me- she fixes fences and paints flowers with passion.  I admire her life, her spirit, and her character.  In fact, my daughter's middle name (Lenore) was inspired by my Grandma's name (Leona) which I always thought was so pretty.

So, in honor of my Grandma's birthday, here's how we celebrate:

This is a song we sing to each other in our house on our birthdays, originally recorded by They Might Be Giants, it's a fun way to say that we love you!

And here are the birthday cards we made Grandma, and held up at the end of the video.  I think Grandmas should get homemade cards, they're the best kind....