with a cherry on top

Hi Folks- I haven't been around for a while- things have been busy here- still are-but are promising to quiet down a little- I think. My Grandmother passed away last week- after a short illness- that was tended to so lovingly by her children. We heard about it while my nieces and nephews were out visiting us, and so we had a little toast to her the adults with a shot-( a tradition with K and I) and then I made cupcakes- gramma style- with maraschino cherry juice in the icing and a cherry on top- for a cupcake toast.

My grandma was wonderful- she was strong and true to herself- she always spoke the truth and never hid the things she did that other grandma's maybe wouldn't tell their grand kids. We all knew that grandpa was engaged to another girl before grandma went walking by in her tight sweater- that she manufactured their meeting by asking him for rides home, When her future mother in law said that she thought maybe Sy (my grandpa) was too tall for her, my grandmother famously responded with "I think he's just right". She was sassy and fun and told us all that she hated school too, she made the most mouth watering desserts, and was the life of the party.

Our family sings happy birthday crazy loud- with extra choruses of 'for he's a jolly good fellow', and loud trilling whistles- because of her- we say 'bingo' when something is exciting- or someone says something really true- because of her. We party late into the night- dance-and all know the words to 'the ants go marching' because of her. She was the glue of our family- our identity-our bond to each other- and we will miss her.