The sweetest name - Grandma

Grandma is one of the sweetest words in the English language. My Grandma was the most amazing person.  She lived 97 years and left many wonderful memories.  I have told my children to make memories throughout their lives to have when the person is no longer on Earth.

My memories of Grandma...

Driving down the long driveway from the main country road to my Grandparent's farmhouse.  The dogs always running alongside the car but never were hurt.  It was a great welcome.  The dogs would meet us halfway down the driveway.  When we left the dogs ran alongside the car to say "Goodbye!".

Walking through the porch into the main house the smells of Grandma's cooking.  Grandma was a great cook and baker.  The homemade chocolate chip cookies were yummy.  They were so buttery and the chocolate chips were sweet.  If we were lucky enough to be there when the cookies came out of the oven, oh the hot cookies.  It did not matter if our mouth was burnt.  The hot cookies were wonderful.

I remember eating the canned Colorado peaches and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  The sweetness of the beautiful peaches with the sweet syrup.  The chocolate chip cookies would be dipped into the syrup and eaten.  When my children were young my Grandma would give them peaches and cookies after they ate breakfast.  I told Grandma it was morning and they should not have this type of food.  Grandma told me "Great Grandma is always right in her home."  The children had peaches and cookies every morning after breakfast and I said nothing.

I remember the Polka (Polish) music playing from the radio on top of the refrigerator at the farmhouse.  If it was not Polka music the farm reports and talk radio would be on in the kitchen.  I would wake up to the sweet sounds of the music playing.  Zip Zip Polka by the Kavas

I remember sitting near the oil heater in the kitchen at the farmhouse playing games with my siblings and cousins.  We were told not to touch the oil heater in the winter because it was hot.  Why would you tell a child this?  Of course we would try to touch it or get a younger cousin to do it.  Younger cousins were great to try things.   In the pasture there were times we (the older cousins) did not know if the electric fence was ON so we would convince a younger cousin to touch it.  The perks of being one of the oldest grandchildren.

I remember Tea Time at 4pm on the farm.  It was before the chores were to be done Grandma would make KoolAid for the tea and cookies (homemade) for the crumpets.  She would take a moment to sit with us (the grandchildren) to talk and eat and drink.  She rarely sat down only when all the chores inside and outside were done.  Tea Time is one of my favorite memories.  There were a little table for us to sit and enjoy.

I remember Grandma standing that the stove or the sink in kitchen at the farmhouse.  She was always prepping something.  I would be upstairs with others and we would listen to the adults talk.  We learned a lot.  Some things we should not have known.  When Polish language was being used we knew Grandpa and Grandma were discussing (maybe arguing).  We would and listen to them.

Grandma would let me help gather eggs from the chicken coop.  She taught me how to gently place the eggs in the bucket so they would not crack.  The clucks, roosters and other chickens were not always nice and she would be there to protect me from them. We had to wear a cap to protect our heads.  There were always caps hanging in the kitchen.  All of us had our favorites.  We would feed and water them in the evening.  This would be done in the morning as well but I was a city kid so I was never awake for this.

Grandma would let me and the others play in the hayloft of the barn while the cows were being milked in the evening.  I remember watching Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Kathy and Aunt Rita having the cows enter the barn.  The cows would go to their place in the barn to be milked.  They would spray bug repellent on the cows so they would not get hit with the cow tails.  The cows would swing their tail to hit the bugs.  When milking the cows the person head would lean against the cows side and the tail would hit the person.  We would be playing in the hay bales in the hayloft.  We would find kittens, chicken eggs, mice and many other living creatures.  I remember the barn swallows flying in and out of the barn.  What a great time to be a child.

I remember when Grandma got her electric washing machine.  It was exciting. She would wash all the laundry using a scrub board and old fashion wringer washing machine.  It was white and sat on the porch.  Laundry day was long.  The grandchildren were not allowed to put our fingers near the wringer because they could be hurt.  

This is similar to the one on the porch.  All the laundry was hung on the clothes line.  It is did not matter the season.  She loved to have her laundry outside to dry.  Even in town she would hang her clothes outside.

In the summer months canning fruits and vegetables was the chore.  We would pick green beans, clean and prep to be canned.  I remember picking strawberries and making strawberry syrup.  I have the recipe.  It is amazing on pancakes, waffles and ice cream.  The fresh taste of strawberries lingers in my mouth.  YUMMY.  The Strawberry Chiffon Pie was so delicious.  I have this recipe as well.
So delicious!  I remember being so excited.

I was born on my Grandparents 25th wedding anniversary!  What a wonderful day to be born!

I remember the day the First US Astronaut was going to walk on the moon.  Grandma took some of the grandchildren to get the mail at the end of the driveway.  This driveway was about 1/4 mile long. The day was so hot on July 21, 1969.  We were walking up the road and I remember Grandma telling us that she never thought she would be alive to see a man walk on the moon.  It was so exciting.  We were all sitting in the living room in the farmhouse watching on a black and white television with an antenna to receive the program.  I remember Grandma wearing her dress.  The grandchildren would pick up rocks on the driveway.  These were country roads which were not paved.  The corn was growing tall in the fields on either side of the road.  Grandma would tell us stories.  What a great day!

Grandma loved wrestling.  The old wrestlers from the 1960s and 1970s.  I remember she would sit and watch the matches in the evening.  The 10pm News was always watched.  Once it was done then time for bed.

Winter was great because of Grandma's feather blankets.  I would run upstairs and jump into the bed.  The feather blanket was on the bed.  There was no heat upstairs in the farmhouse.  Once I was in bed under the feather blanket I did not want to crawl out.  It was so cold.  The grandchildren would pile all the feather blankets and jump into them.  It was so much fun.  Grandma's love and warmth in the feather blanket was so comforting for me.  I loved it so much.

There were 2 phrases Grandma would say.  "Squeeze Me" is the first phrase.  She would say this instead of "Excuse Me".  I remember giving her a squeeze and laughing.  The other is "Yea Coo".  I don't know how to spell it but phonetically this is how I would spell it.  Grandma would be frustrated or something would not exact then she say this.  Yea Coo!  I will always remember Grandma saying this.  It is a great memory.

Grandma was a witness at my wedding.  She signed the Marriage Decree during my wedding.  We have a picture of Grandma at the altar signing the paperwork.

Grandma has left so many wonderful memories.  I have only listed a few.  There are so many more. I know I will remember even more.

The memories of Grandma will always be with me.  I will continue to write more so future generations will know my Grandma.

My Grandma's history:

Frances died Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at her home in Columbus.

Frances Victoria Tworek was born August 21, 1918 in Nance County, Nebraska to John and Anna (Czarnek) Swerczek. She attended Nance County District #45 and Krakow Schools. On May 10, 1938 Frances was united in marriage to Alois Tworek at St. Peters Krakow rural Genoa, Nebraska. She was a homemaker and a member of St. Isidore Church, Christian Mothers and the oldest member of the Catholic Daughters. Frances enjoyed traveling, gardening, playing cards and spending time with her family. 

She is survived by:
Son: Richard (Barb) Tworek of Racine, WI
Grandchildren: Tim (Angie) Tworek, Cindy (Manny) Orejola, Patty (John) Lee, Michael Tworek
Daughter: Edna (Don) Cheloha of Omaha, NE
Grandchildren: Debbie (Rick) Scarborough, Donald Cheloha, David Cheloha, Dale (Pat) Cheloha
Daughter: Carolyn Wulff of Columbus, NE
Grandchildren: Gary Stopak, Kim Babb, Ann (Steve) Horan
Daughter: Kathleen Johnston and special friend Ken Schwartz of Columbus, NE
Grandchildren: Lisa (Parry) Siebenaler, Lana (John) Robinson, Jonathan Johnston, Lora Lighter, Joseph (Lisa) Johnston
Daughter: Rita Murphy of Columbus, NE
Grandchildren: Andy (Vicky) Murphy, Kelly Murphy, Katie (Ben) Gaver
5 Step-Grandchildren: Don Wulff, Holly (Pat) Hurt, Roger Wulff, Diane (Pat) Howey, Mark (Tonya) Wulff
29 Great Grandchildren and 14 Great Great Grandchildren
Sister: Dorothy Evans of Columbus, NE
Sister: Helen Ziemba of Duncan, NE
Sister: Alice (Leonard) Bialas of Columbus, NE
Sister: Theresa Swierczek of Omaha, NE

She was preceded in death by:
Parents: John and Anna Swerczek
Husband: Alois Tworek
Sisters: Amelia Koczar, Genevieve Kosiba, Julia Cheloha, Isabelle Kosiba, Bernice Schaecher
Brothers: Dennis Swerczek and Raymond Swerczek
2 Great Grandchildren 
1 Great Great Granddaughter

How to get to Copenhagen in 3 legs or less...

It has been a long 30 hours.  It started at home around 7am.  Time to wake up to wash the remaining clothes and towels before leaving for the airport to head to Copenhagen, Denmark.  This was from last night.  I fell aspleep with only the first sentence written.

There were 3 legs to our trip to Copenhagen.  The flight from Boston to JFKennedy Airport in New York City was delayed.  This was frightening.  If this was delayed then how could we make the next flight from New York to Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  I went to the news stand to purchase something to eat.  Of course it was going to be healthier than candy and chips. I am trying to make better choices with food.  Going to Denmark where there are danishes and other pastries may not be the best move.  Back the first plane being delayed.  Less than 15 minutes after the first announcement we were boarding the plane.  Manny and I were is the last row...Row 20.  The pilot announced the flight would be 43 minutes.  You know it takes at least 4 hours to drive from Boston to New York City.  43 minutes was great timing.  Would we be able to make the next flight?  JFK Airport was very large.  What if we had to go from 1 terminal to another?  All of this was zooming through my mind. But, off we were to New York City.

Leg 1 was done in 50 minutes.  The flight was 43 minutes.  Taxiing to the gate, opening the hatch and exiting from Row 20 took another 7 minutes.  Manny made it to the waiting area while I was still slowly making my way through the walkway.  We landed at Gate B21 and we had to get to Gate B8 for the next flight in less than 30 minutes.  We were walking very fast, but we made it.  They were finishing pre-boarding when we got to the gate.  We got to our seats Row 41 this time.  It was the third to the last row this time.  As we settled in for a 7 hour flight to Amsterdam, the pilot came over the speaker stating we were going to be delayed because luggage was aboard the plane but the person did not board the plane.  The grounds crew had to remove the luggage before the plane could take off. So we waited.  I knew we had 2 hours in Amsterdam Airport, so was not too concerned.  30 minutes later we were still waiting.  Did it take that much time to find the luggage in the plane's belly? No...Delta decided since the tail wind was going to push us across the Atlantic Ocean we were going to wait for 20 passengers who just landed to make it to this plane.  Once they came aboard, we were ready to take off.  The delay was about 90 minutes.  The pilot informed us the flight would be less than 7 hours.

Off in the wild blue or black since the sunset already sky.  For this flight there were free movies/TV shows/games and liquor.  We started off with peanuts.  I decided I needed wine.  White wine to be exact.  It was delicious.  I found the movie, Whiplash, and began watching it.  It was a very good movie. It is about a young man wanting to be the best drummer.  He was attending a prestigious music school.  The movie was short.  I recommend this movie.  Noor (my goto movie guide) suggested I watch this movie.  He did not steer me astray.  (Astray is a great word for Scrabble or Words with Friends.)  The dinner was served meatless of course since it is Lent and it was Friday. (We found out all the chicken was raw) so the crew had only cheese ravoli with cheese sauce to serve, I wanted to try to sleep.  Alas I could not, so I watched "The Good Lie".  This movie was amazing.  It was about orphans from Sudan trekking to Kenya to a Refugee Camp and how they survived to make it to the USA.  A great movie produced by Ron Howard.  By the time this movie ended, it was time to have a breakfast meal served.  There was less than 1 hour before the plane landed.  The second leg of the trip was finished and I had no sleep.

For the third and last leg of the trip the terminal the plane rolled into was E.  Our last flight was in terminal B.  Thank goodness for Airport assistance.  I would have been unable to make it to the terminal B walking.  Amsterdam Airport is very big.  We were whisked off via a golf cart to the security and passport checkpoint.  Yes - another stamp in my passport.  We made it through and to our gate with 30 minutes to spare.  Not bad.  The last 2 flights were delayed and we were able to make the connecting flights.  My worry was the luggage.  Did it make it to the connecting flights as well?  We will have to wait until we got to Copenhagen.  The last flight took 55 minutes including taxiing to the gate.  We found our luggage made it and customs was a breeze.  Now we waited for Erika to fly in from Chicago O'Hare to Stockholm, Sweden to Copenhagen.  It was about 2 hours later.

We took the train to Central Station and walked for 20 minutes to find the Hotel Ansgar. No one seemed to know where it was located.  If we listened to Erika and walked up the stairs, it was less than 5 minute walk.  We know now...

Later that afternoon after my 2 hour nap (Manny and Erika went out for a walk), we decided to take a bus to The Little Mermaid statue.  I have always wanted to see it.  Hans Christian Anderson is my favorite short story authors.  He wrote the story of The Little Mermaid and so many other stories.

The Little Mermaid

We have discovered Erika is great at reading the train and bus routes, but map reading is not her best thing.  A few times we have found ourselves walking in the wrong direction.  Once I oreinted the map correctly we found the statue on a rock in the bay.  As we were walking towards it a young man who had been drinking had fallen into the bay while trying to touch the statue.  It was very amusing. After the statue we needed to eat since it had been a long day for all of us.  There were 2 restaurants which seemed great but were completely booked for the night.  We ended up at a restaurant which I cannot remember the name.  It was organic and everything was ala carte.  The price converted to US dollars was great.  The conversion rate is $1 US to 7 DK.  It is a great exchange rate.  We made it back to hotel taking the bus.  Off to sleep for 13 hours we all went.

It was a sunny day and the night was beautiful.  I was able to see my statue.  It was a great first day.