grandma's house list

Things I loved about going to Grandma Nelson's house as a kid:

1. The constant presence of lefse, butter, and sugar.
2. The smell of coffee, cigarette smoke, and au gratin potatoes in the oven.
3. Having aunts, uncles, and cousins constantly stopping by... Darci would sing bad 90s rock songs and Paul would tell me I'm full of baloney.
4. Playing pet shop in the living room and making cages for the animals with her couch cushions.
5. Singing ridiculous songs together: All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth, Good Morning, Bananas in Pajamas, etc.
6. Playing outside, which consisted of sneaking into Grandpa's shop and playing with the sawdust, riding bikes around and around their driveway and sidewalks, building cities in the sandbox, and eating apples off the tree by the swingset (and getting in trouble for it every time).
7. Always knowing where to find Grandpa -- in his chair in the TV room, doing crosswords and watching the soaps.
8. Playing "pool" in the basement -- which mostly consisted of rolling the pool balls across the table at each other and trying to have one of those thrilling collisions.
9. Looking at the stacks and stacks of old wedding pictures.
10. Playing with Tabitha and getting scratched most of the time.
11. Watching PBS and drinking Quik with lunch, usually served to me on a TV tray in the living room.