Was Grandma a Prairie Girl?

I was reading a book called The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life, and it has little phrases in it with the definition, and example of how it was used. Any way, one of the phrases it featured was "all to pieces", as in I love you all to pieces. Meaning with every thing, completely, etc. I didn't even realize till reading that little sidebar that the phrase was even a regional or dated saying. It was a phrase grandma Lela used often. She would always say I love you all to pieces, often right before wanting to beat the sugar off you. Which was light love pats on your back, arm, or leg, depending on if you were sitting, standing or in what vicinity you were from her. They were both sayings she often said, I love you all to pieces, and, come here so I can beat the sugar off you.

Grandma loved gardening. I've been working out in the garden the past couple of weeks, it sure brings back many memories of grandma. She grew up picking cotton for a penny a day. As a young woman she still had to pick cotton, and would tell stories of keeping her babies in a basket next to her as she went down the rows of cotton. She never forgot one story of a time when her sister was also picking cotton with her, and her sisters baby was in a basket in the shade of a tree, when a ol' whip snake began to whip the baby with it's tail and almost whipped the baby to death (or to pieces as grandma would of said!), but thankfully her sister caught sight of what was happening and was able to kill the snake with a hoe and save the babies life. After that they no longer left their babies in the shade, but kept them in the basket right near them in the cotton rows and would move the baby as they went down each row. What a hard worker she was, yet after all those backbreaking years of picking cotton her favorite pass time till the day she died was bending over and picking weeds! Oh if that was only my favorite pass time, I wouldn't have a weight problem! haha

I'm going to be planting watermelon this week in the garden. My first time growing watermelon from seed. Grandma's favorite food was watermelon. She would cut a big one in half, take it to the table with a spoon and eat the whole half! And that was breakfast. She loved watermelons! Black diamonds from the Ozarks were always her favorite. I'm going to be growing a heirloom watermelon called Moon and Stars. Sure wish she was here to enjoy them when they ripen. But, some day soon, I'm sure she will be!