My Great-Grandmother

I had one great-grandmother whom I remember. We weren't close friends, but I remember visiting her home several times. I may have been pre-school age when there may have been a family reunion at her home. She had a rat-terrier dog that bit me (barely broke the skin) for no-good reason except I wanted to pet it and the dog did not want to be petted. That may explain my reluctance to visit until I got bigger than the dog, Tiny.
Family always came to her house by the backdoor. She had flower gardens along both sides of the walk between her garage and porch area. I stepped down to a cement area that had a hand pump for water that she still used for the garden. The screen door screeched, and then a yoo-hoo announced our arrival. Her house was full of plants and bird songs as she had many cages of finches and canaries. I remember an enclosed back porch with a water closet at one end. That water closet had a high bench-seating toilet. The kitchen was the next room. I remember two windows and three doors. One wall was lined with oak pantry cupboards. One wall had the sink in the middle and counter space for food preparation. I had to twist and turn to get to other rooms: go through a doorway and turn left immediately to go through a doorway into the dining room. Beyond the dining room was the front parlor. To the left of the front parlor was a stairway to the bedroom area.
I was twenty when she passed away and she was only 84 or 85 years old. I don't remember when she came to our family gatherings at her son's home. She did not come even though she lived in the same small village. My grandmother (her daughter-in-law) would put together a plate of food to take to her, and I remember riding along to deliver the food. I also remember riding along to deliver groceries to her from the grocery store. I hope the reason she did not come to the family gatherings I attended may have been that she visited one of her daughters' homes.
Her appearance to me was that of an elderly woman who wore her hair in an upsweep and secured it into a bun. When she worked in the gardens, she wore a broad-rimmed hat, a Mother Hubbard apron for all its pockets and gardening gloves. Her thin voice quavered when she spoke.
I don't know if I remember her funeral.