More About Hazel

As I knew yesterday, there is just too much for a few paragraphs on my grandma. So, yes, I'm going to continue about her life.
She grew up on a farm. She loved animals. Even though David's great nephew is no relation to Grandma, they are kindred spirits. Jacob will go on and on about his animals and cried and cried when a calf at his grandpa's farm died that I can't help but think about Grandma. So how does a farm girl become overly zealous about animals. It can't be a romantic, far away notion. I saw a picture once of her sitting on a cow in the field. All the pictures of her animals had as a caption on the back about "my dear..." whatever it was.
For 18 years, she had a black and white terrier that she named Bitsy, because she was an itsy, bitsy thing. Bitsy came to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at our house. She also had cats, two I remember. One was a fat orange cat, can you guess the name? He was in commercials about a persnickety cat named Morris and this cat looked like him. She had a orange and white cat, not so muscular, she named Pretty Boy.
Grandma had beautiful long blond hair. When we cleaning out her house, I found the long braid she cut off with her first bob, I suppose. That was kind of creepy to me. That old dusty lifeless braid of hair was thick, too.
Grandma loved to go shopping, for one who couldn't walk well, we had to run to keep up with her at the mall. Then almost as soon as she had steam,she ran out and planted herself on seat in the concourse. We'd find her chatting away and laughing with some stranger.
Oh, and she wanted people to notice her china blue eyes. Maybe that's why Grandpa married her. They were married in Wellsville, a special train took honeymooners across the Ohio River to West Virginia. First they lived around Pittsburgh. Grandpa worked for Westinghouse in the office. Uncle Bill was born in Turtle Creek, I think. Grandpa then transferred to Sharon. My mom was born the day after his birthday. Grandma told me how she labored all day while fixing Grandpa's birthday dinner, and then she labored all night, while the doctor slept in the chair.
They never owned a house, but rented throughout Sharon.
Grandma was proud of her house, she bought. For a long time she had renters. When I was very small, she lived upstairs. There was only one bathroom, off the kitchen. She did have her own kitchen upstairs. Only the bathroom was shared. Can you imagine doing that today? In the mid 70's, one tenant did a lot of damage and the family decided Grandma shouldn't rent any more. Soon Uncle Bill was out of the Army and he lived in the house till he died in 1989.
Grandma also rented her garage, and a parking space to a Westinghouse employee, as she was a few blocks up the hill from the plant.
She had a comfortable fenced in yard. She lived by the Oakland Cemetery that I sometimes walked through with Bitsy. I guess I have always liked walking dogs.
Grandma had a lumpy bed. I only stayed over a few times, but I slept with her when I did. She listened to the radio at night, like radio theater- The Shadow Knows, ect.
We often had her birthday parties in our side yard, with the heavenly blue skies, the luxurious shade from all the trees and as Grandma would say, "Good eats" Her funeral dinner was there, as well. It seemed proper. It was summer. That side yard is always what I think of when I think of heaven- beautiful filled with loving people. It is just a foretaste!