Not about plants

I've been missing my grandmother, Mary Jo, so much...and with Thanksgiving coming up, I've got a lump in my throat thinking about celebrating a holiday with the matriarch of my family gone.

Well, last week, I went to Florida for a meeting concerning the development of a USDA Specialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI) grant. On my way home, I stopped for the night at my family's farmhouse in Mystic, Georgia. It serves as a rustic weekend retreat and I felt that a night alone in the country would do me some good.
Of course, everything in the house reminded me of my grandmother. I hadn't been to South Georgia in years, but it was just as I had remembered. That night, I saw a short note on the fireplace mantel in Mary Jo's handwriting. Broke my heart!
Naturally, I went through every drawer and closet that evening. In the kitchen I found the instructions my grandfather wrote concerning the opening-and-closing of the house. I love the contrast...it is so telling of their personalities.
Grandpa was always so orderly and practical. And Mary Jo just loved a good fire.