Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I have mentioned more than once that I am the grandmother of 6 amazing people. Each one is brilliant, beautiful, talented…..all those things.
Go ahead and laugh, but trust me, they truly are among the finest in the whole world!
Take, for instance, grandchild number 3. She is about to graduate from high school. Not only is she breathtakingly beautiful and brilliant, she is adorable.  #3 is, in my humble opinion, perfect in every way.
Let me tell you a little story. About 12 or 13 years ago, she was a tiny, beautiful blond child. She asked her mother if she could give me a “too-a” of the “vin-yad”. (She had the cutest way of not pronouncing her r’s!) After some instruction from her mother, she was given permission to take me for a “wide awound the vin-yad”. This child, no bigger than a minute, climbed behind the wheel of a little motorized vehicle and asked me to slide in beside her. Off we went.
As we toured each section of the vineyard, she told me what varietal of “gwape” was planted there and how long they had been in the ground. As we approached the dam on the backside of the pond, I wondered if I would need a lifejacket, but she was calm and relaxed, both hands on the wheel. Halfway across the dam, she stopped, took the little 4 wheeler out of gear, applied the brake, and stood up. She was wearing these tiny little flip flops on her feet. She raised up on her
tiny, pudgy, pink toes, placed her hand above her brow to shade her eyes from the sun and said….. are you ready?......she said
“Mimi, the 'vin-yad' is my 'few-cha”
as her blue eyes scanned across the ever expanding rows of beautiful grape vines. While I was sitting there with tears in my eyes, trying not to sob,  she sat back down, released the brake, put it in gear. We drove on.

I will never forget that day as long as I live!

                      www.sandbergphoto.com
So, why am I telling you this story today? My little granddaughter just celebrated her 18th birthday, and is still absolutely beautiful! That is her in the photo above. I am so proud to tell you she has received a wonderful scholarship to attend the University of California at Davis. In September, she will enter the school of Viticulture and Enology…the study of growing grapes and making wine. That tiny little girl knew at the age of 5 that she would someday become a winemaker. I’m thinking, she definitely does not take after her Mimi. At 70, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I'm a little slow. Then it dawned on me, thanks to my children , Cindy and Dennis,  Chuck and Michelle,  and Betsy and Ben, I am what I want to be....
just Mimi.
Congratulations, Holly!


Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy
oil painting by Kay Tucker

Somerset Autumn on Wea Creek

Somerset Autumn on Wea Creek
Oil Painting by Kay Tucker, Private Collection

Floral

Floral
oil painting by Kay Tucker

Kansas Storm

Kansas Storm
oil painting by Kay Tucker, Private Collection

Watercolor Collage

Watercolor Collage

Tempo al Tempo....All in Good Time

Tempo al Tempo....All in Good Time
48"x36" sculptural painting by Kay Tucker