My grandmother passed away peacefully earlier this week.  I've been thinking about her alot, specifically about how hardworking and generous she was.

On the hardworking front, one of my favorite pictures of her is as a young woman holding a giant tub of wild Saskatoon berries.  Despite the amount of work she must have put into collecting that many berries, she's got a relaxed smile on her face.  But what really strikes me are her biceps as she holds the tub up towards the camera - she had an amazing set of pipes.  Now, I'm doubting they had a Bowflex on the homestead in rural Saskatchewan, so those muscles were the result of nothing but hard labour. 

Betty's day began at 4am, right up until a few years before she died.  It was nothing for her to have baked dozens of cookies or put up a batch of pickles or strawberry jam by 6am.  She taught me the importance and the beauty of Saskatchewan food, especially in the summer.  Her porch was always full of ice cream pails of tomatoes, beans, 'cukes', flour sacks of potatoes, and good lord - the crabapples.  But every single scrap went to good use, whether on the dinner table or in pickles, relishes, jams or any other of the hundreds of preserve recipes that she swapped and stole from her friends.  

I put in a full day at the station and do my share of cooking and cleaning when I get home, but it's way too easy to order takeout at least once (er, okay sometimes twice) a week.  And Superstore, Sobey's and Safeway are all within a five minute drive of my house, where the shelves are stocked with whatever I need whenever I need it - pickles, jam, bread, chicken, steaks...everything.  I simply cannot imagine not having those things packaged up so nicely at my convenience.

Anyway, my grandma didnt 'work' off the farm after marrying my grandfather, but I can't imagine a harder working, more amazing woman.  I wonder today if my life, specifically my work ethic, is comparable.  I do know that I'm thankful for having such an incredible role-model. 

Thanks Grandma, love you forever.

Tammy Robert is the Executive Producer of 'The John Gormley Live Show' - listen live every weekday morning from 8.30am - 12.30pm on NewsTalk 650 or NewsTalk 980.