My grandmothers. Grandma Koenig (1908-1966), left, and Grandma Blum (1912-2010), right.

Grandma Blum's 103rd birthday is TODAY.

The photo above was taken at my parents' wedding in June 1958. Until today, I always thought that Grandma Blum was holding a small purse, but now I see that it's actually a camera!

She always had a camera in her hand, or, if not in-hand definitely close by. One of her parents -- I don't know which, it could have been either or both -- also loved taking family snapshots. I am forever grateful for the family shutterbugs, having spent countless blissful hours as a teen poring over all their old photo albums!

Grandma Blum and me on her 70th birthday, Dec. 24th, 1982. Camera in-hand. I remember she told me that she still felt 18 inside -- there was so much she wanted to do and explore!

Edited To Add: I was so excited about this tie-in for Grandma's birthday post... that I forgot to post it!

Rusty & I both spent a minute or two spitting our saliva into vials to send off to Ancestry DNA! It's our Christmas present to ourselves and also to our kids, I guess; my Uncle Jim mentioned genealogy-related DNA testing when we saw him in October and got my wheels turning. Grandma Blum dedicated her memoir to me, her "genealogist granddaughter," and she'd have loved it! We thought we'd get them in the mail before Christmas and avoid the rush. Stay tuned!