I cannot pinpoint an age when I realized that my grandmother was not the typical knitting, cookie-baking, rocking-chair having kind of gal, but I know that I was very young. She intrigued me. She was beautiful, a big fan of Lycra, always in heels and with polished nails. She also worked 35 years in a factory (wearing said Lyrca and heels), had a mouth that would make a sailor blush, and refused to take nonsense from anyone. "Things a Little Birdie Told Me" is a large tribute in a small book to a woman with a personality larger than life. It is a collection of phrases and wisdom bestowed upon my mother, my sister, and I by the woman who helped shape us all.