The driveway up to the home of Ginger Hollingsworth and Betty Mooney is winding, with turns and twists that take visitors through a thick forest before on a hill; the rustic home is spotted.

Standing on the back porch, among the flowers and other plants that the “girls” have grown, a visitor might expect to be in a scene from “Little House on the Prairie,” with the acres of luscious green grass and trees surrounding the lot.

Hollingsworth and Mooney aren’t Charles and Caroline Ingalls, but they could be Mary and Laura as the two friends seem to be as close as sisters could be; one more expressive than the other.

But it is the malleable Hollingsworth who is the focus today, with her amicable mannerisms.

Hollingsworth came to Americus in the late 1970s.

“Nineteen sixty seven, to be exact,” she said.

She is the mother of one daughter, and “Nana Bear” to two grandchildren, Alex and Sami.

“They call me Nana Bear, so I call them my bear cubs.”

Hollingsworth laughed, “My daughter told me I had to practice being a nana to her dog and cat before I had any grandchildren. So, I must have done it right.”

She has served in billing for transportation with Middle Flint Behavorial HealthCare since the mid 1990s. Hollingsworth enjoys reading, especially mysteries, sewing, flower growing, soccer and cheerleading

”Alex starts soccer practice tomorrow, and Sami is in cheerleading tryouts,” she said.

One of her favorite things to do is “cook. I grew up cooking. My mother was making a 1, 2, 3, 4 cake, and my first job was to break the eggs into the cups so she could tell if they were spoiled or not. I didn’t know what a spoiled egg was until I lived in the country and had to get eggs from the hen house,” said Hollingsworth smiling.

“A 1, 2, 3, 4 cake is a basic cake. You have 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour and 4 eggs.”

A member of Central Baptist Church, Hollingsworth’s cooking style is much like her lifestyle: “unique.”

“It is a nice blend of things. I mostly like to bake, but I do cook,” said Hollingsworth, commenting that she enjoys making red beans and rice and her mother’s beef stew.