Snow Day

Well, the only thing on anybody's mind today (here) is the snow. In the South, it was a peculiar sight, as the leaves are in their full glory.

At my house, they got rained on, frozen, and snowed on. It was quite pretty this morning, All dazzling color topped in pristine white. The wind has blown off the snow and they are making a big noise with their frozen selves, whipping around furiously.

It's very cold, the wind chill is supposed to make it feel like it is in the low teens.

So, we have the first fire of the season, and of course, I am loving it.

I admit, two of the things that make me feel like a child are snow and fire in a fireplace.

The other is seeing Santa.

I'm making vegetable soup and cornbread for dinner this afternoon. And of course, sweet iced tea.

This could turn out to be a perfect day.

After all, I get to sleep an extra hour tonight before getting up for church, too.

Company's A'Coming!

Well, actually they came. And they weren't really company.

It was Husband's Baby Sister and Husband's Baby Sister's Husband. We hadn't seen Baby Sister in way over a year, and I've lost count as to how long it's been since we saw her husband. I think it's been over four years, or close to it.

They live in Alabama (don't hold it against them - much -), but travel a lot. They were in Africa for almost a year, returning just before this past Christmas.

Anyway, as  you may have noticed if you live around here, it was cold and blowing snow all day. I had a cast iron dutch oven full of homemade vegetable soup, a pone of cornbread, and a roaring fire in the fireplace.

We talked, ate, laughed, and warmed ourselves with fire and soup.

They didn't stay nearly long enough. There was more family to visit.

Husband's Baby Sister gave us a gift of a small, carved, wooden bowl from Africa. It is quite beautiful.

But their visit was even more so.

Sometimes, days are close to perfect.

Their visit made this one close for sure.

News from Around Here

This Just In!!

Man reports daughter is half mermaid

 "Me and the wife have knowed she always loved to stay in the bathtub and run all the hot water outta the hot water heater so's me and the wife ain't got warm water to take ar share in. And I don't like cold shares."

Upon further examination, it appears, according to the father, she has developed scales and the beginnings of fin like appendages. Wife and daughter both deny this.

He also claims that his wife has pied piper-like powers. "Cept it's with all them dang cats. Dog follers her everwhar, too." He says when she is out of sight they call her mournfully and barf on the carpet. "That's the devil to clean up." he says.

He also states that his wife has strange mental powers, knowing what he is going to say before he says it, knowing who is on the phone before she answers it, and successfully foretelling the ending to every mystery book he reads.   "Course, I always said she was from sommers else."

When asked what he meant by that remark, he claims he is pretty sure she's from another planet. "Like South Georgia."

When asked if he thought his wife's family was strange, he became suddenly closed mouth, citing "cornbread" as his inability to speak ill of his mother-in-law.

Further details will be forthcoming as this reporter engages in a full investigation.

Film, possibly, at eleven.

Soup Beans and Cornbread

I have mentioned southern cooking before, and made fun of folks getting "bean soup" and "soup beans" mixed up because they ain't from around here.

But yesterday as I ate this meal I had prepared (along with fried taters, chow chow and a sweet onion), I realized how much history it brought back to my memory.

I could sense my Daddy John sitting there, his one ring finger bent to his wrist from arthritis, the light glinting off his glasses, the easy grin he had when hearing something funny.

I could see my Mama Hill serving me 'pop taties' in my old green high chair, lots of family surrounding us, conversation all around.

I could  hear my mother-in-law's sweet giggle, laughing at something silly Husband or myself had said, as she set the kitchen table with cornbread, soup beans and fried potatoes. She always made extra potatoes because she knew how much I loved them.

I could hear my own Mother's voice on the telephone, telling me that somebody needed to come and get a pot of soup beans she'd just finished cooking. The blessing of that is, I may hear her say that tomorrow.

How wonderful it is to see Husband's eyes light up when he knows that's what I'm cooking for dinner or supper. His favorite meal, bar none.

The simple pleasures of life are what make memories and sweetness in our life.

There is nothing better.

Gotta Have a New Pad, Baby

That sounds so cool, doesn't it?

Sigh.

It actually means I have to have a new digital pad for my oven.

I think I mentioned in a previous blog that some of the number pads had stopped working. 

Well, I got down to the 1, the 4, and the 7. I could do 477 for cornbread and it would beep rudely at me and change it to 475.

But rolls and such that have to be baked at three something is a thing of the past.

I knew the guy was coming this afternoon to take a look, so I was afraid to start dinner. Husband went out and brought it back.

The guy didn't come until almost five o'clock, so I could have made that potato, broccoli and cheese soup I was hankering for.

Maybe tomorrow.

Of course, he didn't actually fix my stove. Oh, no.

He had to go to his secret place and will let me know how much it's gonna cost me.

Then, if I say okay, (what else can I say?) he'll order the part.

Then he'll work me in to repair the oven.

Who knows?

I may be able to bake rolls by springtime.

I'll let you know.

There's a Yankee in da House

Okay, the truth is, she is only part Yankee. Her mama was Southern. Actually, her daddy was Romanian. Hmmmm. Okay, but she was RAISED Yankee. I apologize for this fact, because I love her anyway.

We spent every summer together, because as soon as school was out, her mama ran from Yankeedom and came home and stayed with her parents until school had to start again.

We've only seen each other twice before this visit in twenty-two years. We look the very same as we did when we were young adults, only different.

I cooked Southern for her today: Chicken, creamed corn, fried okra, green beans from our garden this past summer, mashed taters, cornbread, sweet onions, and of course sweet tea.

She barely escaped the blizzard - last flight out of the North - and it had to be de-iced and the take off run way shortened because of a snow drift. But she risked it because she was coming south.  I  mean, who wouldn't?

The visit will be way too short, our voices will give out way too soon, we will have to sleep way too much.

There's never enough time with someone you love, is there?