Being southern....

You know you are a southerner if.......

You consider buttered toast, sliced tomato and a glass of sweet tea as breakfast.

You think wearing shoes outside in the yard in summer is barbaric.

You wear a hat your mother made from cut up Clorox bottles and crochet yarn.

You like to entertain, but your party must always have a theme.

Every time you hear news about someone, good or bad, you respond with "Well, bless her (or his) heart.

Your 21 month old granddaughter thinks it okay to drop her drawers and tinkle in the yard. (You're pretty sure she has seen her bubby do that a time or two)

You are Mamaw to people who are not your flesh and blood. And not just kids call you Mamaw, but everybody you know.

Your heart is a made of gold and is shared with everybody you come in contact with.

You get up before the rooster crows even if you don't have to.

No matter how old you get, your father will always be Daddy.

You were taught good manners....and you USE them.

You know the summer weather in advance...HUMIDITY.

Your babies know that "give Mamaw some sugar" doesn't mean to go get the sugar bowl.

Your favorite movies are Gone With The Wind and Steel Magnolias.

And last but not least, you know that if it wasn't for the grace of God, you could have been a Northerner.

Yard sale bargains

Assorted skeins of yarn $1.00 each

Baby clothes .50 each

Odd and end material pieces .25 each

Toddler taking a bath in a storage container at yard sale - PRICELESS

What was I thinking?

It's that time of year again when you partner with friends and family and gather all the items you don't use any more for your annual yard sale. As I go through my closets, dressers, cabinets and containers, I find things that I have accumulated that make me ask myself "What was I thinking?" I have found things I bought that I couldn't live without, only to realize I don't remember the last time I used them. Take the Swiffer vacuum. Guaranteed to pick up the dust and dirt from your hardwood and linoleum floors. It has a nice little dust cloth that fits the bottom to trap the dust particles. In theory, it was a great idea. But what they don't tell you is you charge it for 24 hours and then it only runs about 10 - 15 minutes before needing charged again. And you can't run it with the little cord in it because it doesn't reach much farther than 2 feet. My broom and dust pan are way more flexible. So the little Swiffer vac must go. And what was I thinking the day I bought that wonderful set of electric rollers. I have natural curly hair. Why in the world did I think I needed electric curlers. I told myself it would help for those little "slept on" areas that flattened or frizzed during the night. But with my curls, a spritz of water and a tussle with my fingers and the curls are back. The one time I used the rollers I left them in for 30 seconds and the curls froze in that shape. It was so curly I had to wash it twice to relax it back to normal curls. Bye bye electric curlers. And how many knick-knacks and whatnot's have I bought at other's yard sales only to put them in mine because I can't figure out why I bought them in the first place. It is a family joke because I put so many of my purse (yes, I'm an addict) in my yard sale. Then I take the money I make and go buy a couple new purses. Go figure. But year after year, I continue to participate in our family yard sale. Digging and dragging out to find those items that must go. Only to get to our sale and buy more stuff that I can't live without? So why do I do it? Is it the money? No. Is it the chance to get rid of unused stuff? No. It is simply that I enjoy doing it.

One solitary rose....

I am not an avid gardener, but I do enjoy a few flower pots on the patio with an assortment of color. Last summer, I planted a pink tea rose in a flower pot. It has been through snow, frost, wind and storms these past 6 months. But I have a rose. One single, solitary rose. Even after all the frost and cold. This got me to thinking about optimistic versus pessimistic. Some people would look at the spotted leaves and worry about the bug or mites that are eating the plant. They would wonder why one single rose bloomed and there aren't even buds on any of the other branches. An optimistic person would look at that single solitary rose and think of what a blessing it is that the bush has survived the winter. Too me, that rose represents many things. To me, roses remind me of Mother's Day. A Southern tradition is to wear a red rose to signify a living mother, and a white rose to honor a mother who is no longer living. So my sweet single pink rose is the combination of the two. The red gene represents my wonderful mother whom I adore. She will be 80 this year and acts like she is about 60. The white gene represents my two most precious grandmothers who have both passed away and who made such an impact on my life. The white also represents my wonderful Mother-in-law who has been gone almost 20 years. She was the perfect Mother-in-law and I still miss her dearly. The rose has always been a symbol of greatest love. Given by your significant other, it represents the love and bond that you share. Picked by small little fingers of your child or grandchild represents a love that now words can explain. The look on that precious face as it plucks a flower and gently lifts it to your face and says "I picked this for you." How do you view the roses in your life? Are you optimistic and see the "roses" that God has bestowed on you? Or are an eternal pessimist who is always looking for the thorns?

The Master of the Sea

The Master of the Sea While one night upon the sea, A ship was tossing to and fro. Breakers dashed on every hand, As angry winds around did blow. All on board were filled with fright, As the mighty billows rolled. Then they called upon the One Who the wind and waves controlled. Chorus: When He reaches out His Hand, Billows cease at His command. Winds and waves obey His will When He says to them, "Be still!" What man is this they all did say Whom the wind and waves obey? He’s the One who sails with me; He’s the Master of the sea. Though the storms of life may rage And the billows round you roll. He can calm life’s troubled sea As He did in days of old. As upon life’s sea you sail, Trust in Him who never fails. I’m so glad He sails with me; He’s the Master of the sea.

If it's Thursday, it must be hamburgers...

When I was growing up, there were certain things you could be assured of. When the whistle blew at the C & O shops at 3:30, within the next 10 - 15 minutes, Daddy would come walking up the road carrying his lunchbox. You could pretty well bet he would have a left over snack or goodie. He knew we loved to open his lunch box to see what was leftover that we could share. You knew that on warm summer evenings when he got paid we would walk about a mile to the Corner Grill and get an ice cream cone. You knew that on Sunday afternoons, weather permitting, we would either walk in the woods or up on the golf course to look for lost golf balls. Mom would wash them in bleach and Daddy would take them to work and sell them for about 50 cents a bag as practice balls. I remember one time he sold a bag to one of his friends. When the friend was looking at the balls he bought, he found one of his personalized balls in the bag that he had lost in the woods around the course. Daddy got a kick out of that. You knew that if we didn't take a walk, Daddy would be either on the patio listening to the Red's on the radio or in the living room in his favorite chair, watching them on TV. You knew that Mom would be in the kitchen cleaning up or making something delicious for us to snack on. You knew you could always go to the refrigerator and there would be a pitcher of ice cold, crystal clear well water. It was pure nectar on those hot summer days. But one thing that we always knew, no matter what, if it was Thursday, it was grocery store day and that meant hamburgers for supper. My mother has always and will always make the best hamburgers in the entire world. I always like mine smothered in cheese with mustard and Vlasic Kosher Baby Dills on it. We always had them with Barbecue Snyder's potato chips, a cold Pepsi and Saps Glazed Donuts for dessert. Sometimes we would have them with one of her famous homemade chocolate milkshakes. Over the years, we have been known to get together at Mom's just so we could have that exact meal. She will be 80 in June and still makes the best hamburgers and chocolate milk shakes around. So many things change in our world as we grow up. Technology is so advanced it can make your head spin. Life moves at a faster pace. There is so much to do and not enough time to do it all. But on Thursday's, I can close my eyes and go back to a simpler place and a simpler time and know that if I called Mom and went over, she would fix me a hamburger.

Exercising

I discovered something wonderful this morning. My cable (Comcast) has Exercise TV on their on-demand service. You can select the program you want and exercise in your own schedule. I decided to give it a whirl. I do not like exercise that causes me to get in the floor. I'm not always sure I can get back up. I would hate to be stuck in the floor all day until hubby gets home. So I decided to try Disco Abs. My tummy is my greatest shame so that sounded like a good place to start. Its marketing ploy was "Dance your abs into shape with your favorite Disco oldies." Sounded pretty good so I hit select. The show began with a room full of physically fit cuties gyrating to YMCA by the Village People. The 'teacher' welcomes you and says we will start off with a few warm ups. After 5 minutes of warm ups, I was worn out. Why are the warm ups as hard as the work outs? But I persevered. I bounced and sashayed to the left and then to the right. Hips a swaying, feet a stepping. "Hmm, not bad.", I say to myself. Then she added some arm swinging and hand clapping. By this time I'm really starting to get into the swing of things. Then it happened. She added some waist twisting and hip swaying. My body was all over the place. I couldn't keep up. I looked like a mound of Jello jiggling when you dump it out of the mold. I thought to myself "This cannot be pretty." But I remembered what a friend told me yesterday about working on things I can control. I thought, "Come on Bee, you can do this." I proceeded to jump and twist and bounce and hop.....all the way into the coffee table. Oww!! I learned two things today. Sedate crunches and setups are better for little old women and don't ever dance in your living room without moving the coffee table. But I did get in a good workout. I feel rejuvenated this morning. And I will try one of the other shows tomorrow. Not so sure the disco dance is going to be my thing.