Snakes, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails!

The following is an email I received from Hayden's teacher yesterday:

"Today during PE Hayden was running behind someone and a rock flew up. Hayden says that it went into his mouth and he swallowed it. I told him that it would come out later when he sat down on the toilet. Hayden was worried but seems to be fine now. He is playing and doing math centers. I am not sure what he swallowed. I wanted you to know what happened at PE. Please send a reply so that I know you read this email."

When I stopped laughing, I composed myself enough to email her back and let her know that she had made my day with this story! I'm reminded of a day (way back when today's fashions were first in style) and I was playing outside in my neighbors yard. Yeah, we used to play outside all day long. You weren't allowed in the house unless you were eating or sleeping. Nevertheless, I happened upon a patch of wild mushrooms in the yard and joked with my friends about eating them. I didn't...but for some bizarre reason unbeknownst to myself, I went back to the house and announced that I had consumed the wild mushrooms in the yard. Sigh...perhaps it was a cry for attention; perhaps I was just bored and wanted to see how much she would believe. Regardless, I'm sorry I did it. No sooner did the words leave my mouth, my mom was administering Ipecac syrup by the spoonfuls and I was in misery in no time!

If she weren’t so concerned about the possibly poisonous mushrooms that I didn’t eat, she might could have been concerned about the eating disorder I could have developed from it all…but I guess she was smarter than that, huh? I learned my lesson…I never lied about eating potentially poisonous mushrooms again…ever!

Where were you.....?

Do you remember where you were 15 years ago tonight? Were you getting ready for a great weekend in March? Were you headed for a vacation? Were you grounded and stuck at home? Were you getting married? If you were in the state of Alabama, you were in the midst of the "storm of the century" or the Blizzard of '93!

As mentioned many times before, my husband is a bit of a weather geek. It's okay...we've come to accept it now. So, he's been all over the 15th anniversary weather blogs out there!

I remember where I was....on Friday, March 12th I was at good ol' Skate Country. I was ticked off that mom had my ride show up early and ruin my evening! Ahhh....the good old days! My BFF Nichole and I were dragged, almost literally, from the roller rink and carted home. Once it was made clear that we couldn't top the hill to get to her house, we took it back to my house.

The next morning introduced us to more snow than we had seen in Alabama - EVER. We went to Vermont the Christmas before to visit Nichole's family and the amount of snow there was amazing. More amazing was the fact that the entire town operated 'business as usual'. Anniston was shut down for days when the blizzard of '93 hit.

As Saturday morning turned into Saturday afternoon, we lost power at my house. This sucked because now we were going to be forced to entertain ourselves...without TV. We'd finally had all we could stand. So we bundled up, stepped outside and began our journey to meet Nichole's parents at a halfway point (that seemed like 8 miles but was actually probably only about 2-3). We spent the rest of the "vacation" at her house cooking in the fireplace, keeping milk cold on the deck in the snow, sledding down the hill and listening to folks call in to the radio stations complaining that they didn't have cable TV. There were folks without power, heat or water and folks were upset about missing their soaps! We went so far as to start using furniture as firewood to stay warm because we had used all the firewood.

It was an exhilarating experience....and one I'm sure I'll tell my kids stories about when they're old enough to roll their eyes!

Where were you when the white stuff started sticking in Calhoun County?

These are my Lifelines!

Remember the show ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ When Regis was the host, that show rocked! It came out when I was in college and it quickly took its place as the show you’d plan a party around. It’s wasn’t as dorky as you might be thinking…you could turn those questions into a drinking game pretty quickly. But, I digress. I was thinking this evening about the folks in my life and what I have to offer them. I was focusing on the fact that I hope they don’t feel shortchanged by me. They all contribute to my life in ways that are so fulfilling. I honestly can’t imagine my life without them. So, in the aforementioned television show, you were provided three ‘lifelines’ to help you reach $1,000,000. I’m grateful for my ‘lifelines’ because I know they’d get me through! For instance: If I were faced with a question regarding music I’d have Les on the phone faster than a cat can lick its butt! I don’t know anyone in possession of the musical knowledge he has. He might not be into Wham! as much as I’d like for him to be…but if the question were regarding them, I could take care of it on my own;) If the question revolved around anything to do with religion, my best friend Nichole is who I’m calling. She’s so strong in her faith. Aside from that, her curiosity about the subject in general is mind blowing. She wants to understand why other faiths/religions believe the way they do – and it may be only so she can tell you that yours is wrong and hers is right. I love this about her! Let a question fall out of the air about cooking and I’m calling Lori! (Especially if it’s how to make the best Banana Pudding EVER!) Not only does she love to cook, she loves to know about the food she’s cooking. She would also be my go-to for anything in the category of ‘Useless Information’. She constantly entertains me with tidbits of ‘you-never-know-when-you’re-gonna-need-to-know-this’ stuff. And if I'm questioned about the gimble cam socket on the nose closal removal station, Jeremy is my guy...that's some incinerator jargon that makes me laugh everytime I hear it! God forbid a question come up about politics or history or law because nothing will put me to sleep faster! But Patrick could go for hours on any of these subjects. I’ve never known anyone to get so excited about a Primary! He immerses himself in politics. Nor have I ever known anyone to pick up a book on the history of the Taliban, and how it came to be, for a little light reading. As for law…I’m pretty sure he just likes to argue. He uses a passion for law as an excuse to do so. Any questions regarding medical issues or the medical field in general would have to be deferred to my mom. She spent many years in the medical field. She’s familiar with the jargon. She’s aware of what it all means. Yea, she’s definitely my medical question guru! Lastly, any questions that involve the following will have me phoning home knowing my husband, Brent, can help me out: Weather – With all the equipment he’s got to predict and report the weather, I trust him more than the National Weather Service. Electronics – One look at our audio/visual setup in the living room will explain. Audio/Video; In/Out; Red, Yellow, White…it’s all Greek to me! Just show me how to use the remote…don’t expect me to fix it if something comes unplugged. Sports – He’s an avid fan of just about any sport. This drives me insane and seems like such a waste of time to me…but if there happens to be a million dollars on the line, I guess I’ll be grateful, huh? Gardening – I hate gardening. I will most likely kill anything that I’m made botanical caregiver over. He orders plants online. He plants things. He knows plants, their history, their uses, etc. If knowing the climate region where palm trees grow best would win me the money, I know he’d know the answer! My lifelines….what would I do without you?

Let's Go Junkin'!

I have come to acquire a bit of a taste for antique items. Perhaps antique isn’t the correct word…maybe I should just say ‘old stuff’. I wouldn’t want to offend a true antique collector. It all began at my grandmother’s yard sale. She’s had these before and most of the time I just haul my slightly used items (washed, ironed, labeled and priced) to her house and collect my earnings when the weekend is over. This particular yard sale found me rummaging through everyone else’s junk. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? I made my way over to the clothing section to browse…okay, my mission was to organize the clothes, not actually walk away with anything. I digress…I was up to my elbows in sweaters that met the Bedazzler when I stumbled upon an apron.

Now, I’m no chef. I enjoy cooking and love to hear my kids say, “Mommy, you’re the best cooker!” So, I have an apron. But this one…oh this one! I knew the minute I laid eyes on it that it was special. After quizzing my grandmother on what senile moment took over and made her put it in the yard sale she handed it over without question. After much discussion between my grandmother and her sister it was determined that my great-great grandmother made the apron. I was dumbfounded even further that the dang thing could have slipped through my grasp. I, of course, never knew my great-great grandmother. I was holding a piece of history in my hands. (I’m not exactly a history buff either – so it was even cooler that I was so intrigued by this!) I couldn’t help but imagine how many meals had been prepared in this dainty garment. How many trinkets or pieces of candy made their way into the pockets that were stitched onto the front? The baby blue gingham fabric is light and airy. The stitching is very simple and obviously took great care to create. (For a person who can’t sew a button on, that’s amazing!)

After the apron, I found myself longing for another piece. Then another and another. I took a trip to Callaway Gardens in Georgia. It was a spa trip. Along the way, I paid a visit to Warm Springs, Georgia and came across this little beauty. I can't tell you anything about this piece other than the fact that it's old. I can remember one just like it at my great grandmothers...but that's about it! I love it!

My most recent addition to the ‘antique collection’ is another apron. I came across this one at my mom’s house. She found it folded up with a bunch of different material she received from my great grandmother. Low and behold, another of my great-great grandmother’s creations! Could I be so lucky? Turns out that way, huh?

As I said before, I’m not sure if antique is the right word because I’m not sure what qualifies an item to be an antique. But, these items are all in my possession and I put them all to use. I use my aprons often and I keep my sweet tea in that pitcher in my fridge. They may be antique, but I find something refreshing and very ‘linking the present to the past’ about using the items. Maybe I feel like I’m channeling this woman that I never knew! Either way, it’s become a new-found hobby of mine and I can’t wait to find my next piece! Let’s go junkin’!