A Southern Life: my take on traditions, food, sights and more.
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Southern Catfish
My husband has been wanting catfish all week long. I’m going to make it for him tonight. Like many in the South, we love catfish. We live near one of the best places on the face of the earth to get fried catfish, Fred’s Fish House in Mountain Home near Lake Norfork in Arkansas. We…
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A Southern Elvis
Happy Birthday, Elvis! Can you believe it? Elvis Presley would be 74 today. Of course, Elvis was a Southern boy having been born in Tupelo, Mississippi. Tupelo is a lovely Southern town with an interesting history. If you ever get to Tupelo, there are lots of things to see in addition to Elvis Presley’s birthplace.…
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A Southern Winter Garden
I’m ready for Spring. At least in my mind. I used to really dislike Winter but I have learned to enjoy the shape of bare trees and the birds that visit my bird feeders. I also enjoy browsing through garden catalogs and planning what I would like to plant. I love to plant roses, perennials…
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More Southern Manners and Jail House Chili
Did you know that being nice is good for you? Your niceness inspires others to be nice which benefits all of us! Here is an idea from Bottom Line: Put 10 pennies in your left pocket. During the day, stop by, phone or e-mail people just to tell them how much you appreciate them or…
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Mind Your Southern Manners!
I recently read an article stating that 2008 saw an increased amount of rudeness. Surely, they can’t be talking about Southerners. I’m sure you could find rude Southerners around, bless their hearts, but, hopefully, they are not the rule. Maybe in 2009, we should strive to promote Southern hospitality and manners. Even if you aren’t…
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A Southern Confession
Recently, I read the book SWAG (Southern Women Aging Gracefully). I read this knowing that at some point I am going to have to accept that I am actually aging. I’m not real happy about that. One of the ways to know if you are a SWAG is that you have stolen magnolia leaves or…
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Southern Resolution?
I think I missed out on the organization gene. My mother has it. Both my sisters have it. Somehow it skipped me. A trip to the mailbox is a major ordeal for me because I know I will come back inside with things that I don’t know what to do with. I’ve started going through…
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Southern Predictions for 2009
Okay, I’m no psychic but I’ll take a stab at making some educated guesses about 2009. From what I understand, the economy will start to recover in the 3rd quarter of 2009. In the meantime, I think people will really get back to basics. I think Southerners have a great advantage here. It means entertaining…
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Southern New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve . . . and a toast to the New Year. I was introduced to my favorite champagne by Sergio, a wonderful waiter at Brennan’s in New Orleans. Sergio was great and we miss him since he retired. He suggested Perrier Joet with breakfast and it was a match made in heaven. I…
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Southern New Year’s Traditions
Black -eyed peas for luck and greens for prosperity. When I was a kid I didn’t like black-eyed peas but my parents made sure that I ate at least one on New Year’s Day for luck in the new year. They weren’t superstitious but it was a tradition that they had always followed and so…
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Southern Reflections
This is a week of reflections. Looking back at the past year before plowing into the new one. What went well this past year and what didn’t? As I grow older, I realize more and more that experiences, good and bad, are learning opportunities. The good experiences we should tuck away for good memories and…
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A Southern Table
My family is coming for Christmas this weekend. Because they weren’t here for Christmas Day, I served kind of a non-traditional Christmas Day meal. We’ll have more traditional stuff this weekend. For Christmas Day we had herb roasted pork tenderloin, roasted new potatoes, roasted asparagus and hot rolls. This was an easy dinner to fix…
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Merry Christmas
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. I am grateful for the Christ child who came to bring life and light to the world. I pray for those who do not know Him. I am thankful for so many things. I…
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A Southern Santa
It’s Christmas Eve. Is everybody ready for Santa? I just checked the Norad Santa Tracker and saw that he is in Australia right now. My father used to grow a beard around Christmas and when he did he looked like Santa Claus. I remember when my nephew was young he thought his Papaw was Santa…