It’s how we love you

2020 has squeezed every bit of niceness out of most of us and we’re grumpy and tired. But hold on honey, the ladies of the South will come to the rescue. We are preparing a beautiful holiday feast like never before because . . . it’s how we love you.  All you have to do…

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To blink or not to blink

Readers often suggest topics for my columns, and by far, the number one thing everyone wants to read is a story on why (insert one or the other) Northerners / Southerners don’t use their turn signals. I’ve avoided the issue like a lying, crying politician, because it’s a scorching hot topic in my own house. …

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Table napkins pull us together

The sale of paper table napkins is on the decline, due in part to people not sitting down at a table to eat a meal. Millennials in particular feel that paper towels are just as good and a faster option to dabbing the corners of their crumbly sticky mouths. When I read this breaking napkin…

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Before and after and here we go again

Before Hurricane Sally. After Hurricane Sally. I couldn’t have told you what the neighbor’s houses looked like before the storm. You can look at the house in the distance and see the blue tarps on their roof. Everyone in town can show you similar photos. It’s not just me. We’re all in the same boat…

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A hurricane and farewell to Winston Groom

We just received word today that one of our local favorite authors in Fairhope, Winston Groom has passed away. I don’t know any details, but he will be missed. He always took time to talk with me when we saw each other, although I always felt like I needed to remind him who I was.…

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Don’t give me a bad hushpuppy

Go ahead and talk ugly about my hairdo, say my pearls are plastic, but whatever you do, don’t ever give me a hard-as-a-rock, pre-cooked and flash frozen hushpuppy.  They’re easy to spot and wildly rampant these days, even in the best restaurants. Looking like little brown jawbreakers from the gumball machine, and tasting about as…

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Saying goodbye to Lois Lane

My long time blog readers have heard many stories about my sweet beagle, Lois Lane. She has received her own fan mail and I’ve had readers ask about her during book signings. You’ll see in this story, that she passed away on her 15th birthday after a very happy and spoiled life — which is…

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Italian Bolognese

“When you hear people speaking about Bolognese cuisine, be reverent, because it deserves it.” Pellegrino Artusi As I sit home with the rest of the world, wondering if we’ll ever be able to use our suitcases again, I’m thinking about the happier days when we could travel. This time last year, as I was freely…

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Social distancing with Alan Jackson

***This was written during the thick of the pandemic when we were wiping down our groceries and spraying our mail with Lysol. – What is going on in this world?  While the world was swirling in turmoil and we were wringing our hands in angst, wearing masks and trembling in our homes . . .…

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