Pretty Poppies in Fairhope

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / July 22, 2015 /

Do you remember hearing about the poppy project, “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” last year in London to commemorate the start of WWI? Well, get ready, because a brigade of volunteers is preparing their own version of the public art installation and there will soon be thousands of pretty poppies in Fairhope! Thousands??? You…

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First, you make a roux . . .

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / July 15, 2015 /

A church to which I once belonged assembled a cookbook and asked all members to contribute their favorite recipes.  Knowing the longevity of such books, my Mother wisely warned me not to submit recipes that contained the phrase, “open a can of . . .” She said it would haunt me for the rest of…

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Cousin Katherine Hepburn’s house

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / July 13, 2015 /

This house belonged to my cousin, Katherine Hepburn.   What? I’ve never told you about Cousin Kate?   Well, actually, Katherine and I were only recently acquainted by ancestry.com, and they confirmed she and I had the same Grandmother. Well, great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother to me, and great-great-great-great-great-grandmother to her. (That’s eight generations for me and five…

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A video, an article and so forth . . .

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / July 9, 2015 /

First, the “so forth” . . . Oops! If you signed up to receive email alerts when I post a new story, you may have accidentally been sent a rough draft of an incomplete post. “Save” and “Publish” look so much alike. I’ve been writing this blog for three years (this week is exactly three!)…

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Why I teach Vacation Bible School

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / June 29, 2015 /

This story can be found in my book, The Majorettes are Back in Town and Other Things to Love About the South The word, “Vacation” in Vacation Bible School is a trick that makes sweet church ladies volunteer for the king-daddy of all summer spectacles. No longer a quiet week of coloring pictures of Moses…

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Shepherd’s Place in Fairhope

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / June 19, 2015 /

Here’s a question for you . . . what would you do if someone you loved couldn’t safely care for themselves, yet they weren’t quite ready for full-time care away from home?  You’d be surprised at the number of people who unexpectedly find themselves in the full-time position of caring for a spouse, parent or…

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Back in Black

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / June 11, 2015 /

A few months after a cheerful parade celebrating her 100th birthday, complete with a ride in a convertible Corvette, my Great Aunt passed away, and I was thrown into a tizzy trying to find a dress to wear to the funeral. Or should I say, a “proper” dress to wear to the funeral. I searched…

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Antique Jewelry Lampshade

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / June 8, 2015 /

I’m so fortunate to have a great collection of antique costume jewelry given to me by my two Grandmothers, my Mother and my husband’s Grandmothers. They all knew how I love sparkly-pretty-girly things and for years, I’ve made it into an antique jewelry lampshade which sits on my dressing table.   After I caught a…

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Operation Lawrence Welk

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / May 28, 2015 /

This story is included in the book: The Majorettes are Back in Town.  When we’re home on a Saturday evening, and everyone is scattered around the house doing their own thing, I like to slip over, grab the remote control and turn the TV to the PBS station and crank up The Lawrence Welk Show.…

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Port of Mobile Tour

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / May 20, 2015 /

  I’m not in the Eastern Shore Camera Club, but everyone else in my family is. That’s why I got to tag along with the group on their sunset cruise of the Mobile River which included an up close look at something I’ve always wanted to see – the Port of Mobile.     The…

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