Southern Interest
Hurricanes need Southern names
The World Meteorological Association has announced a list of names for this year’s storms. When we ran out of names last year, they supplemented with Greek letters like Eta and Iota. This year, they’ve decided to go ahead and create a second list of regular names — like the JV squad. Since most hurricanes blast…
Read MoreOur kitchens and Pantone
This story is included in my book, Exploding Hushpuppies – More stories from home. We can thank the “color-ologists” at Pantone for giving us a new reason to look forward to January. At the beginning of every year, they’ve announced their official, “Color of the Year.” It’s a very big deal for decorators and designers,…
Read MoreIt’s not the pumpkin, it’s the spice
Fonda Faye’s laughter was contagious, and after a while, you didn’t even notice her two front teeth pointing in opposite directions, much like a real jack-o-lantern.
Read MoreIf you give a co-ed a chandelier
Whether it’s grandma’s silver gumbo spoons, a tiara or a spinning baton, Southern girls have always been drawn to sparkly things. That’s why the trend to “bling-up” the dormitories of co-eds around the South has taken off like wildfire. It’s yet another outlet for our love of all things pretty. But now, The Atlanta Symphony…
Read MoreWhen Southern summers were cool
But sometimes, around the end of July, we’ll hear a song on the radio and it reminds us of a day at the beach with sandwiches and icy bottles of Cokes.
Read MoreTreasure boxes hold what’s important to us
Before I post the column for this week, let me take a moment to thank everyone who noticed my column hasn’t appeared in the print edition of the Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville papers for the last few weeks. There’s a new computer system at AL.com, and with that comes a different way of loading up…
Read MoreQuilts are time traveling hugs from granny
The companies that sell the new weighted blankets claim they give a sense of “security, safety, and calmness.” No kidding — just like the antique quilts.
Read MoreGood Gravy
It was difficult to understand him, but through our tried and true method of hand signals, pantomime, clicking sounds and eye blinks, I finally understood that my northern born husband was trying to tell me his New Jersey Great-Grandmother Donatoni made something she called gravy, but it was actually spaghetti sauce. Now, doesn’t that beat…
Read MoreNo fake news, I saw a panther! #freakingout
*I told AL.com Environmental Reporter, Ben Raines it was too bad the housewife/mom/Junior League columnist had this experience instead of him. He would have known exactly what this thing was. But now I know for sure my heart surgery was a success, since I didn’t fall over dead when I saw this beast! I actually…
Read MoreThe Summer we know and love
Summer, Autumn, Winter (“Winnie”) and Spring are friends of my sons. Two are adorable, one is a tart, and the other will be a beauty someday — as soon as she grows into her teeth, bless her heart. With absolutely no connection to these young ladies whatsoever, and thinking only of the calendar, I have…
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