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She always loved flowers
In the photo on my desk, my son Joe was 9 years old, wearing a baseball cap twisted backwards and baggy old hand-me-down jeans. Flip flops finished his scruffy-kid look. In his hands, he clutched a bouquet of red camellias picked from the neighbor’s yard. There was a soft almost embarrassed smile on his face.…
Read MoreHurricanes 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 MoreBetty Crocker raised my boys
When my house would rumble with skinny, sweaty, screaming teenage boys, I learned that all I needed to calm them was my 13-inch cast iron skillet and a $1 box of Betty Crocker Cake Mix. Sure, I can bake from scratch and have produced beautiful Hummingbird, Red Velvet and Lemon Curd layer cakes — regionally…
Read MorePants on Fire, Don’t tell Mom
My son just told me a story about the time he was a little boy and attempted to construct a circuit using a few batteries, paper clips, tin foil and other thing-a-ma-jigs he found around the house. The experiment was unsuccessful, so he shoved the items into his pocket along with a few pieces of…
Read MoreGrand Ole Opry and other great things
Busy days have taken me to The Grand Ole Opry and beyond. Here’s what’s going on.
Read MoreSundog Books
This was my view from the socially-distanced open-air front porch of the charming Sundog Books in Seaside, Florida. Not a bad day at the “office!” Have any of you been to Seaside? It was truly one of the best book signings I’ve had. Not only did I sell out of the hardback copies of Exploding…
Read MoreGarden District Book Shop
I made a quick dash over to New Orleans to visit The Garden District Book Shop. Any excuse to go to New Orleans is great, but a visit to this well-known book loving shop was incredible. I’m so happy they will be carrying “Exploding Hushpuppies, More Stories from Home.” I’ve been to The Garden District…
Read More“Helping” with the name
Before the day comes when I get a daughter-in-law of my very own, I think it’s wise to go ahead and make a list of all the suitable baby names available for our family. Don’t you think that’s a thoughtful way for me to “help?” This list was created by the guidelines of the Committee…
Read MoreA perfectly timed love
by Leslie Anne Tarabella with Linda Higbee Smith Karl and Erika Pellinat in their adopted city of Fairhope, AL It isn’t a lack of words that makes this story difficult to tell. Instead, it’s because there is so much to tell, it’s hard to know where to begin. Karl and Erika Pellinat’s love story is…
Read MoreA Valentine’s Day video
Valentine’s Day 2020 was one of the last big flings we had before the world shut down with COVID-19. If we had only known how strange things would get the next month, I think we would have all celebrated on an even larger scale. Here are the cookies I baked and decorated in 2020. And…
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