Tag Archives: family

Football

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Yup, it’s mid-July and supposed to hit 100 degrees today but around here we’re all already thinking fall — and football. Because with SEC coaches taking the podium during media days in Birmingham and doing their best to charm the press, this week marks the unofficial start of football season. It’s that giddy optimistic time when everybody’s smiling and anything can happen and championships are within every team’s grasp. Fans have made their hotel reservations. Brides and hostesses have checked the game schedule and know not to schedule anything on home weekends. Sports journalists — such as my newspaper-sports editor husband — have kissed their spouses “goodbye” and settled in for a good five months of all football all the time. And while I enjoy a good football game as much as anybody, it’s true that I also look forward to the start of the season because 1) It means college basketball is getting closer; 2) I love the game-day menu of chips, dips and anything fried and 3) Who can resist a “Peace, Love and Alabama” shirt? Not me.

Art

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Our 2-year-old grandson, Capt. Adorable, is a huge fan of trains and so the family has all gone a little train crazy. By now, most of us can create a train with whatever materials we have on hand in two minutes flat. The winner for Best Train Creation, of course, goes to the Captain’s daddy and here’s why. Exhibit A, on the left: My son-in-law’s sidewalk chalk drawing of a train. Exhibit B, on the right: My sidewalk chalk drawing of a train, helpfully identified as such in case anybody has trouble recognizing it. Now, can you guess which of us is a trained, money-making artist and high-school art teacher and which one of us is not?

Vacations

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This looks like we had our car all packed up and ready for family vacation, doesn’t it? And we did … although we really hadn’t started packing yet. Fourteen folks in my family were headed to the beach in various cars and at various times and turned out Dear Husband and I had the fewest people and the most room in our car. So of course when we were all in the pre-packing stage, I told everybody, “Sure, we’ll take those chairs/boxes/bags for you if you don’t have room. No problem.” I was happy to help out and it wasn’t a problem — until I realized I’d almost offered out all available space and left only a few square inches for Husband’s and my bags. But some creative shifting freed up the necessary room. And, as usual, I overpacked, anyway. Anytime I’m lucky enough to go to the beach, I end up being totally minimalist and pulling on whatever’s easiest — T-shirts and shorts over swimsuits most of the time  — and not even caring if I’m wearing the correct white top-with-black-capris combo accented with appropriate jewelry and handbags I usually do during Real Life. (Hey, I’m a Southern girl. Appropriate handbags are in our DNA, you know.) Sadly, I forget that and always persist in carefully packing coordinated outfits that end up unworn in favor of the wrinkled three-days-in-a-row tank top. And I bet there are lots of you all who suffer from Vacation Overpacking Disorder, too. We should band together and start a support group. And of course the only cure for our afflication is — more vacation packing! Who’s with me???

Toyota in Mississippi

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It is good times again in my adopted town of Tupelo, Mississippi, with the recent announcement that Toyota will open its under-construction plant in nearby Blue Springs in the fall of 2011 to build more Corollas. The plant means an estimated 2,000 new jobs. I don’t care what part of the country you live in — that is good news, indeed. In fact, Dear Husband and I spotted this sign at Harvey’s, a popular Tupelo restaurant. Seems like lots of local folks are brushing up on their Japanese and preparing to graciously welcome any newcomers Toyota sends their way.  Reminds me of what my husband used to say about his mom, who’s 93 now. She worked as a Veterans Adminstration nurse and for the longest time held a not-so-gracious opinion about Japan. “I knew that World War II finally was over in the 1980s when she broke down and bought a Honda,” he says. I think she’ll be pleased to know that the Japanese are helping boost Mississippi’s economy — and Mississippi paychecks.  “Domo arigato,” Japan.

Fourth of July

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Because nothing says the Fourth of July like a family get-together at the beach over a long holiday weekend … or a gun show at the peanut festival. And actually I figured out that the gun show isn’t during the peanut festival, which is in November — it’s just at the National Peanut Festival site.  But still. Somehow the combination of peanuts and guns seems … I don’t know … uniquely American? Like you can go munch on peanuts and buy a gun all at the same time. Me, I’ll take instead a comfy chair on the beach-house porch with a sea breeze blowing the clouds along and a fresh cup of French-press coffee or my new favorite drink of ginger wine with club soda and vodka, depending on the time of day. Or night. So here’s hoping your Fourth of July weekend is continuing along nicely. With your choice of peanuts, coffee or ginger-ale wine.

Fourth of July

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Happy July Fourth weekend! Hope everyone has a great time with family and friends and fireworks.

Food

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Hello, lovely fried pillows of crispy and melty Oreo goodness. Oh my cookies, as 2-year-old grandson Capt. Adorable says — literally, in this case. We were driving through our town of Florence, Alabama, when my husband casually says, “Look at that sign. It says,”Cold beer, hot wings and fried Oreos.’ We should go there sometime.” Since he and I each are obsessively devoted to finding the best of two of these three categories — the wings for him, the Oreos for me and the beer for both of us — I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed this Wing Shack of paradise before. Sadly, my husband had to go back to work or something after our discovery so I was left on my own to immediately indulge in an intense Oreo fried orgy objectively and calmly check this place out. All I can say is: Thank you, dear person who first had the radical idea of frying Oreos. I love you.

Tunica

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We went to Tunica and all I got was some chocolate cake. My husband was luckier, however — he picked up two first-place awards from the Mississippi Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest for headlines and sports columns. We were in Tunica recently for the MPA annual get-together and awards luncheon. It was my first glimpse of the famous gambling town and only my second time ever to go to a casino. And in fact we didn’t even go to the casino so my record still stands at once … and I don’t think I got the full experience even then since I only sat at a nickel machine for a few minutes and watched my dollar bill dribble away. Sigh. Anyway, our Tunica adventure was on a Saturday and my sports-editor husband could only take enough time out of a work day to drive over (Down? Up?) to the luncheon, so we only saw the inside of the Harrah’s conference-center room. I had a blast sitting with friends from my husband’s newspaper, and although we were all less than impressed with the food and the service — Seriously, no tea or water refills and only one carafe of coffee for 200 people? — our dessert of chocolate cake certainly looked intriguing. The cake itself was on the dry side, but the berry puree and the chocolate ganache were divine. I also can report that I saw beautifully landscaped grounds and a sign advertising the Paula Deen Buffet, but that’s about it for my Tunica Harrah’s experience. Husband and I agreed we needed to come back and stay longer. See for yourself at http://www.harrahstunica.com/casinos/grand-casino-resort-tunica/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml.

Home Decor

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This could be our dream house — literally, because it’s  the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway in Tupelo, Mississippi. The giveaway is a national fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. You tour the house, buy a $100 ticket and hope for the best. In Tupelo the local partner is the Tupelo Redevelopment Agency, which oversees the very cool downtown Fairpark development where the St. Jude house is. I love this house! And I know a big part of my instant love affair is the furniture and the decor, which naturally does not stay, but since we’re on a dream roll here, I figure why not imagine moving in as is? The decor was rich and elegant but worked perfectly with the family-friendly layout of the house. Dear Husband and I especially were impressed with the built-in desk in a kitchen hallway and the built-in bench and storage cubbies adjacent to the entry way from the garage. And this was the first shower I’d ever seen with a hinged door that could swing either in or out — brilliant! Why didn’t we think of that? Hope whoever wins this house loves it, too. The drawing was this afternoon and so far our phones have not rung — but we can still dream.

Huntsville, Alabama

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Two-year-old grandson Capt. Adorable has gone train crazy. He plays for minutes (in 2-year-old time, that’s hours for you and me) with his Thomas the Train sets, knows all the Thomas the Train names and can even sing the songs with a British accent — well, it sounds British to me, anyway. So of course his daddy had to take him to the Depot Museum in Huntsville, Alabama, to see the real thing along with fire trucks, antique cars and all sorts of fun train stuff. His other grandma and I were so tickled that the Captain refused to play with the train toys set up in the “Children’s Playroom” and went straight for the actual full-sized ones. That’s our baby! He also got a kick out of the fire engine and realized that the firehouse dalmation dog needed a fire hat of his own. Genius child! If you’ve got a train fan in your family, too, plan a visit of your own. http://www.earlyworks.com/the-museums/train-depot