I loved her green beans. I can still see them swimming around in the pot with little pools of grease from the pork she used to season them with. The biscuits, an extremely close second though. But then again, the way she cut cucumbers for me and chilled them in ice water made even the…
Stories
Ramblings
Affiliate links included in this post. This is one of those posts where I tell you nothing at all, but yet everything at the same time. It won’t send you running for your paintbrush. Or leave you Oooohing and Ahhhing. It’s just a way for me to say, “Hey, this is what’s going on with…
Just a swingin’.
I hadn’t forgotten about them, but I had forgotten about the magic of them. When we pulled into the driveway a few weeks ago and she saw the bright yellow flowers shooting up from the ground, she couldn’t get out to pick one fast enough. In that moment, she became the third generation of our…
Freak Show Friday: Signs You’re Raising a Well-Rounded Child
From the time the Circus was born, all I ever wanted was for her to be a well-rounded kid. I of course want her to be happy and laugh and play, but I also want her to appreciate music of all kinds, love aspects of both the city and the country, appreciate dressing up and…
No house is a home until it has a few good decades on it.
This post is sponsored by Liberty Mutual. While this was a sponsored opportunity, all content and opinions expressed here are my own. In my adult life, there has only been one house I’ve lived in that didn’t start out as a fixer upper. That one house was actually a brand-new construction. We were in that…
A front row seat from a lawnmower.
We were watching In the Heat of the Night when I told him I thought I should learn how to drive the tractor. Sitting in his recliner, with a cigarette between his fingers, he nodded his head. A week later, there was a new riding lawnmower in the toolshed for me. I was not surprised. My…
Embracing the Imperfections
Hey there. 🙂 I’m still here. I’ve been missing your (virtual) faces. I know it’s been over a month since I’ve last posted. I guess you could say I’ve been easing into 2018. Some people may refer to it as laziness. 😉 I’m sure other blogs you follow have by now posted all about their…
A shower of blessings…
There comes a day in every mom’s life when you simply have to do what must be done. You can no longer put it off. You can’t try to weasel your way out of it. You have to put on your best face and smile. Literally. You have to get the freakin’ family photos made….
Simple Home Security with Blink
This post is brought to you by Blink Home Video Security. However, all opinions are 100% mine and I completely own up to being a scaredy cat sometimes. Nearly a year ago, Grunt Labor went on a camping trip. He left on a Thursday after work. Nicky called later that evening to check on me and…
Freak Show Friday: On the contrary.
I went to Walgreen’s last night to get an Amoxicillin prescription filled for the Circus. I handed the pharmacy tech the prescription and she asked if the Circus liked the bubble gum flavor in that medicine. I had to think for a second. I thought, I should know the answer to this, right?! Come on,…
Freak Show Friday: I’m New Redneck.
Yes, you read that title right – it is a brand spanking new Freak Show Friday! This series kind of went on hiatus during the summer so I could spend more time with the Circus, but she started back to preschool this week, so Freak Show Friday is back! I won’t guarantee one every Friday,…
As it turns out, you are enough.
At the beginning of every summer for the past few years, at my command, the Circus, Grunt and I sit down and make a summer bucket list. Since Grunt is a teacher, he doesn’t have to work during the summer, with the exception of a few ball camps. Of course, the Circus has the summer…
Cows, Corn, and College
As each of the grandkids were born, my Pap gave us a cow. Now, I should probably clarify what exactly this means. This does not mean that he gave us a cow as a pet and it was on a leash in our backyard and we went out and petted it anytime we wanted. Although…
Summer Sidenotes
When did life begin to move so fast? I would swear to you that just a year or two ago I had just turned 18 and had my whole life ahead of me – and it seemed like it had taken forever to get to that point. Then I blinked. All photos by Bev Key Photography….
Freak Show Friday: How to Raise a Kid with Personality
The Circus is turning five next month. The personality this kid has got on her is something else and nothing that I ever thought a five year old could possess. I’m already considering pre-checking myself into the local mental health hospital because if this continues and her personality grows as she grows, I don’t know how I’ll…
A 1989 Chevrolet Cheyenne Pickup Truck
I believe it was Rick Bragg who once said that Southerners date events in their lives by the car they were driving at the time. I believe this to be true. It was in a deep red Cadillac Sedan Deville that I got pulled over three times within one month for speeding. Whoever said Grannie…
Freak Show Friday: Things Southern Baptist Kids Say When They Grow Up
As you should know by now, I grew up in a small town. A very small southern town. At the time, I didn’t think so, but it really was a grand way to grow up. I grew up beside corn and cows. We had cable and as I grew up we slowly went from 17…
A True Southerner.
He sent me a text that said “Plenty” along with a photo of a gravestone, that had an empty row stretching past it. Earlier that day, we had buried my great aunt, the last of my grandfather’s siblings, in the cemetery that holds many a Johnson who have lived on that land for the past five…
Freak Show Friday: Did you put your college party panties on?
Last Tuesday night on a whim, Grunt and I decided to see if our babysitter was available for Saturday night. It had been far too long since we’d gone out. Mama and Daddy needed a break, a drink and conversation that didn’t revolve around Shimmer and Shine from the Nick Jr. channel. Lucky for us,…
Freak Show Friday: Quotes from Last Night | Volume Two
Instead of titling this post “Quotes from Last Night, Round Two” or “Part Two”, I went with “Volume Two.” I just felt like using the word volume made it seem more profound, more important. And these quotes are of the utmost importance and profoundness….<—-that might not be an actual word. If you missed the first…
Diggin’ for Treasure
I do not know how it got there. Someone once told me there used to be another house sitting below the hill on the property and perhaps the demolition of that house had something to do with it. I am not sure. I suppose it does not really matter how the treasure came to be buried…
Freak Show Friday: You might have been at our Christmas party if…
Last Saturday was the annual Christmas party at our house. Every year, although there was a three year hiatus when parenthood was really putting a strain on our social life, we hold a Christmas party. We have lots of food and booze, but the deal is you must bring a toy or other item for…
I like to think that comes from him.
There is a metal-clad shed with a large utility light at the very top peak of it that shines over the doorway in a small lot enclosed by a weathered wood fence. If you remove the piece of wood that holds the doors closed, you should be ready for them to swing out at you. …
Freak Show Friday: Quotes from Last Night
You’ve seen the Texts from Last Night thing, right? It’s a collection of texts that should have never been sent, but for our own entertainment, we’re so glad those people hit the send button. Our group doesn’t have those texts. Instead, throughout the night I keep a running list in my phone of fantastic things…
