Palm Sunday

I like this pic with all its pomp - a short lived sentiment. 

Alaqua Animal Refuge

Time flies but pigs don't.  I can't believe it was last April when we took Casey's pig to the Alaqua Animal Refuge near Niceville, FL.  I was so taken with the place, I took loads of pictures.  They took us on a tour.  It's a no kill shelter with full medical staff.

Here are the particulars from the back of one of their vans.

Florida vernacular cat houses!

Medical quarantine houses.

Livestock runs.

Horse in need of a home and state of the art barn.

Medical staff and family of the place consulting about Jack the potbellied pig.  I don't know why I took no pics of him.  Sis Cheryl and Casey were sad.  We just couldn't handle him.

More particulars.  Here is a link to their site: http://www.aarflorida.com/

Peace

VESTAL!

Folks, here is another vintage Vestal and the Happy Goodman Family number for your listening and viewing pleasure.   Southern Gospel in its prime...  I remember watching folks like this on the Dothan, Alabama TV (WTVY?) channel before church in the 1980's.  Local groups would also visit our country Baptist church.  There is something about the blending of the blues, bluegrass sound with the intensity of the harmonies all melded together by the message that still stuns me.

Peace!

Flannery O'Connor's Voice!

In my twenties, I was quite taken with Tennessee Williams.  In middle age, I am quite turned off by his decadence.  Naturally, Flannery O'Connor takes his place in my literary life what with her unwavering redemptive and Catholic themes and her Southern caricatures.  I remember being tirelessly (overstatement) dedicated to finding Tennessee in motion or audio.  Being that was the nineties, it took some time to dig up a Bio video.  My problem where Flannery is concerned only took a few minutes with the World Wide Web of trivial folks blogging away (ahem).  Hearing both Tenn and Flann were equally exciting - I'm just sayin'!  Her voice drips with the distortion of the English language only her time and place could produce - rural Georgia in the mid Twentieth Century.  There's a rounding of certain vowel sounds you only hear in our ancient folks.  This is a must hear: http://themorningoil.blogspot.com/2008/09/flannery.html

Enjoy!

Peace!

Uncle Wally

My Uncle Wally passed away Tuesday, Feb 23rd at 4:30 p.m after a heroic battle with colon cancer.  His 3 daughters (Carla, Karen and Kathy) and wife (Genie) were at his side at the farm house in Chipley.  I think my favorite memory is of him giving the farm house a fresh coat of paint wearing khaki shorts, Docksiders, plaid shirt and the ever present fishing hat.

Love ya, Uncle Wally. 

What's for Lunch Mama Gladys? Lima Beans and Cornpone

I'm at my parents for a week or so, awaiting test results.   Coco and I made the treck over yesterday afternoon from Navarre.  Mom is currently hitting my chair with the vacuum cleaner, so I lost my train of thought.  Not hard to do.  Perhaps Mama Gladys is trying to tell me something?

All houses are just about full on the compound today.  Uncle Tom and Aunt Lorraine, the folks who are usually ALWAYS home have been in Birmingham for about 3 weeks.  Aunt Lorraine is battling some complications from a gall bladder that was removed back in the fall.  She is on the mend finally after some hairy episodes.  I love when there are lots of people on the place.  I visited with the Comegys' last night and plan to have a bowl of chili with the McDaniels' tonight.  Delightful!  I would much rather convalesce here, so my cranky self can be spread among many, not just a few.  It's also so beautiful.  I can look at the very full pond (hooray for rain) or look up at a sky full of stars at night.

The pic is of a meal Mama Gladys fixed back in October: lima beans and rice, cornpone, spinach salad, bread and butter pickles, and you guessed it - sweet tea.  Dad's hand can be seen at the right of the photo.  It's pretty much always like that while he is eating.  Just a sentimental tidbit.

Peace!