May 17, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 4 Comments

Sea and sky

I got back from our family trip to Florida last Monday and entered the seventh ring of Hell at work. There was so much chaos and discord between clients, menus, event orders, contracts, payments…blah, blah, blah, fishcakes – I really wanted to turn around and flee the building.

Since I thought I’d left everything pretty organized before departure, it was a bit of a shock that things went south so quickly. I got it straightened out, but in the process, it sucked away a lot of the vacation happies I came home with.

So I wanted to share some pictures, if only to take my own brain back there for a little rest. Here’s a little light, ocean and sand, compliments of Panhandle Florida.

Want. To. Go. Back. Now.

May 12, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 8 Comments

It’s a Cold, Cold War

We are fostering a young dog this weekend at the loft, while they get the paperwork straightened out about her adoption.

She’s one of the sweetest little pups I’ve ever met. She is quiet, gentle and great in the crate. Only about a year old.

And…she thinks cats are very exciting!

The cats are pissed.

To their credit, it is their house. They never asked for a dog.

They are reallllly angry.

It’s a simmering rage, a festering emotion that will make itself known by icy, squishy hairballs in my shoes and wee in my over night bag. It will be brutal in its speed and thoroughness.

Puppy, to her credit, just wants to play.

However, the kitties want nothing to do with “no stinkin’ dog.”

Awwwwww.

May 10, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 4 Comments

Sad News

What heartbreaking news. Sending love and light to Rara and the kitties.

The Matticus Kingdom

I have terrible news to share with the blogosphere today.

Horrible, no good, awful news.

Many of you knew him as Grayson Queen, author and artist extraordinaire. Perhaps you’ve read one of his novels. Perhaps you’ve purchased, or at least enjoyed, some of his paintings or sculptures… Perhaps you knew that he was also Rara‘s husband, Dave.

I don’t have a lot of details, but I can confirm that Dave passed away earlier this week.

Please share this post wide and far. Please say a prayer for Dave and Rara. Please send her every ounce of spare energy you can muster. She needs us. Dave’s family and friends need us.

And send her mail to show her your love, your RawrLove:

Radhika Jaini WF0124
CIW LA 249 UP
16756 Chino-Corona Road
Corona, CA 92880

You don’t need to know what to say. You don’t need to say anything…

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April 28, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 5 Comments

A Hellacious Belle’s Guide to the New South: The Valuable Vidalia

It’s the state vegetable of Georgia.

“Vidalia onions aren’t just the most famous onions in the world; I think they may be the only famous onions in the world.”
Chef Bobby Flay

They are so mild, I’ve seen people eat them like apples.

They come from Vidalia, Georgia, and the sweetness is said to be a by-product of the low sulfur in the soil.

Slice them thick, bread them and fry them and they make the most delicious onion rings ever.

Vidalia Girl,
won’t you tell me why
Sweet Vidalia
You always gotta make me cry
Sammy Kershaw – Vidalia Lyrics | MetroLyrics

April 28, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 1 Comment

A Hellacious Belle’s Guide to the New South: Under My Umbrella

The South may have four seasons but they are probably not the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter what you are used to.

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Much of our weather revolves around Rain.

End of August, September and October – Rain. Muggy and Warm.

November, December, January and February – Rain. Cold and Chilly.

Of course to break it up, there’s the dreaded wilting, steamy, soul-sucking heat of June, July and August. With occasional Rain. After all, it’s hurricane season.

Ah, but there’s also the super-elusive, but mind-blowingly fabulous Spring that’s almost gone before you blink, but worth it all for sheer beauty. It happens for about five days, sometime in March, April or May (depending on latitude) and for that brief time the world explodes in brilliant floral life.

And then it Rains. And washes away the blooms.

But in that one swift, glorious moment, it Rains color.

Lazy days in mid July
Country Sunday mornin’
Dusty haze on summer highways
Sweet magnolia callin’
But now and then I find myself
Thinkin’ of the days
When we were walkin’ in the Alabama Rain
Jim Croce – Alabama Rain Lyrics | MetroLyrics

April 27, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 5 Comments

A Hellacious Belle’s Guide to the New South: Total Immersion

I am in deep. Way deep.

Deep in the heart of Dixie.

I am on vacation with my family, far south of Montgomery in Monroeville, “The Literary Capital of Alabama;” for the town’s production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

The play is currently in its 26th season in Monroeville, which was the template for the fictional Maycomb in Harper Lee’s book.

We are staying in the Best Western, Monroeville. It is the town’s luxury accommodation, yet we are still in a bit of a “technology-free zone” – I have painfully sporadic internet at the hotel and there seems to be no Sprint signal within miles, so you may not get this post until I’m able to finesse something with Dixie cups and string.

The entire citizenry of Monroeville has apparently jumped in to create the event, which includes a mint-julep VIP reception, the play itself, which is acted by “The Mockingbird Players,” and divided into two Acts: with the first half set outside the courthouse in a specially built amphitheater and stage, and the final scenes set in the actual city courthouse.

My folks, foster-sister Wendy and my husband, David.

Set in Alabama during the Great Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of a young white girl, Scout and her brother Jem, whose father, attorney Atticus Finch, has been appointed to defend a black man framed for a crime he claims he did not commit.

Courthouse set for Part One of “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

The play, like the book I read so many years ago, was touching and poignant, with its message of justice, courage and family.

Enjoying freshly made mint juleps just before the play began.

The event was fabulously produced from start to finish.

Clocktower of the old courthouse

The cast, crew and Courthouse personnel were kind and welcoming. The food, featuring crispy fried oysters, roast beef, pork tenderloin sandwiches, shrimp, chicken and cheesecake was abundant and delicious. The grounds were beautifully maintained and a riot of brightly colored flowers.

Post play catered dinner and cast party on the courthouse grounds

The post-event cast party featured live music and a chance to mingle with members of the Mockingbird Players, who are all volunteers from Monroeville and the surrounding counties and are comprised of teachers, business owners, contractors ministers, attorneys, retirees, students, judges, stay-at-home moms and morticians.

Wendy and I with “Atticus Finch,” Jeff Brock, by day the District Judge for nearby Conecuh County.

It was such an incredible experience, made even more special by the presence of my family and the opportunity so spend time with them in a world so far removed from where I live: at the heart of a small town, deep in South of my childhood and memories.

“Growing up Southern is a privilege, really. It’s more than where you’re born, it’s an idea and state of mind that seems imparted at birth. Its more than loving fried chicken, sweet tea, football, beer, bourbon and country music. It’s being hospitable, devoted to front porches, magnolias, moon pies and coca-cola, and each other. We don’t become Southern, we’re born that way.” -Anonymous

April 24, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 3 Comments

A Hellacious Belle’s Guide to the New South: Sweet Tea

It’s been called the “wine of the South.”

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“Alabama Ale.”

It’s mandatory for all meals and a big cold glass will perk you right up on a hot afternoon.

Teeth-numbing sweet, strong and icy.

From food.com, “Absolutely the Best Southern Sweet Tea”

Servings 6 Yield 1 gallon Units US

6 lipton tea bags (regular size)
1 gallon water, very hot from tap (or you can boil it first)
1 ¹⁄₃ cups granulated sugar

Directions

Hold tea bags lined up evenly by the strings and make a loop knot to hold them together. Pull off paper and staple (from paper side). Set aside.
In a one gallon pitcher, add very hot water. Stir in the sugar till dissolved.
Add tea bags and dunk into water a few times, then leave them in the pitcher. Cover with lid of pitcher and refrigerate.
Wait until it is very cold (at least 3-4 hours). The flavor changes until it reaches the ‘cold’ state.
Drink and enjoy

Cheers, y’all!

You’ll be my sugar baby
I’ll be your sweet iced tea
You’ll be my honeysuckle
I’ll be your honey bee
-Blake Shelton “Honey Bee”

April 23, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 5 Comments

A Hellacious Belle’s Guide to the New South: The Redneck Riviera

It’s the land of Jimmy Buffett, boat drinks and billionaires.

Tourists and trailer parks. Sailboats and sand dunes.

College kids tearing it up on Spring Break, families romping in the surf, seniors searching for sunny skies.

It’s the paradise in our own backyard.

Family gathering in Florida

Ranging from coastal Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, the beaches of the Deep South, or the “Redneck Riviera,” as even we (affectionately) refer to it, offer miles of sugar-spun sands and clear turquoise waters on beaches both jam-packed and serenely isolated.

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Gulf Shores up through Apalachi-cola
They got beaches of the whitest sand
Nobody cares if gramma’s got a tattoo
Or Bubba’s got a hot wing in his hand

Redneck Riviera is where I wanna be
Down here on the Redneck Riviera by the sea
Tom T. Hall – Redneck Riviera

Every Southerner has “their” spot they visit, year after year.

Some seek the neon-bright nightlife of Daytona or Panama City Beach.

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Some yearn for the European sophistication of Rosemary, Seaside or Alys, some choose the picturesque lifestyle found in waterside communities like Dauphin Island, Pensacola or Pass Christian.

Fishing, swimming, surfing, sailing, wining and dining, shopping or simply savoring the sultry breezes.

Whatever sand spot suits the fancy, it’s our ultimate resort.

“Life’s a Beach.”

– Unknown

April 20, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 5 Comments

A Hellacious Belle’s Guide to the New South: It’s All in the Quilting

Quilts are such a huge memory from my childhood. They were bright and cheerful, warm and comforting and always smelled like sunshine from being line-dried in the back yard.

“Postage Stamp” pattern quilt made my my Grandmother, Norma Ferguson Pass and my Great-Grandmother, Pearl James McCormick.

My grandmother’s house was small but always overflowed with family and guests during the holidays. Us young’uns (grandkids) always slept on and under a pile of quilt “pallets” on the floor, leaving the real beds to the grown ups.

I have two quilts left as a legacy from my beloved Granny. One was carefully preserved (read: kept packed away and not given to me until I was 40 and somewhat responsible) and the other I have had since I was 6 or 7 and allowed to “love” all to pieces.

This is my ragged and abused favorite quilt from childhood. I adored it because it had bright flowers and pink fringe on one side and tiny cars on the other.

I couldn’t find any pictures of the really beautiful quilts I know that my family owned, but in a moment of inspiration, I emailed my Aunt Shirley Roland Ferguson (who is actually our “famous” family author and ad hoc keeper of lore, legend and passed down goodies.)

My darling Auntie was quick to respond with some lovely photos, but dashed my hazy memories of Granny whipping up artistic quilts in her spare time.

“I don’t think Granny ever did much quilting. Her energies were in cleaning and keeping a pretty home, cooking her fabulous meals and working in the yard.”

A quilt made by Nell Roland

Aunt Shirley went on to reminisce about her own Mom, Nell Roland.

“My mom was allergic to manual labor I think. Her food was just adequate and she never had leftovers. But she loved being creative with her hands. She and my Granny crocheted doilies and tablecloths in the evenings while they listed to programs on the radio during WWII. My dad worked long hours at a defense job at the Birmingham airport repairing radios in bombers. And mother made all our clothes, stopping through town for material after working all day as a nurse. She rode three buses to get home.

One of Aunt Shirley’s family quilts

As children we played under her quilting frames while she and the church ladies quilted. She tried to teach me but I was impatient. And when she asked my aunt if she would like to learn, Aunt Ina said,”‘Nell, I’d rather try to pick out hickory nuts with a toothpick!'”

Another of Granny Roland’s quilts

Reading Aunt Shirley’s words, I drifted back a moment in time, to my earliest memories of my Granny’s quilts, a long-ago Christmas eve. I was maybe 4-years old or so, tucked into a pallet next to my parent’s bed, snuggled like a bug in a mountain of rugs, fighting sleep, straining so hard to hear above the talk and laughter of the adults in the next room, the sound of reindeer hooves on the roof that my older cousins swore meant Santa was on his way.

And just like the brightly hued quilts I once cuddled around my younger body, I happily gather my Aunt’s words around me now while I write, for a moment enveloped, once again, in my Granny’s love.

“Blankets wrap you in warmth, quilts wrap you in love.”
– unknown

April 19, 2015 by kimicalreaction - 6 Comments

A Hellacious Belle’s Guide to the New South: Pretty is as Pretty Does

Things Southern Mamas say to their little girls:

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“I’m gonna jerk a knot on you.”
“Just wait ’til I tell your Daddy what you’ve done.”
“Get that hair out of your eyes.”
“Wipe that look off of your face.”
“Missy, we don’t talk that way.”
“Don’t make me come over there.”
“Get ‘cher tail over here right this minute.”
“You are getting mighty big for your britches.”
“You are walkin’ a fine line, young lady.”
“Stand up straight.”
“Pretty is as pretty does.”
“Hush your mouth.”
“You think you’re real cute, don’t you?”
“I brought you in to this world, and I can take you out of it.”
“Sister, you sass me again and I’ll knock you into next week.”
“If you keep making that face, it’s gonna freeze that way.”
“Don’t you act ugly now.”
“Clean that plate. There are children starving in Africa.”
“Go out in that yard right now and pick me a switch.”
“If you eat your bread crusts, it will make your hair curly.”
“You’d be so pretty if you just smiled.”