Sunday, December 20, 2015

Memories, Like Dust Bunnies in My Mind...


     So… you’ll have to excuse me if I ramble along, more than likely making little or no sense. Don’t go closing the door too quickly, it’ll take a few minutes for my ass to catch up to the rest of my body. Yeah, my ass is dragging… I’m pooped!

     Some of you may know that I’ve been helping my friend, the Aussie tart, TAT for short, with her new house. It’s been fun, tiring and keeping us very busy. I need to find some sort of balance here. I tend to go full steam ahead without thinking sometimes. Yeah, I know you find that hard to believe. You may stop laughing now.
     The good thing is that I’ve been able to go play in the dirt, which is one of the bestest things evah! While it is a lot of work, I do enjoy it. Of course by the end of the day I tend to look like Pig-Pen from Peanuts. Do I care? Pfft… that’s part of the fun of it. Reminds me of making mud pies as a kid.

     Speaking of being a kid…
     I’ve been thinking a lot about my grandmother lately. Not exactly sure why, but there it is. I guess as I get older, I tend to reflect more towards the end of the year. Five years ago, I’d never have guessed that people would call me a writer, an author or call me at all for that matter. Five years ago I’d go to work, come home and… well that’s about it. Exciting right?
     Someone asked me recently about my cooking career. This is where I do a quick flashback in my head of me sitting on the kitchen counter ‘helping’ my grandmother make pancakes. I was about four years old at the time. She would try and keep me occupied and as quiet as she could by entertaining me, which was cooking. My mother usually got to sleep in a bit on the weekends with the help of my Mamaw.
     My grandmother would get out cookie cutters and pour pancake batter into them making cute little shapes, letting me ‘help’. I’d pick out which one to do next, maybe she’d let me flip them over and then put the butter on them when they got to the plate. I will always remember those early Saturday mornings.
     As I grew older, I got to help more. We used to sit on the front porch and string beans. During the summer months we’d sit out there for hours stringing beans to put up. She’s tell me stories about her childhood, her brothers and sisters, the farm and all kinds of things. Those were some of the best memories of my childhood.
     She instilled in me the love of food, whether she knew it or not. I’d like to think that she did. My grandmother used to have a saying… “Food feeds the body, but food made with love feeds the soul.” I think she was right on that one. I also think that was part of the reason why I was successful professionally. In the back of my mind, I always remembered that saying and tried to give my all when in the kitchen.
     What else…
     Well, on the writing front I’m moving a bit slower than I was. Part of it is I have been busy, but I think most of it is because I’m coming up on a scene that I know is going to be hard to write. It’s going to be emotional and I want to make sure that I’ve got it all in my head before I do it. Sometimes I just have to be in the right frame of mind to put those words to paper, if that makes any sense at all. Yeah… I’m going to see if I can push through that today. TAT has seen fit to give me a day off, the slave driver that she is, so I better take advantage of it.
     What else…
     Oh, someone wanted to know what I was going to cook for Christmas dinner. Well TAT wants ham. Of course I have no problem with that. I’ve always had ham during the holidays… grew up with it. However, she’s never had a Southern glazed ham. She keeps saying that there’s nothing special about it. Boy is she in for a surprise. Anyway, the menu… so far.
    Slow cooked, glazed country ham.
     Collard greens (because I really like ‘em).
     Sweet potatoes.
     Green beans.
     And cranberry relish. (Love that stuff)
     Pecan Pie.
       I might get a wild hair and make Wassell, also spelled Wassail.
     We’ll see. If you see pictures posted of me drunk on my ass, you’ll know I made it.

     What else… I’ve noticed that there has been a call out for more toys needed, at least around here, for Toys for Tots. I hope everyone has remembered those who are less fortunate this Holiday Season. It’s never too late to rack up on some good Karma Coins, so if you’ve not given of yourself, either monetarily or of your time, there’s still time. Go forth and achieve.
     Have a grrreat week, y’all.
     Max



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