It’s Hog Killin’ Time
“November will keep its own meat” is an old saying I’ve heard my folks make many times. However, in this day and age I’m not sure that would hold true. That saying meant the weather was cold enough to preserve the meat, but today we have so many warm days — if I had fresh…
Read MoreAunt Bill Rambles — Hi-Jac Quilt
Hi-Jacs wuz made in Fort Payne, Alabama — at one time called “The Sock Capital of the World.” A Hi-Jac is (wuz) a little sleeve that could be slipped on the bottom of a 6 oz Coca Cola bottle and it kept the hands dry while the drink was enjoyed. Back then when ladies got…
Read MoreScenes from the Windy Knoll
Even though we’re beginning to get a little rain, the yard is beautiful with its covering of different kinds of leaves — the different colors are outstanding. Yes, I know beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but. . . . . Look deep in the background of the Cypress picture — its needles…
Read MoreFeedback and the Soapbox 1999
Lots of perks go with the writing of this article, but feedback is one of the very best. I love stories that readers send me and the one I received last week is just too good not to share and it’s definitely country living. It came from a reader in Rainsville – some 15 miles…
Read MoreWhere are Mama’isms? 2005
Recently I read a book entitled Grits is Groceries . . . and other facts of southern life, written by Darrell Huckaby – a Georgia author/educator. Mr. Huckaby mentioned mama-isms in his book and wondered when they went out of vogue. He thought it was about the same time the Andy Griffith Show started being…
Read MoreRemembering The Quilt Show on the Farm
What a wonderful experience — The Quilt Show on the Farm. For several years John and I hosted this show on behalf of the new Geraldine Public Library. Would you believe I cannot find pictures of this show, but they are here in this vast assortment of “stuff.” We had quilts hanging all through the…
Read MoreYou Don’t Say 2006
Last week a lady called in regard to this article telling me she remembered her grandmother talking about playing a game called “Hull Gull” and she had not thought of the word in years and years. It’s nice to hear that Country Living sparks a memory for the readers. This conversation just reminded me of…
Read MoreThe Story of This Old House
Built in 1895, if this house could talk imagine all the stories it could tell. Births, deaths, storms, and reunions. The sills (underneath) are 12×12″ hand-hewn white oak and the studs are 4×4″ undressed pine lumber. When we were renovating, thirty years ago, a man who had been born here in 1897 came to visit…
Read MoreAunt Bill Bakes Tater Pie
Well, hit jist seems the right time to cook them tater pies that everybody likes. Hit ain’t no trouble to make the pie, but I can’t make a crust like my ma used to do. I know she used plain flour, cause she wouldn’t have self-rising in the house (some pore family down the…
Read MoreThings I’ve Learned Along the Way
About the hatching of eggs: Eggs of a canary hatch in 14 days a hen in 21 days” ducks and geese 28 days Mallard 35 days parrots and ostriches 42 days potato bug 7 days It all was in God’s plan as these numbers are divisible by seven Each watermelon has an even number…
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