However you chose to celebrate this day, whether it be out at the lake, at a cookout with family, or enjoying fireworks with friends, I hope it’s a safe and happy holiday. Sometime during the day, please stop and take a moment to remember what this day should mean to all of us.
Red Skelton was always a favorite of mine. Never failed to make me laugh, and sometimes brought me to tears. This was one of those times.
Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 film based on the 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flag. Directed by Jon Avnet and written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, it stars Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker. It tells the story of a relationship between two southern women during the depression, Ruth and Idgie, and a 1980s friendship between Evelyn, a middle-aged housewife, and Ninny, an elderly woman. The centerpiece and parallel story concerns the murder of Ruth’s abusive husband, Frank, and the accusations that follow.
Released December 27, 1991, the film received a generally positive reception from critics and grossed $119 million worldwide. It was nominated for two Oscars at the Best Supporting Actress (Tandy) and Best Adapted Screenplay.
One of my favorites. If I’m channel surfing and I come across it, I have to stop and watch. Jessica Tandy movies never disappoint. It’s a story about loyalty, friendship, and always being there for those you love, something we all need in this world.
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
Prep : 5 m Cook : 15 m Ready In : 20 m
About books, movies, cooking, and advice
Decorating, shopping, and finding the best price
Life, love and raising kids
Along with do-hickeys, what-cha-ma-call-its, and thing-a-ma-jigs
We’re just two Texas girls
Straight from the sticks
The only thing we won’t gab about
Is religion and politics!
DEAD AS A DOORNAIL. NEKKED AS A JAYBIRD. HAPPY AS A LARK.
Is a nail only dead if it’s in a door? Since a jaybird has feathers, how can it be naked, and, is a lark always happy? We’ve grown up hearing and speaking these idioms, but what do they mean?
First, let’s define idioms. According to https://www.thefreedictionary.com/, they are the characteristic vocabulary or usage of a specific human group or subject. So, each country and region have their own idioms. In the US there are more than 25,000. I figure the south will claim a fair amount of those!
In book three of the Sweet Thangs Mystery series, Pretty Bows and Turned Up Toes, Sheriff Dan McAlister describes the body of Jay Roy Hobbs as dead as a doornail, nekked as a jaybird, and looking happy as a lark! Long after writing that, I decided to find out what those old-time sayings meant. You may be surprised by some. I was.
Dead as a doornail
One explanation is that back in the day, doors were built using only wooden boards and hand-forged nails. They needed to be long enough to attach vertical and horizontal wooden panels together so they wouldn’t pull apart. The nail was pounded in and bent-over which made it difficult to pull out. The technique was known as dead nailing—thus dead as a doornail.
Naked as a jaybird
In the 1920s and 30s, upon arrival, new prisoners went straight to the showers and then walked from there to their cell, naked. J-bird was slang for jail-bird. And all this time, I thought we were talking about a bird without feathers!
Happy as a lark
Okay, this one was exactly what I thought. The lark sings a lovely melody which makes it sound mighty happy.
Crazy as a loon
Even though, the bird is known to have a haunting cry which is compared to the howls of the insane. The second theory I found for this idiom makes more sense to me. It’s short for lunatic.
This next one is what got me to wondering about idioms in the first place. As I turned onto a street, there was a bucket in the road. I thought, someone needs to kick that out of the way. What? No. No one should kick the bucket! I couldn’t help but wonder why we say that. Why would kicking a bucket have anything do with dying? Maybe I’m the only one in the world who didn’t know. But, now that I do, it makes sense.
Kick the bucket
A common theory is that it refers to hanging…execution or suicide. You stand on a bucket and the pail is kicked away for the noose to do its job. Another theory is that a goat, after milking, may kick the bucket and spill the goods creating a ‘bad ending.’ The origin of the phrase might also refer to a Catholic custom of using holy-water buckets to sprinkle the blessing upon a deceased.
Well, that’s five I’ve grown up hearing. That leaves 24,995 more to check out! Let’s take a look at those Susan comes up with.
Susan: I grew up hearing all these sayings and more. I thought everyone knew what they meant. But sometimes I come across people who’ve never heard of them and give me a strange look. Most of the ones I’ve shared today are pretty explanatory.
I wouldn’t trust him any further than I could throw him
You couldn’t pick up someone and throw them very far, so you’d put very little trust in what they say. I always imagine someone trying to throw someone much bigger than they are.
So dry I’m spittin’ cotton
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Especially when you’ve been out in the Texas sun during June, July or August. If you have, you know what I mean.
Got to get back to my rat killing
You use this phrase to end a conversation with someone when you’ve got to get back to whatever it is you were doing when you ran into them in the first place. I used this phrase one time in a conversation with a writer friend from up north and he didn’t know what the heck I meant.
I didn’t just fall off the (turnip, tater, watermelon truck)
In other words, I’m not naive. I know you’re trying to fool me, and I’m not falling for it.
This ain’t my first rodeo
Don’t be giving me advice. I’ve been in this situation before. I can handle it.
If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.
Hang out with the wrong crowd and you’ll end up in trouble.
I love idioms. I think they make a conversation so much more colorful. Especially when you can picture them.
Tell us some of your favorites. Leave them in the comments.
Find out more about Ann Everett/Emma Ames: https://www.anneverett.com
Some images purchased from Deposit Photos. Nails taken by: @Tamara_k, singing bird taken by: @lenmdp, kicking the bucket taken by: @blueringmedia
I read a lot of different genres. Lately, it seems I’ve been drawn toward historical romances. When the author does a good job, I feel like I’ve been transported to the era where the story takes place. My Heart Still Surrenders, by Robbi Perna is a lovely example.
Navarre is a mercenary employed by King Francis II of the Two Sicilies with a less than stellar reputation with the ladies. When Carolina, the Contessina DeSimone, is disinherited and disowned by her ruthless father, he comes to her rescue. Their love story was enchanting as was the author’s descriptions of 19th century Italy.
You’ll find yourself drawn into the story and feel as though you are watching it unfold through your own eyes.
About books, movies, cooking, and advice
Decorating, shopping, and finding the best price
Life, love and raising kids
Along with do-hickeys, what-cha-ma-call-its, and thing-a-ma-jigs
We’re just two Texas girls
Straight from the sticks
The only thing we won’t gab about
Is religion and politics!
Drive-in movie theaters have started to make a comeback in recent years, and in light of the coronavirus outbreak, it could be a good thing. They were the brainchild of Richard Hollingshead. The idea caught on, and drive-in theaters popped up all over the country. Their popularity spiked after WWII and became an icon of American culture and a typical weekend destination
Susan: Music to my ears when I was a child. We’d put on our pajamas and grab our pillows because it was going to be a long night. Daddy and Mama always went for the double and triple features. During the summer it got dark so late we’d be there most of the night.
I can smell the popcorn now! A cool summer breeze, the smell of the hot dogs on the grill, the crunch of gravel as cars pulled in. If we were lucky, we might get to go to the playground located in front just under the movie screen.
The advertisement for the snack bar flashing on the screen made my mouth water. (Too expensive, Daddy always said so we brought our snacks with us) The concession stand sat in the middle of the lot, along with the restrooms (which we avoided like the plague because Mama had a thing about germs).
When my husband was a teenager, he’d go to Floyd’s Dairy Bar (5 burgers for $1.00) and buy a six-pack of soda on his way to the show. He also told me the story of parking behind a kid who sneaked in a trunkload of friends (must not have been Bargain night)
My fondest memory is the time my uncles took a carload full of kids to see Cat Ballou. They took us to the snack bar and let us get ANYTHING we wanted. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! It’s a wonder I didn’t make myself sick.
I remember Cool Hand Luke, The House on Haunted Hill, Planet of the Apes, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Shenandoah, and a whole lot of John Wayne movies. I saw a whole lot more, but those stick out in my mind.
Ann: Well, Susan, my parents never took us to the movies…drive-in or otherwise. And, once I was old enough to date, I wasn’t allowed to go to a drive-in.
However, I remember two exceptions to the rule and they stand out in my mind. Not because I was at a forbidden place, but because something memorable happened.
Drive-in visit number one: I went with a friend and her mother. I don’t recall what movie we saw, but I do remember the Lunar Eclipse that night! We spent our time watching it instead of the movie.
My second experience was the first date I had with the boy I would later marry. We’d gotten special permission to go…a one-time-only deal. Again, I don’t remember the movie, but I remember what I was wearing—a purple and white seersucker full skirt and sleeveless top. It was summer and even seersucker didn’t help.
Tom, my date, had a church hand fan in his car. Remember those? To my surprise, you can still order them as promotional products. They’re about the size of a sheet of typing paper mounted on a paint stir stick. Most of the time they had a picture of Jesus on them.
Well, Tom, being a gentleman, gave it to me so I could stir the air…which I did. But my hand got tired after a while so I laid the fan in my lap. When I raised it to fan again, it caught on the hem of my skirt, and pulled it over my head!
Find out more about Ann Everett/Emma Ames: https://www.anneverett.com
Sixteen-year-old Bridey lives in a medieval world off the shore of Manx Island. The sea holds a special place in her heart. Ever since she was a babe in her father’s arms, watching the tide push the waves inland. She slips away from the cottage every chance she gets and makes her way down to the beach, spending hours along the shoreline, gathering treasures and exploring the caves.
One day Bridey finds a stranger on the beach. A young man nearly dead from exposure. She hides him in a cave nearby and nurses him back to health. She doesn’t know who he is, where he came from, or who’s after him, but she falls in love with him anyway. And her life is changed forever.
This novelette is a companion piece about characters who appear in the It’s About Time Series. Included are excerpts from the other books in the series, including a brand new book which will hopefully be in eBook and print before the end of the year.
My thanks to all of my readers who have patiently waited for my books to come out in print. This has been a long learning process for me. I’ve been in collaboration with my wonderful cover artist, Suzannah Safi and Sheryl Lee, the fantastic lady who does my formatting, and together we’ve worked hard to give you new and improved versions of all my books.
Stay tuned. There’s more to come!!!
About books, movies, cooking, and advice
Decorating, shopping, and finding the best price
Life, love and raising kids
Along with do-hickeys, what-cha-ma-call-its, and thing-a-ma-jigs
We’re just two Texas girls
Straight from the sticks
The only thing we won’t gab about
Is religion and politics!
A Blast From The Past
Ann: While doing some spring cleaning, I came across a book I’d bought many years ago, The Verse by the Side of the Road, The Story of the Burma-Shave Signs, by Frank Rowsome, Jr.
Some of you will remember this clever advertising campaign, which lasted from 1925 until 1963. The rhyming jingles for a brushless shave cream were displayed on a series of small wooden signs spaced 100 feet apart along roadways across rural America.
The company, Burma Vita Inc., was operated by Clinton Odell and his son, Allan, who suggested using the roadside idea. For the first three years, Allan and his father wrote the jingles, but when their poetic muse ran out, they sponsored a nationwide contest, awarding $100 for each of the 25 best. Some of the annual contests received more than 50,000 entries!
Some were naughty and never made it past the first round of judging. Boy, wouldn’t you like to read those entries! By today’s standards, I’ll bet they weren’t that bad!
Here’s one of the most the popular:
He had the ring
He had the flat
But she felt his chin
And that was that.
Burma-Shave
Wanna take a stab at writing one? We’re not paying any money, but it might be interesting to see a modern take on the jingle. And we’ll share the one we like the best on our next blog!
Here’s Ann’s offering:
His cheeks were covered
In five o’clock stubble
Canoodling with him
Was too much trouble.
Burma Shave
Here’s Susan’s:
Short, balding, chubby
And missing teeth
But with cheeks like baby.
He couldn’t keep the girls away.
Burma Shave.
Susan: Talking about seeing these signs reminds me of road trips I’ve taken through the years—no fun when I was growing up. Three girls crammed together in the backseat of a mustang with black interior and no a/c. You either sat behind Daddy and got singed by flying ash (he smoked) or in the middle (with him yelling at you to duck your head because he couldn’t see) or behind Mama. He didn’t play the radio. And we drove for hours without a bathroom break. If I didn’t have a book, I read all the road signs. I knew exactly how far we were from the next Stuckey’s, Dairy Queen, or souvenir shop. (Not that we ever stopped) Things changed when I got married. My husband and I used to drive up in the hill country—nothing more relaxing than traveling down those back roads, listening to music, looking at the scenery.
Don’t forget to try your hand at writing a Burma Shave jingle. Leave it in the comments!
Winner of two eBooks from a previous post is Cindy Bright! BIG congrats, Cindy, and thanks for taking the time to read and comment on our blog.
Find out more about Ann Everett/Emma Ames: https://www.anneverett.com
because i never knew you
nor did you me
i come
because you left behind mother,
father and betrothed
and i wife and children
i come
because love is stronger than enmity
and can bridge oceans
i come
because you never return
and i do
i come
DUONG TUONG Washington, D. C., November 21, 1995
The older I get the more I think about our country and the sacrifices some have made on its behalf. Especially on days like today. I came across this poem, wtitten by Duong Tuong, a Vietnamese writer after visiting the wall in l995. I love its touching simplicity. A child of the 60s, I witnessed daily casualty count on the evening news and saw college students protesting while others burned our flag.
The thing I remember the most was the day my high school principal came over the loudspeaker and requested a moment of silence for a former student who’d graduated only months earlier and had enlisted. He was killed shortly after he arrived in Vietnam.
I remember seeing him in the halls at school. A nice guy. Always smiling. Barely 18. Just a kid. Gone in a minute. Someone I knew. Someone my age. That’s when I realized the US was at war. And it was real.
Do you like puzzles? Solving mysteries? So does Xander. He is a lot like Peter Falk’s character in the series Columbo, because sometimes he appears to be clueless, but that’s only a ruse. He listens to what people say, along with the things they don’t.
After a late-night visit to Battington’s marketplace, Princess Mena vanishes without a trace. Merchants are frantic when King Leander calls for a curfew and postpones the Spring Festival until further notice. Certain his former constable is the man for the job: the mayor hires Xander to investigate, hoping he can solve the mystery in a hurry so things can go back to normal.
But Xander’s not so sure that’s possible, because there’s romance involved, and he knows when that happens folks who usually are very sensible seem to lose all reason. In addition to sorting out truths, half-truths, and outright lies, he must deal with gypsies, love potions, and an illegal moonshine operation before he can get to the bottom of things.
This is what Xander has to say: For the past year I’ve been trying my hand at farming. Without much success I might add. Before that I was constable for the township of Battington, a job I dearly loved. That is until Cymon, the mayor, and I had some differences which led to a parting of the ways. That’s how I got into farming…and found out it wasn’t for me.
A few days ago I rode into town for supplies, and along came Cymon with an offer I couldn’t refuse. It’s only temporary, but he wants me to investigate Princess Mena’s disappearance. At double my former wages. With any luck I should be able to locate her, collect my wages along with the reward, and be home before harvest. Easy peasy…
I am pleased to announce Xander’s Tangled Web is available on Amazon in eBook, Kindle Unlimited and in paperback for the first time ever. Please check it out!
Need a change of scenery? An escape from reality? These days, it seems like we’re all looking for a change of pace. If you are, check out In My Own Shadow. Read all about the unexpected adventure Lara takes to another world.
Talk about the worst day ever! Lara lets her friend Carrie talk her into a blind date, only it turns out the handsome stranger waiting for Lara after work isn’t Carrie’s cousin after all. And, when they’re chased through a portal to another world, Lara realizes Rhys really is out of this world.
Lyra, her alternate in another dimension, has left clues to the whereabouts of the Book of Secrets, explaining the mystery of time travel in Lara’s subconscious. Or so Rhys thinks. Power-hungry telepaths will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means breaking Lara’s will. To complicate matters, Lara gets tangled up in her feelings for Rhys while exploring her connection with Lyra.
With Rhys as her guardian, a bear of a man named Azle to guide her, and the spirit of Lyra haunting her dreams, Lara must find the Book of Secrets before it falls into the hands of those who want its power. Only then can she return to her world safely.
I am very pleased to announce In My Own Shadow is available on Amazon in eBook, Kindle Unlimited and in paperback for the first time ever. Check it out!
The mad blatherings of Edmund Wells
Sean Dietrich's column on life in the American South.
READER - WRITER - CURATED RESOURCES - & MORE
professional editing and cover art service
Recipes showing step by step directions with pictures and a printable recipe card.
The one in which I write fiction and essays that are not all fun and games.
Exploring the World of Writing
Author of Historical Fiction with Heart
Bookish news, views and 'Five on Friday'
Award-winning, dream-protecting author
I am not here to convince you of anything, I am just sharing my personal experiences
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author
Author, Editor, and Adventurer
The Adventures Of a Forty-Something Life
The Writer's Life of Frivolity and Philosophy
Susan A. Royal 