It Ain't Happenin', Folks!

  At the urging of several friends, I have been doing a purge of the Little Bayou House.  It had gotten to the point that it was about to explode with stuff!  I promise.  I have been purging.  Slowly.  It is not my nature to chunk stuff in the trash haphazardly.  I do it methodically.  Each and every item is sorted as to "Keep" or "Trash",  It is easy to toss things that I never use.  Those are an instant toss.  It is easy to toss new things. Yep, I am weird like that.  But it is nearly impossible for me to discard some of the weird and wonderful treasures that fill the house.  Ia ain't happenin', folks.  Forget it!  Nope.  No way.  My weird things stay.  They are a part of me and, no matter what others think, these treasures stay put.

  Today, I was laid up a bit.  The knee was giving me fits after being on the 10 ft stepladder for hours and then pushing the lawnmower for several more hours.  Things have to be done and I am not one that likes to ask others for help. I would just rather do the chores and be done with it.  Anyway, all of this lolling around gave me time to, once again, adore one of my treasures!  An album of old family photos has endeared itself to me for several reasons.  First, I adore the album itself!  It is a celluloid cover with an adorable little girl in a flower painted on top.  The thick pages are held tightly with a lovely brass lock on the side.  The workmanship is incredible! Inside is the other reason that I adore the album.  Dozens of antique photographs of family members are being protected from wear and tear by the album.  These family members were from the time when little boys wore dresses (until they were about 4 years old), families were large and little girls posed by huge pieces of furniture!  It makes me happy to flip through the album and admire the dresses of the elegant ladies and to see the debonair gentlemen in their suits.  In short, I just love this weird and wonderful treasure.  So it does not get tossed the wayside.  Later, if my kids wish to destroy it, that is their prerogative but I am not living their lives nor are they living mine.  The album stays.

  Oh, did I forget to mention that, although the album is filled with family photos, they are not my family??  In fact, I have no clue just who these fine folks are, but, then again, they are someone's family and need to be loved.  The album has been around here for so long, these dear folks have become "like" family, so there it is! Tossing it ain't happenin'!

Good Friends, Relatives and Unrelatives!

Today, I did something out of the norm...I ventured forth from the Bayou! My Sweet Daughter-in-law is visiting the Little Bayou House for a long weekend and today, she took me along on a drive to see some friends. Joanna and Mark's friends, Amy and Doug were in Hattiesburg visiting Doug's folks. Doug and Amy have the most precious baby girl in the world! So after loading Joanna's car with an assortment of things from the Bayou gardens, we headed up to their place. As soon as we turned on their drive, I was delighted! This seemed to be the most perfect place! From the moment I stepped onto their porch, I felt welcome. Connie and David (Doug's folks) opened their door and it was like I found where Southern hospitality originated. From the most delicious pound cake and perfect coffee to the conversation and laughter, Southern charm and warmth was clearly evident. Yes, it was a very good visit..a wonderful adventure...and did I mention the most precious baby?

When we arrived back at the Bayou, Sweet Daughter-in-law and I found a quite chilly house! As I set about pulling something together for a quick supper, she built the first fire of the season in the antique parlor stove. It was not long before she had the dining room toasty warm! When she is here, I never have to worry about stoking the fire..she always has it burning brightly! After we ate, she and I sat at the dining table looking over a mountain of old family photos..not our family..but someone's family from long ago. I cannot say just who these folks are but I am quite sure that they probably need a family so somehow I am it! The pictures are of people that are not related to me in any way..I just came in possession of the photo albums years ago and decided that they were just too interesting to discard. So..Joanna and I spent the evening staring at picture after picture of unknown "adopted" family members. These are albums of old photos from the Civil War Era and are some more of the dust collectors I have! I must admit..they were doing their job well as they were properly covered in a thick layer of the stuff! Sweet Joanna just wiped the albums off and very patiently peered at the unidentified soldiers, sad little girls in pinafores and stern old ladies with their hair pulled taut. This was the most interesting assortment of "unrelatives" if ever I saw one!

For me, today proved to be quite amusing! It is a rare adventure indeed when I leave the Bayou much less have such a pleasant time. I look forward to tomorrow and a new adventure!