An Evening You Will {not} Forget for the Rest of Your Life

 

Once upon a time, as in yesterday, the twenty-first of April 2022, the MRGA {Make Reading Great Again} book club girls minus one plus an honorary member,  attended Sean Dietrich's live one-man show at held at the historic venue of the Monroe County Museum Courthouse. But Mr. Sean did not keep his promise posted on Instagram that he would provide us with "an evening you will forget for the rest of your life!"

But let me back up a bit and give you the backstory preluding this event. Katie chose Will the Circle Be Unbroken which is the memoir of Sean's life for our February book. And we all absolutely loved it! I personally was not even able to read it in public as it made me either sob or guffaw intermittently! Very fittingly, we met at Jack's to discuss it over fried chicken! Anyway, a week or so after that, I was in our local Atmore library chatting with the librarians, mentioning how much we had loved this book, and asked if they would ever get him to come to Atmore for a book signing! "Well, you know he's gonna be in Monroeville in April, right?" "NO! I did not! All the deets PLEASE!" We found out we had to go in person to get these precious paper tickets; only two tickets per person. Three of us were able to get right on up to the Monroe County Library, whereas I, due to busyness, was not able to get up there for another two days. I was nervously praying that the Good Lowered {Lord} would see fit to bless me with two more tickets! And He did! I was able to get #s 160 and 161 of 175! 

Fast forward to the beautiful spring evening of last night. We wanted to be early as to be able to nab a good parking spot and enjoy a leisurely supper at the local hole in the wall haunt, The Courthouse Cafe. Can't beat a diner-style bacon cheeseburger with sweet tater "Finch" fries! Also, I think they could win an award for Best Fried Dill Pickles in Alabama! But not for Most Air-Conditioned Indoor Dining. The courthouse doors were set to open at 6:30pm, so we enjoyed watching the political rally that was taking place on the lawn while waiting in line basking in the balmy southern April evening. At last the old doors were jubilantly sprung aside and we were able to enter to meet Mrs. Sean, Jamie who is the CEO, and buy books if we wished. She was just as lovely and personable as I had imagined her to be! At her recommendation, I selected Whistling Dixie to add to my collection. 

Then we entered the courtroom and settled ourselves on the second bench back, nearly taking the entire row. The energy and excitement of the crowd was palpable! Chatting with the elderly ladies in front of us, it truly felt like a big family gathering! And more than a bit surreal that we would actually be seeing and hearing Sean of the South in the flesh in a few moments! As this event was in celebration of the 95th Anniversary of the Monroe County Library, that was duly recognized and Sean was introduced before he popped out on stage from one of the back doors.

I find it hard to describe with ordinary words what the next hour and a half held! Sean sang. Liltingly, beautifully, in his rich southern accent accompanied by the old guitar he writes about. Moving smoothly from one song to the next, he even threw in a fitting bout of yodeling! He sang old hymns, slow hymns, funny songs, and Vacation Bible School songs. And "You Are My Sunshine," which Jamie told us is the title of his next book set to be released in the fall. And we sang with him, and clapped, and laughed until we cried at the stories he told with gestures and facial expressions as much as with his voice. And we watched his eyebrows which told stories all on their own.

And then it was over. But not quite! Because then we got to speak with him; and he hugged our necks and signed our books, and seemed humbly pleased that we knew who he was and had chosen his book for our book club! And he and I shared a ginger moment when he told me he liked my hair and I replied that I liked his! 

Thus it ended, this night we will not forget for the rest of our lives.

And the Winner Is….

Woohoo!!! 

I’ll be placing the order today! And to the rest of y’all who didn’t win, thanks for entering and I highly recommend treating yourself to a WOTY reminder as well! 

WOTY Giveaway!

Welcome, March! 

It’s hard to believe we are 2 out of 12 down in 2022 already! To celebrate, I want to host a giveaway! I’ve been pondering on this for 2 months now, so it’s high time! I’ve finally settled on what I want for my WOTY (word of the year) reminder! And I want one of you to have one too! Check out this adorable wooden and leather little beauty! 

If you want a chance to win one with your own WOTY inscribed, please comment below with what your WOTY is, and if you think it’s been beneficial to you so far! 

I’ve almost regretted choosing UNEXPECTED. It feels like 2022 has rained unexpected things down on me, and I still can’t seem to open my umbrella of flexibility! So I just stand there grimly getting pelted! I wonder if it isn’t like when you pray for patience and God sends trials so you can practice it! 

But today’s a new day, and a new chance to embrace the chaos! And it’s a chance to WIN! Drop your comment below! 

Giveaway open until tomorrow at 8 o’clock in the evening, Central Standard Time. 

🎵Joy to the Wordle, the Fun Has Come! 🎶

If you aren’t already on the Wordle Wagon, I highly recommend jumping aboard! Created by 

Josh Wardle this fun yet simple word game seems to be uniting the world through words with the shared experience of trying to compete with ourselves and each other to guess the Word of the Day in the fewest tries! It’s so much more refreshing than controversial things like politics and vaccines and strains of Covid-19! Since everyone gets the same puzzle, the camaraderie and scarcity of only one puzzle per 24 hours adds to the allure! Click here to play and brighten your day! 

Happy Wordling! 

🟩🟨⬜️⬜️🟩

A quote from Josh Wardle ⬆️

🥐 

Truly! I can so relate! 🙈 🧠 

Ta-Da instead of To-Do in 2022!

 Every January since 2018 I have been scheming and dreaming up a list of things to accomplish during the coming year. This idea is instigated by my favorite author, Gretchen Rubin. And even though I’ve never accomplished everything on my list, it has been mostly fun to have such a list hanging out in my phone notes and over my head. I think it has inspired some action that otherwise wouldn’t have transpired. 

That being said, I just wasn’t feeling it for this year! An “unexpected” year didn’t scream for a tidy to-do list at all! Rather it wants to passionately “TA-DA!” instead of feeling obligated to “TO-DO.” So, every month as I go along, I’ll be on the lookout for two things that I’ve been inspired to complete that are worthy of being that month’s ta-das! It can’t be a boring normal daily thing like “unload the dishwasher” that will get mundanely done again either. So far for January 2022, I have added 

• Complete Art Wall in the Hall.

One day several weeks ago, Danielle and I were inspired to paint the 5 thrifted frames I’ve had for years for this particular project. Then last week, I added the strings and tiny clothespins, hung them in a collage on the hall wall, and Ta-Da! Now we have a designated space for 5 of my little artist’s most current creations. This item has hung out undone on every yearly list since 2019 I do believe. 

So we shall see what gets added yet for January and how the rest of the months go down! 2 items per month through November will equal 22 Ta-Das for 2022. December doesn’t need anything extra I’ve learned.

Are y’all gonna ta-da with me?? My Dad has been ta-daing as long as I can remember! I learned early on from him how fun it is to add things you’ve already done to your list, purely for the fun of crossing them out! 

How to Love Cold Weather

I love cold weather. 

The frosty chill, the cloudy puffs of breath, the hygge happiness it brings! Yeah, yeah, I know! I live Florida and it’s nothing like “real” winter, even though I wish it was! Maybe someday I’ll get my bucket list wish to spend the winter somewhere snowy and get my fill! I’m told I wouldn’t love it then, but I’d like to find out for myself. But I will say, when it does finally get cold in Florida, it’s usually a “chill you to your soul” kinda cold because it’s layered with a heavy dose of humidity. 

I didn’t alway love cold weather. 

But somewhere along the way, I discovered that it’s much easier to get warm than to cool off. And with only a few simple additions, learning to love cold weather is the easiest thing ever! 

1. WEAR A QUALITY COAT. 

Don’t expect not to shiver if you go out with a flimsy sweater and flip-flops! Getting a North Face jacket with a goose down layer was a life changer for me. 

2. LAYER WITH LEGGINGS. 

If it’s below 60 degrees, cover those drumsticks! And that neck! A soft scarf can’t be beat! 

3. START YOUR VEHICLE AHEAD OF LEAVING. 

There’s just no reason not to have your seat toasty, your steering wheel melty, and warm air blasting away when you hop in for final departure. 

4. LIGHT A FIRE - REAL OR FAKE. 

Flickering flames just bring the cozy factor way up in winter! Our living room, master bedroom, and master bath are all currently benefiting from fireplace heaters with artificial flames. Which brings me to #5!

5. HAVE A SPACE HEATER IN EVERY BATHROOM. 

Ain’t nobody got time for icicles in the bathroom. 

6. BRING ON THE HEATED BLANKETS. 

Last winter, we had only one, so to resolve fights I ordered another one from Target this past Black Friday. They are so lovely for a couch snuggle and to tuck under the bedcovers so the sheets are warm and toasty when you crawl in! Heated mattress pads are nice too, but I’m loving the simplicity of just using my electric blanket. 

7. LIGHT CANDLES AT SUNDOWN. 

Seeing a candle burning gives your brain the perception of warmth even though they don’t add a quantitative amount of heat to the room. I’m into tapers this winter, at a rate of 1/2 a taper per evening x 2. 

8. DRINK HOT DRINKS. 

If I’m home, I brew a cuppa around 3:30 every afternoon. My current favorite is the Canadian “Harney & Sons” Hot Cinnamon Spice tea that Alisha gifted me for Christmas. 

So there you have it! 

Now, go forth and enjoy the rest of your winter! And remember, you can’t appreciate being warm if it’s not cold first! 

Officially 2022 & Menus

Yesterday felt like the official beginning of the new year for me! It was Monday, Danielle went back to school, and that clean slate feeling finally arrived! When you think about it, the actual day of January 1 is a horrible day for new beginnings! Talk about getting off on the wrong foot! You’ve just eaten piles of greasy fried carbs, gotten loads of stuff (precious presents, but still!), and stayed up til midnight to welcome the new year in! Just a scenario of disaster and grouchiness instead of a recipe for being a new healthy, happy person! So I’m all about picking your own New Year’s Day! I’m not really into making rip-roaring resolutions this year, but I do want to ease back into some good habits that had sort of fallen by the wayside. Like planning weekly menus for one! And having groceries on hand to prepare said menus! But since this is the Year of the Unexpected, I’m only gonna plan 5 menus per week instead of 7. That way we can see what we are in the mood to cook over the weekend! I like to run to town on Saturday anyway to take advantage of the $5 off of $25 coupon that both Dollar General and Family Dollar offer on Saturdays!

MENUS

Make Whatever You Want Monday • Venison Chili, Cheese & Crackers, Apple Muffins

Taco Tuesday • Navajo Tacos with the leftover chili, White Cheese Dip

Pie Wednesday • Chicken ‘n Dumplins (not pie but Danl likes this better than chicken pot pie)

Throw it on the Grill Thursday • Pot Roast with Taters and Carrots, Bread Machine Bread (not grilling weather this week!)

Fish Friday • Fried Ham, Potato Salad, Green Beans

(I know ham isn’t fish lol but I’m Shelf/Fridge/Freezer cooking this week! And we didn’t have any seafood on hand!)

So there you have it! Danl made the chili last night and his is always much superior to mine! We had some friends over and had such a good relaxing evening. This winter weather is just the best for hygge evenings at home.