championships and sausage dip

I am a pure-bred Alabama Crimson Tide football fan.

When I mean fan, I mean devoted fan, as in Bama flags and emblem on the car, wearing houndstooth and crimson most every day during the fall (ok, all year) and swearing that Heaven resembles the quad in Tuscaloosa.

I didn't choose to be this way. It was by divine intervention and stamped on my forehead at birth. That's the way it is in Alabama. When a new baby comes in to the world their identification bracelet in the hospital has a Tiger or an Elephant. Look closely next time...

Some of my first words were "Roll Tide" and my Dad always drove a red truck (not by coincidence either). To this day I can tell you which of my school mates "pulled" for Auburn or Alabama. The rivalry was that intense and that much a part of our daily life. It's what defined us other than our gender. Boys on one side, girls on the other, Auburn fans on one side, Bama on the other. It's still that way. It isn't said aloud, but it's there.

When Bear Bryant died I took the day off work. I was in the crowd that attended his funeral. Not sure anyone will ever quite equal The Bear. And not sure during which championship us Alabamians decided he was a Saint, but it happened.

We don't take our football lightly in the south, but that topic has been overdone in the past. I think the world knows by now that we have no common sense when it comes to our home team dedication. Whether it is high school or college (not so much NFL-if you get paid to play ball it's just a j-o-b), there is little in our culture that gets that much attention and dedication as football with the exception of Mamas and vegetable gardens.

Last night was the BCS Championship and our team won it's 15th title. We watched the game at home in the living room with the same anticipation that we would have if we were on the 50 yard line. I didn't have to throw the remote in to the fireplace this time (yes, it happened during a loss to LSU last year). It's a sign that 2013 will be a good year. Roll Tide and pass the dip.

Hot Sausage Dip: a tailgating must have

1 package (16 oz.) Jimmy Dean Regular Flavor Pork Sausage

1 large onion chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded, chopped

2 pkgs. (8 ounces each) cream cheese, cubed

1 large tomato, seeded, chopped

½ cup hot yellow banana peppers, drained, seeded, chopped

⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Tortilla chips

1. Cook sausage, onion, red pepper and jalapeno peppers in large skillet over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until sausage is thoroughly cooked and vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Drain sausage mixture; return to skillet.

2. Reduce heat to medium; stir in cream cheese. Cook and stir 5-8 minutes or until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Stir in tomato, banana peppers and cilantro; cook and stir 3-5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

3. Serve with chips. Yum!

we found a winner

Not that we ever make biscuits, but we have obtained the BEST biscuit recipe. It's so nice having a husband that loves to cook.

Oh, and we have apple butter in the crockpot. Calorie overload! tomorrow we will be good...

we have honey!

Our first harvest. Bees are doing well and we have six more supers to extract. Tomorrow morning is biscuit time at Boat House Honey Farm!

my country and I share a birthday!

sometimes I feel like we are the same age..

my sweet daughter is always thoughtful ( note the bee on the bag ).

more beauty..in our wee ones

children make us feel things- good parts of our inner child that we bury with our daily routines.

what a sweet world it is

we just have to look. I mean really look...we recently did, on our mountain trip. Our maker is quite artistic with his planet.

Beehive growth

So happy to report that our bees are multiplying to the point that we had to get more supers to start another hive. Michael is building another bee box and this will make three!

Hive 1 is not flourishing as well as we would like. While we see larvae, we have yet located the actual queen. Hive 2 is full of honey, so extraction is soon.

Alex (age 10) got a full class on beekeeping while visiting Poppa and Mimi over the weekend. Alex is so much like her Poppa. She loves gardening, cooking, making things and now loves the bees. I think it is so wonderful that he has passed along those amazingly wonderful traits about him to his precious granddaughter.

Happy Birthday to my Dad

A special man turned 73 yesterday. Our walks around the lake when I was growing up saved my sanity. Thanks, Dad.

There was an article in the local newspaper not long ago about sentimental kitchen items. Everyone one of us has something in our kitchen that is close to our hearts. Our first mixing bowl, an old whisk that came from a distant aunt, a cookie recipe that has been passed down. The kitchen is not only the heart of our homes, but the heart of our being. When you throw a gathering, most people end up congregating in the kitchen at some point.

When the paper posed the question "what kitchen item do you own that is near and dear to your heart?" I had to share mine. I have a black iron skillet that has been passed down from my Grandmother. She bought it back in the late 30's from a housewares salesman. (Saying that conjures up visions of a door to door salesman - not so) There was a wooden horse drawn wagon that visited all the farms in our rural southern county. My grandmother was an eighteen year old newlywed when she decided she needed that 10" cast iron frying pan.

Through the years it has been a part of meal preparation a family of nine and then later seventeen grandchildren, of which I am the oldest. Maybe that is why I was lucky enough to inherit this very special item. When I married my husband, he also brought with an iron skillet. It was about half the weight of mine, without the rough, black, bumpy exterior. The iron made today is obviously greatly inferior to earlier cookware.

My iron skillet means so much to me, not because it makes the best cornbread, but because it symbolizes the woman it belonged to. My Grandmother was strong, to the point of withstanding more then anyone should in a lifetime. She had a purpose, to lead and guide so many, which she did. She was seasoned. Because of her wisdom and experience, she was able to sprinkle words of wisdom when needed (some of those words were spicy and had quite a kick, but it's what we needed to hear).

Whenever I use this wonderful pan, I get a warm feeling inside, one that convinces me that I can be that strong, that I can pass down advice and lessons through the generations that will have a lasting effect on those that I love.

So there was I was, picture and all, proudly holding my Nanny's iron skillet. I don't cook as much as I once did, and all our kids and family are strown all over the world. There is a part of me that wonders if I start using that old skillet once again, would that somehow summon the family to gather as it once did?

Chances are it will be passed down from me to my daughter. I hope at that time she knows that not just cornbread comes from that pan, but that strength and encouragement does as well and that seems to come from the most unexpected places.

Pensacola Garden Show

We were fortunate enough to get to see some of Pensacola's loveliest gardens over the weekend. It was a full weekend with gardens, art, wonderful shrimp dishes and sweet Mother's Day cards.

Yesterday I played hooky. Ok, work knew where I was, the family knew where I was..but..the world wasn't notified. I slipped away and left the grown up me behind.

Halfway through the afternoon I took my book, a bottle of water and found a hammock near the beach. Being a Thursday afternoon, this wasn't hard to find. The crowds were light (to none) and the weather was beach perfect.

Between naps in the hammock, I read, drank some frozen concoctions and contemplated life. It is short. Don't miss a minute. Color with every crayon in the box. I would love to say that I can wait until I retire to enjoy the moment, but I can't. My mind won't allow it.

Our choice isn't always up to us. I must work to make ends meet, which means 1/3 of my life is spent behind a desk in an office building.

I must follow lifes rules (physical exams, pay taxes, keep up with bills, be a part of the daily world and all that involves). But yesterday, I stuck my toes in the sand during a weekday and played in the sprinkler instead of filing paperwork.

Take a walk, look at an earthworm, feel the sun. Listen close to what your soul is telling you and follow that lead...make today count and find a hammock as soon as you can.