Tuesday Southern-style Tunes

A few weeks ago I told you about my trip spent listening to some classic country mixed with recent past classics and some of the newer tunes.

You cannot know country music and not know who Tim McGraw is! Nor, can you not know who Hank Williams was. Without the early sacrifices of one, the other may not have a career.

What you may not know, is that Hank Williams--regarded as one of the best Country & Western singers, songwriters, and musicians of all time--died at the young age of 29. Think about that. Twenty-nine. Think about what he accomplished in such a short period of time. But, most people believe, drugs and alcohol were the bottom line in his pre-mature death. Such a sad statement. Wonder what he could have done without them ...

Before we look at any classic Hank, let's look at the song recorded by Tim McGraw in tribute to this great king of Country & Western. Sit back and enjoy: The Ride.

http://music.aol.com/video/the-ride/tim-mcgraw/bc:11711242001

Tuesday Southern-style Tunes

Photo taken from: www.sweetslyrics.com 

I grew up on Southern tunes. Country and Western, Southern Gospel.

I pretty much hated all of it. Still, it has a way of getting into your DNA.

Two of my first three children had a love for Country, as it became to be known. I recall afternoons riding in my son's cherry red '66 Mustang, windows down, wind blowing through the car, Bocephus playing as loud as the radio would allow. It was crazy fun. A few years later, our oldest daughter (Child 2) showed her love for country. Alabama was big back then. 

Both kids tried to make me love it, but I couldn't shake the old stuff. 

Then kid #4 came along. She introduced me to the really new country. Crazier still, I fell in love with it. I sang the lyrics. I danced to it in my bedroom while getting ready in the morning.

Now Child #2 gets in the car, hears country coming from the speakers, listens to me singing along, and laughs.

Yesterday, on a return trip from GA, I found a station in Jax-ville that played the new mixed with the sort of new and, be still my heart, the classic country songs of yesteryear. My first thought was, "Oh dear ..." but then a song came on I remembered well. "Hello, darlin' ..." Conway Twitty crooned. 

I was taken back. A simpler time. A simpler place. A memory of being in K-Mart with my mother (I always got lost in there!) and hearing the song for the first time over the speakers. 

So, take a trip back with me if you will ... this is Conway Twitty (dare ya not to sing along!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og1QRtcWdEY

Monday Musings on All Things Southern

I'm in North Carolina this week. Not sure when this is going to post; nonetheless, I am in North Carolina this week. It's where I hope to retire one day, even if only part time. Whether part time retired or part time residency, I do not know. I just know I love it here.

Yesterday my friend Sharon Decker, who gets to live here, made a funny statement. She said, "I was sittin' in the catbird seat."

I told her I'd never heard that before. Being the inquisitive person that I am, I looked it up. Turns out, she thought the idiom had something to do with a cat and a bird. But, there is actually a catbird. A bird. Called a catbird. Pictured here is the gray catbird.

What it means doesn't change with this new found knowledge. It means "sitting pretty."

Sharon was "sitting pretty."

Okay, I have to admit, hearing that Sharon was sitting in the catbird seat sounds ... prettier. Don't you think?

Wednesday's Recipe of the Week

A reprint from one of my favorite recipes:


From Miss Betty's 1950s Hand-written Recipe Book:

Browned Rice


Ingredients


1 cup uncooked white rice
1 can beef bouillon soup
1 can onion soup
2 or 3 pats butter
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
2 T Worcestershire Sauce

Directions


Combine uncooked rice, beef and onion soups in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover, turn down to low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Brown onions and mushrooms in pan with butter and Worcestershire sauce. Add them to the cooked rice mixture. Pour rice mixture into a greased casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.



"Miss Betty" was my mother. I found this old date book in which she wrote her recipes, in her own hand, after her death in 2010. 


I particularly remember this recipe. Not sure when she added it in, I'm thinking the early 60s.

Thursday's Talk About the Book

I leave for Cedar Key again tomorrow. I want to experience the Christmas Season there ... for one, I want to experience the Christmas Season there and two, I have a scene set there during the season ... so ...

Any excuse will do.

Stay tuned for videos and pix.

And know that I'm working on doing something NEW here. Some giveaways will be involved. Something FUN!

Don't ya love fun? And giveaways?

Eva

[Photo taken in Cedar Key by Eva Marie Everson]