memories of mama

as i decorate my house and yard for Christmas i remember my mom , she always started with the christmas tapes... yes tape's way back when right before Halloween and the planning for this holiday stared the day after christmas the year before .. yea SALES !! so we had a whole year to plan and plan she did , my mom passed dec 2 2007 and as i channel her wisdom to make the perfect holiday for my family i remember all the things she did so many decorations that the house looked like the north pole blew up ... and no place to put anything new .. but she always did even the bathrooms had trees ,special rugs, towels you know statdard stuff but always alil extra as i get all my stuff gathered up cause well lets face it... i'm not the most organized person in the world ! well not at all half the fun is hunting and finding stuff you thought u had lost ! lol i think this year mom would be proud i love blue ,silver,and white well she liked all the reds and greens and well im putting her stuff and my stuff together and yep the north pole blew up in here !! lol
so mom if your looking down and saying what is she doing... i taught her better than that, it's a hodgepodge but hey ya'll IT'S CHRISTMAS !!! i hope ya'll have great memories to make this year

the sugar is in the tea !!

hey ya'll today i'm gonna answer some questions about sweet tea yes ( tha house wine of the south ) any southerner's home you walk into the first thing you hear is hey ya'll come on in, yall want some tea ... now for you northerner's we aint hatin we just stick with what we know i been up north lots and lots of times and i love it up thar but ya'll aint got sweet tea or grit's which is probably why i just visit... sweet tea to us is like cake to a fat kid ... and fat kid's i know love cake well cause i is one ... tea is drank in good time's and bad, happy time's, sad time's, and it's always the first thing you make sure there's enough of when ya all get together now when we say " ya'll want some tea we aint talking bout hot in a fancy china cup tea we mean cold full of sugar tea the kind you pour out of a Tupperware pitcher that's been used for years and has probably got stains in it so bad that even pure Clorox wont take it out ... so here's a lesson on how to make tea
#1 place 5 to 8 tea bags (or 2 family size ) in a pot of cold water bring to a rolling boil( bout 1 1/2 quart's )
# while that boiling fill ya pitcher with half full of cold water and add sugar to taste ( i use 2 c. per gallon)
#3 after the tea has boiled bout 7 mins ( give or take ) pour it into your water and sugar this will dissolve the sugar and ya'll got perfect tea
now i put lemon in mine, but not everybody likes lemon but that's how granny did it and that the way i been drinking it all my life i even think it was put in my baby bottle as an infant so now ya'll know how we make sweet tea ... so fix ya a gallon and sit down with a good cook book and enjoy some me time !

the chest at my feet

As i awaken to the sound of my rooster outside my window scramming come feed me ! and the crispness in the fall air i have to ponder ... how'd i get so lucky ? granted life is hectic busy and a non stop merry go round but sometimes you have to look at what you have to be thankful for ... this lil fit of nostalgia has been brought on by something i did yesterday i was cleaning out a storage building and came across my granny's ceder chest , now this chest once belonged to my great granny's then granny then mama now me in it is 3 generations of wedding lining's, letter during the war WWII tickets for sugar during the depression my daddy's baby booties ( had to laugh cause well you now how girl's feel about there daddy ) postcard's from all over the world baby books death book's as i sat going through all this stuff and crying most of the time , it made me realize how lucky i am that the women in my life have kept all this stuff to past down it made me realize how tight those family ties are bound this chest with it's brittle papers clippings old pictures mostly during the turn of the century , and most of the men look like gangsters everybody back then looks like AL Capone or Clark Gable ( wow what a time to have lived ) and the women are all dressed to the nine's ... this precious chest now sits at the foot of my bed to be filled with all the things form my life to be passed to my kid's for there life .. i woke up and realized that i had 4 generations of keepsakes at my feet , to protect me , keep me happy, and to make sure i do the right things ... not to mention all the old old old recipes i found that you cant even get the ingredients for anymore my how fast life has changed so I'm thankful for my past and the strong women who have lived to make me a better person .

FAT GIRL IN THE KITCHEN

well ya'll after a bunch of emails of how'd you learn how to cook that way , i'm gonna give ya'll the details the history of a fat girl in the kitchen ... this all started when i was about 6 or 7 like most southern kids i didnt go to day care i went to grand parents after school and weekends prents have there own buniess so i grew up in my nana's and granny's kitchen ... well cause thats what you did the old fashion way there was no little debbie's there was pound cake and mater sandwich's ... the treat was cheerwine ( its a soda drink only in the south ) being from a small town there was no malls there was bread bags on a hill of leaves in the fall ... bikes up and down the dirt road in the summer etc etc ... but i wanted to be in the kitchen i watched tasted( mostly with a deer in the headlights look ) but i paid attention i heard everysecret form them both they taught me everything from sour cream pound cake to the perfect fried chicken . every bite filled with love ... cooking good is not something u get from school it something you feel it's love ! when i say lovin from the oven ! thats what it is pure love the smell, the look, the bubbling over from a pie even the floping of a cheese cake it's all love i can alway's feel my grandma's looking over my shoulder and i even catch myself talking to them asking for advice i know there in my heart my story is one of family ties to the past ... if you dont know where you came from you wont know where your going ! take your time don't stress the looks of it and anyone can be a good cook , just get in the kitchen and cook ask questions if you dont know and don't be scared and lastly HAVE FUN COOKING IS FUN !!!!!!

stop and smell the pie !

as i woke up this morning and faced taking my child to school, i doned on my flannel pj's and fluffy house coat ... ( which she's not embaressed no more cause that's what i live in all i can ) i drive her the full 10 min's the the school to the rat race that is drop off all the ppl rushing to work or shopping and my only mission is get back home cause there's a pie in the oven already ... mornins here are great. i watch the mom's hollering hurry up im late for work are quick doddling cause ya'll know teens are on there own speed... slow i hand my child her book-bag say have a good day i love you as she trollops off to school... when did the world get in such a hurry ? why dont we take our time ? when did checkin emails and pda's and i phones replace a hug a laugh or a smile or the simple i love you ! i'm glad im not a rushing kinda person i love my simple laid back kind of life next time you find the world rushing around you or the bustle of ppl STOP AND SMELL THE PIE !!!

HAIL TO THE COUPON USER'S !!! power to the walmart coupon shoppers the people that scavenger the sales paper the double coupon day !! yes that's me i know im not alone i was standing in line at the grocery store and a lady in front of me was behind one of my own kind the coupon lady was there ! as she hoofed on puffed at the time it was taking for the lil lady to arrange all her marked down coupon finds i had to wonder " if it such a pain then go through self check out ! better be glad u aint behind me cause i got twice as much as she do and double the coupons " prissy people really get on my nerves as she mumbled under her breath i said excuse me ? she gripped about having to wait, i informed her where self check out is she said she was better than self checkout ! well touch you miss prissy !!! as she enlightened me that she don't like poor people well well aint we just the end all that be all !!! as i informed her that 75% of the country today was "poor" including me well middle class poor i looked at her and get this ya'll... i didn't punch her in the mouth ya'll should be proud ! ... i said in my sweetest southern voice why don't you go shop in the city ? cause im sure there aint no coupon user's thar and you wouldn't have to wait ... as she hoofed again the next lane opened and i informed her why don't you go ahead of me i'd hate to tie up your precious time with my poor coupon 's as i shook them in her face !!! I JUST LOVE TRIPS THE THE LIL OL GROCERY STORE !!!

well after some time away from blogging i thought i would rant today ... yesterday a lady faced me with a statement" no wonder you cook all the time u don't have lil kids !!" WHAT ! well not anymore they seem to grow up on ya, well if you feed them they do ... but ill tell ya what i do have ... i have a blind handicap father that lives with me and i spend my day's steppin and fetching for him , i have a 15 yr old who is in high school and if u think that's a breeze well lets see she's in the band so we got practice till 8 and 8:30 every night games, competitions, uniforms to clean to use the next day trips to wal mart for stuff for her homework test essay's and the other drama a teen girl has to live in , and then i have a husband 3 chickens, 2 dogs and a bird, oh and dont let me forget i don't have a maid so i have dusting , laundry, mopping , vacuuming, picking up stuff that just cant seem to make it back where it comes from , trash to take out err ens to run grocery's to get meals to plan and i;m writing a book and yes i cook so next time you think someone has an easy life try walking in there shoes for a day !! it's not the rosy time you thought it might be !! but i wouldn't change my life for anything .. i think staying busy keeps me out of trouble... so today after i do all the thing's a mom and wife has to do I THINK I'LL COOK !!!!

IT A CAT FIGHT OUT THERE

Well as i look in to my roller dex of new things to cook at the top of this cook off season, i heard on the radio this morning about competitive cooking and how cut thought it is ... well duh these women aint playing they spend hours upon hours in the kitchen trying new stuff different flavors new ways to do it ... ( cook you pervs ... cook ) OK now that we got ur mind out of the gutter... i go through what seems like hours of old recipes pasted down from my great and grand mothers cause my mom ( god rest her soul ) . wasn't a cooker don't know why but she couldn't cook Cept biskets man she man the best cat head bisects on the free world and me ... the lil redneck from pickens cant make a bisect to save me life !... i have won over 150 ribbons ( most are blue ones) for my cooking and i cant make a damn cat head bisect WTH ? well anyhoo all the cooking i do and i got the fat family to prove it and i cant master bisects so i shall go on with my blue ribbon cooking and winning... the bad part is when i beat them lil old ladies i think wonder how her bisects taste !!! so happy cooking y'all i got to get in the kitchen the GA pie cook off is next month and we already know i got the pie thing under control !!! did i mention i'm the north Carolina apple pie grand champion !! so well fat girl did some bragging !!! so what i'm good no scratch that I'M GREAT !!!

squash is a squash

As i notice the spring crops comming in i can't help myself from wanting to start canning, and cooking all veggie suppers... so with my grocery store crack fix soon to be happening i ponder what do i cook for supper ... a great big salad comes to mind ... but we did that the other night ... so squash it shall be , stuffed squash that is ... as i shimmer around the produce section i seize the squash with a drool in my mouth adding to my veggie finds i figure i'll need cherry maters, red onion, fresh basil, smoked gouda, some bacon , breadcrumbs, and garlic and vuala i got stuffed squash it's whats fer supper , wonder why the lil old man in the produce dept follows me around like i'm gonna steal something .... you think they frown on me rubbing on the veggies and laying on the stands hugging the food and why cant us older people get the free cookies in the bakery dont we need sugar too alas i continue my pilgamage through the gro store and go home with yet again stuff i dont need... i think if i had a therapist they'd need a therapist HELLO MY NAME IS FRANNIE AND I'M A FOOD AHAOLIC !!!!!!

well as i looked at the end of a very busy...mom do this mom do that week ... i'm thinking more than usual about my mom and all the years we spent fighting, fussing, and loving , i remember the funny things, the crazy things ,and the .. what was she thinkin things! she always did and as i watch the days of my daddy's life slip away i think do we really relize how special our parents are to us untill after there not standing in the kitchen saying .. hey ya'll hungry let me fix ya'll sumpin to eat, or the great deals she found at a yard sale ... things of course she didnt have room for or needed i tresure all the smiles we shared, the laughs we laughed.. the trears we cryed and am so proud she was there when my child was born.. i still remember the tears in her eyes as she held my 10 pound baby girl and said to me welcome to ( the hardest most rewarding job you'll ever have, your a mama now ! ) so to all those moms out there HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !! .. from one proud mama !!!!

ok today was jockey lot day ... yes i said jockey lot thats what the flea market is called in my corner of the world, and it's always an adventure ... there are things you see at it that just scar you for life you see people that i would bet money on there parents were brother and sister and then theres ones you look at and say ( OH MY GOD SOMEBODY HAD SEX WITH THEM ) HOW!!!!! and thens theres the buys you find as you walk away the only thing u can say is I JUST STOLE THAT FROM THEM but anywho .... two things struck my fancy # 1 i bought a fried apple pie from a lil lady as opened my lil hunk of cheating on the diet i said it's got to be good ... well the cook in me was excited and the fat girl in me was drooling i took my first bite and clenched every hair on my body stood up every morsale of my being went oh shit thats awful it had a taste that i never had in my mouth and i've had some strange stuff in there ( food ppl were talking about food) get it out the gutter , i thought maybe it's me i took another bite , same thing well the fat girl said that wasnt worth cheating for and the cook in me had to know so as polite as i could i walked back to the lil lady and had to ask ( ma'am i just have to know how did you make this crust well see looked at me with aged eyes and said ) * IT'S THE BEST FRIED PIE YOU EVER HAD AIN'T IT * well i smiled and said it's different i just got to know about the crust well its 4 c flour 1 c sugar pinch of salt, 1 egg and 1/2 c of vinger WHAT vinager ? why would you do that its was to say the worst thing i ever ever ever put in my mouth even worse than some of the ex's i have had ! lol needless to say i no longer have a thing for fried pies that dont come out my kitchen # 2 i saw a chick that had baseballs for tit's no lie ppl baseballs and she was proud of them everybody in pickens county saw them it was a train wreak you had to look so thats my day 2 things scared me and i think i need therapy ... maybe shock treatment's lol !!!

mexican night woo hoo

stargate 2010 i got it i got the most off the wall thing i have done in a long time well it's evening in the Bryson home and i open the fridge and the question comes to mind what do i do for supper .. u know ya'll have done this too well its like this i got 6 lil sweet pototes that i got to use or throw them out .. i want abd i mean WANT mexican now dont get me wrong i'm full blown redneck ( God Bless Robert E. Lee) but i want a tortilia dont ask just go with me here feel me out i go to the gro store cause i have to everyday or i have dt's its my crack! well black beans, sweet taters, fresh corn, onion,bell pepper and a few totillia shells and a hot cast iron skillet guess what we got for supper ... dont turn your nose up people it even suprised me with a side of spanish rice and more black beans we got supper and i got a grocery store crack fix and to follow it up with a dose of benyadral cause as most of ya'll know i'm allergeric to mater's why i have no clue but sometimes a fat red juicy mater on white bread with duke's mayo call's to me but alas this concoction tonight suprised even me and the hubby loved it so if ya'll want the inners to these amazing stuffed tortillia shells let me know !!!!

Well here goes my first blog as a whole i'm just a wife and mom.. not to exciting right but you add dogs yardwork, and the award winning cooking then you got a pretty exciting life there ! it's a never ending flood of mama whats for supper and can such and such come over and guess whati volenteered you for this or that we got band , racing , and did i mention the never ending no privecy law around here not to mention the rest of the ppl in my life dont get me wrong i look at life like this I'LL SLEEP WHEN I DYE cause thats about when i will be able too so i guess this is a blog about all the stuff in my life that to me is aways funny it's never ending my twisted sence of humor and non spelling ablities will show as time goes on so bear with me i promise laughs tears and so knock your socks off cooking tips this aint julia and julie she aint got nothing on me !! trust me my motto it IT'S OK YA'LL I GOT THIS !! hang on ya'll its gonna be a hell of a ride !! stay tuned