HOME as a Geographical Location...

Although in my life, I have travelled extensively, Indiana has (and will always be) HOME.

For Mayes...the pull of home was Southern Georgia, with its swampland, red clay, Spanish moss hanging and Kudzu growing rampant. It was Southern Manners and Upbringing. It was Sweet Tea on the Verandah.

For me is is the ponds, streams, lakes and creeks criss-crossing my State. The sandstone and glacial till of Western Indiana. Turkey Run.  The ravines, hills and Maples of the Southern part.  Brown County. The Sand Dunes of Northern Indiana, and the Bedrock and Limestone Quarries of the bottom half. The Falls near Madison. Clifty Falls. It is some of the log cabins still standing or the drone of the Indy 500 cars in May. "Start your engines" and "Back Home Again". It is four distinct Seasons. The Morels, Car shows and Bluebells of Spring. Shade Trees, iced tea and bringing in the hay of Summer, and The Fairs. State and County. The Orange Push-Ups and ice cream trucks roaming the neighborhood with its music tinkling. It is cornfields and soy-beans being brought in, and orchard trips, with fat orange pumpkins, fresh cider and crisp apples in the Fall. And it is hay-wagons and draft horses...a hayride lumbering under a harvest moon...and sitting in a pile of fallen autumn leaves, and their smell. Making a bonfire of the leaves. It is the very first snowfall of Winter...and wood-smoke on the crisp air. The fur on the cat fluffed up from the cold, and fresh cut pine. It's gathering pine cones for Christmas. Peppermint sticks and oranges and gingerbread. Hot cocoa and mittens. Quilts warmed in the dryer.

I have certainly been to more beautiful places. Big Sur, California, Upstate NY, and States that have a lot more to offer Michigan, South Dakota...I have been places that were almost home (New Orleans comes immediately to mind or Mackinac Island) but always not quite. In the end...Indiana is HOME.

Everywhere else just becomes "a nice place to visit".

The Sounds of HOME

Right this instant? 
Tucker-Cat curled in a warm fuzzy ball snoring loudly.

For Mayes, the sounds of her childhood home might have included chainsaws biting into fresh pine being logged. The Mockingbirds incessant jabbering, as they strut boldly across the lawn, tails held high. Sweet Southern Drawls and dishes clinking as the table is set. It may have been being called to dinner with a iron bell or triangle. It would have most certainly included

"Now settle down, chile"

My favorite childhood sounds were my Grandpa playing Amazing Grace on a large Horner Harmonica he had brought home from Germany...or him reading "If I ran the Circus" by Dr. Seuss  It was the barking of our three dachshunds (Schnapps, Fritz and [nice non-Germanic name] Cuddles) or their howling in unison with the Friday Air Raid Siren Drill at 11:00 AM in Indianapolis.

When I was married and raising my own children- my favorites were the sounds of guitars being strummed, songs being written and tried out or recorded. Cats demanding to be fed, or let out, or in, or out again. A house full of kids and their friends...and everyone calling me "Mom" (related or otherwise)  It was a lot of love and laughter. It was "I love you", and saying it in return.

Now it is the relative quiet...soft jazz or a CD in the background. Most recently it has been Christmas music. Instrumental Compilations as I wrap the presents and put the finishing touches on for the holiday. The snick of scissors and rustle of paper from long rolls.

It is Chris stopping by, then wheedling

"Oh...come on...tell me what is is....I'll ACT surprised..."

And soups bubbling away on the stove. It is the old refrigerator that makes a noise like small puppies growling, and the furnace working away on a cold day. It's the kids and grands clamouring in...happy chaos...and it is hearing "I love you!" and "Grandma Rose!" Accompanied by big hugs (the adults)...or small chubby arms around my neck...or Aiden squealing

"Mee-maw!!!"

and saying "I love you" back to them.
Over and over again.

These are the sounds of HOME.

Smells like HOME

The candles fit in with my Christmas Decor...not exactly teal...but bluish enough to fit somewhere on that colour wheel.

The scent is Mainstay's Winter Mittens.

Although the name sounds akin to damp wool...it has a fresh almost peppermint scent mingled with cotton or maybe dryer sheets.

This year it is my Christmas Scent.

Mayes discusses the scents of her childhood home. The Magnolias, Gardenias, and Jasmine. The smell of the nearby pine woods. Of breakfast cooking on the stove.

An oddity. Scents transport me. They say it is the English (in a bloodline) that connects scents strongly to memory. It may be true. Both myself (1/2 English) and my youngest son (3/4 English) tend to be very "scent" oriented. Additionally...we can both look at a picture and "smell" the scent attached to the particular memory.



The smell of sawdust and wood shavings can bring me right back to my Grandfather's garage and I can see him there...shaping a wooden bookshelf just for me.

The smell of Borkum Riff or Apple Pipe Tobacco and we are on the banks of our favorite farm pond,on a fishing trip, trying to catch "Big John" the ever elusive largemouth bass...or "Little Cedric" his the-size-of-your-hand Bluegill buddy.

My little brother (now deceased) always smelled pinkly of a wad of Bazooka Joe...as we would sit together on the Eel River Bridge and read the enclosed comics.

My childhood home filled with the smells of cooking. Something roasting on Sunday...or Dad's charcoal grill with huge hamburgers mixed with chunks of onion.

Sundays when my children were growing up and the scent of biscuits baking and homemade Sausage Gravy...always with a bit of fresh sage mixed in.

The fill-the-house scent of White French Lilacs when I was a child from the bush in our backyard...and light purple ones when my children were growing. I no longer have a lilac bush...so in May you will always see a candle of that scent...filling the rooms just the same.

The smell of wood-smoke and I am back beside one of the roaring camp-fires Bill and I built, through our 18 years of marriage. Maybe in The Everglades. Maybe on the Arizona Hardpack. Maybe on top of a mountain in Ely, Nevada. Maybe just at the Turkey Run camp grounds with the boys careening/laughing down the side of the ravine nearby.  The camping out scents of Marshmallows and Hotdogs roasted over an open fire. The scent of wood-smoke in his hair and beard lingering into the night. Campfire kisses.

A particular Scent (candle or body wash or shampoo) for many of our "getaways" during the years. The most memorable being Old Rose when we celebrated our 7th Anniversary at The Cornerstone Inn.

And different home scents for different seasons...or even monthly.

Flowers and Food Scents, Clean Linen and Blueberries, Nut Breads and Autumn Leaves, Chocolate or Winter Lodge with an undertone of Pipe Tobacco.

When my grandchildren walk in my door their first comment is always

 "It smells so good in here!"

And I know when I am long gone- they will always remember...the scents of Grandma's House.

The scent of HOME.

Sunday...

So...last night's 31 Party pre-empted by the freezing rain and bad roads. Nicole is re-scheduling soon...but what is to become of ALL those cookies???

Yeah...Biff and I had our own PARTY...lol!

Chris and Tina, James and Nicole and I have all seen ROGUE ONE, now...the latest and greatest Star Wars film...and I'll not review or reveal any spoilers (yet) but if you haven't seen it...DO.

 It is AWESOME!!!!

I've Christmas 99.9 percent done. Just mailed the last of the cards. Finally. I am going to be printing mailing labels for next year because the addressing of the envelopes is now exceeding my (writing) capabilities, it seems. After 3 or 4 my overall writing is undecipherable...so this year I was doing them at the rate of 3 cards a day. Next year's will be more timely.

All I have left is The Wrapping and Ribbons, now!

Chris and Tina will be coming over on Christmas Eve...where we will be celebrating and having carry-out Chinese Food.

James and Nicole and the Kids and I are doing our Christmas together late this year (the 30th) with the kids and Pizza to go around.

They are having Friendsmas on the 24th.

Chris and Tina are having her mom and family in the 25th...and I am having Friendsmas for Loretta, Judy, and Sharon on the 29th.

I think I speak for all of us when I say by New Year's Day we will all be Christmas'd out...boxing up the trees and probably catching a long nap!

Back to The Riddle of Home, tomorrow!

Food and Home

Nothing says "Hoosier" like Sugar Cream Pie.

It is, in fact, our Official State Pie.

Although, Fried Biscuiits and Apple Butter at The Nashville House are right up there. (Nashville, Indiana)

Mayes talked about her Deep South Cuisine and going "crabbing" with Willie, their cook, while she was growing up.

I, too, have sat beside the brackish water in Georgia and tied a chicken neck to a stout string and "crabbed".

Blue Crabs, attracted to the left-in-90-degree-heat-for-several-days rotted meat will grab onto it, and you need only to pull them to the shore and knock them off into your waiting bucket. They won't let go. No hook necessary. Alternately, you can bait a crab trap with the "high" meat and later get a bunch. They are a time-consuming but delicious meal.

Blue Crabs, however, are not Indiana denizens. You would be out of luck trying to get a fresh bucketful of Blue Crabs to boil and shell here. 

But, if you are looking for some of the best rolled-in-cornmeal fried fresh catfish...you need look no further than the nearest farm pond.  You used to be able to just shoot down 136 to Frank and Mary's in Pittsboro (who were famous for their catfish dinner) but they are now CLOSED, and I am pretty sure by now Frank and Mary are also gone.

My point being that HOME  (whether it is your State or your family) has particular foods as well.

If you are from Maine you probably had a lot of fresh seafood and undoubtedly a "lobstah roll" or three in your life.

Get anywhere South of the Mason-Dixon and you know that REAL hominy grits are a staple side dish (...eaten with "buttah and salt...and meybbe cheese...but neveah shugah"...) Hoosier's also have an omnipresent side dish. It is a slice of white bread with butter.


A Trip to your Old Kentucky Home might include a big pot of Ham and Beans with Cornbread, Fried Okra and Sweet Tea. 

In Indiana, food is almost a Sportin' Event...as attested by our collective girth and our State Fair Food...which is basically anything on a stick...breaded and deep fried...and most of it either covered with

Gravy

Cheese

Powdered Sugar.

You think I am joking?
Look no further than our deep fried Snickers Bar, Oreos or Twinkies!

                                              Deep Fried Snickers Bar

There is State Food, and then there is HOME food.

Home Food is the stuff you grew up with on a daily basis. 

The Comfort Food. 

Growing up in Indiana our meals, particularly Sunday, were hearty...rib-sticking occasions. Chicken fried, boiled with dumplings or home-rolled egg noodles, baked with dressing, pork fixed every way you can think of to fix pig...even a dish called Souse which is basically Heads-cheese or what is known in PA as Scrapple. Beef was pretty much confined to hamburgers, meatloaf (always with mashed potatoes and green beans. I think there is a State Law) or (less frequently and usually tough) a steak on the grill. Sometimes a huge pot roast simmered all day until it was falling apart and root vegetables added. Most meals were composed of a meat, a potato dish and a green vegetable. Afterwards there was always cobbler, pie, or pudding. 

My personal comfort dish was baked egg custard with nutmeg. Nothing was ever quite so bad that baked egg custard couldn't fix it.

These days, unless I want to be the SIZE of Indiana, the huge meals are confined to Sundays...and lighter fare fills the week.

 I always look forward to Sundays and my plate full of HOME, though.

More anon...

Home and Routine

Frederico Fellini once said 

“You have to live spherically - in many directions. Never lose your childish enthusiasm - and things will come your way.”

So, through good times and bad, I have tried my best to LIVE this way.

That is why, before dawn was breaking, the cat and I were on the sofa with a mug of hot cocoa mixed with morning coffee in the dim Christmas Tree glow; watching the beginnings of today's snowfall. The World outside my patio door resembles a shook-up snow globe, and the skies show no sign of it ending any time soon!

I am thrilled!

It is also why, although there were plenty lamenting the return of winter and snow, I still get excited and happy with the Season change.

 The SNOW.

Realistically...the Season is going to change and the snow is going to fall whether you are happy about it or not.

Why not embrace it and see the beauty?

But today's missive is about routine.

Our routine...our personal rituals. 

For me, coffee fits in pretty prominently, here.  My Keurig and I am in a long term relationship.
I'm pretty sure it's The One.
 

~laughing~

It is cold this morning, and I dragged out the 100+ year old iron skillet that has passed through several generations in my family before ending up in my kitchen.
Perfectly seasoned I layer pork chops, red potatoes and onions in it and cover it with a non-hundred-year-old domed glass lid. The lid helps the food baste itself and stay moist and tender. A makeshift Cataplana, as we learned in our Portugal Adventures. Breakfast is on, and I have resumed my place beneath a fuzzy throw watching he snow fall with the cat.

On Winter Days I tend to bake or roast, or prepare a casserole.

In the Hot Summer breakfast is simplified to fresh fruit or berries in my Magic Bullet Blender; a cold smoothie.

I check in on family and friends daily through the wonder that is FB.  I do not amass faceless friends.

 If I don't know you personally...well...you aren't on my "friends" list, okay. 

I check in partially because it has become my daily habit, to receive the daily Virtual Bouquet that Dave always gives all of us every morning, and because I must (Mon-Fri) open my DS Virtual Café
 

...also because if I don't make an Appearance before noon...friends and family have a tendency to think I have either

 A) Died 

 B) Am Laying Here Dying

and tend to panic. Call. E-mail. Come over and knock on the door.

So checking in has just joined my daily routine.
Trust me, it is easier this way.

I  stop...light a candle...meditate...and then plan the day before I begin. Whether there are tasks that need completed, friends or family to be met for brunch or an activity, groceries to be bought, bills to be paid, or a project that needs finished.

These days I fatigue very quickly thanks to FRED...and I have short windows of time to accomplish this or that...followed by rest periods...then more activity. It requires some planning, adjustment and accommodation.

I try very hard to never plan two days of anything intensive back to back.

Anything hand written must be completed very early in the morning...because by noonish...the ability is beyond me.  Christmas cards this year have been a challenge. Mornings tend to be my productive time...with varying levels of ability as the day progresses.

A nap isn't a luxury any more. It is a necessity.

So after finishing chores here, or coming in after groceries or brunch or shopping you will see me on the love-seat snuggled beneath a throw taking a cat nap.

Usually with a real cat.

Tucker (and, indeed, most cats) are extremely routine-oriented. He has gotten used to my mid-day break and usually settles in the middle of my chest for his own break.

I throw in laundry daily, too. Small daily loads being much easier to contend with than waiting until there is a heavy pile. 

On good days I tend to start dinner at 5...on bad days...I don't eat, or depend on something that only requires heating (pre-cooked)

 It took a while to make this adaptation. As someone who loves to cook and used to cook every day...it took a lot to realize that during the really rough FRED days...maybe a Frozen Dinner or a heated can of something was okay, too.

"Idgy" and I usually end the evening together "in the box". Sipping wine or herbed tea...talking about our day. 

Sometimes there is writing or blogging, painting, virtual travel, or catching a film.

Even bedtime has its own routine. Turning off electronics a half hour before. Usually some herbal tea. Soft light. Quiet. Maybe a chapter in a novel I have started. Nothing heavy.  Meditation and blowing out the candle.

Laugh if you want.
Sheep count me..okay? 

I fall right asleep and usually don't wake up until the next morning...feeling rested.  Recharged.

On Sundays, I add in the variation of  Sunday Morning Sprawl on the Floor like a Throw-Rug with The Sunday Edition, a Mug of Coffee and the Cat.  Just me, the newspaper and the Tucker-cat all over the living room floor.

It's a GOOD life!


More anon...

Home and Tradition

The Month of December seems like the perfect time to reflect on the TRADITIONS of Home.

A month of celebrations. Whether it is lighting the candles and meditating on Bodhi, bringing out "the old glass", ceramic lights and Nativity for Christmas, Lighting the Menorah and Spinning a Dreidel, reflecting as you light the candles of Kwanzaa or celebrating one of the other 25 holidays celebrated around the world in December.

We thrive on Tradition.

Rituals. 

We gather comfort from the sameness.

We finger the Mala...count the prayer beads...light the candle.

We dust off the stable, the wise men, the plastic donkey, camel and sheep. We look at the tiny babe in his manger bed and the serene faces of Joseph and Mary and place them for their annual appearance on the mantle. An Angel hovers at the top with a shiny gold star.

We prepare the Latkes...light the Menorah...and remember the miracle of oil that lasted impossibly long.

We light candles from December 26th through January 1st and we celebrate Family, Community and Culture.

We love...and we are loved.

We both give...and we are grateful.

We remember...and at the same time we are creating memories for others.

We are the love and light in the world...we alone are the angels...the hands with which to help.

Remember this Season of Love, Gratitude and Miracles to

"Be the Light"