a moment to appreciate the south

top ten things to love about the south:

1. grits
2. fresh peaches
3. college football...war eagle!
4. spring break in PCB (panama city beach)
5. the hospitality
6. college kids who follow jam bands (and some post-college)
7. bluegrass music
8. cornbread dressing
9. fresh summer tomatoes
10. humidity

agree or disagree?

my best friend's wedding

ryan and i just got back from one of the most lovely and fun weddings that we've ever experienced (and this was an experience). our friends, kit and ryan, were married on kit's family farm near selma, alabama. talk about southern hospitality...we ate and played like kings and queens thanks to the upchurch family (kit's side). they can put on the dog. we arrived thursday night to open arms and warm welcomes and chicken pot pie. the wedding party got to stay in a nearby hunting lodge surrounded by 90 acres of cotton.
on friday, ryan was able to go fishing early with some guys and he actually caught two, huge bass. he's such a manly man. we played at the farm all day...swimming, laughing, skeet shooting, catching up with friends. for the rehearsal dinner we went into selma and had the biggest piece of meat that i've ever seen at a beautiful old home and b&b. i love the south.
of course on saturday, you've got to do the luncheon thing. we had shrimp and grits, sausage/egg casserole, etc. at yet another beautiful old home. oh yeah, and we sweated quite a bit. our poor non-southern friends...
the ceremony was amazing. it was outside, next to the barn. a homemade cross hung over the barn opening in honor of kit's grandmother. we sang, shared in communion, cried and witnessed the beginning of a beautiful marriage. afterwards, we celebrated. very much so. "the style band" played while we danced like crazy in an (thank God) air-conditioned barn. and then we finally had to say goodbye to kit and ryan. unfortunately, they have to spend two weeks in hawaii.
i'm ecstatic over their joining, but i'm mourning having to say goodbye to friends. i'm thankful for good memories and moments to reconnect. it was truly unforgettable.

martha's back!

i just want to wish that sweet, lovable martha stewart a warm welcome back to the television world. starting on sept. 12, our angel of the do-it-yourself queendom (or kingdom) will be gracing us with a live show. much like judge judy or some soap opera, it will be a daytime tv show. this is my advice to the diva...poofy hair and more revealing clothes, it's what sells. cheers, martha!

merton wisdom

“Where there is a deep, simple, all-embracing love of man, of the created world of living and inanimate things, then there will be respect for life, for freedom, for truth, for justice and there will be humble love of God. But where there is no love of man, no love of life, then make all the laws you want, all the edicts and treaties, issue all the anathemas; set up all the safeguards and inspections, fill the air with spying satellites, and hang cameras on the moon. As long as you see your fellow man being essentially to be feared, mistrusted, hated, and destroyed, there cannot be peace on earth. And who knows if fear alone will suffice to prevent a war of total destruction?”

From Seeds of Destruction by Thomas Merton
(New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1964), p.183

hot sauce and helping out

when ryan and i were in new orleans over christmas break last year, we met a man who runs a community garden there. he and neighborhood boys plant hot peppers and hand-make a yummy hot sauce. they also raise chickens and do some other gardening as well. they are actually a sub-group of an organization called PARKWAY PARTNERS which does alot with urban families and youth in new orleans. i'm currently trying to get in touch with them to find out what kind of help they need. i'll post it as soon as i find out. you can find them at www.parkwaypartners.com .