No Show Snow and Eggnog

Mornin' my friends,

There it was on the six o'clock news last Friday. Snow and sleet forecasted again for our area. That was like the third time in 10 days. There I was, eagerly watching the radar screen to see if it would get here in time for more snowman building in the morning. Went to bed. Woke up-- no show snow.

As I was grumbling about not having a pretty front yard again, I got to thinking. And, then I got to laughing. Do you remember what it was like to have youngins in the house? It was always quite noisy, and that was a good sign.

When it got quiet for a spell, the old mama brain radar would sound and off. I'd go to seek and find. I remember one time when the mama radar went off. It was just too quiet for toddlers in the house. Well, guess what! They were quiet for a reason.

I went upstairs to be greeted by shouts of joy. "Look, mama," they shouted. "We're snowmen."

Snowmen indeed. They were covered in white---- white baby powder, that is. The oldest had climbed up on the bed and reached way over to the top of the dresser. She grabbed the baby powder and turned everyone, and everything, into snowmen. They were just so proud. Me? Not so proud.

After cleaning them up, I spent several hours trying to clean up all the "snow" which had fallen in the baby's room. As I recall, that room smelled like baby powder until the day we moved!

So, even though the weather radar ending up being quiet over the weekend, I spent many moments in happy snow memories.

Tried something new this morning. I decided I needed some eggnog before it went completely out of season. Since it really is too early to add the julep juice, I opted on adding a dash of Kahlua. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. So, I think I'll go sip on my eggnog and dream of snow and the days of the mama radar.

Talk with you later,

Miss Etta

Snow Jam and Okra Bread

Goodness, ladies! Can't a good old (do not snicker) Southern gal take time to watch the weather forecast? And for the sake of our friendship, leave okra alone!! I adore okra. Most anyway I can find it. Boiled, fried, soup, cake, and my favorite, Okra Bread. Ah, the memories of it just warms the cockles of my heart.

Now that I've got that off my mind, let me talk about my day. I've been so busy just wondering if we're gonna have another Snow Jam in Atlanta. It's been so many years since we've had a really big snow jam. Why, I remember back in the early 1980s that we had them on a fairly regular basis. If I recall correctly, it also seems like they were usually around Martin Luther King Holiday. And it seems as if all our really bad snowstorms come from Bama.

Why, I remember when I was working just north of downtown Atlanta when the telephone rang at the office back in '82. One of the girl's husbands, who was an attorney, said his Birmingham office called and said get out of Atlanta. Snow is a coming. And, boy did it come. I was stuck at the office for two days. Couldn't get my car out of the parking lot.

Now I had a miniature poodle named Killer. Before you laugh too hard, my daddy said if I had to have a sissy looking dog, I couldn't give it a sissy name. So, the dog was named Killer. He was most definitely a "lady killer." Of course, he was great at nipping my dates too. Let me get back to my story before I tell you some really hilarious things that Killer did.

Anyway, I was living in a townhouse in Doraville. I called the manager of the complex and asked them to check on little Killer, seeing how I couldn't get there to take care of him. The manager called me back shortly at the office and told me Killer was just fine. He, in fact, had bitten her when she went in to feed him and take him for a walk. She didn't complain though, because poor little Killer was up to his kneecaps in extremely cold water. Yep, while I was at work for that long period of time, my water pipes broke. Actually broke in 16 places. And, yes, there was a ton of water in the townhouse. They shut off my water and went ahead and got someone in to take care of some of the damage before I could get home.

So, you see, I learned another valuable lesson from a dog. They are great indicators to use when water pipes break. If water gets up to their kneecaps, have someone turn off the water and call a plumber. Of course, now I have a much bigger dog so his kneecaps are much further off the floor. Find it cuts down on having to call the plumber, don't you know.

I'm ready for Snow Jam '08. I just baked a cake and went to the store to buy carbs. Who knows, if the power goes, I'll need the extra carbs to stay warm. And if the power doesn't go off, well, I just can't let that food go to waste now, can I.

Miss Etta

Snow in Georgia!

Miss Etta, I can just picture that dog licking that big old turkey! You can turn a tale!

I am so glad that I made my trip to the grocery store before word broke that there might be snow in Georgia. It doesn't seem to matter if they are talking about snow being in the mountains everyone in this entire state just has to make sure they have a refrigerator full of food.

Now when you think about it, filling up an electric refrigerator with perishable food is not the brightest thing to do when snow threatens. You know the first thing they tell you when the electricity goes out is not to open your refrigerator so the food doesn't go bad. I can just picture everyone sitting around staring at that old fridge knowing it is full of milk that will go bad if you open the door.

How many people have a can opener any more that isn't electric? I think stocking up on peanut butter, jelly and bread might be a bit better idea.

I have had some interesting times when the power went out. No television or radio or computer and no light aside from candles or oil lamps (yes, I have some old oil lamps my Grandmama gave to me many years back). I have been so desperate during long hours without power that I have taken a flashlight and used it to read a book.

When I was a child I loved to read, and still do. Lights out meant taking a book and a flashlight under the covers hoping I wouldn't be caught so it does bring back some fond memories!

One time when the power was out my husband and I just said enough is enough and went to a hotel. We are on well water and when the electricity goes out then our water also goes out. We didn't have electricity for two days if I remember correctly. A few hours without light to read by or a computer is bearable, but that was just a might too long.

I love it when it snows aside from all the crazy drivers if I have to leave the warmth of my home. I hope we get three or four inches although I don't think that is in the forecast. Do you remember the snowstorms that were so bad not too long ago?

Miss Faye again!

Frigid Toes, Frigid Nose, Warm Heart

My toes are frozen. At least they feel like they are. I'm just not conditioned for this type of arctic weather. I hear it might get cold enough to either ice or snow some tonight. I hear the kids at JC Booth have been busy performing a snow dance all week. I guess that's something like a rain dance? Whatever it is, I know all children want to hear the magical words of "no school" in the morning. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

My nose is frozen, too. Kinda takes me back in time to when I was just a teenager.

We had one of those freak snowstorms in rural GA and our backyard measured 15 inches on the ground. That was the BIG time. Of course, there were seven of us kids home at the time.

Well, mama was afraid she couldn't get out to the store to lay in the supplies, so she dug a big turkey out of the freezer. There it was, just thawing away. Sometime later there was a commotion in the kitchen and we youngins' were told to stay out. No problem. I had other things on my mind.

We all enjoyed the turkey after going outside for the prerequisite snowball fight and snowman building contests. Well, except for mama and Babs. Neither one of them touched it.

Now that was a curious sight. Daddy remarked on their seemingly lack of appetite.

They started giggling. It got louder. The eyes on their heads were rolling and getting bigger.

Ok. Busted. Well, they told us that when they went into the kitchen to check on the turkey and its progress in thawing, they found our dog. And guess what the dog was doing? Yeppers, that dog had pulled the turkey off the counter and was proceeding to lick it. Guess it was a good thing Babs found her then, otherwise, I bet that dog would have started to eat it. Anyway, they just washed it and then put it in the oven to kill the rest of the germs.

Well, some of us at the table almost lost our dinner when that story was over. I learned a lesson. I know never to leave food on a counter when there's a dog in the house!

Speaking of laying in supplies, do you think the stores are full of people today buying all the perishables? I've never figured out why the threat of ice or snow makes everyone rush out to buy milk and eggs. Just think-- if you lose power--- you lose the ability to maintain the fridge. Anyway, it's not like we're going into a deep freeze and not going to be able to go and purchase that milk in the next day or so.

My warm heart just has to welcome Miz Vul to our front porch. I hear tell you're gonna drop by and have some stimulating conversation with Miss Faye and me. We always have room for one more on our porch, but don't ask me to share my fan in the summertime.

Gotta go right now. Gotta go to the store and buy something. I just know I'll get stuck in my house and not be able to get out for at least an hour when I have that uncontrollable urge for popcorn and my daily juleps. Girls have to be prepared for such emergencies.

Miss Etta

SNOW in GA?

Now don't that just beat all? Last week, we were running around in our short shirt sleeves. Today, we're shivering. And I mean, really shivering. It's so cold this morning that I feel like I need to go into hibernation. Good thing I packed on a few extra pounds over the holidays!

To top it off, it snowed in North GA last night. Looks like the extreme northern counties all have a little snow on the ground. If you watch the radar real close from the last few hours, it looks like we should have had a few flurries ourselves. The air was too dry so it couldn't hit the ground, though.

Is this an omen for 2008? With 2007 officially clocking in as the 2nd worse rain year since 1954 in the Atlanta area, I can only hope this snow issue will continue.

The drought brings up an interesting thought that's been running around in my head. Back in the mid 50s when the last really big drought happened, what was the effect? There certainly weren't so many millions of people in the area depending on Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona. I rather doubt Florida was taking the water for their endangered mussels at that time. So, can you tell me? What were the effects on the locals in the area back then? Couldn't have been much as no one ever talks about it, and metro Atlanta still grows every year. Guess I'll ponder on this for some time.

Guess I'll keep looking out the window today in hopes some precipitation will decide to head our way. A better idea would be for me to crawl back under the warm blankets and read peacefully.

Miss Etta