This week MH has been in town visiting and it has really been fun!! I came home Tuesday to dinner cooked, house cleaned & Bo fed and walked. All I had to do was shower, eat and watch TV. NICE!!! And to top it off she cooked an EXCELLENT roast (I can't ever get mine that tender) brown rice, green beans, squash, carrots and potatoes. But the post today is not to talk about food, it's to talk about being a girl raised in the South. And I'm talking the deep South, Mississippi, it doesn't get more Southern than that. So I consider myself a halfway expert. hehe. There are certain principles you have to follow when you are a girl raised in the South. The #1 commandment is to always be a lady. There are several commandments of being a G.R.I.T.S. I have listed a few that I grew up with. NOt that I like or do them all because times are a changing, but these were definitely part of my family. Do you have any?
1. Saying "Bless your heart" is the best response to most foolishness. If some one says or does something crazy it is not proper to tell them they are foolish or that was ignorant...instead you say "Bless your heart"
2. You can drink liquor, you just have to girly it up. I'm convinced the Old Fashion was invented for women in the South. An old fashion is bourbon or other whisky with bitters, orange slice and a cherry. Ask any older lady from the deep South her drink of choice, and it's probably a remake of an Old Fashion. Won't find too many takers of martinis from that crowd :). My friends laugh at me when I drink dark liquor. They say how can some one as girly as me like that stuff, I'm from the South. 2 new recipes for girly concoctions; Crown & cranberry juice and Jack Daniels Honey & Sprite Zero.
3. If some one stops by your house, even only for a second, it is your DUTY to feed them. And you are not truly a lady if you don't have some reserves on hand for a surprise. Any male that has seen my kitchen thinks I am Betty Crocker. Anybody that knows me well, knows better. LOL! I have every device and serving dish needed and a cabinet full of seasoning and spices and my freezer is always packed!! But on any given day my dinner is simple baked chicken or fish and a pack of frozen vegetables. I save full meals for the weekend cooking.
4. You have to substitute "ugly" words for prettier ones......i.e sweat = glisten; pee = tinkle; musty = fresh; But true G.R.I.T.S know how to throw out a good cuss word for effect. And yes, I said cuss not curse. LOL!
5. You have to get a nice hat for special occasions
6. Cross your legs at your ankles, not at your knees
7. Wave at all the cars that pass by your house (esp if you live in the family neighborhood).
8. You must have clever country sayings....Mine are "that dog won't hunt" "going to see a man about a mule" "since Skip was a pup" "ain't got a pot to piss in" "chicken with its head cut off" "just got off the turnip truck"
9. Wear plenty of dresses & big sunglasses
10. Claim kin with any and everybody. This is my favorite :)
11. Fish with a pole, not a rod ---- only catfish and brim!!!
12. Send thank you notes for EVERYTHING!!
13. Always ask how some one's mother is doing whenever mentioned....even if you don't know them
14. If some one you used to be close to has a relative that you never met pass away, you send a card, a dish, flower arrangement, SOMETHING
15.Use words in everyday conversation that only Southerners understand: confession - I mistakenly say these around my NY peeps and have to explain. LOL! directla - means in a little while; finna and fixin to - means about to; laid up - means hurt or ill; But please never say "learnt".......i say bless your heart to people who use learnt. And not because it's country, that doesn't bother me. But because it is typically used as a substitute for taught......that's a no-no. "Who learnt you to do that?" WTH??
16. Wear a slip and panty hose
17. Football is king. It starts on Friday nights!! The local high school football star is a celebrity
