Shellie Rushing Tomlinson
Brrr...the porch is cold! I don't recognize a lot of you
with those scarves around your neck and your coat collars
turned up. You know, if I'd have thought about it sooner
Phil could have built us a fire in the backyard to gather
around. Our weatherman is even talking about the possibility
of snow--big news for the Deep South. Of course, he stresses
"chance of snow", which is about as close as we normally get
to the pretty white stuff. I've always thought winter would be
more fun in the snowy parts of the country, but they say if
you have to shovel your way to the car it gets old fast. I
say, "bore me to tears Old Man Winter, just this once".
The New Year is off and running around here. I'm sure you're
busy, too! Thanks for taking a moment to sit on the porch and
visit. Myself, I'm busy tending to customers wanting new drapes,
readying basketball players for district games, and managing the
day-to day business of running All Things Southern and marketing
my books. That reminds me, I'll have a booth at the AgExp 2002
in Monroe, Louisiana on the 18th and 19th of January. If you're
in the area, please drop in and say hello. In addition to my
books, I'll have my southern gift products, freebies, and some
great hourly drawings!
I hope you enjoy this week's issue. I believe the "Southern
Exchange" has become one of my favorite features. Remember, don't
get upset if your letter isn't printed right away, I'm trying--and
just because you've written in once doesn't mean you have to go
all mute on me. ~smile~ I want All Things Southern to be more
than just an emag; I want you to think of it as your southern
community on the web. Sit back now and let's chat...
Hugs,
Shellie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Chuckles"
Have you heard about the poor hunter whose wife and mother-in
-law insisted he take them on a hunting trip? It seems he
finally gave in.
One evening, after yet another uneventful hunt, he called it
a day and started towards the camp, intending to collect the
women from their stands on the way back.
As his wife was climbing down from her stand, they heard his
mother-in-law scream. Rushing towards the sound, they rounded
a clearing and came upon a chilling sight: the mother-in-law
was backed up against a tree and a large bear stood facing
her.
"Darling," the wife cried, "what are we going to do?"
"Be still..." said the husband. "That bear got himself into
this mess, let him get himself out of it!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"A Taste of the South"
When it's cold out nothing hits the spot like a bowl of
hot soup--especially after all the rich holiday foods.
Here's my mama's Potato Soup. Make a big pot--
it'll be just as good the second day.~Shellie
Mama's Potato Soup
•4 medium potatoes -- cubed
•1 onion -- diced
•1 and one-fourth cup boiling water
•1 and one-half cup milk
•1 tablespoon butter
•1 fourth teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
•1 teaspoon parsley
•1 teaspoon basil
•salt and pepper to taste
•1 to 2 tablespoons flour dissolved in half a cup of water
Add potatoes and onions to boiling water. Cover and cook
for fifteen to twenty minutes or until fork tender.
Mash some of the potatoes with a fork to thicken soup.
Add milk, butter and seasonings. Bring to boil and stir
in flour and water mixture. Stir well until thickened.
Serves four, double for company.
Garnish with grated cheese, diced ham, or crumbled
bacon. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Spotlight on the South"
SPOTLIGHT ON LORETTA LYNN
This lady has been my heroine since I was a little girl on
my daddy's knee watching the Grand Old Opry. I can remember
wanting to sing like Loretta and trying in vain to match her
famous inflections and hill-billy twang.
Several days ago I caught the rerun of the story of her life
starring Sissy Spacek on the Lifetime Cable Channel. (I
think I know the lines as well as Sissy.)
Tonight I discovered her official web site where Loretta welcomes
each visitor in her own distinctive voice. Trust me, you've
got to take the time to surf over. You won't regret it. You'll
find a list of show dates, a short biography, information on her
museum and ranch site and much more. You can also hear Loretta
sing classics like "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "God Bless America
Again."
Official Website:
http://www.lorettalynn.com
Loretta Lynn Collectable Audio CD:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002OSX/qid=1010028476/sr=8-3/allthingssout-20
(Scroll down to hear samples of Loretta's Songs)
*************************************************************
"It's Been Said..."
"The biggest myth about Southern women is that we are frail types--
fainting on our sofas...nobody where I grew up every acted like
that. We were about as fragile as coal trucks."
--Lee Smith
**************************************************************
Visit http://www.allthingssouthern.com/books.html and check out
the FREE chapter or my memoir, "LESSONS LEARNED ON BULL RUN ROAD".
(You can order online using your credit card--or you can snailmail,
email or fax the printable order form!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Southern Comfort"
The dawning of 2002 has gotten me to thinking about what I want
from the New Year. We've all heard people talk about "the good
life". The good life is generally equated in our minds with
Easy Street, having pretty much everything you need materially.
But I'm convinced that the good life isn't about money or
possessions. It's about relationships--ours with the Father
and with his other children.
With this in mind, my New Year's Resolutions can be summed up in
two thoughts. I'm committed to spending more time alone with the
Lord and to taking the time to really "be" with the people I
come in contact with daily. I want to grow in my relationships
with God and man. Come to think of it, there's a verse
in the Bible about the good life.
Let's see...here it is. John 10:10: "I came that you might have
life and have it more abundantly." Beautiful! This is a twenty-
four/seven promise for men and women everywhere. Jesus offers a
way of living that will satisfy us and fulfill us while
simultaneously using our lives to draw others away from the
"flame" that beckons. Sounds like the good life to me...
~Shellie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Southern Exchange"
Dear readers,
One of the biggest surprises this adventure called All Things
Southern continues to offer me has to be the variety of people
that find a home on my porch. A site that I, in my naivety,
thought would be confined to the Southern USA seems to strike
cords all across the globe. Today you're introduced to one
of your newest neighbors,(who doesn't exactly live around the
corner). And then, one of the original members of Coon Creek
poses a question for anyone willing to respond.
Your letters:
Hi Everyone,
This is Ilavarasu, from India. Thanks to Shellie for the
invitation she has extended to me, to write this note :-) .
I think that man savours life not only for what he has been
getting, but for what he has been missing in his life.
To come to the point, I miss my home town (I'm 500 miles away
from home, I was born in Madras ( Tamilnadu state), and currently
work in this state ( Karnataka ), in its capital city, Bangalore.
I cannot go home at will). I miss the sunrise, which I used to
watch while walking to school as a kindergarten student. My friend
used to complain that we were living in a jungle... but now I realize
that I like that jungle more than I like the concrete jungle we
live in now...(honestly, people, it has been a long time since
I've got sight of the sunrise...nearly 20 years!!!)
I miss the first love... the "First Things" that happened when I was
in school, the first successes, the first failures, and everything
related to everything :-). I can write ad nauseam about what I miss,
but that would sound too pessimistic for a first time chat, which I
don't want to. This craving for things long lost has lead me to
search for my past. One such search led me to this site. I was
searching for places where people spoke about themselves, about
people, about neighbors, about places, etc. I'm glad I found it.
Happy reading dear people,
Ilavarasu
Karnataka, India
------
Dear Shellie,
Here is a question for all of the real Southerners out there.
There are days when I get up early and fix that good 'ol Southern
Breakfast of bacon, eggs, homemade biscuits and a big pot full of
grits. It is a sad day when that happens to be the morning that no
one in my house wants to eat the meal.
Bacon and eggs make it into my "Fried Rice" but what do you do
with left over grits short of making wall paper paste? Do any of
your readers have suggestions?
John Parker
Bedford Texas
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
WHAT SOUTHERN MOMS TELL THEIR DAUGHTERS...
About hygiene: "Always wear clean underclothes, you never know
when you're going to be in an accident!" Do you remember your
southern mom's advice about love,marriage, relationships and
life in general? Then join the fun; this project is exploding!
Write me at tomtom@allthingssouthern.com to have your mom's
advice memorialized in my new book: WHAT SOUTHERN MOMS TELL
THEIR DAUGHTERS...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Please forward ALL THINGS SOUTHERN to your friends and family!
(You can also email them the parent site by going to
http://www.allthingssouthern.com and clicking on the link that
says "email this site to a friend.")
===========================================================
To SUBSCRIBE :-) send any email with SUBSCRIBE in the
subject box to: tomtom@allthingssouthern.com
To UNSUBSCRIBE (Please don't go, we'll miss you!) send any
email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject box
to: tomtom@allthingssouthern.com
===========================================================
Home
Advertise • Archives • Policies • Terms of Use • Email Shellie and All Things Southern • Link to All Things Southern • Eternal Help • Email Promotion and Sales
