SOUTHERISM ...

To end the Southern session, a little look into the sounds of the south.

Vocabulary from way down yonder:

1. Addled: Confused, disoriented
2. Bad-mouth: To disparage or derogate
3. Best: do not do. "You best not speak to Bob about his car."
4. Cattywampus: Askew. “The boat knocked the boat cattywampus and it started to take on water.”
5. Chuck: To throw. "Leroy sure can chuck 'at ball, can't he? Best pitcher we ever had."
6. Contrary: Obstinate, perverse.
7. Didn't go to: Did not intend to. "Don't whip Billy for knockin' his little sister down. He didn't go to do it."
8. Directly: Soon. "He'll be along directly."
9. Fetchin': Attractive. "That's a mighty fetchin' woman."
10. Fixin' to: About to. "I'm fixin' to go to the store."
11. Foolin' around: Not doing anything in particular
12. Gimme sugar: asking for some affection or a kiss
13. Got a good notion: A statement of intent. "I got a good notion to cut a switch and whale the dickens out of that boy."
14. Grain of sense: An appraisal of intelligence, invariably expressed in negative terms. "That boy ain't got a grain of sense."
15. Hankering: Strong desire. “I have a hankering for grits.”
16. Hush yo' mouth: An expression of pleased embarrassment. "Honey, you're 'bout the sweetest, best-lookin' woman in Tennessee. Now hush yo' mouth, Jim Bob."
17. Ill: Angry, testy. "What's wrong with Molly today? She's ill as a hornet."
18. Jeet: “Did you eat?”
19. Kin: Related to. "Are you kin to him?" "Yeah, He's my brother."
20. Let alone: Much less. "He can't even hold a job and support himself, let alone support a family."
21. Let out: Dismissed. "What time does school let out?"
22. Mimaw: Great grandma
23. Mind to: To have the intention of doing something. "I got a mind to quit my job and just loaf for a while."
24. Much obliged: Thank you
25. Nekkid: To be unclothed. "Did you see her in that movie? She was nekkid as a jaybird."
26. Pick at: To pester and annoy. "Jimmy, I told you not to pick at your little sister."
27. Pitch a fit: Get mad – now tell me the difference between a hissy fit and conniption …
28. Sass: Saucy, meaning to speak in an impertinent manner. "Don't sass me, young lady."
29. Skedaddle: Run, scatter
30. Spell: An indetermined length of time. "Let's sit here and rest a spell."
31. Spittin’: Exactly. “He’s the spittin’ image of his daddy.”
32. Supper: The evening meal Southerners are having while Yankees are having dinner.
33. Take on: To behave in a highly emotional manner. "Don't take on like that, Brenda Sue."
34. Tore up: Distraught, very upset. "His wife just left him, and he's all tore up about it."
35. Unbeknownst: Lacking knowledge of. "Unbeknownst to them, he had marked the cards."
36. Uppity: Conceited
37. "Y'all" is singular, "all y'all" is plural, and "all y'all's" is plural possessive.

Hope all y'all liked the little bits of learning. I'll shot for a life update for next time. Have some fabulous fun in the sun.

Enjoy - Jennifer

ECCENTRICALLY SOUTHERN

I recently headed up to Bellingham to visit my sister, Elizabeth. During lunch, her boyfriend Jake, announced that the saying ‘Lay over to catch a meddler’ had been made up by my family and wasn’t a known saying. I was pretty sure that he was wrong since I’m always right … even though my family is prone to making up our own sayings. So I braved the wild frontier … err, the internet and buried myself in research. Jake will be happy to know that he is right to a point as it is not a known saying in these here woods of Washington but it is well-known Southern saying. So here’s to those of you who aren’t from the glorious south … a little bit of the fun sayings (and some translations) I found along the way to proving me right. While some of these familiar to y’all northerners, they originated in the south and made the list. One’s I knew:

1. Obviously, number one on my list is ‘Lay over to catch a meddler’ (Translation: polite way of calling someone nosy). My parents would often follow this with a ‘Caught one, didn’t I?’ We also had, after asking a question that someone didn’t want to answer, ‘What are you writing a book?’ ‘Yes!’ ‘Leave this chapter out.’
2. Like a chicken with his head cut off (T: confusion) Ex – That boy was running around like a chicken with his head cut off!
3. Butter my biscuit (T: isn’t that something!) Ex – Well, butter my biscuit!
4. Argue with a fence post (T: stubbornness) Ex – That woman would argue with a fence post.
5. Heebie Jeebies (T: the chills) Ex – That fella gave me the heebie jeebies.
6. Three sheet to the wind (T: drunk)
7. Short end of the stick (T: treated badly)
8. Half cocked (T: doesn’t have all the facts) Ex – That fella went off half cocked.
9. Ruffled her feathers (T: upsetting) Ex – I really ruffled her feathers.
10. Chewin’ the fat (T: talking a lot or talking about nothing in particular)
11. I declare (T: I didn’t know that)
12. Countin’ your chickens (T: assuming the outcome)
13. Bittin’ off more than you can chew (T: more than you can handle)
14. Barking up the wrong tree (T: situation to avoid)
15. He ain’t got a pot to pee in (T: very poor)
16. He couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn (T: very bad aim)
17. That’s finer than frog hair
18. That ole dog won’t hunt no more (T: that will not work)
19. Sittin’ there like a dump on a log (T: lazy)
20. Too big for your britches (T: huge ego)

Some that I didn’t know:

1. A hard head makes a soft behind (T: stubbornness can result in punishment)
2. She’s about as useful as buttons on a dishrag.
3. He’s got molasses in his britches. (T: means you’re lazy)
4. Well that just dills my pickle. (T: annoyance)
5. Well, if that don’t put pepper in the gumbo.
6. Meaner than a sack full of rattlesnakes.

Good advice when visiting or moving too:

1. If it grows, it sticks. If it crawls, it bites.
2. Do not run over an armadillo … your tires will be toast.
3. Never go snipe hunting twice.
4. Know that ‘just down the road’ can be from 1 to 20 miles.
5. Southerners make friends standing in lines. Don’t be alarmed if someone starts telling you their life story or asking you about yours.

Let me know if you can think of any that I missed. Next up, southern vocabulary ... FUN!

Enjoy - Jennifer

ABOUT TO SEE SOMETHIN' SPECIAL

A five month recap: The weekend of Grandpa Warnick's birthday and Michelle's Sweet 16th birthday was filled with family, fun, friends, and presents. Michelle scheduled her drive test and passed with flying colors on her birthday. She wanted Olive Garden for her family dinner and then wanted her picture taken with my present ... my favorite part is the wrapping in case you couldn't tell ... is it weird that the bow is bigger than her head? Grandpa and Althea came for this momentus weekend and wanted tiptoe through the Tulip Festival. I tried to get a picture with Gpa smiling but apparently our timing was off. Now to get great shots with flowers I made everyone get down on the ground. Here are some of my favorite shots:

Miss Adelyn, the walker, just wanted to stand with her mom ... so here's the cutie sans flowers ... but with a bonus drippy nose.

Not to be forgotten ... Jadyn's birthday celebration at Red Robin. Is it wrong to be jealous of a six year olds hair?

That's all for now ... but stay tuned this next week for before and after pictures of my cabin. I've been in decorating mode and we'll see how it turns out.

BARIA FAMILY NEWSLETTER

After my assignment from Dad and all my nagging ... the first newsleter to Ben is complete. I promised everyone that I'd send them copies but this is so much better. Hope everyone likes how it turned out. Thanks for still loving me after all the badgering.

JUST PICTURES

I was just browsing back through my 'many' old posts and realized that I hadn't said anything about Family Vacation 2009. I don't know if I need to go into to many details as everyone else in my family has already written about it. So, short and simple here we come.

Prior to the departure, the family decided to go river rafting. This adventure led to two of the three rafts popping which resulted in Michelle and I walking/swimming/rolling down the river. You will not be surprised to learn there is no picture of this event. Good thing no one had a camera as they would have all been destroyed by the 'perilous' river.

The actual vacation took place on the Oregon Coast. Mom loves the Oregon Coast so we go to the Oregon Coast ... a lot. We rented a house in Depot Bay and brought the sun with us.

Visited the Sea Lion Caves ... I cannot adequetly express how smelly they were.
Stopped at Devil's Churn ... how can you pass up a place with a name like that?
Spent a lot of time on the beach
Had a photo shot with the newest niece. Look at all this talent ... me with my camera and Adelyn with her adorable mug.

Aside from being seriously bruised and sore from the river incident and Elizabeth not being able to make it, it was a pretty fun vacation ... an excellent sendoff for Benjamin.

MASTERFUL 'CAT BALLERINA' MAKEUP

The promised pictures of Jadyn's ... how cute!

ALL HALLOWS' EVE

I did not want my favorite holiday to pass quietly into the night without me expressing my love for this wonderful dress-up day. I got to do a lot a makeup and I'll upload a picture of Jadyn's Cat Ballerina as soon as Kathryn releases it from her clutches. I was a harlequin for the night of festivities and had quite a wonderful time building my 'mask'. I hope that everyone enjoyed their own disguisable night ... I added another picture after the great poem, themed to Halloween, so that everybody could see just how high this southern girl got her hair.

THE DANCE OF DEATH by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

THE warder looks down at the mid hour of night,
On the tombs that lie scatter'd below:
The moon fills the place with her silvery light,
And the churchyard like day seems to glow.

When see! first one grave, then another opes wide,
And women and men stepping forth are descried,
In cerements snow-white and trailing.

In haste for the sport soon their ankles they twitch,
And whirl round in dances so gay;
The young and the old, and the poor, and the rich,
But the cerements stand in their way;

And as modesty cannot avail them aught here,
They shake themselves all, and the shrouds soon appear
Scatter'd over the tombs in confusion.

Now waggles the leg, and now wriggles the thigh,
As the troop with strange gestures advance,
And a rattle and clatter anon rises high,
As of one beating time to the dance.

The sight to the warder seems wondrously queer,
When the villainous Tempter speaks thus in his ear:
"Seize one of the shrouds that lie yonder!"

Quick as thought it was done! and for safety he fled
Behind the church-door with all speed;
The moon still continues her clear light to shed
On the dance that they fearfully lead.

But the dancers at length disappear one by one,
And their shrouds, ere they vanish, they carefully don,
And under the turf all is quiet.

But one of them stumbles and shuffles there still,
And gropes at the graves in despair;
Yet 'tis by no comrade he's treated so ill
The shroud he soon scents in the air.

So he rattles the door—for the warder 'tis well
That 'tis bless'd, and so able the foe to repel,
All cover'd with crosses in metal.

The shroud he must have, and no rest will allow,
There remains for reflection no time;
On the ornaments Gothic the wight seizes now,
And from point on to point hastes to climb.

Alas for the warder! his doom is decreed!
Like a long-legged spider, with ne'er-changing speed,
Advances the dreaded pursuer.

The warder he quakes, and the warder turns pale,
The shroud to restore fain had sought;
When the end,—now can nothing to save him avail,—
In a tooth formed of iron is caught.

With vanishing lustre the moon's race is run,
When the bell thunders loudly a powerful One,
And the skeleton fails, crush'd to atoms.

Check it out ... it was at least 4 inch from the top of my head. I'll also be sure to smile more in my next round of pics.