Monthly Archives: June 2013
Red Georgia Clay (Sung to the tune of Toby Keith’s Red Solo Cup)
Let’s have a standoff
Ah, yes. Red Georgia clay: the bane of my existence during baseball season. Take a look at these pictures, folks. This is just one week’s worth of baseball pants. How is a woman with other children, other responsibilities, other laundry, supposed to keep up?
All the moms in the stands compare notes. Have you tried this? Have you tried that? Well, here’s another picture proving I’ve tried just about everything. In truth, the season is over, however I still have three pairs of pants soaking in Iron Out in my laundry room sink.
Iron Out, in case you’ve never experienced the joy of this powder, makes your house smell like a sewer. I kid you not. The ladies on the bleachers swear by this stuff, but either I’m not using it right or my son gets dirtier than their kids, because it still doesn’t get all the stains out and that’s after days of soaking! Days!
My all time favorite product, guaranteed to rid white clothes of stains is the inanely named Fels-Naptha. Huh? What marketing genius came up with that catchy title? Although Fels-Naptha does work, while scrubbing stains with this soap bar, I feel a kinship with my ancestors of generations past who scrubbed clothes over washboards. My biceps have never looked better. I can hear the announcer at the fictitious World’s Fittest Mom competition: And now, fresh from the laundry circuit, here’s contestant number three, stay-at-home mom, Christy Hayes…
Does anyone have any suggestions for those of us lucky enough to live in the South who face the joys of red Georgia clay on a daily basis? Please help. Inquiring minds want to know.
Happy Summer Solstice everyone! Believe it or not, this is one of my favorite days of the summer. Yeah, I know how pathetic that sounds, but as a sufferer of low vision with NO vision at night, I love the longest day of the year. Sixteen hours of daylight! Yahoo!
While Memorial Day is touted as the “official start of summer” by most people in the U.S., June 21st is actually the official, official start of summer for the northern hemisphere. Really. It is. Unless you live in Georgia where school lets out BEFORE Memorial Day weekend; then the summer solstice is more like midsummer, as the European’s refer to it. But I’m not going to think that way because that only leads to panic about summer slipping away. Today, I’m going to relax and soak up the vitamin D.
Typically, this day is filled with the smell of chlorine and bug spray, sidewalk chalk and lazy games on the lawn. For some, it’s an excellent time to take stock of their life and assess how their goals and aims are going. Kind of like a gut-check on those New Year’s resolutions. Because after today, well, it’s all downhill toward the end of the year. The days get shorter; the stress gets more intense.
But I digress. The summer solstice is meant for meandering and enjoying. Sit outside and read a good book. (Check the books page on this blog for some suggestions.) Or, go shopping and ‘renew’ your wardrobe. Start a new exercise routine. If you want to celebrate this day as they did in past generations, prepare a bonfire in the evening hours. Just please don’t jump over said bonfire as was the tradition centuries ago. I don’t want to be responsible for any injuries. You can also worship the sun. In Latvia, they host a naked run through the streets. Although, if you decide to try that, please, don’t tell the cops about this blog. 😉
Whatever you decide to do today, enjoy. June 21st may still only have twenty-four hours in it, but it sure feels longer than that. Wouldn’t it be great if every day had fifteen to sixteen hours of sunlight? Would you live your life differently? How are planning to use those extra hours of daylight today?
Ladd Fortune
The second installment of my 2013 Ladd Springs series is out! Ladd Fortune takes readers from the adventures of Nick and Delaney to the escapades of Malcolm and Lacy, all centered around one gorgeous piece of property ~ Ladd Springs.
The forsaken children of Ladd Springs return home to seek their fortune, but no one is happy to see them. One is home for love, one is home for money.
Lacy Owens has come back to Tennessee for a return to the fold, only she’s done so on the heels of Jeremiah Ladd. He’s the prodigal son of Ladd Springs—a mecca of streams, springs and trails in the eastern Tennessee mountains—and he’s determined to reclaim the land as his rightful inheritance.
Lacy cares little about Jeremiah’s plan. She simply yearns for the comfort of family, but sister Annie Owens wants nothing to do with Lacy, though sees opportunity in Jeremiah’s return. With him in town she can finally prove paternity for her daughter Casey, and ultimately stake her own claim in Ladd Springs.
Trouble is, Jeremiah’s father has already willed the property to his granddaughter, Felicity Wilkins. She’s away at college, but fighting for her rights back home is Malcolm Ward, partner in Harris Hotels, and a man with a financial stake in Ladd Springs. It’s his job to see the land remains in Felicity’s possession.
But when Malcolm falls for Lacy without realizing her hidden agenda, his plans are put into jeopardy. In these parts, blood runs thicker than legalities and feuds aside, it’s a hard lesson for a city boy from California to comprehend.
Love and money are powerful forces but only one can prevail in Ladd Springs. Which will it be? Find out in the second installment of Ladd Springs…