My friend Keith said:

He's gonna make a good Papaw someday. <3

Summer is ending...

TIME TO CAN! I took a canning class at our local Outreach for free! I learned a lot, and canned some beets! :D Here is a recipe for a Summers' End salsa to preserve the taste of the garden through the winter. <3

Caring is an investment in yourself and others.

One of the ways I learned to care for others was by paying attention to and being grateful for the way my Mamaw took care of me when I was sick.

She had a lot of kids (9 altogether), and took care of some of their kids too over the years, my blessed and lucky self included. She could actually smell when sickness was coming on, because of the increased ammonia in our sweat (genius) and she would start her wall of defense right then. Bathed, warmed and dried, into the bed with a sock of vapor rub around your neck, a good layer of it on your chest and a dab under your nose to keep you breathing. Then broth or soup or gingerale along with lots of tv and books and her sweet but curt attention around the clock, and that's how you got through it. If it was cold at night, she would put a hot water bottle (a recycled Wesson oil bottle, wrapped in a towel) under my covers at the foot of the bed, and got up in the middle of the night to put hot water in it again. She would check in regularly, and let me know in her way that she was busy, and I should appreciate this (ie: not grow up to be a spoiled, entitled-feeling layabout, and learn to do this for others) and I knew this was part of her caring too. 

To this day, when I get sick, I think of Mamaw Winnie and my father too, who took a page from her book (sloppily copied, but still kind and helpful) when it came to looking after sick kids. And it's not hard to do that for someone else, and to apply those same principles to all ways of helping one another. Doing it right, so that that person's body AND soul feel cared for, so they are strong enough to fight the next battle and the next and the next - because they never stop coming. And showing them how to do it for themselves and others too, because that is what really makes the world go 'round.

 "This is most important thing I can ever teach y'all. You got to take care of people that's smaller and sweeter than you are."

- Miss Bathsheba, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Comfort Food

Southern Living's Top 100 Comfort Food Recipes. :)
What was your top comfort food growing up? I love fresh peas and rice and greens, and my mamaws lemon pie. <3 

Purpose.

Look for the helpers.

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” 
― Charles Dickens

Gardening - taken to the next level...

Essence.

"...The ESSENCE of Mamawism, if you ask me, is to strongly, wisely and lovingly inspire those around you to do good things!"

Fact:

If you practice a lot at something, you'll get good at it! 

Cast iron, sweet corn and butter.

A grandmother told me that when first learning to bake cornbread or biscuits, follow the recipe on the back of the bag. She said they are old established companies and they care that their products come out right, so they have tried and tested those recipes on the back of their products and you can pretty much bet they're good. 

I don't use sugar in my cornbread, however I do add a small dollop of honey, for the flavor and texture, but no noticeable sweetness. To balance the honey, I also add some black pepper. But I pretty much put black pepper in everything. :) Otherwise, my recipe is pretty much like this one, skillet prep and all. I often use olive oil as my oil in the recipe, and since I bake gluten free, I add a half cup of rice flour and potato or corn starch to my cornmeal for fluff. 

#14: Bee time!

13 Reasons Why Gardening is Good for Your Health

The results of a multitude of research is now showing what gardeners have intrinsically known for generations –
that gardening is good for your health.

Now more than ever, as our culture becomes more technologically obsessed and increasingly nature deprived, this information is critical to digest and embrace. The reason why? Because our country is in a national health crisis with substantial economic and social implications.

Here are some statistics that bear this out:

The U.S. public spends more than 90% of their time indoors, leading an extremely sedentary, disconnected, unhealthy, and unnatural lifestyle.
The latest statistics show that 33% of U.S. adults are obese, incurring $148 billion in medical costs annually and contributing to 18% of U.S. adult deaths.
Publicly available data shows U.S. healthcare costs are the highest per capita in the world—and that amount continues to increase.
Recent research funded by Disney shows that 65% of U.S. parents see it as a “very serious” problem that their kids are not spending more time outdoors. According to the survey, this is equal or a close second to their concerns about bullying, the quality of education, and obesity. Preschoolers spend about 12 hours a week outside, and by the age of 16, our children are spending less than 7 hours a week in nature.

Ideally, these statistics will put some fire in your belly to spend more time outdoors in nature and gardening. But those of you who may need more hard core facts to help galvanize you to get your hands in the dirt, below are

13 REASONS WHY GARDENING IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
1. Gardening can reduce your risk of stroke (along with other activities as jogging and swimming) as reported in “Stroke: Journal of The American Heart Association”.

2. Gardening burns calories. Gardening is considered moderate to high-intensity exercise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you can burn up to 330 calories during just one hour of light gardening and yard work — more than lifting weights for the same amount of time. The National Institute of Health goes so far as to recommend 30 to 45 minutes of gardening three to five times a week as part of a good strategy

3. Heavy gardening  is not only helpful in weight maintenance but also in reducing the risk of heart disease and other life threatening diseases. Just 30 minutes of moderate-level physical activity a few times a week can prevent and control high blood pressure. In fact, gardening scored a place on the The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute‘s recommendation list for battling high blood pressure.

gardening to prevent heart disease

4. Gardening decreases the likelihood of osteoporosis. When you dig, plant, weed, and engage in repetitive tasks that require strength or stretching, all of the major muscle groups are getting a good work out.

5. Gardening is a stress buster. As a matter of fact, it may be an even more effective stress buster than other leisure activities. In a study in the Netherlands (as reported by CNN), two groups of students were told to either read indoors or garden for thirty minutes AFTER completing a stressful task. The group that gardened reported being in a better mood than the group that read. And they also exhibited lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

6. Being surrounded by flowers improves one’s health. In behavioral research conducted at Rutgers University by Jeanette M. Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., the results showed that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods and have an immediate impact on happiness, a long term positive effects on mood, and make for more intimate connections between individuals

7. Gardening is a way of making meaning out of our lives. Being in the garden and feeling a profound connection to the land affords us the opportunity to focus on beauty and inspires us to experience feelings of awe, gratitude, and abundance.

8. The act of gardening enables us to enter the ‘zone’,  also known as an altered state of consciousness – similar to what a jogger or one who practices yoga or mediation can experience. This transcendent state is a magical and spiritual place where one experiences the best of who she/he is.

9. It is likely that gardening and flowers serve as a means for survival; or in Darwinian terms, ‘survival of the fittest’. For more than 5000 years, people have cultivated flowers. There must be a reason why this practice continues to exist. As Michael Pollan has written, “It was the flower that first ushered the idea of beauty into the world the moment, long ago, when floral attraction emerged as an evolutionary strategy.”

Being around flowers is good for your health

10. Digging in the soil has actual health and ‘mood boosting’ benefits.

Larry Dossey, M.D. who wrote the new foreword for Digging Deep’s 10th Anniversary Edition, and author of One Mind: How Our Individual Mind is Part of a Great Consciousness and Why It Matters writes: “The importance of gardening and “digging deep” is written into our physiology. Evidence for what’s called the “hygiene hypothese” is  abundant. Briefly, we know that children who are exposed to dirt in the formative years develop healthier, stronger immune systems when compared to children whose parents keep them squeaky clean, and they have a lower incidence of asthma, eczema and allergies later in life. Exposure to dirt in childhood promotes good health.” 1

Christopher Lowry, Ph.D., an assistant professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been injecting mice with Mycobacterium vaccae, a harmless bacteria commonly found in soil, and has found that they increase the release and metabolism of serotonin in parts of the brain that control cognitive function and mood — much like serotonin-boosting antidepressant drugs do.

12. Gardening may lower the risk of dementia. Some research suggests that the physical activity associated with gardening can help lower the risk of developing dementia. Two separate studies that followed people in their 60s and 70s for up to 16 years found, respectively, that those who gardened regularly had a 36% and 47% lower risk of dementia than non-gardeners, even when a range of other health factors were taken into account

13. Gardening strengthens your immune system. While you’re outdoors basking in the sun, you’ll also soak up plenty of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium. In turn, calcium helps keep your bones strong and your immune system healthy. - Gardening Gone Wild

Good Manners make for Good Neighbors!

"A function of etiquette in real life is to keep us from being at one another’s throats. "                - Miss Manners

Earth 911

 earth911.com A good go to guide for recycling, lots of ideas!

Sweetie.

Whisper.

You have arrived!

"I just trimmed the flowerbed in my front yard while wearing my old country granny nightgown, and no bra. I'm my grandma."                                                                          

- my friend Robyn

A Mamaw Remembered: Wanda Baucum

"She took care of us, watched us grow up, watched us graduate, taught us to love unconditionally and forgive shortcomings. She saw the birth of her grandchildren and took joy in every second with them. We will weep for our loss, but rejoice in her life."       
- Myla Watts
                                                                 

Don't waste it.

"You don't do anything until your (homework, assignment, reading, insert educational goal here) is done. You have an opportunity we didn't. Don't waste it. I heard so many variations of this because my parents and grandparents did not finish high school because of obligations to family despite valuing education highly."

"Animals are your companions, never treat them worse than your best friend. (Not just pets. I heard this about wild animals too)."

- CL

Mixed Company

Get the goody out!

You're growing!

Old sayings from my grandparents:"My nose itches, I smell peaches, someone's coming with a hole in their britches.""Use it up, wear it out, make due with or do without.""If your ear itches, someone is talking about you.""If you have the hiccups, it means you're growing."

All of these were from my mother's side of the family.- CZ

Mamawism at work!

It was SO hot today and I was tired, on the go, in a hurry, and fighting the blues, and then I got to see some real mamawism in action today, and I was the lucky recipient!
I went through a drive through to get a chocolate dipped vanilla cone (they are wonderful, gf, and less than a buck fifty!). I was so proud to have the exact change all ready, but when I got to the window I was told that the lady in the car in front of me - with the 'I <3 My Grandog!' sticker had paid for my ice cream! The cashier told me she does it for the person behind her every time she comes through! SHE IS DOING IT RIGHT! <3 I got to wave 'thank you' to her before she drove away, and I am hoping that she knows it makes peoples' day, and that's part of why she does it! 

On rice, steel and speaking your heart.

- When cooking rice, add the water until you can touch your forefinger to the surface of rice and the water comes up to the first line on your finger. (Thai grandma)

- Use stainless steel to remove fish smells from hands. (Southern grandma)

- Tell them you love them. (my dear papa who passed 10 years ago...instructing me during a time of very strained relationship between my father and myself)

- MW

Papawism is part of the mix too!

Papawism is welcome and helpful and useful too, I just don't feel as entitled to blog about that. :)

Here are some nice guidelines from one good papaw's blog!

Rule #1 for having a special, individual relationship with everyone is to always be yourself.That won’t always be popular, but it will make sure that you always walk in integrity. A multitude of sins and mishaps are forgiven of the man who walks in integrity.

The closest thing to a front or facade that I’ve ever seen my grandpa put up was silence. If he didn’t like, agree, or appreciate something you had to say, he would consider if your relationship was strong enough to withstand the conflict. If so, he let you know his thoughts. If not, he was quiet. "Why waste my time with someone who isn’t going to do anything with the conversation?" was his reasoning.

This way, no matter when or where you met, he would always be ready to give his best because there was no concern for who he needed to be. The only thing grandpa needed to know was who you were when you showed up.

Rule #2 for having a special, individual relationship with everyone is to base the relationship on them, not you. When you show up as yourself all the time, you eliminate a lot of the variables that derail most people. Instead, you can focus on who you are interacting with and what they bring to the table. What are their needs, wants, desires…

Our job isn’t to make all their dreams come true, but to simply apply our best selves to the moment at hand. Know yourself so well that you can focus on the people around you.

Rule #3 for having a special, individual relationship with everyone is to do all you do in love. Sappy, right? But it’s completely true and one of the most overlooked tools in bag. Grandpa told me more than once that his business transactions weren’t based on getting the most he could from the deal. He looked at people and listened to understand what they needed and found a way for both to come out ahead.

He didn’t call it, ‘love,’ because he was entirely to stern to see it as such. That’s exactly what it was though. One instance that stands out in my mind of this operating philosophy.

Grandpa was approached by a local man about cutting timber from our farm. The history of people coming in and ripping my beloved woods apart wasn’t good. My dad and I were aggrevated by the situtation, but grandpa went ahead. Later, I asked him what made him do it.

"I just don’t understand why you turned somebody loose on timber. What was the driving force? Did you need the money?"

"No," he said a little indignently. "I didn’t need the money…he did!"

There is a real possibility that you will be taken advantage of occassionally. The hard news is, that will happen whether you follow these rules or not. On the balance, you will undoubtedly come out ahead by sticking to them.

1. Always be yourself.
2. Base relationships on them.
3. Do everything in love.

Enough already!

"Y'all stop fighting! Don't make me turn this internet around!"

Good advice...

Written by a 90 year old – Rules to live by….

This is something we should all read at least  once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!
Written by Regina  Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio . “To  celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is  the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to  90 in August, so here is the column once  more:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still  good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short – enjoy it.
4. Your job won’t take care of  you when you are sick. Your friends  and  family will.
5.Don’t buy stuff you don’t  need

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay  true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying  alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take  it.
9. Save for things that matter.
10. When it comes to  chocolate, resistance is futile.  
11. Make peace with your past so  it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see  you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their  journey and purpose is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret,  you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an  eye                              

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs  you down in many ways.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you  stronger.
19. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all a one way  project.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t  take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear  the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is  special.  
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric  now. Don’t wear old age to wear purple.  
24. The most important sex  organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but  you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years,  will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive but don’t  forget.
29. What other people think of you is none of your  business.
30. Time heals almost everything. .
31. However good or  bad a situation is, it will soon change.
32. Don’t take yourself so  seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves  you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35.  Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old  beats the alternative — .

37. Your children get only one  childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you  loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting  everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw  everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time.  Accept what you already have not what you want.
42. The best is yet  to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show  up.
44. Yield–even if  have the right of way.
45. Life  isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”
46. Friends are the  family that we choose.

It's all about wisdom.

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded." - Emerson