A Hair Raising Ttale

Since my daughter has seen fit to air her hair issues on international world wide webitude, I guess I will have to "woman up" and tell mine.

It all started when I was four or five and wanted bangs. Being the independent type (not to say sneaky and rebellious) I got out my like blunt scissors and cut off half my hair on one side. (Bangs are a little difficult; even for me!)

Then in Junior High I decided blonds have more fun so I stopped on my way home from school at the Five and Dime Store (yesterday's equivalent of Walmart) and bought some Nestle's Rinse.
That night I furtively applied the tiny capsule to my hair; I expected to wake up Marilyn Monroe. NOT! No hair color change at all! (False advertising wins again!)

Not completely dissuaded that blonds don't have more fun, I applied peroxide to my hair while at the beach. Results: nice orange hair. Oops!

At a later date I bought the Lady Clairol equivalent of White Lightning. More Orange hair with scabs all over my head. Had to be professionally corrected...back to brown....my scalp couldn't take any more bleach.

Still later....on the day of the Coker Homecoming dance I decide once more I will have way more fun at the dance as a blond. More White Lightening and a little less orange after a run back to the Boyd Powe for another bottle.

I stay with the blond until my wedding; deciding I don't want my wedding pictures to be of some blond my kids won't recognize.

Few years later.....I try red.....back to blonde......auburn.....then mother nature decides grey is a good color for me. I leave it alone until............

December 2008......I'm back to blond! So if Gabby has hair issues; they certainly did not come from me.

HOME SWEET GONE

Well, its gone....almost gone. Our first home....the one my husband grew up in....the one he remodeled for me....the one where he carried me over the threshold...the one where we brought our first babies ......

Its been a LONG time comin'! Just ask our friends, neighbors, and family. It was a gorgeous old house when we lived there. But alas, two bedrooms, one bath, and three people living there with my parents coming for visits.... so we decided to build a new house two doors down as the crow flies.

Then we rented said house. First renters were great; no problemo. Second renters left owing us rent and leaving furniture for us to get rid of.

So....sell the house.....first owners great! Second owners a little questionable (mirrors on the twelve foot ceilings for heaven's sake) and RED SHAG CARPET throughout (definite fashion mistake) and a whole room dedicated to wife's clown collection.

Then a FIRE..... HAVE you ever seen fat lider (old pine wood) burn? Unfortunately it did not burn to the ground....just to a very ugly house.

Who would like there..... owners sell the lot to trailer trash (sorry but the word applies here) who move there rusty old trailer behind the house and use the house as their dumpster. Picture huge old house filled with empty beer bottles, trash of every description (and I do mean every).

We prayed (and I do mean prayed) they would move....oh yeah, they did get a new trailer and put the old one in front of the burned house. I mean just when you thought it couldn't get worse....it got worse, much worse.

As in they hooked in to my 93 year old mother-in-law's phone and ran a 500 foot cord to their house. Right beside the 500 foot hose that ran from her water spigot to their house.... not to mention the year they stole her outdoor Christmas tree and left a trail of ornaments directly to their door. (Smart, huh?....the police shook their heads.)

Oh, and they stole our neighbor, the doctor's, Boston Terrier. After we had all looked high and low for Molly for weeks..... Pam knocks on their door and asks if they had seen the dog....oh no...they say....as Molly runs out from between their legs. Chutzpa....was these people's name!

Finally, on his last arrest.....(oh, I forgot to mention he had gamecock cages (with Gamecocks) for fighting them.... about 10 PM weekend nights.....pickups started arriving) any way after his LAST arrest the family had to move.....and we got our cousin who farmed the rest of the land to buy the dang place. That was five years ago and we've been waiting ever since for the house to be torn down.

Finally, January 22, 2009 a HUGE back hoe arrives; digs a hole the size of the grand canyon, and starts tearing off pieces of the house and dropping them in the hole. Hallelujah!

Now, IF they continue today.....we might finally be able to say....Home Sweet GONE!

Girls Just Gotta Have Fu Un

This a a shot taken at my friend Dianne's 65 Birthday party Friday night. (She's the blond behind the flower arrangement). It was a great party and fitting tribute to a great "girl". (Note.. women are known as "girls" forever more.) They had a band, supper, video of her past, many cakes....a comedian known as "Bubba" who was terrific. It was so much fun my 9 year old granddaughter Hannah who went with me said, "Nana, that was the best birthday party I've ever been to!!"

The next day, I was off to Charleston with two college friends to visit a third college friend in the hospital. I don't think I could have laughed more that day if I had seen 12 Jim Carey movies back to back. We girls are getting funnier by the minute as we age. Just keeping up with our purses is a hilarious challenge....not to mention finding the parking lot, and the room in a huge hospital. (It helps if you get off on the right floor and don't just follow the first person who gets off the elevator).

We girls know how to make a trip to the hospital pleasant. Stop regularly for food (and potty), have lunch at a WONDERFUL Charleston restaurant, and stop to pick up pralines fresh off the stove.... oh and buy a little jewelry if you have a mind to.

So you youngsters out there reading this....do not fear old age....it is a blast.....like fine wine, women get better with age. Make friends now (and hold on to those you got) they will be a huge blessing in your later years!

Ode to Megan

This is my youngest granddaughter, Megan Chapman. She is seven and in first grade. As you can see she has a big smile and straight black hair like Snow White. She also has the creamy white skin with a few very tiny angel kisses (freckles) on her nose.

Megan love animals. She especially loves our dog Scout. If you don't see them around the house for a while, they are probably curled up together on a couch under a blanket, kissing :)
She will shared her candy, her bubble gun, and even her bacon and pancakes with Scout.

Yesterday we went shopping to spend Christmas money (present ordered from Amazon did not arrive :( She bought a battery powered chipmunk that she can bottle feed. Scout is very interested and a little jealous of this new object of Megan's affection. She also bought a stuffed poodle (very cute and cudly) and a necklace and bracelet set.

She used her math skills to add up her desires to make sure she would have enough when she got to the register. Did I mention she is good at math?

She is also good at Scrabble....in fact she would have beaten four adults last night if her PopPop hadn't landed on a triple word with the word Nazi in the last few minutes of the game.

Megan is a terrific sister. She shares. She gives her spendthrift brother money. What more can I say?

Well, there is tons more I can say; but I dont want her to read this and get conceited so I'll stop for now.

Thank you Lord for giving me Megan for a granddaughter!