I Just Wanted Some Pants

I’ve been in a “getting rid of” phase here at Casa Baer. I’ve unloaded some unwanted things and given away some things I still want but never use (can you say good-bye to about $1,000 worth of gorgeous high-heeled shoes), and made my jewelry box about ten pounds lighter. It was time to donate these items to new homes and people who will – hopefully – enjoy them the same way I did for years.

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Thanksgiving Greetings From Vicksburg

The holiday crush is upon us. It’s time to pack on the pounds and dole out the dollars. With a mad dash here and a mad dash there, here a dash, there a dash, everyday a dash, dash. In other words, it’s the holidays. November and December are always such special months of the year. But ultimately, the hustle and bustle culminates in the sharing of relaxed meals with loved ones and cozy nights by the fire.

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The Good Old Days

I want to go back. Back to the good old days. Not that I want to be younger or actually GO back in time, but rather I want things to stop changing. I like stuff the way it currently is or used to be. Some things nowadays are designed to make our lives easier, but they just make it harder. And when things break down, it takes a skilled technician, two weeks and a thousand dollars to fix them.

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Package packaging

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m quite fond of ordering things on-line. It’s easy, convenient, and oft times less expensive. You can bargain shop without going anywhere or clipping coupons. Not that I don’t like to shop, because I do. On occasion. I like to stroll through a mall and allow myself to be drawn into a shop because of a cute window display or the enticing aroma of something I might have to buy.

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Life Derailed

Everything has been out of whack. Our city is almost back to being fully operational, which is a good thing. The only real restrictions are for large gatherings. But that doesn’t mean things are back to normal. Of course, there are the usual “new normal” things, like wearing masks and such, but even those things are more or less “recommendations” here and not actual requirements. We’ve never really had a huge volume of COVID cases in our county to start with, so everyone is just being cautious but going about their business. No real fanatics here.

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It Seemed Like A Good Idea – Until I Got To the Store

My husband and I are going to be grands. Sort of. Neither of us have any children of our own, but we do have nieces and nephews, the oldest of which is having a baby. So, it’s our first grand niece or nephew. That’s pretty darned exciting!

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That’s Cool But We Don’t Know What To Do With It.

Have you ever noticed that people like to put things into categories? It’s just human nature I think to want to classify stuff into known categories. Everything needs to go into a box, or a file, or on a shelf. Ever look at something and wonder what the heck it is? If someone tells you it’s a new-fangled object designed to do thus and such, your brain automatically wants to file that information into a group of knowns. That’s usually when people say something like, “Oh, it’s sort of like a thingamajig?” We ask because we have an inherent need to relate the new thing to an old thing.

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They’re On To Me

I’m a coupon shopper. I like getting 40 cents off here and a dollar off there. Who doesn’t like a bargain? Coupon shopping is like getting a bargain on certain items. When you use a lot of them at a time, it can really amount to quite the savings.

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Here’s To Family (and Shopping)

 

Happy Thanksgiving week y’all! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday no matter what your plans.

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That’s A What?

So I’m adapting to southern life relatively well. I now have my Mississippi driver’s license and license plate for the car, so I guess it’s official, I am a resident of Mississippi, Warren County to be exact.

Photo courtesy Google Images

But, what I’m still not used to, are certain words associated with things here in Vicksburg. Stuff ain’t called the right stuff here. For instance, in California I used to go to the grocery store; here, everyone goes to the market. Okay, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to still call it the grocery store.

And then when I get to the grocery store market, I pick up one of those things to put my stuff in, you know, a grocery/shopping cart? Not here in Mississippi. Here you pick up a buggy. I know. What? Buggy? While I was checking out and unloading my – cart – the young man bagging stuff at the other end of the conveyor belt asked me for my buggy. I had no idea what the hell he was talking about. After I figured out what he wanted, I corrected him – politely – advising that from now on he should call it a cart, otherwise I’d have no idea what he was referring to. I’m sure he’ll listen to my prudent advice.

Photo courtesy Google Images

And here, no matter what kind of soda, or pop as they say in the mid-west, you order, it’s called coke. So if you want a Sprite, or a 7-Up, you order a 7-Up flavored Coke. You order a Coke and then let the wait person ask you what kind of Coke you want. How strange is that? I ordered a Coke with my lunch one day and she asked me what kind of Coke I wanted. Really? What kind of Coke? “I’ll have the coke flavored Coke please.” Weird.

Maybe calling all soda Coke is required here since Vicksburg is the very first place to bottle the fizzy beverage. Who knows. Just be careful what you order when you come visit.

All in all, Mississippi is treating me well. I’m loving it here and meeting some awesome people. Everyone wants to be my friend, everyone wants to take me to lunch, everyone wants to offer assistance. It’s so not like California in that regard. No egos here. No heads in cell phones. Just friendly smiles, waves, and people who truly want to be nice to me. What a refreshing change.

I say, come on out for a visit. I’m ready and waiting to feed you well and tell you some pretty cool stories about this old house and the crazy lady who owned it. Leona Baer – what a woman!

What strange words or phrases have you come across in your travels outside your hometown? Anything I need to know about the south before I fall into another faux paus? (Buggy. Whatever.) Please help a girl out here.

Word of the Day: Zoic

Fun fact about me: I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say “ya’ll.” It just ain’t right ya’ll.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt 2015. Photos courtesy Google Images.

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