Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Chats on a Farmhouse Porch #2

It's Tuesday.  Time for drinking iced tea, sitting on the porch and talking with some friends!

1.  Did you grow up in a small town or a big town?  Did you enjoy it?

Kari:  I grew up in a  lot of small towns.  We moved frequently when I was young for my father's job.  I am definitely a small town kind of girl.  Actually, I'm more like a village kind of girl.  Small is best for me.

Every summer we spent several weeks in my great-grandparents' home in a very small town in the Southern United States.  (No, they weren't alive.  My parents bought the home as a kind of "home base," I guess.)  That, more than any other place, was home.  In the summers, my sister and I would wake up, dress, run out the back door to my Aunt Tina and Uncle Leach's house next door where we'd eat breakfast.  Then, we'd spend the day playing outside, digging in the dirt, playing with our dolls and, in my sister's case, climbing trees or, in my case, reading books.  My parents eventually remodeled that house and retired there. 

Until a year and a half ago, when progress finally came to that little town in the form of a Dollar General Store, there was a three aisle grocery store on Main Street.  Years ago, there was also a drug store, a bank and a hardware.  It's just a quiet, sleepy rural town where the most excitement is the monthly town meeting.  That's where Boo and I are moving...in less than two weeks. 

Boo:  I grew up in a small town in Louisiana and I did like it.  In first grade I attended a small country school...a four room school house.  The principal lived in the house behind the school and taught the third grade, I think.  We grew our own food in a truck patch garden and had bourchiries in the fall.  Our extended family and close neighbors gathered to butcher the fat stock (hogs) and preserve the meat for winter.

2.  If you could pick one song to hear for the rest of your life to hear, what would it be?

Kari:  Just one?  That's not easy.  I like music and vary what I listen to depending on my mood.  Usually a country music song or a ballad that speaks to me would be my choice.  But just one???  I really can't do that.  You know, for someone who couldn't carry a tune if it had handles (Thank you, Papa Hall for those genes!), I do like music.  The two songs I just can't get out of my mind today are:  Louisiana Saturday Night, by Alabama and Going Bananas, by Captain and Tennille.  I need high energy music to work today. 

The one song that I think I'd want to hear the rest of my life is The Divine Mercy Prayer in Song.   It's such a powerful prayer and one that calms Boo in the middle of the night.



Boo:  You Are My Sunshine, by Jimmie Davis, one of Louisiana's governors.



3.  What are your pet peeves?

Kari:  People who loudly, insistently talk over those with whom they disagree, refusing to listen or to try to see another point of view.  I don't expect anyone to completely agree with me.  One of us would be unnecessary, right?  I enjoy discussions, learning what others think and why.  I have little tolerance for those who must be right at all costs and who won't allow dissenting opinion.

Boo:  Mice, howling dogs and loud noises.  (Since Boo's strokes, he's been very sensitive to loud noises.  He becomes confused and disoriented far more easily when there's a lot of noise.)

4.  Do you remember your dreams?  Are they in black and white or color?  What is the craziest dream you've ever had?

Kari:  Sometimes I remember dreams, but not too often.  I only dream in color.  Not sure why.  I'm not sure what the craziest dream I've ever had was.  Last night I dreamed a friend of mine was traveling with her child.  The child decided to get married to a camel with three humps.  See, my dreams are weird.  I don't spend much time thinking about them and I never try to figure out any hidden meanings. 

Boo:  I remember some of my dreams.  I think they're in color.  I can't remember any specific crazy dream.  None really make sense.  I remember dreaming about going duck hunting and eating roasted duck.  That was delicious!  Then the ducks started talking to me.

5.  What is the perfect pair of shoes for you?

Kari:  That's easy!  Clogs!  They're comfortable and I can wear them with or without socks or tights.  I like boots in the winter and flat Mary Jane type shoes in the summer when I have to wear shoes.  Clogs are my favorite though.  Mother used to despair of keeping shoes on me.  I remember kicking my shoes off at the drop of a hat when I was little and running around barefoot.

Boo:  Winged shoes.  I want shoes with wings to make me lighter and faster...when I want to go somewhere.  Today I just want to stay home.

Come sit on the front porch and chat with us at Everyday Ruralty.

6 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your answers. I like your patchwork background! Have a good week.

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  2. oh, i love that song - you are my sunshine. brings back such good memories. fun week. ( :

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  3. Your childhood memories sound wonderful. We are raising our girl in much of the same way you were raised. Did people ask you if you were gypsies too? Have a blessed week :O)

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  4. You have increased my vocabulary by the word, bourchiries. I'm familiar with the concept, but had never heard the word. The Divine Mercy song is awesome. I agree with you about mice, Boo. They love old farmhouses like mine. I do not want their company. I need to wake three of our four cats when I see a mouse. One is great, but the others are so lazy! Funny dream about eating duck. I like duck with cherry sauce, but not if they're looking at me! :) lol Clogs are so comfy. During my years as a chef, I lived in clogs. It was important to have great shoes with all the standing I did. I thought Boo meant wing tip shoes until I read closer. :)

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  5. I'm with you on your pet peeve too. I even wear my clogs in the snow, mostly because I decided I wasn't buying boots this winter since it didn't snow last winter. The joke was on me since we've received so much snow already with more to come.

    Thanks for the comment.

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