A Guide to The South

The South

\the 'sau'th\, noun

The place where...

Tea is sweet and accents are sweeter.

Summer starts in April.

Macaroni & Cheese is a vegetable.

Front porches are wide and words are long.

Pecan pie is a staple.

Y'all is the only proper noun.

Chicken is fried and biscuits come with gravy.

Everything is Darlin'.

Someone's heart is always being blessed.

Taken from a wall plaque I recently bought...

Sweet iced tea is drunk alot. Looking forward to an early summer!

Mac 'n' cheese is everywhere and everyone seems to like it, especially Luke...just wish it WAS actually a vegetable!

For someone like me, who LOVES pecan pie, it's a little slice of heaven!

Y'all doing well? Come on Y'all...ad infinitum!

Haven't done fried chicken...yet, but you can actually buy deep fryers specifically for whole chickens and turkeys!

Biscuits are actually similar to scones and are a Southern breakfast staple. Instead of strawberries, jam and cream Cornish style, they do indeed serve it with some pale and uninspiring gravy kind of substance, I'm just not brave enough!

Everything, everyone and especially you is a 'Darlin' (love that!)

In everyday conversation your heart is well and truly and constantly being blessed.

Chickens & Eggs

Oh my, I have just had my first birds and bees conversation with Ellie.

Ellie: Mummy, how do chicks grow inside eggs?
Me: Well the mother hen sits on her eggs to keep them warm and the chicks grow until they are ready to hatch.
Ellie: But how do they get inside the egg in the first place? I mean HOW? Why are their no chicks inside my boiled eggs?
Me: Errr, well, err umm....they just do.
Ellie: And what does their daddy do while all this is going on? Does he sit on the eggs? Or does he just leave it all to the mother hen?
Me: Errr yes, I'd say so. Oooh look at that fire engine.

Nope, I was not prepared and didn't see that one coming.

One hour or so later...an update

Ellie: Life begins with a kiss! Mummy life begins with a kiss right?
Me: It does?
Ellie: Yes Mummy! You met Daddy, you kissed him and then I grew in your tummy. Isn't that right?
Me: Well, yes, kind of. Now! Where's your homework folder?

Disney Bound

On Saturday morning we packed up the car and embarked on a journey that took us 10 hours to Kissimmee in Florida aka Disneyland. Finally...a 'Road Trip' to justify my mileage!

Our route from North Carolina took us South through South Carolina, through Georgia and into Florida, we hung a right somewhere close to Daytona Beach and wound our way to our destination. So why did we decide to 10hr drive it rather than 1hr fly it? I don't really know. Because we could? Partly because we didn't have to totally minimise our packing? Because people here just do...drive...such long distances? I also thought (much misguided by a 10 year previous Californian road trip) that the geography and sights would change and afford us to see more of the 'Country'. Not so. On the East Coast I can report that everything on the Interstate looks every bit the same from start to finish, apart from a couple of river deltas in Georgia.

So we're here. In the land of Disney. The sun is shining. The kids are chomping at the bit. Let's see if Walt can work a little bit of his magic on this old sceptic?

What's In The Name?

As in the name of this Blog?

Several people have queried and asked this question of late, and so, just to clear up any misunderstanding...

We, as a family were moving to India. I decided to write a blog. I had to think of a name. I had been to India before. I knew it was going to be tough. I thought we'd be living in some precarious situations and I wasn't wrong. Dire Straits came to mind, which transposed into In-dia Straits.

Cut to the present day. World economics played their part and not long after we settled down we were uprooted to the USA, and because I was seriously lacking in any creativity or humour at that stage in our head spinning worldwide flit, In-dia Straits became In-dia States, ie Where we'd been and where we've now come to.

It isn't and nor did I ever intend it to be a derogatory name, simply INDIA to the STATES. Hope that answers questions, dots i's, crosses t's and...wraps it up!

Mmm Mmm We Have Some Cadbury's

Oh yes we do!!

There was great excitement when we opened the mailbox yesterday because inside was a parcel sent all the way from Kent in little Olde England which contained two selection boxes. Oh the joy! The school run home was the quietest and most peaceful drive ever as the kids tucked into a chocolate bar each. All the while 'umming' and 'ahhhing'. In the end I couldn't take it anymore, a quick glance at the remnants left on the passenger seat and I spied two 'Flakes'...

Plan A:
"Ellie? Can I eat this one? No, No, NO! was her reply, I love those"....funny that, because to my knowledge she's never ever had the pleasure of a Cadbury's Flake but she sure does know a good thing when she sees it.

Plan B
"Luke....? Oh never mind!"

I ate it.

My logic and reasoning for stealing this most divine piece of chocolate from my 2.5 year old...

• He'll never know it's gone.
• He would never in a million years have appreciated it as much as me!
• Hormones need Cadbury's chocolate or it just gets messy.
• He would have made such an almighty mess....the Finger of Fudge was 'just enough to give my kid a treat' and a much better option.
• There is still more in the selection boxes for them both to get their sticky little hands on and because Nanan also kindly sent some treat size bits and bobs back with Ian, we're now good for Cadbury's for a few months....unless anyone feels inclined to send Whole Nut or Twirls?!!

Guilt free and chocolate filled I bid you all a very Good Night!

Thank you Em and Nanan

7516 Miles

To this very day and hour that is exactly how many miles I have driven since taking delivery of my car, give or take a few days, 4 months ago in October.

To put this into some sort of perspective when I was a SAHM in England my average annual mileage topped a whopping 4000 miles, that included dashes here there and everywhere countrywide to visit friends and relatives and the odd holiday or two. The reason it was so low; because I could and did walk everywhere that I possibly could in my hometown, there were many days, even weeks when my car never left the driveway.


Now (and this is frightening) of all those 7516 motored miles none of them include any wild and wonderful road trips, oh no, they are completely made up from school runs, grocery shopping runs and all the driving around in circles that I find myself doing. Almost. All. Of. The. Time.

Even if you wanted to walk anywhere here you can't, it's just not set up for that. People only walk for excercise and dress accordingly so there is no doubt as to what is it they are doing. A few weeks ago we were sat at some traffic lights and Ellie piped up,
"Oh wow, there's something you don't see everyday!"
While I was laughing at the tone of her observation I realised that she was actually pointing to a family who were WALKING and actually risking life and limb CROSSING THE ROAD! I have to say, that she was completely right...that is not something that you see here everyday...comprendez?

So the upshot of all this driving is? Well let me just ask... "Does my bum look big in this car?"