My Favorite Family Quotes

My family says some wild stuff. Here's a few of my favorites.

"Really hard being this damn good lookin' everyday."---Poppa

"Ever think those cowboy boots are the reason you ain't got a man?" My Momma on my dating.

"Eat this beet and you'll grow up nice and purdy."---Great Grandmother

"HOLY MACKERAL!"--Granddaddy

"Someone's obviously voo-dooed you with some bad juju." My Momma

"Grow em' (girls) up in our country, in the dirt, next to the river, and they will grow up to be pretty as wildflowers and mean as a damn cottonmouth." Living advice from the general group.

"Well, it's Saturday night in Shawneetown. Take either a shotgun or a knife for safe keepins."---More life advice.

"Putting two drinkin' Kentuckians in the same room is like putting two wildcats in a cloth sack, just plain stupid." Granddaddy again.

Ya'll got any bits of wisdom to share from your folks?

Mighty Mississippi

Hiya ladies and gents,

Once again I have dedicated this post to the up and coming flood we are about to have. I live in Baton Rouge, which I have made clear, and this city rests on the Mississippi. The Mississippi has already climbed its way over its normal bed, swelling up to nearly the top of the levee. However, the worst is yet to come. The river is supposed to crest the levee on May 22nd, which will lead to some major flooding. I went to see the river yesterday and the Big Muddy is resting its self on the recreational part of the levee downtown, where I was sitting watching the sun set two weeks ago at the Earth Day Festival. The city has already started to prepare for the worst, putting down said bags at low points of the levee downtown and moving animals from the LSU vet school, located less than a hundred yards from the levee.

Big Water

Hiya Folks,

Today's theme is flood water.

 I went home to a Kentucky full of tornadoes and flood water. My home right now is experiencing a historic flood with waters reaching the level of the flood of 1937. Here's some pictures of Southwest Kentucky during the 1937 flood. Here's some pictures from that flood.

Paducah, KY 1937

Flood Memorial Paducah, Kentucky

Dowtown Paducah-1937 Flood.

The Ohio River and its tributaries are swollen and many people in Southwest Kentucky are having to evacuate their homes. I went home and helped sandbag houses, stake high water roads, and move cattle to safer ground. I felt like I was in a John Wayne movie. I luckily have been raised by cowboys, so my upbringing helps me know what to do when trouble is a'comin'. The Army Corps of Engineers have been considering busting a levy on the river to keep the city of Cairo, Illinois, from going completely underwater. For ya'll not from that part of the world, Cairo rests at the crux of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and is considered one of the most important ports on the Mississippi River. Many of my kinfolk are surrounded by water, with their houses looking like islands. Today, my uncle used a john boat to go get my grandfather out of his house because it was inaccessible by car. Interesting to watch how Mother Nature can put life at a standstill.

Lonnie Johnson wrote a great song called "Flood Water Blues" about the 37' flood. Here's some lyrics to it:
"When it lightin', my mind gets frightened, my nerves begin weakenin' down
And the shack where we was livin' began movin' 'round...
Women and children were screamin', sayin', 'Lord must we go?'
'The floodwater have broke the levees and we ain't safe here no more."

Very haunting song. Here's a recording of Mr. Johnson singin' it.

Country Cowboys

So lately, I have developed a hankerin' for autobiographies of country music stars. This new habit was born after reading Dolly Parton's book and now I am the proud owner of George Jones', Loretta Lynn's, and Willie Nelson's autobiographies. Tammy Wynette's is on the way too, hehe. Well, if you love music and great one liners, I recommend you check these bad boys out. Here's a quote from Dolly Parton's book, "If you talk bad about country music, it's like talkin' bad about my momma, them's fightin' words." Another one of my favorite quotes is her answer to the question whether she and Porter Wagoner ever had sex, "Yea, we have had sex a thousand times, just not with each other." So, ya'll check these books out, they are dirt cheap and worth the read. These Opry heroes have lived some heckuva interestin' lives.

Mo' Mondays, Mo' Problems

HI-----DEEE yall!

Been one heckuva week! This little cowgirl got two big ole flat tires. Karma caught up with me for all the heart breakin' and whiskey drinkin' I have been doin' of late. However, I am all patched and fine and better than for the wear. So, let me recap on my weekend for you lovely folks. I was a trophy girl for a beard competition here in the Red Stick. I got to be the lucky gal who got to hand out trophies and prizes for a bunch of fine looking bearded men. I also competed in this said competition, now worries, in the fake beard contest! (Ya'll all know I do have an extra lush beard, haha.) Well, being that I'm not the craftiest filly in the herd, my beard was made by a friend. I rocked that baby with pride though, I managed to strut myself into a finalist position. However, I failed to win. I don't really know how I manage to get myself in the adventures I do. The rest of the weekend involved a homemade crab bisque, watching Feufollet and Brass Bed at the Spanish Moon, and an Earth Day Festival downtown! I decided to stick around the Red Stick for the whole weekend, in order to rest up for my big upcoming weekend...NASHVILLE 2.0! Here's a few of my classic favorite things.


1. The Baton Rouge Levy.

Picture of the Mississippi Bridge in Baton Rouge

I love me some rivers, especially the Mississippi. I finished out a perfect Sunday (full of beer, good food, a funnel cake, Horace Trahan, zydeco dancin', and friends) on the levy watchin' the sun set. Nothing beats the Mighty Mississippi, nothing dammit.

2. Mint Juleps

So, being a Kentuckian, I naturally can make an amazing mint julep. Since it is nearly Derby time, I have already pulled this recipe out of my pocket. Simple syrup, fresh mint, bourbon, and all together over crushed ice makes this gal very happy. Being well raised like I am, if you come to see me, I will even serve your julep in a julep cup, like a proper, Bluegrass woman.

3. BBQ

One of my favorite BBQ places

When summer approaches, I cannot help myself when it comes to BBQ. I swear I think I could just roll around in a good, homemade BBQ sauce. Nothing reminds me more of summer than the smell of a BBQ pit. If you are meat eater, go out and get yourself some BBQ today! It's what keeps me so pretty!

Here's some pictures from the beard competition.

Wild, Wacky Wednesdays

Tip of the day: Just because you are wearing a ten gallon hat and I am wearing cowboy boots does not mean I wanna be your lady.

Mondays, yall!

Hiya folks,

Been a crazy couple of days for me. Went to Nashville and raised a little hell. One night involved whiskey drinkin', New Orleans funk music, two steppin', teachin' an entire bar to two step, stealin' and returnin' a washboard, playin' an Alaskan's banjo, and singing old bluegrass tunes. The other night involved two Alabamans, a dive bar, red cowboy boots, red lips, a brief love affair with a guy from Hank III's band, a camouflage hat, Laylas, flowers, Montana boys, and a love note.  Hot Damn! Good thing I was only in town for 48 hours! I tell ya what ladies and gents, you give me three days and I can take over a dang town.

Well, more details will follow later, but for now here are some of my favorite things from last week:

1. The Reneaus'

I am lucky to have a lot of really, really talented friends. My friend Ashley Cooper Winn is a badass singer/songwriter who just released her first cd. Check it out on ITunes tomorrow. I swear it's pretty dagum good. She writes all her own stuff and has a great band of some of my favorite Kentucky musicians backing her. Watch out for this one, she's good and real purdy.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/TheReneaus

2. FooBar

I grew up not too far from Nashville, yet, I have found a new place. The FooBar is a bar in East Nashville with cheap drinks and good tunes. My friends' played there on Thursday when I was in town---a ragtime band called Woody Pines. There was no cover and it was also four dollar Jamison night. Check it out yall!

http://www.myspace.com/thefoobar

Also, yall, here's a video of Woody Pines playin'. Check em' out.
http://www.woodypines.com/
And here's another, too many to make up my mind!

That's all for now folks. However, one valuable lesson I learned this weekend was cowboys from Montana are tougher than I ever thought, especially to be a bunch of Yanks.