celebrate my Southernness

(as if i needed one!)

They’re good for you.

have exploded. They say they won’t bloom unless you prune them…but there’s no way in hell I could prune this sucker. And look.

Unfortunately, these and the Mimosa trees are weeds around here – I must have pulled hundreds of them out of the ground today. Crazy.

Yankee or Dixie?

Who knew I was what I was? Anyhoo…

Check on your dialect and see if you might have crossed over to the “other side”! Simply click on the correct answer. As you go, the quiz will automatically interpret each answer to show you what your answer implies about you. When you are done, press Compute My Score. Your score will be calculated as a percentage: 0% is pure Yankee and 100% is pure Dixie.
Do not change your answer during the test as it will ruin the score. You may do this after scoring is calculated to see the other answers.
If you make a mistake, hit Clear below to restart the test!
I regret that I do not have time to entertain discussions about this test or negotiate changes. It is provided strictly as-is and for entertainment purposes only.
Be aware that television entertainment has a lot of northern dialect in it. This will have more of an influence on you than you expect.
This test is based on results from the Harvard Computer Society Dialect Survey of 30788 respondents.
http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/yankee_dixie_quiz.html

OMG the thermometer in the backyard was pegged out at 120 degrees THIS MORNING! See my avatar for an example of what it feels like here today.

Might as well celebrate.

or is this guy an idiot?

He wrote this article/editorial, “How the South Won (This) Civil War,” for Newsweek.

There’s an “E-mail the author” option, so i did:

_{I applaud Mr. Hirsh’s succinct presentation of the changes in political demographics within the United States, and much of what he wrote in this article/editorial resonated with me, as a liberal. However, as a Southern descendent of Scots-Irish immigrants, I had difficulty putting aside Mr. Hirsh’s own jingoism to get to the heart of his message: several times, I found myself wanting to stop reading the offensive, polarizing stuff. For example, statements such as, “The outcome was that a substantial portion of the new nation developed, over many generations, a rather savage, unsophisticated set of mores,” felt like an attack on me and on others who share my background.}

If Mr. Hirsh is trying to persuade an audience (other than those with “a more diplomatic, communitarian Yankee sensibility”) of the validity of his assessment of the changing political climate, he would do well to avoid language that implies that every person from a particular region of the United States shares the same “coarsened sensibility,” and that certain regions are clearly superior to others. It seems as though Mr. Hirsh’s editorial was intended for persons who already agree with his views and who hail from certain regions of the United States.

Mr. Hirsh may wish to avoid polarizing language that assumes that everyone within a certain demographic shares the same political and cultural views, if his goal is to affect the opinions of elements of this demographic.

Thank you.

I actually hate this tradition. For Easter people hang these plastic eggs in their trees….I just think it looks so tacky. This is across the street from my house.

I know, I’m a bit behind.

A Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don’t “HAVE” them, you “PITCH” them.

A Southerner knows how many catfish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up “a mess.”

A Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of “yonder.”

A Southerner knows how long “directly” is, as in, “Going to town; be back directly.”

Even Southern babies know that “Gimme some sugar” is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.

All Southerners know when “by and by” is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.

A Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who’s got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor’s trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin’!

Southerners grow up knowing the difference between “right near” and “a right far piece.” They also know that “just down the road” can be 1 mile or 20.

Southerners make friends while standing in lines, . . . and when we’re “in line,” we talk to everybody!

Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they’re related, if only by marriage.

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.

When you hear someone say, “Well, I caught myself lookin’,” you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner! _{(Really? Y’all don’t say this other places?)}

Southerners know the meanings of “sweet tea” and “sweet milk.” Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it—we do not like our tea unsweetened. “Sweet milk” means you don’t want buttermilk.

And a true Southerner knows you don’t scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say, “Bless her heart” . . . and go on your way.

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southernness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart!

And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff, . . . bless your hearts, I hear they’re fixin’ to have classes on Southern as a second language.

And for those who are not from the South but have lived there for a long time, y’all need a sign to hang on y’all’s front porch that reads, “I ain’t from the South, but I got here as fast as I could.”

this weekend. Do they do this up North too? I never know if the things I THINK are Southern really are or not. Anyway, amusing tidbit….I was trying to spot all the Confederate flags in the area…TONS of people out there this weekend…and do you know…the ONLY Confederate flag I saw all night was on my boyfriend’s father’s T-shirt. So there ya go.

It’s hot. It’s humid. It’s hot. It’s humid. Does it rain? Not really…..it’s just 99.9% humidity. Sometimes it rains in the afternoon but I think it all evaporates before it even hits the ground. Dry, crunchy, horrible yard. Did I mention how hot and humid it is?

is another goal on my list…but related to Southerness, I feel. Today I was a bit down for a bit but my good Southern neighbors (people I’ve never seen before, mind you) in town smiled at me and said hey and how are ya and I felt better immediately. I am happy to be living in the South.