TODAY I AM 76
Perhaps this should be a day of reflection. My husband and many of my friends have already passed away. I know I am blessed. I had a wonderful mother and father. I am close to my sister and brother. God blessed Joe and me with three children and five grandchildren all of whom I am extremely proud.
My youngest daughter has decided I am (OCD) because I obsess over things. She lists:
1. PHONICS-- I must admit that was a serious focus of my life--to get Systematic, Direct, and Early (SIDE) phonics back in our schools. I ran for the school board twice. I lost once to a doctor who "had a heart for education" (and the backing of the school system which had "too much invested" in the current methodology to change). And once to the president of the university in Dothan who hired the professors who trained our teaches in what they had based their careers upon--Whole Language. Not much hope for change there. One principal told me "they would laugh the teachers off the playground if taught not to say "aint." (And that relates of reading how?)
2. FRENCH HANDSEWING--I did manage to create two Christening gowns and several smocked outfits (Mary Strickland and Elizabeth Wheelock were excellent instructors).
3. QUILTING--Great hobby for when one is recuperating from hip or knee surgery.
3. GENEALOGY--So, now my sister and I are members of the the Shawnee Heritage, Magna Charta Dames, Jamestown Society, Mayflower Society, Colonial Dames, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of the Confederacy, and if there were such an organization, children of WWI and WWII patriots. Though I have tried to get a historical society started, most of those interested have passed away.
4. WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION (Creek Indian family saga), CONTEMPORARY WOMEN'S FICTION (MINT JULEPS SERIES), WAKEFIELD COOKBOOK, AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES mainly for lifestyle magazines. Oh yes, my website and this blog.
5. YOU TUBE--I admit to being obsessed with the Nancy Guthrie Case. I want to know the "rest of the story."For a while I was obsessed with the Karen Read trials. I was once hooked on REVENGE WITH MAYA but the plots and names just got shuffled and the plots shifted from one occupation to another (really just podcasts, but fun to listen to). And now I am watching the DUNCOMBE HOUSE DIARIES (really a fun show in a beautiful part of England). When I need to just chill, I watch the competition baking shows.
6. GARDENING-- And now, in my declining years, I am obsessed with gardening.
I am growing Amaryllis from seed (they take two to three years to develop bulbs). Yesterday, I started a new flower bed in the back yard by dividing one amaryllis. My shaded, patchy grass is dwindling.
My granddaughters love to go to Dothan Nurseries and the Botanical Garden. When my oldest, Lily, comes again, we are going to take a field trip to Ozark to the Neighborhood Daylily Farm. My mother (Jean Gillis Burson) and my grandmother (Eunice Jernigan Gillis) were both gardeners. My mother could do anything but always felt inadequate because she did not go to college. She went to nursing school and won a battle ribbon for her service at the Battle of the Bulge. Then she joined book clubs and read about anything and everything. She was self-educated with intellectual things as well as creative endeavors. Mother started a children's garden club for me and my friends--the Daffy Dillies. We met in my playhouse a former air conditioner container.
I am trying to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Currently, I have only seen a very chubby squirrel, a redbird and his wife.
Do you think the signage with the metal butterfly and caterpillar is enough of an invitation. Maybe the lantana and butterfly weed.
6. My favorite Magazines are Southern Living (their recent one, April 2026, I guess) is my favorite. It presents Southern food so well, I think I will start cooking.
My newly painted Blue Kitchen
Pantry/Utility 
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