Author: Kim Janine Ligon

Winston Churchill is reported to have said “Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.” Luckily, I have never experienced that kind of exhilaration, but after the past week I’d like to borrow Sir Winston’s turn of a phrase to say “Nothing at my age is so exhilarating as to complete outdoor work without a trip to the Emergency Room!”

My husband, following in his father’s footsteps, wants to keep doing the major maintenance work, like this week’s raking and gutter cleaning, as long as he can. Of course, that means that I am out there helping even if it’s just holding the ladder and ducking to avoid debris hitting me from above.

I know, those of you who have already had to get out your snow blowers are wondering why we’re raking leaves in December. Here they have only just all come down and the fifty and sixty degree weather makes it the ideal time to work if there’s not much wind and several days without rain.

On Tuesday we raked and used the leaf blower. I walked to the top of the yard and promptly stepped off the hidden curb onto slick leaves and in an instant was on the ground. Luckily, I escaped without anything more than some bruises. Jim thought I should not try to keep helping, but I did it any way. He muttered something about me being my father’s daughter, then helped me up off the pavement. I must confess that when my stubborn wore off, I was pretty sore. But the yard and driveway looked lovely two hours later.

In Thursday, we cleaned gutters, me on the ground holding the ladder steady and Jim high over head. He likes my help then so the ladder doesn’t take a notion to travel!

The key take away is that we didn’t have to have any medical care beyond some ibuprofen and a little bourbon! Now, that is exhilarating!

I used to think that you only got cabin fever when you were trapped inside by bitter cold weather with blustery winds and even snow, for weeks at a time. I was wrong. You can get cabin fever trapped in the air conditioning for weeks at a time trying to avoid the sun beating down so strongly that even a walk up to the mailbox can make you break out in a sweat.

It’s nearly October. The Tide are playing their SEC home opener today, but there are no crisp mornings with the waft of Fall in the air. No thoughts of morning coffee outside or afternoon crossword puzzles on the deck. It’s too darn hot!

The seven day forecast shows 90s every day – mid to upper 90s and lows never dipping below 70. That’s not October weather in Alabama. And nary a drop of rain. Somehow Mother Nature is stuck in the dog days of August.

I might begin to believe that global warming is real – except that the records we are breaking for heat are from 1897 yes that’s not a typo 1897! Or 1946. Or 1954.

So I’ll just pour another glass of tea – hydration is important you know – and be thankful for the creative mind that developed whole house air conditioning! And be glad I wasn’t in Alabama when the 1897 record was set! Stay cool!

Last week we attended the Union County Fair for Kiwanis barbeque sandwiches, lemon shake ups, and harness races. When we were first married, the races went on for two or three afternoons. My in-laws had box seats in the grandstand and it was always a fun afternoon. Like so many wonderful activities, the harness races have dwindled in popularity. Last year they did not have a single race. This year they had one afternoon with seven races.

A couple of the races were only three horse affairs and the horses clearly hadn’t raced for real very much with one coming up in each race at the very very end, long after the one and two place horses crossed the line. The last three races though came down to the wire. You could even pick winners for your chance a ten dollar prize. We didn’t do that but only picked among ourselves – my husband, his sister, her husband and me. It was wonderful fun after so long an absence from the track.

When we got home I searched for a picture I knew that I had. This is it.

This is in the late sixties and it is Daddy driving Roddy Mac in his “silks” an all white outfit. We spent several summers going to county fairs all over Wisconsin and Illinois and Iowa while Daddy drove Roddy Mac or Spendthrift, our other horse, in the races. We didn’t get to see him in every race, but if Mother could haul us over for the race, because it was close and we could get home that night, we went.

My sister Lori and I got to go out to the track and exercise the horses. We quickly learned how to put on the harness and attach the sulky, much to the amazement of the old men who seemed to live out at the barns on the fair grounds. Especially since Spendthrift was supposed to be an outlaw horse. He was never anything but sweet to the little girls who brought him carrots and that he pulled around the track. We decided he must have been badly treated at some point and it made him behave badly, like an outlaw. Daddy got the horses as payment on veterinary bills. They never won a race, but they helped make the summer vacation and weekends in the fall after school started a little more exciting.

It was wonderful to be with family and out to the races- despite the heat. Most of all, I enjoyed pacing down memory lane!

The dermatologist had me hold out my freckled forearms so he could inspect them with his magic light. The bony wrist protrusions just before the veins made a map across the back of the hands with long thin fingers attached on the edges. They are her hands, minus the bright red nail polish she favored later in life. I’ve always thought my sister Lori looks the most like her, but I have my mother’s hands to go along with my father’s dark eyes and one-time dark hair.

Those hands were the ones that could reach across a whole octave on the piano with ease as she played with a gentle, unhurried touch. She couldn’t wait to have a house with room for her little Spinet upright. Losing the piano seemed to hurt her more than almost anything from the bankruptcy – she kept them from taking it as long as she could.

One year those hands sewed all five of us dresses that matched her’s for the Mother – Daughter banquet at church. Much later she made an evening gown for herself with sparkling brocade trim for a night out to a dinner show in Chicago.

Many days when I came home from Junior high and high school, one hand held a cigarette and the other a book. Somewhere nearby would be the ubiquitous can of soda – early on Pepsi and later Coke – almost as if she lived on nicotine and caffeine.

Whether she was depressed or in a manic state, a book was always in her hand. She told me when they were first married, she’d go with Daddy to the library. While he studied, she began reading the Encyclopedia – she only got to the letter T before she stopped – crying babies aren’t welcome in quiet zones. She retained lots of knowledge from that exercise. I always marvelled at the seemingly unrelated facts that she knew about lots of things.

My love of reading must have come from that exercise since I’m the baby who kept her from going all the way to Z. Years later, when we had World Books I’d find her with one in hand. I’d like to think she made it all the way through, even with five distractions then.

Tomorrow would have been her eighty-fourth birthday.

Happy birthday Mother!

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.” I agree with Isak Dinesen and of those options, I prefer the sea. I believe it is not only a cure, but excellent preventive medicine.

Last week we drove south until we ran into the Gulf of Mexico. It was only a short escape, but a refreshing one. We got up to the sunrise (pictured above – you may have to log on to the website to see it), and went walking on the beach at the ocean’s edge before breakfast both mornings. I love walking barefoot with the waves lapping at my toes, or standing still to have the waves gently pull the sand out from under my feet. Going early in the morning meant it wasn’t too warm to walk down to the water barefoot. No shoes to carry so you could hold hands!

After breakfast, we sat on the beach chair safely ensconced under the umbrella (where we still got a little pink) and soaked in the salt air, the sound of the waves, and people watched. I had a notion about a new story that I worked on in that glorious setting. People watching did play into some of my character development. It was wonderful because Jim was right beside me so I could ask legal questions for my story. I wasn’t interrupting anything, but the people watching.

We talked about why being at the beach is so soul satisfying. Jim says it is because it is constant. It has been there for countless millennia and still is. In a world where so few things are that reliable, I believe he’s right. The hurricanes may blow through and rearrange things, and new, taller condos crowd the shore, but the sea is the same. The salt air is the same. The glory of creation unfolds before you every morning.

Wishing you a salt cure, from the sea, in your future. Enjoy!

Last week, my husband and I reached a marital milestone – no, not any of the traditional ones – we long ago blew past twenty-five and haven’t quite made fifty. We reached the magical 44th. You see, we were married on my in-laws 44th wedding anniversary.

When we told his parents that we planned to get married and the date we’d chosen, his mom immediately said, “You don’t want to get married that day.” I momentarily panicked, wondering what family tragedy had occurred on the day that my husband either didn’t know about or didn’t remember. Then she added, “That’s our anniversary. Don’t you want your own day?” I told her I thought that day would be good luck if she didn’t mind sharing it with us. She said she was fine with it, and I think she really was. My soon-to-be husband hadn’t remembered his parents’ wedding anniversary…that never happened again!

It was a popular week to marry in his family, his sister and brother and a niece had all married on nearby dates. More of the family who came after us gravitated to that general timeframe as well.

We were blessed to celebrate our joint anniversary through our 27th one. A majority of those we made a point to celebrate together, with rare exceptions when we were too far away to be there on our day. Frequently, we had big family gatherings celebrating all the wedded bliss in the time period.

Often, Mom and Dad would have a mini adventure planned to some nearby sight they’d read about in the Sunday paper local attractions write up or that they’d remembered visiting in years gone by. We wandered in parks and through caves. More than once, we had to turn around when the rutted, one lane, dirt road with names like Turkey Trot or Rattlesnake Ferry or Possum Run, simply ran out or narrowed to a dubious looking cowpath. Remember, this is pre-GPS. We ate all kinds of food. We visited museums, monasteries, and gardens. We shopped. We made the most of our celebration time together

My parents never stayed together 44 years. I’m glad we were able to follow my in-laws’ example so we could hit that mark.

My mother always believed that you were interested in her opinion and wanted her advice, whether you asked for it or not. In fact, I believe she thought you needed her help the most if you didn’t ask for it. I didn’t appreciate how willingly she shared her opinions until I was looking through my recipe book and found some pages – not mere note cards – but pages in her handwriting.

Under the Mom’s (Getting to be) Famous Chicken Salad her notes include instructions to wait until the cooked chicken breasts fully cool – it cuts better cool. And always use Miracle Whip – two heaping soup spoons full for four chicken breasts. She also notes “It’s how Mother (my Grammie) used to do it.”

The Four Hour Stew recipes includes cooking in a 9 x 13 Pyrex pan. Don’t add salt because V8 is salty (from before low sodium V8) – “you and I would salt it at the table.” It Cooks at 250 for 4 hours. “In a hurry? Do 350 for 2 hours – it is much much better cooking slower. The secret is during cooking – DO NOT OPEN OVEN OR TAKE LID OR FOIL OFF THE PAN!!! Trust me, it will get done on schedule!”

Her crumb top apple pie recipe includes instructions to only use Grannie Smith apples and Pet Ritz 9inch deep dish pie crusts. Use a pastry cutter to mix up the crumb topping and “If you don’t have an apple peeler, invest in one! It’s such a Time saver. Peels and cores in one operation.

So, even though she’s been physically gone for over three years, she’s still giving advice…I kind of wish I hadn’t written down some of her recipes myself so I would have more of her notes…..