Monday, November 10, 2008

Once Upon a Time...

There was a 6 year old little girl.  She and her family set out on the all-american summer vacation.  A long road trip from northern Illinois to a great destination of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida was a great adventure, to be sure!!  Along the way there were plans to stop and visit dear friends in Mobile, AL.  She thought it would be great fun to see these friends who now lived so far away.  Little did she know that life in the south was a wee bit different than her sheltered northern life.  Upon arrival, she met her first ever doberman pincher.  
If you have ever heard any of the tales of this young girl, you will already know the FeAr that she must have been feeling knowing that the home that she will be visiting has an enormous and probably friendly (but who really knows - goes the mind of a scared child.) dog in residence.
Back to the story... she met the dog and found the toy kitchen in the back bedroom.  Guess where she spent a lot of time??  Yea, there was a little girl and a little boy who lived there.  She happily played with the other children and had a great time.  At night, they all went to sleep and expected a nice day in the morning.  

When the little girl got up in the morning, the lady of the house was beginning to make breakfast.  The lady asked the little girl if she was hungry. The little girl was always up for a bite to fill her belly!  So, the lady asked her if she would like some grids for breakfast.  

The little girl asked, "grids?"  

The response came "yes, grids!"  

The little girl cautiously said, "Uh, I don't think so.  I just like toast or cereal maybe."  

The lady of the house smiled and said, "OK." 

The little girl thought that things here truly were a little weird.  She ran to the back bedroom where the toy kitchen was located.  This was the room that her parents were sleeping in.  If they hadn't been awake already, she was sure to have woken them while clambering up on the bed.

"Good Morning!" they cheerfully said to the little girl.

The little girl wasn't so sure it was so good.  "Do you know what the lady of the house is planning to make you eat for breakfast?  I am glad that I was there to tell her not to make any extra for me."

"No, what is she making?"

"Something weird.  I am sure it isn't something normal."

"Why do you say that, little girl?"

"Everything is weird here.  Bubba, the little boy, says they live on a dead hen and they want to eat grids for breakfast!"
Why her parents chuckled at her, she could not understand.  

As the little girl grew into a young lady, she learned about southern accents - among others- and that a "dead hen" in the south is really what a yankee might call a "Dead End."  And as for those "grids"...  oh, yea, them is some good eats !
So, why in the world have I told this interminably long story to you today?  Well, I came to the realization the other day that life really comes full circle.  Our Family Treehouse moved to the Memphis area nearly three years ago and stayed there for about a year and a half.  While living there, I found boxed instant Butter Grits at the local grocer.  I bought it and figured, when in Rome... right?!?
One morning, I served bowls of Butter Grits to everyone for breakfast.  It didn't go over quite as well as I had hoped.  However, one of our crew fell in love with this breakfast option.  Bud was our Grit Man.  (Yes, he seems to wear these new pjs in all pictures lately... Ignore that for now and focus on the grits!  I will make some more pjs, I promise!)
He ate grits nearly every week!  Then we moved here.  We don't live in the south any longer.  It isn't quite so easy to find grits here in the Pacific Northwest.  I have only found one place to purchase the instant ones, and it is forty-five minutes away!!  At our regular grocer, I found some plain grits that have to be cooked on the stovetop.  So, we were out of Butter Grits from the far away place so, I made my attempt at these cooked on the stovetop kind.  They seemed to fit the bill... 
And to "The lady of the house" in Mobile, THANKS for introducing me to these grids... we have 'em round here every week it seems!

Oh! and "Bubba", I live on a dead hen, now.  Just thought you'd like to know.

1 comment:

  1. Yes, I remember that story a bit differently. Like the little girl rushing into the bedroom where her dad & I were sleeping and crying "do I have to eat something she's making called grids?". Quite upset to think she might have to eat them. No, she did not but like she says it did come full circle and now Bud loves 'em!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for jumping in and leaving your thoughts!!

I sure like to know who enjoys playing around the treehouse!