Posted on by camellia's cottage · 25 Comments

Windmill Cookies…

imageThese cookies should carry a warning from the distributor-‘Buy at your own risk’ or ‘Caution: We are not responsible for any unforeseen consequences resulting from the purchase of this product’ or ‘Has been known to cause the Don Quixote syndrome- Tilting at Windmills’.

I have not purchased these cookies in over 5 years, due to events that occurred during the purchase of Windmill Cookies at my local grocery store, until…last week. I was looking for a ‘plain cookie’- I had seen some peaches in the produce department; I recalled eating peaches with windmill cookies when I was a child. As I reached for some shortbread cookies, I saw the Windmill Cookies…my left eyebrow twitched- this should have been my warning sign- but I was distracted by a little girl who had her doll in a buggy near me-

She was softly singing…‘Twankle, twankle little star…’

A slight twinge of electricity shot up my right ankle as I put the offending cookies into my buggy- you know, you’re supposed to listen to the whispers in your life… I headed to the checkout- I saw an abandoned buggy with two cases of canned cat food, I paused, no one claimed it-  I edged ahead of the buggy- ignoring the twitching left eyebrow and the annoying electrical current running up and down my leg. Confidently I moved into the lane. I began the unloading process, when I heard a gruff voice say-

‘You went ahead of me!’

A man in a crimson shirt emblazoned with ‘Alabama’ glared at me.

‘Oh sir, I’m so sorry, you’ve only got a few things come on ahead of me’.

‘No, go on..’

‘Oh no, you were here first and besides we’re on the same team’…

He didn’t argue, muscled himself ahead of me and I thanked him. I continued to unload my buggy, when I looked up- his hairy fist was right in front of my nose!image

‘I bet you’ve never seen one of these’ .

A whole lot of twitching was going on by now…‘Well, no-sir, I haven’t.’ It was a 1961 National Championship ring for the University of Alabama!

‘I was the captain of that team.’ 

Well, I liked to have died right on the spot.  He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his billfold- not to pay the patient checker- but to show me his picture with Bear Bryant! Lord have mercy!

‘Well, now isn’t that something’…the checker looked like she was holding me personally responsible for holding up the line! I tried, I truly did- to wind up the conversation- but he went on and on and on, play by play… finally, the checker cleared her throat real loud. I thought he might pull a fist on her, but he didn’t – just paid her like a lamb, and kept talking…the checker turned on the conveyor system for my groceries. I stepped up my game-‘Sir, it is truly an honor to meet you’– pumping his hairy hand up and down-

‘Now, let me take your picture and a picture of that ring!’ He complied- the checker was snickering by now… I thanked the Captain of the 1961 National Championship for his ‘service to our school’– though I felt as if I was the veteran here…

Twitching and tingling -I spied the offender- under my breath, I said, ‘it’s happened again, those Windmill Cookies!’

The checker said: ‘What’d you say darlin’?’

‘Oh it’s nothing really…it’s just the last time I bought those Windmill Cookies…’

I told the story. The checker didn’t thank me for ‘my service to our school’ – oh no, she thanked me for making her laugh! And I would like to make it perfectly clear that I did not blame that precious little girl singing ‘Twankle, twankle little star…’

Now it’s your turn to say- What happened the last time you bought those Windmill Cookies? Well..I found the record of it and I will report it to you just as it was written- Sept. 19, 2011 –

I went to the same grocery store, I bought some plain cookies- I usually get graham crackers or vanilla wafers- but this time I bought those Windmill cookies. I was checking out, had bought nothing out of the ordinary; beeps and whistles began to go off from the terminal. The bag boy asked the checker what she had done wrong- ‘I don’t know- it’s telling me to ask for her ID’.

Still beep beep beeping…Checker is calling the manager…checker is nose to terminal taking a closer look…beep beeping…so, I might add- are the other shoppers- all of them zeroed in to the screaming beeping Aisle 2!

I cleared my throat and said ‘Ma’am, there is not an ounce of alcohol in this pile of groceries!’

‘I know ma’am, but when I scan these cookies- it’s telling me to check your ID’. She crossed her arms. Beep beep beep..

‘Really?’ I squeaked- my left eyebrow twitched and a zing of electricity went up my right ankle. I nervously looked around for a hidden camera. In the meantime, the bag boy- turned comedian- pulled the pack of Windmill Cookies close to his face-

‘Wow these must be some strong cookies! I wonder if there’s a warning on the label’.

Beep- beep-beep! With red cheeks I started in…inappropriate laughter for the absurd situation I was in- ‘It probably says- don’t operate heavy machinery while consuming these cookies’.

Beeping – laughing- beeping, more laughing…The checker joined in...’I guess you can only have two of those cookies per day’…

Bag Boy : ‘Friends don’t let friends eat Windmill Cookies and drive!’

I said: ‘If they stop you, they’re going to test to see if you have Windmill Cookie Breath’.

Laughs all around, among the three of us- the rest of the store was sick  of all the noise and beeping! I mean -the  situation could not- apparently, be improved- just go with it, right? The manager hustled over- the offending Windmill Cookies were rung up again- more beeps, more insisting on getting the ID- I assured the manager I was happy to give her my ID – being of a certain age and all…however, I assured her that there was no alcohol of any kind in my load of groceries! Now, why did I do that? At this point there was no saving of my reputation! The manager ignored me, to the checker she said-

‘What did you do? Hit the beer and wine key when you scanned these cookies? Why would you do that?’ She hit a key- the beeping finally stopped.

Dead silence, the offending cookies were bagged. I might add- the woman behind me never cracked a smile during my entire ordeal. After supper that night- I slung those Windmill Cookies on the table and said,

‘Eat these at your own risk!’.

*Tilting at Windmills: Attacking imaginary enemies; confrontations where adversaries are incorrectly perceived; vain efforts against adversaries real or imagined.

‘When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?’      Don Quixote

‘Wit and humor do not reside in slow minds’.          Don Quixote

‘I do not deny what happened…is a thing worth laughing at.’  Don Quixote

Well, I hope y’all laughed your sides off!  We sure got a laugh out of it! And what about that crazy Don Quixote, he might have been buying Windmill Cookies! Y’all be careful and have a great weekend!

Love y’all, Camelliaimage

Posted on by camellia's cottage · 30 Comments

Doors of Alabama…

SONY DSC
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
SONY DSC

 

Doors of Alabama … Wood doors, painted doors, old doors, new- Fine doors, screened doors, glass doors or metal- Closed doors, open doors, vintage or serene. Vines twining, paint peeling, wreathed in cotton or magnolia – Country doors, city doors or something in between… This is our sweet home in Alabama, can you guess which one is ours ?

Each one is a snapshot of inspiration… We hope you agree!

A huge thank you to Jeremy Miniard for sharing his personal collection of ‘Backroads of Alabama Doors’ and to friends and family who shared their doors with grace and good humor!

Love y’all, Camellia

*All photographs are from private collections and cannot be reproduced or copied without permission .

Posted on by camellia's cottage · 9 Comments

Vidalia Onions…

imageIf you live in the South, you know what it means when you hear: ‘They had Vidalia Onions!‘. This is a special type of sweet onion, grown in Vidalia, Georgia- in fact you can’t even call sweet onions ‘Vidalia’ unless they are actually grown there. Listen, you won’t believe this but the Vidalia Onion is defined by the law of the state of Georgia and the United States and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture! That’s some more onion!

According to the Official Website for Vidalia Onions, they were accidently discovered in 1930 and are still hand-planted and handpicked. This onion is the pioneer of sweet onions. ‘Vidalia Onions aren’t just the most famous onion in the world; I think they may be the only famous onion in the world’, says Chef Bobby Flay.Vidalia Onions even have their own Wikipedia page which says: ‘The different varieties are unusually sweet, due to the low amount of Sulphur in the soil in which the onions are grown.’ – This highly prized, sweet onion is like no other! So, when we southerners whisper, ‘I found some vidalias!’… as if we have just discovered French Macaroons or it seems we have received a box of Jacques Torres Chocolates; it’s because these onions elevate a simple vegetable plate, a homemade hamburger sings and in late summer, slice a Vidalia so thin you can see through it, top a tomato sandwich with it …well, it’ll knock your socks off!  Now, that’s an ol’ saying for describing something that’s really good!image

They fry up into the best onion rings you ever tasted ! The growing season is relatively short, and because of so much natural sugar in these onions, they do not store in the pantry for long periods of time. The Vidalias pictured here were brought in from Coot Partridge’s Annual Memorial Day picnic- where a man was frying Vidalia onion rings. Folks were eating them so fast he couldn’t keep up with it! The yellow onion in the photograph is of normal size- the Vidalias are as big as grapefruits! I keep taking beauty shots so I might as well share them with you-

Well…I’ll talk you to death, but I noticed that you can order Vidalia Onions online! So when you finish up here? You might want to ‘google it’ -order, find recipes and more, they won’t be around long! In the meantime, I’ve got some onions to fry!

Love y’all , Camellia

http://www.vidaliaonion.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidalia_onion

Posted on by camellia's cottage · 4 Comments

Memorial Day…

IMG_0064

Lest We Forget…

In deep abiding gratefulness for the men and women who died to secure our freedom, we honor them this Memorial Day.

 Love y’all, Camellia

*if you would like to post the name of a U.S. Soldier who died in battle so that we can honor them, please feel free to add the name to this post in a reply –

We honor our cousin Johnny Watts- U.S. Marine, age 18, died in battle three days after his arrival in Vietnam, 1969

Posted on by camellia's cottage · 12 Comments

Sanctuary…

 

Sanctuary:  sanc-tu-ar-y’ 1. Place of refuge, safety, shelter 2. a nature reserve, park,  forest 3. a holy place, sacred place, church, temple, shrine. Latin:  ‘sanct’:-sacred /’arium’- a container. That quiet calm refuge which holds our sacred treasure is most descriptive of sanctuary.

Our Sunday Inspiration begins with a quote from chapter 28 of ‘Four Days- the Lazarus Principle’ :

‘Noise can create a negative atmosphere; quiet stillness has power within our spirits. Muir Woods is a National Treasure near the San Francisco area. I recall vividly the silence of the coastal redwoods- the quiet of the massive forest was palpable- I could feel the silence. It is a sanctuary of stillness. To walk there is a meditative prayer.

We have some sanctuaries to share with you- the woodlands of Alabama, treasured sanctuaries of New York City, and Home.

‘Everybody needs beauty as well as bread. Places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.’ ‘Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the deep green woods.’       quotes by naturalist- John Muir

‘I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it…They are earth born companions and our fellow mortals…join the trees in their hymns and prayers…few are altogether deaf to the preaching of pine trees…their sermons…go to our hearts…hear the trees speak for themselves.’          John Muir

Sacred Treasures of New York City

‘No synonym for God is so perfect as Beauty…’     John Muir

Sanctuary: a place of refuge, safety, shelter. Everyone needs shelter, however, a house is not a home unless everyone inside is safe. Home should be the epitome of safe refuge.

Precious Lord, lead us to Your sanctuaries- be they woodland, marble or front porches. Grant to us that meditative walk, where we hear Your Voice in the stillness of the woodlands, in the hush of cathedrals or as crickets sing their happy songs beneath our shelters. How blessed we are, by Your Sacred Hands which formed the woodlands and seas, which prompted mankind to build and preserve places of worship and others who are keepers of safe homes where children play, friends are welcome and the weary return. May we never forget those who chose sacrificial duty and responsibility over rights and privileges so that we can live free in our homeland upon this earth, which spins like a blue marble through the vast star strewn universe. Ever and always we must return grateful, broken and melted down by the Cross of Christ and the Love that took Him to it. May we never forget Who bestowed upon us these beautiful earthly havens. Remind us often of our duty to act as worthy stewards- not as petulant messy children. Dress us now, in clean starched shirts and pinafores, fit for children of the King of Kings as You guide us safely through stillness to Your sanctuaries. Hear our prayers, as we seek to hear Your Voice. Amen.

We are so thankful to have the opportunity to share Camellia’s Cottage with you! We hope you find a sanctuary some place near you today-  have a blessed Lord’s Day! Now don’t forget- God loves you and…

I love y’all, Camellia

 

Of special note: St. Patrick’s Cathedral was opened on May 29, 1879- 137 years ago!

and Thank you to fellow blogger Snapshots in Cursive for her inspiring post ‘Gnarled Trees Speak Volumes- which inspired the shots of trees in this post! https://snapshotsincursive.com/2016/05/22/gnarled-old-trees-speak-volumes/ Go see the wonderful things she has been doing on her blog!

Quotes from John Muir are gleaned from The Sierra Club- https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/

Definition of Sanctuary was gleaned from Wikipedia- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary

Quote from ‘Four Days- the Lazarus Principle’ by Brenda Wyatt- http://amzn.to/1U4csYm

Photographs are from our personal collection with the exception of the wonderful gnarled tree by still water, which is by Jeremy Miniard (the first in the second section of tree images) and cannot be reproduced without permission.

I couldn’t resist adding one more- from Santa Fe NM where we are on vacation ! Loretto Chapel- can’t wait to tell you about this sanctuary!image