grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

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You’ve heard the question—if you could host a dinner party and invite anyone, dead or alive, who would you invite?
The subject intrigues me. I feel I need to be ready with my answer in case by some miracle, I’m allowed this opportunity yet have only one minute to respond else lose my chance.
I’ve thought about various actors but haven’t been able to come up with anyone. I’m not very impressed with famous people and think I would be uncomfortable entertaining total strangers.
Oprah? No.
President Obama? No. 
I’ve considered historical people like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Maybe...but the pressure to ask intelligent questions would be daunting.
William Shakespeare? No, Methinks I shan’t understand a word he saith.

Jesus? No need. He would already be there.
Sports figures? Dirk Nowitzski? Yes! Dirk could eat with us anytime.
Robert Griffin III? Obviously.
I’ve decided instead of famous or infamous people, I would invite my family, those gone and those still here. Nana and Papa Creecy, Daddy, Aunt Virgie, Aunt Rena, Aunt Lavern, Uncle Woody, etc. I’d invite Mammaw Ruby and Papa Homer and Ted and Freddie Joe Parnell and John’s entire family. I’d include all the cousins on both sides of the family so no one would get a word in edgewise.

One big family reunion.
Oh, and I’d invite Elvis to provide the musical entertainment.
Now, what should I cook?

talya

We Are Family, Sister Sledge

“All hell done broke loose now!” – Tillie, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

(and yes, Becky, I know exactly who you’d invite…)

Do you vision board?

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Apparently we should each have a Vision Board. No, this is not the same as Pinterest, although possibly a bit related…
I had never heard of vision boarding until Bob Barnett explained it to me a few weeks ago. A visual representation of your dreams, goals, heart’s desires, you literally glue pictures, words, drawings, photos, anything and everything to a poster board. A reminder of where you want to be in the next year, five years, ten years, so on…

A bit old school, no?

The idea behind this is simple. If your board is created of images that fill you with passion, you will attract these things. Your dreams will become reality. That’s a bit deep, but I do believe envisioning something is the first step to realization.
My ninth grade Home Economics class made vision boards. We were soooo ahead of our time. I remember cutting pictures from Teen Magazine, gluing on faces of girls with hair ironed stick straight, Jontue perfume ads, adjectives I hoped would someday describe me, pictures of the type house I wanted to live in…
I bet my ninth grade vision board is still home in my bedroom closet deep inside the Batcave.
I don’t yet have a title for the book I am writing, but I have a header that prints on each page. Wishful thinking? Vision boarding?

Last year at the Baylor Bookstore, I snapped a picture of the shelf containing books written by Baylor graduates. I suppose it’s the closest thing I’ve done to vision boarding. I look at the picture often and think someday I shall have a book on that shelf…

Baylor press
Publications by Baylor Graduates:)
talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:
Dream On, Aerosmith

playing cards

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Holding
an invisible
deck of cards,
he shuffles and deals
to no one. To someone?
To someone only he can see?
He rambles incoherently then laughs,
nearly shouts, while regurgitating war stories
still vivid in his confused mind. A broken record—
these life stories. He reaches to grab
a card, then yells, “We need beer!”
Tugging on his oxygen mask,
he fights the tangle of tubes
that hum and buzz
and keep him
in the game.

talya

Musical Pairing:

Jamey Johnson – In Color

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!