Y’all bear with me, this is my first blog post. It’s the middle of February. I’m in Michigan, which means there is at least 2 feet of snow on the ground and I have nothing better to do. We have 4-6 more inches of the white stuff coming this evening and I’m totally filled with dread. I’m southern so this time of year is hard for me. I am just sick to death of the snow; of being cold, of changing shoes every time I leave the house, this cabin fever, and sick to death of not seeing my beloved blue skies and green grass. I am soo ready for some color. The sad part is that I know I still have another 2 months of this to go. I have to get my sunshine in pill form, no joke. Don’t laugh but I’ve actually considered buying a light therapy lamp. Evidently our area comes in at #55 for the cloudiest city in America.
So naturally, this is the time of year that I get homesick for the south the most. Having grown up where the summers are long and having traded them in for long winters, well, it’s kind of jarring. I start daydreaming of all the sights, smells and sounds of the south and I miss them so much. I inevitably daydream of the beach too and by beach I don’t mean the Lake Michigan beaches with their biting flies. I mean the soft white sands and warm blue waters of the Gulf Coast where I grew up or the low country beaches on the east coast. So how do I cope? What gets me through these last few months of cold weather? Here is my list.
- Tropical and/or citrus fruit.
- Seafood (I crave fresh seafood. However, what I can get in the store has to suffice.)
- Cajun food.
- Comfort food i.e. good ole southern cooking e.g. chicken and dumplings, fried okra, chicken stew, cornbread, banana pudding, shrimp and grits, etc.
- Celebrating Mardi Gras with a store bought King Cake, beads and Zydeco music.
- Spring and summer scented candles e.g. honeysuckle, magnolia, any beach or tropical fruit scent, rain, grass, citrus, etc.
- Retail therapy (shopping for spring and summer clothing for the kids).
- Planning this year’s garden.
- Looking at photos from previous trips to the south or the beach.
- My “Musing Tropicana” playlist (a playlist of summery songs).
The best one of all…Pook comes up to me out of the blue just now and asked me if we can have a beach party. She told me we could fill the bathtub with water and blue food color, put in toy sea animals, make lemonade and wear our swimsuits while sitting on beach towels in the bathroom. Sounds like a plan to me, I’m game. I know our plans for tomorrow now. This one, my Pookalicious, she loves the beach probably as much as I do. Almost.
The Cultess Alura 