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Follow the bouncing ball! (And a contest)

Do you remember “Sing Along with Mitch”?  Just follow the bouncing ball.  Well, if you’re too young to remember, you can always ask Google, but it was an old black and white TV show in the mid 60s show wherein everyone could sing along with the lyrics on the screen.  The white ball would bounce above the words at the proper beat.  I was a little girl, so this is really blast from my past.

little-brown-jugSo, I just did a Google search, and while Mitch Miller did put the lyrics on the screen, I didn’t see a little bouncing ball in the one particular You Tube video I just watched.  So, I looked up “follow the bouncing ball” and was reminded of another blast from the past–a cartoon with turtles singing “Little Brown Jug” using the bouncing ball so we kids could join in.  It’s no wonder that I sing so well!

But, I’ll tell ya.  Life is sometimes like that, very out of control, but not really out of control, because someone is in control of that bouncing ball.  But since we’re talking about singing, I got a tune for ya. Remember the childhood song, “Where, Oh Where has My Little Dog Gone?”. Yeah?  Then, please indulge me by singing the words below to this good old-time tune:

Where, oh where has BW gone?  
Oh, where oh where can she be?  
With her time cut short,
And her hair cut long,
Oh, where oh where has she been?

If you’ve ever looked up ALL the lyrics to this very old children’s tune, you might be mortified to learn that the little dog might have come to an untimely death.  Unlike the little lost dog, I am still here. I am still alive.  I might be a little lost, but I’m here nonetheless.Ti-Du-2014-birthday-party-rachel

Speaking of little dogs.  My little guard dog, Ti-Du, passed away quietly on the morning of December 11th, just a few days before Propeller graduation.  It was quite a sad occasion, and I still miss the clickety-clack of her little black toenails on the oak floors.  I don’t know when I will stop hearing her in my room, but sometimes I think I hear her turning in her little circle before settling down at the foot of the bed.  My ears perk up, I stop and listen, but she’s not really there.

If you haven’t already, please have a look at the new Beyond the Bayou Excursions Page, which Capt. John Swallow has been diligently putting together with his magical web weaving skills!  I owe him a huge debt of gratitude and look forward to seeing him and Seika in April for our 4th Annual Pyrate Day (or is it 5th?) in Houma, LA.  I will post photos for you at that time, of course. Maybe I could convince him to do a guest post beforehand?  (What say ye, mate?)

This year, in addition to launching my new Beyond the Bayou Excursions, Life has seen fit to throw a couple more “work” opportunities my way in the meantime.  I will be writing twice a month for the Cajun Sportsman as their Outdoor Writer, and I’ve been asked to consider doing some part-time research work for a coastal restoration company, which I might talk about later if it all works out. Country Roads Magazine asked me to write four pieces again this year for their Natural History section, which I will gladly do.  My part-time work as Ex. Director of Keep Terrebonne Beautiful finds me implementing two grants that I wrote for them and received.  One is a program called Adopt a Spot and the other is Fruit Trees for the Bayous.  I’m really excited about the second project, and I will do a post about it with photos next month.  The Hunt Fish Talk radio show continues once a month this year, but if we don’t find some more sponsors, this might, sadly, be the last year of the show.  OH NO!

Jeremiah-at-work

 

My very special son (because all FOUR of them are special in some way) has slowly transitioned from high school into the work-a-day world at Houma Grown, and we are so very proud of him. This has not been an easy change for him.  I listen to talk radio when I’m driving, and it struck me the other day amidst all the talk about young able-bodied people not working and being on Food Stamps and other government programs, that my son, who has Down’s Syndrome, gets up every day and gets on a bus at 7:15 to go to work for $6.00 an hour.  And because of that paycheck, he no longer qualifies for the SSI benefit.  It hit me like a ton of bricks that this young man, who is challenged both physically and mentally, works for less than minimum wage and lost a well-deserved benefit because of that job, will NEVER earn enough money to be on his own.  I’m wondering why any able-bodied young person who is neither physically nor mentally challenged would deserve benefits and not be required to work?  My special needs son goes to work every day, works in a garden in the heat of summer and cold of winter, and is penalized for it by the government.  Maybe y’all can help me figure it out.  Meanwhile, enjoy the pics of his 23rd birthday at work and at home. (Oh by the way, did anyone watch “Born this Way” on A & E over the past two months?  I soaked it up like a sponge.)

We’ve all made it through the holidays and into another new year, hopefully none the worse for the wear.  I know there have been some major changes in some of your lives, and all of the words in the world won’t change a thing, because that, my friends, is called living.  We take what Life throws our way, and we do the very best we can with it. I’ve been so busy working on all my little jobs that I haven’t been out and about doing anything fun and exciting to share with you, but that is going to change soon enough.  I’m wondering if you might be so kind as to fill me in on what changes the new year may have brought to your lives.  

BEFORE you do that, though, I’m going to give away a wonderful handmade surprise from K & G Candles, Soaps, and Scrubs by random drawing from the comment section. The hitch this time is that I am only going to do the drawing when there are at least 20 distinct comments (not counting my replies). So, if you do social media, please share a link to this post and encourage them to leave a comment.  If not, somehow invite your friends over here and ask them to read and comment for a chance to win this . . . 

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A King Cake scented bath bomb AND they are throwing in a King Cake scented candle.  

It’s a new year, so be kind and smile, because it doesn’t cost you a penny!  And bring on those comments!!

Your lost (but found) little dog,

BW

 

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46 Comments

  1. Gracious, you have been busy! I’ve been keeping up with you online as much as I can. Hope everyone is well and had a great holiday. I’m really wanting dinner at Schmoopys.

    1. Schmoopy’s could easily become a (bad) weekly habit!!! We’re doing fine, and hope everything is OK in OK!!!

  2. Wendy. 2016 brings us 2 in college. 1 in high school and 1 in middle school. My how they grow up so fast. All along playing in our Coastal marsh and helping restore it too! Blessings this 2016!

    1. You are a wonderful mom and POWERFUL Coastal advocate, Polly. Those boys will have those memories forever, and their grandpa is smiling down on them, for sure!!!

  3. I’m so sorry about Ti-Du. Those soaps in the picture sure look good enough to eat. Can you throw in an actual King Cake?

    1. I wonder if soaking in a tub that smells like King Cake makes your mouth water? LOL! There’s more King Cake down here right now than you can shake a stick at, Susan! We’ve had one – the old style plain ones from Rouse’s, but there are so many different cream-filled ones now, it’s hard to choose! I’m hoping to bake a new one and post about it soon . . . if I can find the time. Great hearing from you, my friend.

        1. You should come BEFORE Mardi Gras so that we can try some King Cakes while you’re here. PLEASE?????

  4. LOL…and Bayou Woman lets loose with yet another hidden talent – singing!
    Perhaps the Whiskey Bay Rovers can recruit ye, who knows, ye could have a new direction – “Bayou Woman Sings – Greatest Hits of The Swamp”

    1. Greatest Hits of the swamp! Love it! I fear my singing days are long gone . . . knew all the Heart songs by heart (no pun), but my singing was only heard in church and around the house. Just ask my poor children! It was always “sing along with Mom” on the jaunts to town to make the grocery bill and run errands and usually in a big, long passenger van! We have owned three of those . . . . Man, I miss those simpler days . . . . .

  5. Actually managed to read more o’ this post…thank ye for the salute!
    A “guest post” could certainly be possible – once I batten down the hatches, secure the carronades and trim the sails (well, there’s crew for that).

    1. Well, it can be about NOLA Pyrate week and the history and how ye ended up down here on the final day of.

    1. King Cake on the Bayou sounds great. Thanks for the informative posts.
      Also, let me know next time you are in the NOLA area.

  6. I don’t know how you do it. And I agree with you regarding our citizens who work hard for barely enough to pay for bus fare to the jobs while others sit and brag about their weekly trips to the hair dresser, manicurist, the new car, etc. while they are healthy and drawing government checks! You and I are blessed to have hard working, caring children.
    2016 has myself and niece going thru a ton of paperwork and red government tape to care for my mom. Also, have one grandchild getting married in March (reserved the pavillion for them today), another in his 2nd semester of college and he moved into his own little home Friday (still on mom & dads property) that he and my son built. His sister is now home schooled since the school closed. And I was blessed that no one in my family or any of my friends lost their homes in the tornados a couple of so weeks ago. And there are several that live in that area.
    Now, I need to go back up and read the links you posted. The best to you.

    1. Yes, Cammy, we are blessed to have hard working, caring children, and I think we worked to make sure they knew right from wrong and had a work ethic. Oh, I don’t envy you cutting through the Red Tape. I wish you all the best with that and hope it all works out as it should. Your son and grandson built a house for your grandson? How wonderful is that? He can finish college, get married, and the house is ready. That’s the way to do it. And I hope all goes well with the home schooling, if I can help, just send me an email. I wondered about you in those tornadoes. Glad all is well. Hang in there, Cammy!

  7. It was great to catch up with you! Life hasn’t changed here nearly as much as all that’s going on in your world, BW! You’re movin’ up and movin’ on 🙂 I share your confusion about your son’s benefit–how in the world is that supposed to be okay? Especially when I see able-bodied men drawing disability checks and working under the table every day. Stay well and warm, my friend.

    1. Yes, you definitely see what I’m talking about. I just don’t know how to fight it. Can’t really – without an Act of Congress, literally. Oh, we’re staying warm down here. Weather has been crazy wet and muggy for this time of year. You stay well, too, Granny Sue, and thank you for popping by for a little visit!

  8. Hey Bayou Woman!! Let’s see, some changes for me this year are a closer relationship with my little brother (who I used to barely see) because he now lives with me part time, and my growing Kune Kune pig farm is leading the way to a loT of major changes on my property soon. Not to mention my growing jewelry business, which means more participation in craft shows this year! So many good things:)
    Love your website BW, I’m always learning something new! <3

    1. Hi Nell, so great to have you here. I would really LOVE for you to be “sponsor of the month” one time and give away one of your terrarium pieces. I would like my readers to see your beautiful work that comes from the Manchac Swamp. K & G are sponsors this month. Think about it okay? Getting to know your brother is a very good thing. My older 3 have been making an effort to get to know the youngest better, too, and I’m so happy for that. There’s 14 years between my oldest and youngest! You will have to tell me more about the Kune Kune pig farm because I don’t recall your telling me about it before. All I recall is that you were building a house? I wish you great sales this year with your jewelry and the craft shows. I’d like to invite you to Pyrate Day on April 1 to be a vendor. If you’re interested, it’s a small booth fee, and you would fit right in! Email me here and I will forward your information to the head pyrate, Capt. John Swallow! Ok?

      1. I would LOVE to be sponsor of the month! Just let me know when and I’ll make a special terrarium for it. And I actually heard of K&G from Miss Joycelyn (from Copperhead Studios) bragging about their soaps! I’ve been dying to try their stuff.
        We just started our Kune Kune pig project last year. They’re hairy colorful pigs that originate from New Zealand. They produce a super healthy meat, especially being strictly grass fed. They also have great temperaments which make them great pets too!
        I did get an invite from Capt. John Swallow, I am interested! I’m just about to message him back to ask about the details. Thank you so much BW!

        1. I gave him all your pertinent info and so glad he reached out to you. You do know that Joycelyn and I are friends? Here’s a piece I wrote about her several years ago. I’ve tried to promote you through every avenue I can, and I see several of my friends have LIKED and shared your Haunted Cypress Studios page. Check out the Sponsor page on the blog and fill in all the necessary information, and we shall go from there. I’m so glad you are willing to do this! My readers will be so thrilled when they see your work, too! Be sure you send a photo of the piece you are giving away so I can include it in the post for the giveaway! Exciting stuff! the pigs sound delightful, but I’m sure if you make pets out of them you won’t want to give them up as a food source. That’s kind of tough, so how will you balance that? It’s so great to have you here, Nell! Looking forward to great things for both of us this year!

          1. I figured you and Joycelyn would be friends! She’s one of my favorite local artists.
            I’ll get that Sponsor info filled out today. I’ll be able to make a new terrarium for the giveaway either Sunday or Monday, I’ll send you a picture then.
            And about the pigs, I’ve only named the one’s we don’t plan on eating! haha. But we treat them all the same, humanely and respectfully like all farm animals should! Being a full fledged meat eater, even though it is kind of tough, eating meat that I know was raised and fed properly by me feels better than eating mystery meat from the grocery store. I admit it’s a completely different experience eating meat from an animal I’ve raised myself, but in a way it helps me to appreciate it more seeing where it comes from. Back in the day it was normal to witness the slaughtering of farm animals for meat, but now everything is done behind a curtain and it’s easier to ignore the truth about where and how our meat is processed. So that’s how I balance that! Trying to pull myself out that lifestyle of “ignorance is bliss”. haha! It is challenging but so far I’d say it’s been worth it.

            1. And you, by all means, know that I was not being critical. If you saw my Facebook post about the duck hunting last week, I challenged folks about that very thing. At least several meals during the week down on the bayou we can tell you where our food came from, whether it’s fish, shrimp, crabs, venison, rabbit, duck, etc., because WE harvested it ourselves!!! I’m glad you wrote again because you’re NOT going to believe this, and I love little serendipitous moments like this: I’m reading some books by Victoria Connelly who moved from London to the country and her transition to country life with gardening, etc. She mentioned visiting a neighboring farm that had those VERY SAME PIGS. Isn’t that crazy? Never heard of them before, and then twice in one week. Thank you for the enlightenment. I love learning new things, and I never knew these little fellows existed until you told me! My word, there’s even a Kunekune Pig Society! Your information box has been received, and I look forward to your being the February sponsor of the month (and the photo)! Thanks so much!

              1. No offense taken whatsoever! Harvesting my own meat is a new thing for me personally, I know many bayou folk that hunt. I’m just trying to get on their level of comfort with handling the processing part! I actually plucked my first muscovy duck last week, I’m working on it;)
                That is sooo awesome about the Kune’s!! My bf and I are actually part of the KKPS. There’s even two other people in Louisiana that are registered breeders. Who knows, maybe it’ll catch on eventually and you’ll end up seeing them more often! haha.

  9. I enjoyed your article. I hope you had a great holiday and I hope this new year will bring YOU MUCH SUCCESS.
    My husband’s health is declining and I am having to stay pretty close around home. Your son deserves respect for trying to work. MAYBE if we get through the rest of this year we will see better days. good luck !!

    1. Louise, we had wonderful holidays and hope the same for you. I’m so sorry to hear of your husband’s decline. These are the sorts of things I was talking about in this blog post. I could say all the kind words in the world, but it won’t change that this is a path you will have to walk. But we can lift one another up in prayer, good thoughts, and positive energy. I will pray for your strength as you take care of him, and God be with you both.

  10. iPhone test. Okay, for those of you who tried to comment from an iPhone – TRY AGAIN, because the glitch has been fixed!

  11. I’m so sorry to hear of your loss of your fur baby. They are just like our children. I love your web site great job and Awsome recipes. Just the best ever. Thank you for sharing with us all and ESP. The chance to win such a great gift. Thank you

    1. Oh and I forgot to tell you… I think they are still with us even when they pass away. I still hear my little Min Sczh. Edgar. I know some think I’m crazy for thinking this way but I do believe that they really are with us. So yes you may hear her little toes on your floor a lot. That’s her way of telling you she is ok and with you!!! So when you hear her always speak to her. They can hear us too you know. Don’t be AFFRAID to talk to her… And if people tell you that you are crazy… So what… You know what you hear. You are not crazy!!! Much love to you and your little baby.

      1. Kathy, welcome to the bayou and this blog—at least I think you’re new here, but we’re glad to have you. Saw your posts on FB, too, so thank you following that page as well. We just need a few more new comments, and we can have the drawing. I appreciate your words about my little dog. I try not to think about it too much because it makes me sad, but as you say, her memory lives on. Thanks again for stopping by! BW

  12. You know, Miah is old enough to volunteer working for Houma Grown. Maybe you could increase his allowance to something like $6 per work hour to make up the difference.

    1. I’m not sure about that idea, Choup. I’m working hard enough to support myself as it is!!! But I appreciate the thought, and if you win this bath bomb, I want a full report on whether or not it made your mouth water while bathing, LOL!!!

  13. Welcome back! Lol I didn’t get my notice of a new post and didn’t see this one till a few days ago. Today is the first opportunity for a response.
    Is the Cajun Sportsman local? I find Country Roads in my neck of the woods, but have never seen the Cajun Sportsman.
    It is my hope to get somethings FINISHED in 2016. The Ms camp is 99.9999% complete. That is unless we continue to add small projects. The other biggy is settling my deceased aunt’s estate.
    Court set for Feb. in one of the lawsuits. Enough!

    1. Well, I’ve been wondering where you were. I changed email services, so I’m not sure why you didn’t get one. I’ll have to look into that. Cajun Sportsman is local. Getting the camp finished will be great! I don’t envy you the other legal project, though. I wish you great finished things in 2016, Steffi!

  14. Glad you’re back…missed you! You must be SO proud of your son and his amazing accomplishments…he is a fine young man! Think his parents and siblings have something to do with that…

    1. Hi, and thank you so much! Glad you left a comment and now you will be entered for the random drawing! BW

  15. I’m hoping for a few more new comments before I do the drawing, so please share this blog post on your social media and other outlets! Thank you! BW

  16. King cake!! Yum. Thanks for the opportunity to win something. When I finish this comment, I plan to check out your new link. I have not done any exploring in Louisiana. I hope to get out that way sometime soon. I enjoy nature and it has been fun seeing your pictures and reading about your travels. I found you looking for a fig preserve recipe several years ago. The figs turned out perfect and I have made them several times and got hooked on your blog as well.

    1. Except it’s a bath bomb! You can’t eat it! But welcome to this bayou blog, Kippy Jo. So great to have you. The drawing will probably be Sunday evening or early Monday morning! Thanks so much for stopping by. BW

    1. But it’s a bath bomb! No matter HOW good it smells, don’t eat it!! Thanks for dropping in. Hope you’ll come back soon! BW