The Mouth of the South Blog

Friday, April 29, 2011

Baby Naming Backlash?

I read an interesting article about baby names today. A year ago, I was all over baby naming websites, books, lists, and the like seeing that little bit was on her way. We had basically had her name picked before I even got pregnant, but that didn't stop me from the fun of second guessing myself. There are even neat, little baby naming polls that you can generate and post on things like blogs or facebook or to just email out to family and friends. I love baby names; there are just so many good ones out there. There are, however, those that I loathe. Interestingly enough, some of those names made the most hated list. I think burnout plays its part in getting names on this list.  The "Mc-names" of the nineties really got under my skin, Mackayla, McKenna, McDonald's. Eh? Too, I find myself frustrated with the shift of once masculine names toward the feminine. My husband and I both liked Sidney Alexander for a boy, but most of my friends frowned at that saying it was a girl name. We eventually ruled it out, not for my friends' comments, rather the acronym "S.A.D." As much as I loved the name, I couldn't imagine having that looming over our child's head : )

It's interesting to see the differences in the styles of our daughters' names. One is not very common and the other's is a family name, very old-timey, but making a shift back up the list. I find myself drawn to looking back through the family tree to pull inspiration. I love names that have been around awhile...not sure that we will ever have another child, but I'm always playing around with names.

Here are some that I like:

Boys                   Girls
James                 Jane
Emery                Hazel
Alexander          Elizabeth
Thomas             Camillia
Davis                 Evelyn
Evan                 Stella
Maxim               Rose

Five of the boy names and two of the girl names are family names. I used up two family names (first and middle) for our baby girl so the pickins are getting slim on family names for a daughter.

One thing that I discovered that I thought was neat was the many Elizabeths in my family because the women named their daughters after themselves. Kuddos to them. Women hardly ever pass down their own names, but men do all of the time. On a similar note, my grandma told me that it was common for women's maiden names to be included as their child's middle name back in the day. Too bad that tradition has faded, I liked it a lot, too.

Are there any traditions in naming that you like/dislike? Were there any traditions that you liked, but couldn't follow because they clashed with your new last name?

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Here's a picture of my mom's cat, Angel. He's about as big as our Pekingese, George (and he's 17 lbs.)!

This is the remnants of the picket fence that used to surround my mom's house and garage. My mom's place is magical. And ancient. My Granddaddy bought the house from a very old couple. He'd offered to buy their place for years before they finally agreed. One day, the old man just called up and said he was ready to sell. Since my Granddaddy already owned the land that surrounded the place, it just fit right in with the rest of the spread. But, the area around this house seems different somehow. It is more magical somehow. We believe the house was built in the 20's. It originally consisted of a bedroom, living room, and kitchen. The rest was added on in the 50's, I think. Just think, it didn't even contain a bathroom. The original wasn't even wired for electricity and this place is out in the middle of nowhere, y'all. Tres magnifique!

The reason I show this fence is this, look carefully at the remaining hint of color...pink! You can even see it on the shed next to the fence. By the way, that little shed houses a cellar that we've been forbade to go into for fear that it would collapse in on itself. That thing has been there forever and who knows how many snakes or scorpions or black widow spiders lurk inside. BUT, back to the pink. The fence, the garage and shed, the house, even the pump house were all painted pink. AND not just the house, but the inside of it, too! Every door, cabinet, wall, and trim was dripping in pink. Can you picture it? A man painting his whole property pink for his love? Mind you, pink was en vogue back in the day...it was new on the scene and so many people had pink kitchens and whatnot...but a whole house and all its surroundings?! I've never seen or heard of such a thing! I like to think that the man must have loved her an awful lot to paint everything in his bride's favorite color. We don't know much about the couple. After all, they did live in the middle of nowhere. He did leave a headstone on the property (of no relation to him) and when asked about it, he said that he'd made a mistake on the name and just brought it home...that's what he did for a living, carve headstones. Maybe the pink cheered him from all the death that surrounded his day job. The couple drug up large flat rocks from the creek for stepping stone paths to the shed and pump-house, and she'd planted roses all around the place. I like to close my eyes and picture it all...pink house, pink picket fence, and pink roses!

I hope that story has painted a rosy, peaceful, picture in your mind.

Tootles,

The Kitchen Witch

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Golly Gee!

Would you take a look at these?!?!

The 1st Zucchini

and the first ripened tomato!

Bebe had to give it a bite to see what all the fuss was about...not what she was expecting : )

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

~Mudbugs~

One of the many meals we enjoyed while our computer was bust...This boil included: corn, sausage, potatoes, and, of course, crawfish. Mmm Mmmm, good and good fer ya.

I'm adding this to "Savory Sunday" @ Eating in Winnepeg!