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i has spent my whole lifes a cookin. i got a early start at it cuz i is the second oldest of nine - thats a big family to cook for. and growin up on a workin farm makes for everbuddy to has a mighty healthy appetite. after i married my man, everett, cookin was a bit easier on me since it was just the two of us and thats when my creativitee really started to kick into high gear. so much so that everett encouraged me to open myself up a diner. that was the funnest time ever to be had by any mortal soul. i kept at that diner thang even when the yung-uns begun to show up. now they is all growed n dear everett is long gone so i has learned in my old age how to cook on a smaller scale as a single wid-der woman. exceptin on wednesday nites - we all has a grate big church social pot luck supper afore bible study down there at the calvary community chapple n thats my chance to still cooks up a storm - it is jest sooo much fun.
my grate grandsun has been a buggin me for some time now to write down all these here recipes that i keeps in my head so that the family can remember me after i leave this earth. he has turned me onto this here blogg thang n now that i has got the hang of it all, i thinks it is a real awesome way to record down thangs.

here is a handy lil tip: y'all can CLICK on any of these here pictures to enlarge them n then ya can see more of the details . . . (n then hit the BACK ARROW in the upper left hand corner of the screen to return to the story). aint that jest somethang now!!!

Wednesday, November 13, 1991

12. raisin us a family PART 2 - 11/13/1954

(excerpt from "my dearest everett" by bettie mae turley)

a long a bout the time that lil eliza mae was a round seven months old, i started in to noticin a feelin that i had recognized one other time in my lifes n i realized that i was once again a knowin that i knowed that knowin. ooohhhhh mmmyyyyy . . . i sure nuff didnt expect this to be happenin again sooo sooon. i jest had to laugh to myselfs: well . . . sooo much for that ole wifes tale that ya caint be gettin pregnant while you is a nursin a baby. ooohhhhh mmmyyyyy . . . TWO lil yung-uns . . .

i needed to think on this one a while . . . two . . . in two years . . . well . . . aint nothin we all caint handle by workin together . . . but two . . . how in the high heavens will i be a tellin everett this one . . . ooohhhhh he'll jest love the dickens out of such a situation!!!

easter holiday was approachin n my most favoritest time of the year: sprang. when all the baby calfs n colts n goat-kidds was runnin round the pasture n all the orchards was a bloom n all the plannin for the veggie gardens was under way n new lifes was all a round us. one evening during our porch sittin time watchin the sun settin, i guess my mind had been especially preoccupied with all these thoughts n everett noticed.

"hey my sweet lil gal. penny for your thoughts."

"well my darlin man. its most likely gonna cost ya more than a penny."

"what ya got going on in that busy lil mind of yours?"

"everett . . . i is adjustin to a shock . . . BUT its a good kinda shock . . . as necessary as life itself . . ."

"honey? what is it? are you all right?"

"oh, i am so sorry. i didnt mean to worry ya none. its a all good thang that is a happenin. n i am better than all right. i jest got kinda caught off guard by somethang n now i realize that i shoulda talked to you bout all this a fore now cuz you all ways think thangs out so logical like n all n this here situation takes some thinkin bout . . ."

"bettie mae, what is it? whats going on?"

". . . we is gonna . . . have another baby."

n everetts eyes got all big n his sweet lil smile beganned to grow til he was jest a beamin with joy n he wrapped his big strong arms a round me n held me tight in his way that tells me that everthang will be all rite n i jest held onto him n cryed some tears of joy n he cryed rite along with me . . . it will be all rite . . .

i learned somethang real important rite then n there. somethang that i danged well shoulda knowed better by now with all the time that everett n me been together. i shoulda talked with everett bout this baby thang rite from the very beginning of my knowin. i jest didnt knowed that part rite then but i sure nuff knows it now. aint nothin that i caint talk over with everett n git the bestest knowledge n information n insight n encouragement n help n support. he is all ways the bestest husband that i coulda ever hoped for. n i jest love him all the more for it . . .

so once again we settled into this new situation together. our family was growin faster than we ever woulda expected. but it was all good n everthang would be all rite.

a few weeks later when lil eliza mae n me was a drivin over to the diner one mornin, i was a talkin away with her likes i does everday on our drives n by that time she had taken to talkin her baby babble none stop n she did somethang that completely took my breathe away. she sayed: MA ma.

why . . . i could hardly believe my ears. n i neart ranned off the road with all the tears wellin up in my eyes. so i pulled over to the side of the road n gived her such a big ole hug n telled her likes i all ways did bout how much joy her lil selfs had brung into her daddys n my lifes n that i jest couldnt love her any more than i all ready does. n she jest wrapped her lil arms round my neck n hugged me back n we jest sat there for a good while a lovin on each other cuz there wasnt nothin more important than that rite there moment rite then.

over the next few weeks, i started in to workin with eliza mae to say: DAda. she all ready was sayin "bye-bye" real good probably cuz we was all the time leavin one place n headin to another n everbuddy got such a kick outta the cute lil way that she would say it. n one mornin when we was leavin the farm for to head on over to the diner, her daddy was a huggin on her n a givin her that ever mornin sugar that he is so good at n a tellin her how much he loved her likes he did ever day n she put her lil hands on his big shoulders n pushed herselfs back a lil so that she could look her daddy rite in the eye n plain as could be she says: DA da.
ooohhhhh the look of astonishment on everetts face was priceless. n he looked at me all teary eyed n back at her n then gived our lil eliza mae the biggest ole hug n jest a kept a tellin her how much he loved her. n i jest left them have their own moment for a while til everett waved me over to them n the three of us jest stood there lovin on each other.


when eliza mae was a bout 10 months old, she took to eatin a lil table foods with everett n me which was a good thang cuz with me being pregnant again, i had quickly gone from producin milk like a new freshened jersey heifer to barely makin a nuff to feed a baby kitten. n a good eater she was too. we was all ways amazed how easy she took to any new food. kinda like she wanted to try it all. she jest was the easiest baby ever. everett all ways sayed that she was so easy going cuz she was all the time a round a lot of different people at such a early age. but i all ways telled him that she may have my small stature but she had her daddys big sweet personality.

when i was only a bout six months pregnant with that second lil one, i looked big a nuff to be full term. this all was the complete opposite of lil eliza mae who was the tiniest lil newborn. i sometimes thoughts to myselfs that maybe there was more than one baby this time but ole doc sampson assured me that we was only gonna have one more baby this time a round. n this new baby was a feisty one all ways a rollin round n pushin out with hands n feets like that baby was a tryin to make some more room to git comfortable.

since i got sooo big sooo quick like, it was gettin kinda difficult to tote lil eliza mae back n forth to the diner with me. n since our lil gal was eatin purdy good on her own, everett took to keepin her at home on the farm with him sometimes whilest i was at the diner. those two was jest inseparable - that daddy sure nuff loved his lil gal. many a times he would saddle up one of his favorite ridin horses to go on out n check on the stock n he would swing up onto that big ole horse with lil eliza mae in one arm n off they wood go with eliza mae jest a squealin for joy.

near the end of this expectin time, i was beginnin to wonder how in the world i was ever gonna git this big ole baby outta me. alvernie lou had had a couple of big babys n she assured me that nature jist has a way of takin its own course n all them thangs jest sorta kinda work all together n afore ya knows it that baby is swaddled in a blanket n craddled in your arms n ya jist dont ever even wonder anymore a bout how the thang gits done. ole doc sampson recommended that i make sure n git to the hospital for this baby to be borned in case of any complications n this time i didnt have no qualms bout going there n everett was sure a nuff relieved n he kept a askin me ifn we should jest go on up to the hospital early so that i could rest up some n i wood telled him that i felt some better when i kept a movin. so we jest played it day by day, all carefull like, til it was sure a nuff time for this baby to be done makin.

n on november 13th,
after fourteen n a half hours
of hard labor
like i never done worked at afore,

our first lil son finally
made it into this world.

well . . . i guess lil aint quite
the rite word for this boy cuz
he weighed 10 pounds n 11 ounces
n was 23 inches long.
can ya believe that???
23 inches long!!!
why that makes him almost 2 feet tall
when he was jest borned!!!

n he was jest all long arms n legs
n all he would do there at the first
is jest a keep a stretchin n a stretchin
all them arms n legs
like he had spent too long a time being
all cramped up in too small
a place.

all our mommas n daddys had a been a waitin in the waitin room with everett during all that labor time, so after everett had a first chance to meet his new son n spend some time gettin to know him, everetts momma n daddy camed in the room. i never did ever see everett beam with sooo much pride as to havin a son of his very own. as i handed that big ole baby boy to everetts momma, i sayed: here ya be momma turley. meet yer newest granson, jameson cooper.
n she took one look at that baby n got all teary-eyed n jest a hugged on that lil boy.

"oh bettie mae. lil jameson looks sooo much like everett did when he was a new baby. why, its jest amazin the similarities. brangs back sooo many memories of when my boy was this lil. jameson here definitely has his daddys dark complexion n dark hair. exceptin it appears that lil jameson may have dark eyes where his daddys eyes is blue. other than that, my my my, looks jest like a carbon copy."

"same as me n everett was jest a talkin bout. n i has no doubt that jest like everett learned his kind n gentle ways from the two of you, lil jameson will carry on that hole personality of sweetness when he grows up with a daddy like y'all done raised. i has no doubt a bout that. so likes i has telled y'all many a time, thank ya sooo much for raisin the son that ya did."


 
everett n me took our big bundle of boy on home to meet his big sister - my heart jest ached i had missed her sooo much. alvernie lou had a been a keepin eliza mae whilest i was in the hospital this time. it had been only a few days but my lil gal seemed to have grown sooo much over them nites. when she first layed eyes on her lil brother, she jest starred at him with all this curiousity going on in her eyes. then she ever so slowly reached out her hand n gently touched his cheek n sayed: BAby?
n alvernie lou chuckled a lil sayin: bettie mae, your lil eliza mae
could hardly eat nor sleep for wantin to take care of my lil jonathan jist like some kinda baby doll (alvernie lou had jest had her another baby a few months prior).

"flo jo" was a managin everthang jest fine n dandy at the diner cuz a few months afore jameson was borned, i had promoted one of our best waitresses, melbah rose buchanon (but everbuddy all ways jest called her "peachie") to being the assisstant manager. so i took a bout 8 weeks off from the diner this time so that everett n me could enjoy some time together with our two lil ones n spend time together with all our familys during thanksgiving n christmas (plus the winter weather had set in early back at that time n was unusual cold n i really didnt want to be draggin a new baby all over the kountree side). course there was many a time i wood git a phone call from one of them diner gals sayin that everbuddy was a missin THEIR lil eliza mae sooo much so when the weather was half ways decent a nuff i wood bundle them two lil babys up n we wood take a drive on over to the diner for to have a quick lil visit with all them gals - they all was jest likes family.

jameson jest growed sooo fast it was like magic rite afore our very eyes. one warm noon time in january, jameson n me was a sittin out in the rocker on the back porch whilest i was a feedin him (eliza mae was a takin her nap time). when everett took a lunch break from his leather n wood workin shop, i watched him walkin across the farm yard towards the house n jest was overwhelmed with admiration for this man that i was fortunate to be able to call mister husband n for to live my lifes with. he walked up to where we was a settin n leaned over n gived me a gentle kiss on the forehead n sayed: how is the two of my three most favoritest people that i knows in this here hole world.

"ooohhhhh . . . my sweet man. we is jist doing real good. jest enjoyin some fresh air n sunshine."

"sooo . . . whats for lunch??? does ya thinks that jameson can share any of that???" he says with a snicker.

"oh everett!!! with the way that this boy is a growin, why, i sure nuff dont have no extras!!! he is drainin me of everthang i got. i declare!!! evertime i feed jameson he gains a pound n grows a inch. i caint nearly keeps up with his appetite."

n everett jest chuckles n gived me a wink. he was all the time a teasin round like that. we all ways had sooo much fun together.


so our happy lil family of four enjoyed all them days together . . .

when it came a round time for me to start back at the diner some again, weren't no problem takin them two babys on with me cuz all them diner gals practically fought over whose turn was it to hold n play with a baby. many a day, everett wood still keeps eliza mae with him. he sure a nuff was a better daddy than most woulda done. n she jest loved her daddy so.

shortly after jameson turned 6 months old, he took to eatin some soft table foods with the rest of us. probably cuz he was one high energy lil boy a crawlin all over the place n even standin a lil next to a low piece of furniture n such. wasnt no time at all n he amazed us all with taken his first tentative steps. guess he seen all us others walkin round n figgered why shouldnt he. asides he was all ready as big as a typical one year old. plus his big sis was one of them on the go types all the time n he was all the time tryin to keeps up with her. 



ifn ya missed the previous segment bout when our first baby was borned then click this here link:
http://kountreekitchen.blogspot.com/1991/08/12-raisin-us-family-part-1-08261953.html
 


and the next is about when a third yung-un is borned:



 

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3 comments:

  1. shea wrote:

    as usual I loved it!!! put a smile on my face!

    July 20, 2012 at 5:39pm

    ReplyDelete
  2. candi kayne:

    awesome!! love the spelling.

    July 20, 2012 at 8:30pm

    ReplyDelete
  3. scotty wrote:

    heya shea - glad ya enjoyed!!!
    July 24, 2012 at 5:19pm

    heya candi kayne!!! yup, gramma bettie mae definitely has her own unique way of expressing herself!!! def kountreefied!!!
    July 24, 2012 at 5:21pm

    ReplyDelete