Boys (Men) and Their Toys

Good evening. How are ya'll doing? It's been awhile since I talked to you but been a little busy. So ya'll come on in for a glass of tea and some conversation or as Becky used to say "comersation."

It has been another beautiful, fall day in South Georgia - cool morning, warm day and beginning to cool off tonight. We are supposed to get some rain tomorrow, maybe, but I hope not for the farmer next to us has his peanuts turned up and they need hot and dry weather for them to dry. You can't harvest them until they have dried out or they will rot. He gave me some of the fresh ones for me to pick off the plants and boil but have not felt like doing it today.

By the way, since mama taught me to share everything, I have a cold to give you. It's either a cold or allergies or a mixture of both. Whichever it is, I feel lousy, no good and ready to get out the "sally rag." Now for those of you who don't know what a "sally rag" or poultice is, I will 'splain it to you.

You use these poultices or "sally rags" when you have chest congestion to get the stuff up and out of your lungs. The one I have is the one mama made when I was a little girl and we won't go into how long ago that was. She took a wool flannel slip of mine, cut off the top, added several layers of flannel to it, attached a big safety pin to each shoulder and soaked it good with who knows what. I know it has a lot of Vick's salve and an ointment that Dr. Moseley gave her, Mentholatum and other stuff. Whatever is in it, when you heat it up, place it on your chest, pin it to your pajama top and go to sleep you wake up the next morning with a clear head and coughing that stuff up and out. Your nose stays clear all night too.

I found this website with instructions how to make various poultices so if you have chest congestion you might want to try some of them. For coughs, my grandmother used peppermint candy covered with whiskey. You just sip a little when you cough and it's OK to imbibe if it is for medicinal purposes.

Now we didn't like to wear this thing but mama would insist and we would be glad the next day when we felt better. My kids hated it and would try to refuse to wear it but I was bigger than they were for a little while and could enforce my wishes and then their daddy took over. Seriously, they didn't like it but appreciated the results. So tonight I am getting the "sally rag" out of the pint jar mama kept it in, which I inherited, and wear it and try to get better.

The picture at the top is our new pond we had dug recently. If you can imagine rows of pine trees where this used to be, that would have been about a year ago but we sold them. That left a big, low, wet area in our front yard so we decided just to build a pond and take advantage of that wet spot. We are planning to add fish when it gets enough water in it and then I can go fishing every day and never leave home. That's almost heaven isn't it?

Below is a picture of the house with pond in front. Before we cut the trees you couldn't see the house but now I guess I will have to wash the windows.

We also cut most of the trees on our place which left several acres to mow as the grass comes back. We have a riding lawn mower but figured it would take about a week to mow the grass and then it would be ready to cut again. Because we didn't want to spend all our days cutting grass and not fishing, Roy bought a new toy as you can see below.
As you can see it is a pretty, big, toy and he likes to play with it. Here he is filling up some holes in the driveway or playing in the dirt, whichever you want to call it. He went forward and backward and so forth for a good while, playing with the dirt and had a great time.


As you can see it even has a blade that goes up and down and you can tote dirt in that thing up in the air. It looked like so much fun he has promised to show me how to drive this new toy. After all, I may have to mow the grass sometimes or play in the dirt. I think that would be fun don't you? If you come by to see us sometimes maybe I will give you a ride on our new toy.

I always wanted to learn how to drive a tractor and ride in a semi truck. It looks like so much fun to be up high in that great big cab and have all that power at your fingertips. A friend told me when he could he would come and get me and take me riding in his big truck and I am waiting with anticipation. Reckon he would let me drive it just a little? Probably not and I'm not sure I really want to but I sure want to ride in one.

By the way, if anyone has a motorcycle you want to get rid of, I want that toy next. I used to ride on one when I was a lot younger that belonged to my brothers but I think this white hair, a red motorcycle with black seats would look great together, don't you? So if you see me riding through town on a motorcycle, don't be surprised for I don't have too many more years to fulfill these dreams so I best get on with it.

Ya'll come back to see me and next time maybe I won't be high on benedryl.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach
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