Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

Well, I finally have some free time to write a blog! Hooray for getting done with homework and staying up past 10 o'clock. I've had a busy few days since we last met. I ventured down to Dwarf last weekend, and, as always, it was a hoot! I traversed across 16 counties on my journey to the center of earth and back again: Kenton, Boone, Grant, Scott, Fayette, Clark, Powell, Wolfe, Breathitt, Perry, Knott (to a baby shower), Leslie, Clay, Laurel, Rockcastle, and Madison. When I wasn't out gallivanting around the state, I was hanging with the Beetle and learning more about that wonderful lady!

Mommaw and Papaw only dated 3 weeks before my Pap asked Mommaw to marry him. According to Beetle, she "didn't know why she said, 'yes' but she did."
Aunt Unique entered a Raggedy Ann doll and a cat toilet paper holder in the state fair on separate occasions and won blue ribbons on each. Beetle made these items, not Unique!
Beetle's favorite meal to cook is soup beans, kraut and wieners, cornbread, and fried taters (and if that ain't country, you can kiss my toe).
Beetles favorite meal to eat is chicken and dressing casserole.
The first time Beetle saw an African Amereica was when she was visiting the state capitol and was around 8 years old. Her little brother was so intrigued by the little boy, that the boys proceeded to rub each others' heads, checking out the different textures of their hair.
When Aunt Unique got married, Beetle stayed back at the house to cook the wedding reception dinner: chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread, and she even made the cake.
Beetle's family didn't get electricity until she was a sophomore in college.
When Beetle first moved to Dwarf, there was no road to Combs Branch. You had to park your car at the mouth of the holler (hollow) and ride a horse and sled the rest of the way (1950). She also couldn't believe where she was! She had to keep looking up for the sky to make sure she was still on earth. She wasn't used to being surrounded by such mountains!
Making a popcorn ball was a process. Beetle's family grew their own popcorn. You popped the corn using an iron skillet. Once you heard one kernel pop, you put the lid on and pop the rest. Since there wasn't an A&P to run to, Beetle had to trade goods that her family raised to a family down the road to get molasses (they grew sugar cane). Once she had her molasses, she could make a popcorn ball. They used butter churned by Beetle herself.
Once upon a time, when Beetle was young and all her babies lived at home, she woke up with a migraine. She said to second youngest babe, "You boys better be good today, I have a migraine." The babe translated the message to his little brother, "You better watch it. Mother's on the warpath!"
The first date Beetle and Pap went on was to the movies. "I don't remember what we watched. That was a long time ago!" They went on a dollar: $0.40 for each movie ticket and $0.10 for each coke. I asked if they did 1 coke and 2 straws, but you know Beetle don't play like that! "No. We didn't have 2 straws. We each got our own coke."
When Beetle was the ripe old age of 11 years old, she cooked lunch for her entire family every summer day while they were out working the farm. She did her cooking on a coal and wood stove. What kind of supper did an 11 year old cook, you ask? Why, soup beans, cornbread, and fried taters. She even made dessert: wild berry pies. Where did Beetle get the shortening to make her pie crust, you may wonder. Why, they rendered lard from their hogs (trust me, you don't want to hear about the specifics of that process)!

You need to meet my Mommaw. She is awesome!