I know I have been severely lax blogging lately. The rains are commencing so I'll probably get back to blogging.
If you've ever been to my house, you know the first thing I ask is "can I fix you some tea?" It's a Southern "thang", pushing over-sweetened tea and sweet stuff on people. You can expect to drench your thirst and be fed when you visit a Southerner. A virtual friend of mine, Shannon from Canada (Novia Scotia), sent me a huge box with books and CDs full of music. One of the books was "Culture Shock USA - The South". I'd say most of the stuff in it is true (although customs are different in other "southern" regions) but they sure did leave out a lot of stuff!! How can a non-Southerner truly depict the South? It's a funny read though and it's amazing how much I have forgotten or just thought everyone was like that, not just us southern hicks.
One of the things most difficult to adjust to is our water here in my area. They are working on a better filtration system but until then, when it rains, we get muddy water. I've posted about it before. My sister calls it Exorcist Water. Usually, they turn off the water during a big rain as not to clog up the filters. The water is red or as some refer to it, "chocolate". It's a joke of mine when someone comes over to offer them ice with their tea, either "Hermosa water" or "bottled water" ice.
When I bring out the tray of "Hermosa ice", I am always delighted in their surprise. It's not real Hermosa water, it's frozen tea. It's soooo hot here, ice last about a nano-second. I freeze tea in ice cubes so when it melts in the glass, I just get more sweet tea. People always choose the bottled water ice until I tell them my secret.
I've noticed Ya'll is 'spelt' by non-Southerners as Y'all. I know it is an abbreviation of 'you all' but that's not how real Southerners spell it. It's Ya'll, ya'll. AND we don't call it sweetened iced tea. It's just called 'tea' and we all know it's sweet (REAL sweet) and served with ice. I don't know many of "us" that drink hot tea so we don't even think to offer that!
O.k. I'll try and think up a better post next time. Ya'll come back now, ya hear!!
Oh, and we don't "prepare" or "make" anything, we "fix" it.
FYI - Here is what they have to say about the correct spelling of Ya'll.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ya%27ll
Guess that makes me an idiot but hey, I'm used to getting that coming from the South.
Bless their hearts, they just don't know about Southerners.
Shannon called me and was shocked I had a Southern accent. I've tried to loose it but the older I get, the more I fall back to it. You should hear my Southern Spanish!!
Recipe for real Southern Ice Tea:
Boil water, take off the heat, add 5 small Lipton tea bags, cover and steep for five minutes. Pour hot tea over one cup of sugar in a pitcher, stir to dissolve sugar and then add more water to fill pitcher.
Guaranteed to make your teeth hurt and add a little zip in your step!!
