Holiday Traditions, cont'd (and some randomness)

Some of you may remember my mother and me have a traditional cookie baking day, monday after Thanksgiving.  Well, this year, it was the first day of the bizarre Bazaar, so we decided to wait til I join her at the Christmas stay.  A few entries ago, I wrote of some Christmas traditions.

We also have New Year traditions.  Well, I hail from Pennsylvania Deutschland (which sometimes is confused with PA Dutch, sorta similar, but not the same).  In our family, we usually would have the crockpot of sauerkraut and pork, some hotdogs, and a huge pot of mashed potatoes.  Ya gotta have a strong stomach to handle this at midnight.  Especially if you've imbibed in the New Year cheer.

Now, we usually have the meal new year's day.  In the South, folks do up the hog jawls, greens, black eyed peas, and cornbread.  My first New Year in the South was in North Florida, just south of Valdosta, Georgia (where I lived).  I was just getting used to greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread...but the hog jawls were something new all together for me.  I don't recall my reaction, except I must have had one, cuz the entire family of folks I was visiting was fascinated with me.  That was also the first time I had rutabaga.  THAT is a tought tuber, dude!  Good, but damn! lotsa work...hacking and chopping, I said, dudes, next time, I'm opting for the canned stuff.

I paid all the bills I have so far, and some I don't (but will show up in the mail soon).  I am waiting for the paper reminder for my tag renewal because I made the mistake ONCE of going to get the tags for my car without the paper, and I like to have never gotten outta the office.  Folks working in that office been there since before computers and they don't care much for us newbies that have no people locally.

Now, I got people, it's just they don't live here, in this town, county, state, or even region.  So, instead of telling folks I'm from Pennsylvania, and that's where my people are (actually they aren't, they are scattered to the winds), I just tell folks I'm not from around these heah parts.

It's funny, but friends from up North hear me, think I have a southern accent.  Folks down here know I don't.  There was an ol' man, fixed me with his good-eye gaze, and said that he knew I wadn't from Miz'ippi, I wudn't foolin' him none, girly.  Now, where's my people, anyways?