Tag Archives: deep South

Baby it’s Cold Outside

Watch oil painting “Savannah Snow” come alive in just over 1 minute (time lapse)

This painting was inspired by a rare snowfall in the Deep South (Savannah, Georgia), the first year we moved here. Of course it would snow! It would have been the first year of my life to live in a place that doesn’t snow, and yet it snowed, just like it had in Ireland where it can be somewhat rare to get measurable snow. It seemed that endless winter followed me wherever I landed. I was born in upstate New York where we had “lake effect” snow which resulted in snow banks so high that it was impossible to see cars coming at a crossroads. I remember a snowy day when the snow was up past our front door and it was hard to get out. I lived in places in the Midwest and up North in Minnesota, where it was not uncommon for snow to start in October and the last snow to drop in May! I grew to feel despair when winter was settling in.

So, I was looking forward to something new. Funny how the locals all told me that it “never” snows in Savannah (untrue, it snows every few years). It was amusing and not surprising that my arrival felt like the reason why it snowed heavily that first winter, between Christmas and New Year’s. It was a blessing for us, as our son was upset about no snow and was having a hard adjustment in general. It was as if by a miracle it snowed in the Deep South. It was a Christmas present to our family and helped us through that first winter.

Finally, the following year here in Georgia there was no snow for the first time in my life, and hasn’t been since. But, it’s cold tonight and there is a possibility of dropping temperatures below freezing. This may be another rare Southern winter in which there is measurable snow. We shall see!

Nutty Day

Watch this oil painting of an old truck selling boiled peanuts at the road side in 2 minutes (time lapse)

Before people became too afraid to be socially near each other, it was common to see independent vendors selling produce from their trucks by the side of the road. Here in the deep South, in Georgia, they’d sell bags of boiled peanuts (or fruit and vegetables). I painted this art for the collection “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Savannah, Georgia“, and of course I had to make the experience complete by trying boiled peanuts.

I have learned that I do not like boiled peanuts! But, some people do and I’ll just let others have them all. My daughter is allergic to peanuts but can eat other types of nuts so she baked almond butter cookies (the texture and taste are similar to peanut butter cookies and are very good!). Well, today was a nutty day…

Today I had an even worse day of misery due to my swollen and painful/itchy/burning foot that was stung by several angry fire ants when I stepped onto their nest while wearing sandals. It’s agonizing to put pressure on my foot. Last night I woke up every couple of hours or so to ice my foot down, so sleep deprivation as well as malaise made it easier to lay in bed rather than try to function. Since it was awful to hobble around and stand on my foot, I didn’t want to cook anything. Every time I felt hungry, I ate an almond butter cookie.

It was a nutty day. Tropical rains fell for most of the day, so heavily that it felt like I was on a ship. The steady rains muffled all sound and the house was dark. I kept slipping in and out of sleep. I lost track of time and of how many hours I’d had nothing to eat but cookies. I don’t know how many cookies I ended up eating.

Finally I got myself together and managed to cook dinner that I’d promised the family (pasta and meatballs). I’ll heal just fine from these ant stings. My reaction to them is actually fairly typical and the remedies give relief. It just has to run its course. But when this episode is over, I’ll probably remember it whenever I have a nutty cookie.