WmKatieBelleBallard50Ann

William and Katie Belle Ballard
(shown here on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary)

Griffin, GA was once a big city compared to Fayetteville, GA, and we went there to shop for clothes at Saul’s downtown and at Mrs. Sailor’s in the little storage building behind her antebellum home on the way to downtown. For socks, towels, under garments, and all hosiery needs, we went to The Sock Shoppe. Saul’s and Mrs. Sailor’s are now mere memories, but The Sock Shoppe carries on.

Yesterday my mother, Mama Helen, and Miss Nancy loaded up in Mama Helen’s car (she had it cleaned just for the occasion) and headed to The Sock Shoppe. Once the shopping was done, Mama Helen realized that she’s paid $11.99 for ONE pair of socks, so she marched right back into the store and got her money back, losing her billfolder somewhere along the way. But it’s not as bad as it could be given that she keeps all her money, identification cards, and credit cards somewhere else.

Hearing about their trip to The Sock Shoppe reminded me of one my cousin Stacy’s favorite stories . . .

One Christmas Grandmother Ballard talked Granddaddy into driving her down to The Sock Shoppe to do her Christmas shopping. Once she’d bought each child and grandchild a pair of socks, she shopped for Granddaddy’s present.

On Christmas morning, Granddaddy opened his present from Grandmother, held up his new underwear, and asked, “Katie Belle. Are these from you?”

“What?” Grandmother hollered back across the room. She was a little hard of hearing.

“I said, are these from you?” Granddaddy hollered a little louder.

With that, Grandmother sat back in her chair, let loose a chuckle, and said, “Of course they’re new, William.”

Okay, she was a lot hard of hearing.

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IOOL4 14

In Our Own Language 4:14

Nancy (my developmentally disabled sister-in-law) draws.
I (the woman who flat-out loves her) stitch her drawings.

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Dailydahlia16sep15

The Daily Dahlia

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