Y’all Set Down for Dinner
by Jeannie Travis
by Jeannie Travis
Y’all set down for Dinner – Y’all set down and visit… Jeannie T
It gits mighty lonesome up here on th ridge, and I’d surely be proud to have you to set and talk to. Paw aint much for palavering lessen he’s settin on the porch down at the store….trying to whittle the biggest pile of shaving while he yarns with them other old layabouts. They set there and solve th problems of th world and it aint safe for a woman to walk by less she wants a bunch of eyes watchin ever step she takes! There aint a bit of telling what goes on in their minds, but I can sorta guess! He’s lots happier gittin out from under foot, and he misses out on some of the ‘honey do ‘ chores that way. I think it’s a good trade myself. I can red up th house without having to stop every little whipstitch and fix him a snack or listen to one of his old wore out jokes. Once in awhile I git to feelin sorry for the life he’s forced to lead since he got hurt so bad that time, and I’ll have a banana puddin or something set back cooling when he comes draggin in home.
Well, I guess I’m going to have to git up and about and fix some dinner. Pa left a bucket of pole beans setting on the table when he headed down off th ridge, so I’ll start in tipping them. They’ll go in the bottom of the dinner kittle and I’ll bury up a nice sized onion in there. Plenty of bacon grease in th crock so I won’t have to add no meat. After them beans has cooked awhile I’ll salt them and then add a layer of taters I’ve scrabbled from under those plants that are turning yellow down through the row. When they’re fresh dug like that it don’t take no time atall to scrape off that paper thin peelin with my little paring knife that used to belong to Ma. Jist before everything is done good I’ll shuck a mess of sweet corn and lay it on top to steam in all them mingled flavors seeping up through th beans and taters.
I reckon this is a true mountain meal, and it don’t need nothing but a skillet of crusty cornbread to finish it off . I fry up a couple pieces of streaky lean middlin in my cornbread skillet, turn it over after it’s brown, then pour my cornbread mix in on that. When it’s ready to eat I cut it so’s each slice has some meat in it. I learnt that when I was jist a teenage girl…taking care of the little uns while Mama was way off in that Nashville hospital near to dying after bad surgery.
Well, here’s Pa draggin in, hungry as a hound dog like always. Good thing he stopped at th Spring house and brought that Sassafras tea that’s been cooling down there. All I gotta do now is peel some of them little white sweet multiplying onions while Pa’s out on th porch washin up . I wasn’t of a mind to cook no pie nor nothin, so Pa can just make do with that honey him and the neighbor boy robbed outta that holler tree down by the creek last week. I set the table awhile back, so when he comes in we’ll be ready to bow our heads.
It gits mighty lonesome up here on th ridge, and I’d surely be proud to have you to set and talk to. Paw aint much for palavering lessen he’s settin on the porch down at the store….trying to whittle the biggest pile of shaving while he yarns with them other old layabouts. They set there and solve th problems of th world and it aint safe for a woman to walk by less she wants a bunch of eyes watchin ever step she takes! There aint a bit of telling what goes on in their minds, but I can sorta guess! He’s lots happier gittin out from under foot, and he misses out on some of the ‘honey do ‘ chores that way. I think it’s a good trade myself. I can red up th house without having to stop every little whipstitch and fix him a snack or listen to one of his old wore out jokes. Once in awhile I git to feelin sorry for the life he’s forced to lead since he got hurt so bad that time, and I’ll have a banana puddin or something set back cooling when he comes draggin in home.
Well, I guess I’m going to have to git up and about and fix some dinner. Pa left a bucket of pole beans setting on the table when he headed down off th ridge, so I’ll start in tipping them. They’ll go in the bottom of the dinner kittle and I’ll bury up a nice sized onion in there. Plenty of bacon grease in th crock so I won’t have to add no meat. After them beans has cooked awhile I’ll salt them and then add a layer of taters I’ve scrabbled from under those plants that are turning yellow down through the row. When they’re fresh dug like that it don’t take no time atall to scrape off that paper thin peelin with my little paring knife that used to belong to Ma. Jist before everything is done good I’ll shuck a mess of sweet corn and lay it on top to steam in all them mingled flavors seeping up through th beans and taters.
I reckon this is a true mountain meal, and it don’t need nothing but a skillet of crusty cornbread to finish it off . I fry up a couple pieces of streaky lean middlin in my cornbread skillet, turn it over after it’s brown, then pour my cornbread mix in on that. When it’s ready to eat I cut it so’s each slice has some meat in it. I learnt that when I was jist a teenage girl…taking care of the little uns while Mama was way off in that Nashville hospital near to dying after bad surgery.
Well, here’s Pa draggin in, hungry as a hound dog like always. Good thing he stopped at th Spring house and brought that Sassafras tea that’s been cooling down there. All I gotta do now is peel some of them little white sweet multiplying onions while Pa’s out on th porch washin up . I wasn’t of a mind to cook no pie nor nothin, so Pa can just make do with that honey him and the neighbor boy robbed outta that holler tree down by the creek last week. I set the table awhile back, so when he comes in we’ll be ready to bow our heads.