From a Yankee to a Dixie Gal

my fave pic from mom's garden
As a dear friend plans to move her family from the New England area to the Land of the Dixie, I feel it is my duty to assist in the preparation of sticker shock.
They may be some things that we understand naturally that her family needs to know beforehand. I will try my best to list as many as I recall from the differences I discovered while working one winter in Chicago.

1) When offered ‘tea’, assume it will be sweetened, sometimes twice as much as necessary.
2) Expect dinner rolls to warm and coated in honey butter
3) There are only two seasons, HOT and NOT SO HOT. You may get one week of what you may call winter, but rare. I haven’t seen my parka since I left The Windy City in early 2000.
4) Don’t expect snow. You may get flurries, even some accumulation, but it will be a memory in two days.
5) You may think that triple-digit weather is bearable, but you must take into account the high humidity. Every day can be a bad hair day. Ponytails are common.
6) You will have BUGS, not insects, year-round, especially skittas (mosquitos) and gnats.
7) You may be accustomed to sandy soil. Especially in Georgia, you will have red clay. It’s staining, mushy, and will definitely kill your plants if not properly prepared.
8) If you do not have outdoor allergies, you will develop them. Since no Winter, plants and grasses can bloom all year
9) States are bigger. It may take you days to drive across them.
10) Southerners are NOSY. We will know your entire family history at first meeting. You will not need a video security system, everyone will know who’s been to your house, just ask. And no need to order the local paper. Folks will tell you everything you’ll need to know, even if you did not ask.

It may take some time before you are fully converted. Hubby has been here since 1988. He has given up the Indians for the Braves, Browns for the Falcons, but still wants Fried Fish and RICE. One day he’ll be converted to Fish-n-Grits.

And please don’t be like Cousin Vinny, “What’s a Grit?