Author Archives: karenesteslowry

Borrowed Grandparents

When my parents left their home in Alabama to move to Florida in the 1950s, I almost got cheated out of grandparents—almost. I got to know my grandparents through cards, letters, long-distance phone calls and the occasional week-long visit. But … Continue reading

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Pound Cake Packing Preacher

In 2009, Oxmoor House Publishers came out with a book called Southern Living Comfort Food. The back cover of the book carried the following quote from Susan Dosier, a former executive editor at Southern Living: “Maybe a pound cake needs … Continue reading

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Sleeping Arrangements

On a trip to Historic Williamsburg, Virginia, I loved touring old homes, taverns, government buildings, and shops and learning about everyday life in the 1700s. One of the fascinating tidbits I learned on a tour of a historic inn was … Continue reading

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Big Dimples

Back when I was young and single I stopped for lunch at a restaurant near my office for lunch one day. I was eating alone but couldn’t help but notice a young family at a nearby table. An adorable little … Continue reading

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The Mouse that Came Forward

At the close of his Sunday evening sermon, my pastor dad stepped down from the raised platform at the front of the small country church to stand in front of the pulpit. As is the tradition in many churches, he … Continue reading

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The Today Show got it wrong

              This morning the Today Show did a segment on debunking traditional wisdom. They said it’s OK to go out in the winter with wet hair and turkey doesn’t make you sleepy. They also said fireplaces don’t … Continue reading

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The Alabamian Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain

In about 1985 Hugh Grant starred in a movie called “The Englishman who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain.” It’s about a World War I-era village whose inhabitants didn’t like the idea of their local mountain being … Continue reading

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What he was born to do

As adorable as he is, and despite the fact that he does spend a lot of time indoors, Bean is not a parlor dog. He is, in the vernacular of the South, “a huntin’ dog.” Boykin Spaniels were originally bred … Continue reading

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Mama Howard’s Thanksgiving

My Great-Grandmother was known to half the county as “Mama Howard.” One year when I was in my twenties we were all having Thanksgiving at my grandparents’ house and my mother called to invite Mama Howard over to eat with … Continue reading

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A Touch of the Master’s Hands

Our Boykin Spaniel, Cocoa, has never met a human she doesn’t love. Big, little, bold or timid. If someone is offering ear scratches or belly rubs, Cocoa is their friend. She was in doggie heaven the day we took her … Continue reading

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