Blue ceilings are popular and have been popular in the South for centuries. “Porch ceilings have always been blue in the South,” says Lori Sawaya, an independent Principal Color Strategist. “People continue to paint their porch ceiling blue because that’s what their grandmother did, and that’s what her grandmother did.”

But many Southerners suggest that blue porch ceilings originated out of the fear of haints. Southerners, especially in the area of South Carolina, have a name for the ceiling paint used on porches – the soft blue-green is referred to as “Haint Blue.”

“Haints are restless spirits of the dead who, for whatever reason, have not moved on from their physical world,” says Sawaya.

*The Gullah culture of South Carolina’s lowcountry believed that haints could not cross water, and that by painting the home with the same blue-green color as water, especially near any openings, would keep any evil spirits from crossing.

Haint blue, which can also be found on door and window frames as well as porch ceilings, is intended to protect the homeowner from being “taken” or influenced by haints. It is said to protect the house and the occupants of the house from evil.

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*Paint researchers theorize that insects prefer not to nest on blue ceilings because they are “fooled” into thinking the blue paint is actually the sky.

People may also paint the porch ceiling blue because the color seems to emulate the natural sky and makes the daylight hours feel as though they last just a little longer. “Light blues especially lighten and brighten space and propagate any light that you do get, because of the basic nature of color,” says Sawaya.

But if painting your porch or ceiling seems a little too extravagant to keep out a little old’ haint…you can always go on the website: http://www.creolemoon.com and order a couple of bottles of “Haints Be Gone! Blue Rice.…and sleep fearlessly at night.

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Gardens & Guns magazine even found an old southern expression that has come down from southern ghost folklore.

“Ran like a scalded haint:” A haint, in old Southern terminology, is a ghost, and according to tradition, scalding one will send it running right quick.

So until tomorrow….I can going to try to get a few southern expressions in the final paragraph from a Southern Living article on old southern expressions.  Honey recently discovered it and thought I would enjoy. So here goes. I did and hope you do too!

“Heavens to Betsy” I sure don’t want to find any old’ haint in my house. During the day haints can look like normal people until midnight on the night of a full moon. A haint woman can go from “looking like a peach” to looking like a wicked old witch. If you paint your doors and windows blue the haint can’t go through and she will be “madder than a wet hen.”  (That is why I told my painters to “Hold your horses” when they tried to paint my porch ceiling white….no siree! I’m not taking any chances.) “If I had my druthers” I’d rather be wrong than sorry. Or as ‘Lil’ Abner’ once said.

(The phrase is celebrated in song in the hilarious, Southern-inspired Broadway musical Li’l Abner, in which the title character sings) “If I had my druthers, I’d druther have my druthers than anything else I know.” And really, wouldn’t we all druther have our druthers?

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*As many of you know the birthplace of the Girl Scouts (USA) began in the home of Juliette Lowe in Savannah Georgia.

Apparently as part of a ghost tour advertisement lure, last Halloween, to get groups of students out….one ghost tour (which talks a lot about the “haints” of Savannah)…..advertised that girl scouts would get a free “haint” bracelet to keep the ghosts away for taking the tour.

• Tuesday night,  I believe all the flowering plants hushed and listened as the “Princess of the Night” ( (Night blooming Cereus) began to blossom for her one time in a year under the bright rays of the moon. Yesterday morning this was what was left of the bloom in Vickie’s beautiful backyard paradise.
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Yesterday was Anne’s and  my “Water Station” Day in the parking lot at DSS. You can only imagine how hot it was from 4-5 and how a cold bottle of water and a cookie could perk up the weary. And so many people were weary yesterday with no car air conditioning. After receiving the water, cookies, and information on free meals throughout the week by different ministries around town….hope had returned to several folks that wasn’t there when they entered..

But one woman stood out in our hearts….she was driving on fumes, had no money, literally, and had her daughter scrounging for change under the car seats for a cold drink prior to pulling into DSS. After hearing her story Anne and I ran to our pocketbooks to find some bills to help her fill her car up and direct her to Doty Field where the supper meal was being served.

Anne gave her….her card in case she needed it and this is what she heard from this woman and why we go sit out in a hot parking lot on Wednesday afternoons.

Mrs. Anne,

   Thank God for you and your friend today… God showed me today that he does work in mysterious ways!!! Thank you so much for our father!! I know on some days he wouldn’t ever give me what I can’t handle…. Other days I try hard not to show Cassidie and Bill how sad, disappointed, and tired of things!!! I know they can see it cause I’m not good at hiding my emotions but as long as my tears stay away I think I’m getting away with it!! I’ve been telling Cassidie look we’re on vacation and we are going to have so much fun!!!

But enough of that!!

Thank you so much for helping us today!!
We ate dinner at Doty park thank you for the info. God Bless you and your family and friends!!😇😗