Whoa! I just checked out the scenery here and realized I’d not had anything to say for a while. That’s not like me.

So it’s been a busy season in Lake Wobegon, er, the Ozarks. Today it’s rain, glorious rain, after two long, dry, dusty months. The skies are so dark I’ve had to turn the lights on. It’s  enough to make a person sing.

Speaking of all that, there’s singing to be had on iTunes and Amazon, as the Winter’s Bone soundtrack was made available last Tuesday for digital download as mp3 files. The actual CD hardcopy won’t be in stores until Oct. 26, although you’ll be able to get them here some weeks earlier. Woohoo! That’s been a long time coming. My preference, if I’d had my ‘druthers, would have been to have the soundtrack out in June and you all bored with it by now and clamoring for the NEXT CD, which we’re working on now, and will go into the studio to finish sometime beforeThanksgiving. Another woohoo, just a small one. I can tell you already, though, you’re gonna love it. Just my personal view, should I opine.

OK, time for an Ozarks lesson. I’ve used two words in this post that may not be in your dictionary. Here’ some translation help:

‘Druthers: Noun, meaning my way. An Ozarks version of the phrase “I’d Rather”

Opine : Verb, meaning to offer an opinion.

Used in context: I ‘druther (I’d rather) be at the creek, if I had my ‘druthers (my way), she opined (expressed her opinion).

Your assignment, class, is to find places to use these colorful and ancient words in conversation. Next week we’ll try Dasn’t and maybe Behinder.