Things my Mother used to say

Since this blog is where I record whatever strikes my fancy, I thought it would be interesting to have a list of the "things my mother said." These are sayings and phrases that I remember her saying along with those of which my siblings reminded me. So here they are, in no particular order:

• Do something useful and intelligent
• Bring it here (when you wanted to show her something and she was engrossed in a book)
• Peace be with you (whenever one of us was upset with the others)
• If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all
• Cigarettes are out, matches are out, stove is off, washer is off, dryer is off, dishwasher is off (the mantra before leaving the house)
• Don't have a pot to piss in
• You bet your bippy
• Were you there? (brought out whenever one of us complained about a circumstance. Rumor has it she got that one from my Noni.)

As a substitute for swearing in front of her children, she had some interesting "swear words":

• Son of a Seahorse
• Your Aunt Tilly's Underwear
• Bull Balls