Delta Adventure 2

I like this shot - this is typical Mississippi Delta - a juxtaposition of breathtaking and butt ugly. It's a Belzoni drainage ditch at sunset. We had reached Belzoni at 5:30 pm today, sunset time, and we pulled over so I could get some shots of the last moments of sunlight.

Delta Adventure

Chad and I had a Mississippi Delta adventure today. We traveled 2 hours to Indianola for a work-related function. A front had just moved through Mississippi and there were lots of clouds in the sky, so it was just gorgeous. This is a shot I took somewhere near Yazoo City of a rice field and the clouds above it. At bottom right is a reflection of the F-150 Chad was driving.

Super Suppers

Monday I had my first experience with Super Suppers, located not far from my house. I had a bunko group over for dinner, and no time to prepare, so I picked up two great casseroles from SS. Their entrees change from month to month, but I heartily recommend the Swedish Meatballs over Pasta and Poppyseed Chicken entrees that I picked up from their February menu. You have three options - make it yourself from their work stations with all ingredients, watch them make it, or buy from the freezer. I am looking forward to going back for a do-it-yourself casserole, because you save a WHOLE DOLLAR off the price that way.

1939 Summer

While I'm posting family photos, this is one of my favorites that I wanted to post. It's a photo of my grandmother Lucille and in her handwriting on the photo it says, "Taken in Mobile [AL] on dock - I was really tired (new shoes). 1939 Summer." I wish she was around so I could ask her who took the photo. I do know that she married my grandfather in Nov. 1939, but that's all. I just like this slice of life photo.

Genealogy

I'm pretty interested in family history. I guess I should say genealogy is my interest, and I am interested in bloodlines, but the family stories are more valuable to know, I think. My mother keeps up with lots of family stories and has passed down a lot verbally. Her mother even wrote down some family stories and I have a published book with them included. My 'unsolved mystery' now is my grandfather Troy's family (pictured). I have this photo of George and Laura (his parents) along with five of his older siblings. This photo was taken in 1910 before he was born in 1911. I know next to nothing about this family group. I don't even have anyone to ask about this side of the family - we're stumped. The next step is to go to the Mississippi Dept. of Archives & History and look at public records. This means I'm going to drag you with me, Mom!

My New Skates

We went blading Sunday afternoon to try out my new skates; a Valentine's Day gift from Todd. I had missed skating terribly. I misplaced my skates last May in a hotel room when I forgot to leave the hotel with them. Then it was a couple of weeks before I remembered and they were gone for good. Anyway I like this 80's style photo, but my skates look a little more modern than this. :-) So skating we will go. Our neighborhood has flat streets and Sunday we went to the local elementary school nearby and covered the sidewalks.

The Illusionist

For Valentine's Day dinner we rented and watched The Illusionist and I recommend it. It's a mystery, which I like, and it's a little bit romantic.

Home Crying Shirt

I had to use this. It's a quote from tonight's episode of Veronica Mars. One character chides the other for moping over his ex-girlfriend. He then advises him to put on his 'I'd rather be home crying" tshirt and come out with him. So I totally stole this one.

Town of Lost Rabbit

Today we visited the 'Town of Lost Rabbit' in Madison, a new planned community. Today was an open house so we got to see the inside of several houses. It will be interesting to see how the community grows, but it shows potential. Craftsmanship is great, but I did notice some small master bedrooms.

Birthday Weekend

We spent all weekend celebrating birthdays! I regret I did not have my camera Friday night when a great group of 10 of us went to Mediterranean Cafe for Stacey's birthday. Laura took this shot of Stacey, me and Vanessa with her camera phone. Aside from Stacey's smiling face, and spending time with close friends, the highlight was a chocolate cake with raspberry icing (pictured)...yum.

Scott's 40th Birthday

For Scott's 40th birthday, we went to Two Rivers restaurant in Canton and had dinner, accompanied by karaoke. The karaoke highlight was John H's rendition of a great 90's song dedicated to Scott :-). Scott's red velvet birthday cake was memorable. Holly had asked us to all wear black to 'mourn the passing of Scott's youth,' and you can see from this photo she used black icing on his cake.

Scott's 40th Birthday

We were privileged to take part in Scott's 40th birthday this past weekend. Holly put together a great surprise for him when we all showed up in a stretch limousine to pick him up. Scott and Todd were roommates when Todd and I were dating, and Holly and Scott were dating, and John and Marissa were also dating. . .It is hard to believe that was 10 years ago! Pictured are, from back left, Laura, Scott, Holly, Amy, John H, John D and Marissa. Todd and I are in front.

Oscar Month on TCM

Turner Classic Movies is showing 31 days of Oscar nominees, and we've DVRed (what the heck, I'll invent that word) several great movies - we recently watched The Barefoot Contessa with Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart, plus Shane and The Longest Day. Here's a plug for their Movie Morlocks blog.

Rereading Sharyn McCrumb

I'm rereading one of the novels of Sharyn McCrumb, one of my favorite authors. The 1997 book, The Rosewood Casket, is the first one she authored that read, and after that I proceeded to read her entire 'ballad novel' series, as she calls it. Fictional Hamelin Tennessee, in mountain country, is the setting of all the ballad novels and her characters seem truly real to me.

How I Spent My iTunes Gift Card

I am in love with Brit pop band The Fratellis, so I bought their EP 'Flathead' with 4 songs. I am annoyed that iTunes does not offer their new album on sale in the UK. I also bought a few dance songs like the JLo/LL Cool J song, 'Boston' by Augustana, 'Galvanize' by Chemical Brothers, 'Bring It' by Cobra Starship, 'Bohemian LIke Me' by Dandy Warhols, the Fall Out Boy single 'This Aint a Scene,'
'Fidelity' by Regina Spektor and a couple more.

Biltmore Mansion

Jen, Breck and me at the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, during our late-January trip. Photo taken by Ron. Take this to the bank: the best time to visit Biltmore Mansion is in January. The crowds are miniscule. We did not have to wait in line for anything. We were able to speed through the house in no time, walking at whatever pace we wanted. Although the gardens were bare, the house and grounds are still impressive, plus there isn't the annoyance of the elbow-to-elbow crowd.

Pre-Ski Concentration

I have to include this final shot of our ski day at Cataloochee ski joint in Maggie Valley North Carolina. This is Dad, Breck and Todd getting ready for a day of skiing. Dad with diet Sprite and fedora, Breck with a Throttle sports drink, and Todd with his new gray cap. This is the only existing evidence that he ever owned that cap; it was lost on his third run down the black diamond, along with a chunk of Todd's rotator cuff!

Cataloochee

This is the beginner slope at Cataloochee ski joint in Maggie Valley North Carolina. This is also the slope where I fell about a dozen times trying to avoid the crowd, trying not to careen into a ski lift, trying to remember what the ski instructor said. The crazy thing was I let Breck and Todd talk me into going up to the medium-hard slope when they had just witnessed how many times I fell on the easy slope. Whew...I walked right into that one.

Up and Away

This is Todd and Breck on a ski lift at Cataloochee ski joint in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, on our late-January trip. Todd skied while Breck snowboarded. Breck did a really nice thing for me when my ski fell off on a steep stretch of mountain and I couldn't get it back on. He not only helped me get it reattached, but he stayed with me on the mountain - behind me - and gave me encouragement and direction. Getting down that medium-hard slope was no small feat for me - thanks B! Think I'll stick to the lodge.

We Actually Chose to Do This

I was actually thinking this while almost literally falling down the pseudo-mountain. This is Breck's wife Jen and me during our late-January ski trip to Cataloochee ski joint in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Jen was nice enough to take skiing lessons with me. The end-of-day fall count was this: Kristen 45+; Jen 0. The world is small - we met a girl from Mississippi - very close to my hometown - in our ski school.

Family Resemblance

Breck and I were both at Dads house in late January and we took this photo. This is one of the only photos I've ever seen where I think we actually resemble each other.

Best of Jackson Party

Sunday we went with Carl, Rebekah, Shanean and Paula to the Best of Jackson party at Mardi Gras restaurant, sponsored by the local alternative weekly, the Jackson Free Press. The free food and beer were the main draw, but the local characters were a close second. One attention-seeking man wore a body-hugging gold lame' jumpsuit, another man dressed like Snow White, and a third dressed like a hung over Elvis. Dorothy from Oz was there along with some dread-lock bearing rastafarians. A blonde woman I'll call 'interesting' wore a t-shirt with the slogan "Hugo Chavez is not the enemy." The best food offering of the night was burgers from Cool Al's.

Saints Stop Marching

Saints fever has hit Jackson. My neighbor spelled out "Who Dat" in duct tape on the back of his car. Plenty of businesses had Geaux Saints on their signs. We watched the Saints game today at Jake's house along with Phillip, Lyndsey, Wade, Sarah and Randy. We kept moving chairs trying to find some seating arrangement that was 'lucky.' Unfortunately, the Saints were not able to overcome the turnovers that ruined their chances to go to the Super Bowl.

Jeff & Grace Visit

Saturday Jeff and Grace were in town, so we went out to eat with them and had a great visit at Old Venice Pizza Co.

Plate Special

So Saturday I was straightening out a cabinet with some dishes and I realized that I had in this house a plate from 4 out of 5 sides of Todd's and my family. I decided to display them. From left, they are (1) old plate from a set from Todd's mother's family; (2) the "chicken/rabbit plate" from my father's family; (3) old plate from a set from Todd's father's family; (4) plate from my mother's family; and (5) special plate reading 'Bob' on it from Todd's grandmother. The plate was hand painted in the 1950s in honor of Todd's mother, Barbara, whose childhood nickname was 'Bob.'

Saints Win Shirt

There is palpable New Orleans Saints fever around here. This is my low-key tribute.

Recent Reading

I'm midway through reading a Christmas present from Jake, Angels and Demons Illustrated Edition by Dan Brown. I read this novel a couple of years ago and constantly found myself looking up works of art, landmarks and other things mentioned in the book, so this illustrated edition is awesome.

Wok Cooking

I got a wok for Christmas from Aunt Kaye and was determined to use it. I spent last weekend seasoning the wok and this week poring over this cookbook, Wok Fast. What a great cookbook! It makes clear the world of Asian cooking with lots of illustrations and explanations. Today I used the wok for the first time. I went to the local Asian grocery to get supplies and followed a recipe. I made a rosemary hoisin sauce and cooked stir fried shrimp with zucchini, yellow squash and red onion. The great thing about wok cooking is there's no questioning about the heat...it's all high, all the time. Therefore you only spend 4 or 5 minutes actually cooking. Results tonight were great - the sauce was incredibly spicy - Todd didn't even have to add Tony's seasoning to it, as he usually adds to everything!

Who Dat

I was pretty excited about the New Orleans Saints game yesterday. Last weekend in New Orleans, all we heard was Saints, Saints, Saints. It's on everyone's lips. So Saturday, Todd and I both wore Saints t-shirts and went to Jake's to watch the game. Here's a photo of the fleur de lis cake I made for the occasion. We were so thrilled about the win on Saturday and the franchise's first ever appearance in the conference championship game next weekend.

January Spring

We were surprised to arrive home from Greenwood on Saturday to see the first blooms in the bed of bulbs in our back yard. The rest are about to bloom. It's 76 and very pleasant today, in keeping with the temps the past few weeks. These bulbs originally came from my mother's garden before she sold her house in Spring 06. They were planted last spring, after they had bloomed elsewhere and were transplanted, so this is the first time I've had an inkling of what color or type they were. It seems that they are paperwhites - or at least the paperwhites are the first to bloom in this grouping. It's a shame the rest won't have a chance to bloom at all - a cold front is coming through that is going to plunge temperatures into the 30s tomorrow night. Today I planted some hollyhocks, some narcissus and some yellow daffodils, both in pots and in an established bed.

Rooms at The Alluvian

My one bone to pick with The Alluvian hotel is the bedding. Others with us on the trip and during other trips have absolutely raved about the Alluvian bedding and wanted it for their homes. The opposite is the case for Todd and me. We normally sleep on memory foam pillows and it's a stark contrast to sleep on a down pillow, which offers almost no support. In fact, it's like sleeping on no pillow at all. The last two times we've stayed in this hotel, we've had trouble sleeping and didn't feel rested in the morning. However, the Godiva chocolates at turn down are delightful.

The Alluvian

We visited the Alluvian Hotel in Greenwood, Mississippi Friday night for business. We had a dinner that evening in the hotel and I had a meeting the next morning with people I work with. The Alluvian is like an oasis in the desert - almost surrounded by scary, dark streets and decay. But inside is another world. It's a nice place to escape to - a 2 hour getaway from Jackson.

Return of French Quarter

Last weekend as we were visiting Todd's family on the Westbank of New Orleans, we took a rare trip into the city, visiting the World War II museum and eating at Maspero's in the French Quarter. The French Quarter had a lot of foot traffic and a more festive atmosphere than when we visited in July. Although people did not seem to be in the shopping mall area of Jackson Brewery, there was a superb mime who had us fascinated, there were 5 or 6 street artists in Jackson Square (as opposed to none on a July morning). This was the Saturday following the Wednesday Sugar Bowl - but we saw lots of Notre Dame fans still in the Quarter.

Kentwood La Delicacy

I didn't take many photos of our New Orleans trip last weekend, but I snapped one of this great greasy chicken place where we stopped on the way - Jam's chicken in Kentwood Louisiana, otherwise known as the hometown of Britney Spears. We loved the food and thought the chicken and gumbo were hard to beat. We also liked their sign on the door that said "No pants below the rear!"

Hard Knock Auto

Todd swears this car is "trying to kill us." I say it's just trying to commit suicide and take us with it. Anyway it was Christmas Day and we had left my mother's house and had gone only 2 miles of a 2 hour trip home. A Suburban darted out in front of me, causing me to swerve into a curb and shred both of my right tires. Yes, I did hit that orange/white pole thingy, but it popped back up. This near accident detained us for a further 24 hours before we could get home and forced me to take a day of vacation I had not planned on taking on the 26th. We went car shopping on the 26th because this is the fifth crazy strange near accident and accident that has happened to me in this car in the past 13 months.

Ghetto Cork

I promised the Christmas crowd I would blog about the so called ghetto cork spotted on Christmas Eve in the kitchen. Draw your own conclusions.

Backtrack to Christmas

Back to Christmas...I haven't figured out the logistics with the laptop yet, because it's not the computer we download photos to, so I am just now putting photos on the laptop for uploading purposes. Kaye took this photo on Christmas Eve of Todd, me, Lyn, Breck and Jen.

Good Luck in 2007

Beverly and Dave were nice enough to have us over for New Year's Day. Beverly cooked her annual if-it's-not-famous-it-oughta-be delicious New Year's feast - corned beef, cabbage and black eyed peas. I also cooked some black eyed peas with some leftover pork rib meat we had in the fridge. Hopefully we'll be lucky. Origin of eating black eyed peas on this day. Also should mention Chris and Laura's engagement - congratulations from all. We know they are looking forward to 2007!

Football

We have been watching a lot of football. I am an NFL fan I will admit. We watched the Saints play the Panthers Sunday afternoon, then that night I cooked while watching the Packers and Bears in Brett Favre's last game. Monday we watched bowl game after bowl game while doing other tasks in the same room as the TV. Todd manually keyed several locks and I put the period on the end of the sentence for two projects that I am ready to pass along to others. Also on New Year's Day, we changed out the 2006 business files and replaced them with 2007. None of these tasks was especially interesting, but all were necessary. Back to the football. I saw the first drive of the Boise State/Oklahoma game, but turned it off and read a magazine instead. I guess I had football overload. Tonight (Tuesday) we are watching the Orange Bowl.

Cat Whisperer Tshirt

Sparky Sweatshirt

The new Cheetah Stun taser inspired this sweatshirt - white with 'BEWARE of Mr. Sparky' in metallic letters. Click on the graphic to visit my spreadshirt shop.

Mobile Blogging

I am blogging on my wonderful Christmas present, a new laptop with wireless capability. Thanks Todd!

Mr. Sparky

I am SO EXCITED about my Christmas gift, my new Cheetah Stun taser. Who says its not safe to live in Jackson? You just gotta be smart. That reminds me I must mention that yesterday I left my office to go to lunch and in the parking lot of my office was a one-legged man in a wheelchair eating a box of popcorn. We don't get a lot of those in our private parking lot. And don't doubt my description. How could I possibly make that up? Anyway Todd gave me the taser today but I thought about it yesterday. I love this thing! To take this photo, I tested the taser and later had to peel the cat off the ceiling. Oops. And I have to mention that this thing says 'Made in China' on it and the other writing on the box includes the following amusing text, "PROTE CTIVNE," "Saftey Switch," and "Warning: Extreem Danger Keep Out of Reach of Children."

The Baking

I love baking and at Christmas especially. Last night I made this pan of homemade cinnamon rolls and froze them to have for Christmas weekend. From this photo they don't look much like cinnamon rolls...hopefully they taste like them.

The Cookies

I've caught the fever and made cookie-cutter cookies for Christmas. The Pillsbury ready-made rolled-out dough is the best invention ever. It puts the fun back into making cookies. Here are some I made last night and iced with royal icing.

Christmas Cookie Countdown

I must mention the Allrecipes.com Christmas Cookie Countdown. Each day in December they post a new cookie recipe. I'm looking forward to making the Mint Chocolate Cookies.

Might I Recommend the Wings

A word of advice; don't ever get 10 orders of wings, no matter how many people you have coming over to the house. We have been up to our armpits (ha) in leftover wings. The Golden Eagles didn't take flight during the game either, so how appropriate were these wings.

It's beginning to look...

Yeah, I am just trying to work in a shot of the Christmas tree here. Pictured are Beverly and Bobby at a recent Southern Miss get together at our house. We did not purchase a tree last year so this is the first Christmas tree we have had in this house.

Thanksgiving Memory. Period

This is the one photo of Thanksgiving 2006 that was taken before the camera battery died. Todd's dad Mike was fishing and even caught one, but threw it back. This lake is behind Todd's aunt's home, where Thanksgiving dinner was held. Thanksgiving was a great break and what other day of the year have I had an in-depth conversation with one 93-year old man (relative of Todd's) who regaled me about his boxing days, one 100-year-old woman (Todd's grandmother) whom in conversation shrugged off "a little bit of cancer" on her neck, and two 18 and 20-year old college students, who raved about Casino Royale, the new Bond movie? A balanced perspective for the day. I'm comfortably in the middle. Hopefully on the younger side of the middle, of course, but it's fun to imagine the 2070s when I'll be 100 and still on my first bionic hip!

Top 5 Tshirts

My recent interest in custom t-shirts brought me to the T-list t-shirt site, where you can create your own Top 5 list t-shirts...Top 5 movies, Top 5 directors, etc., etc. Products all made in North America. Shipping is a bit high at $12 per order no matter the quantity. But you gotta give them credit - a one of a kind t-shirt that is sure to be a conversation-starter? No brainer.

Buy the T-shirt

Check out my spreadshirt shop (click on the shirt to access) and the t-shirts I've designed. I'll try to do a weekly shirt.