Dekalb, Mississippi

Well, we finally made it to DeKalb, MS, our final destination on Thursday March 26, 2009. We stayed at the Naval Air Station in Meridian, MS the night before. This town De Kalb is the town where my grandfather was born. During my research I discovered that some of my ancestors are buried at the Black Water Baptist church cemetery located behind the church. The family were French Huguenots that came to this country from France after religious persecution. They landed in Martinique then moved on to Virginia then west after the Revolutionary War. My group settled in the Mississippi area where many French congregated. C. and I strolled through the cemetery. There were some graves that I recognized the names. A lot of the stones were weather beaten, others were broken. Fortunately, I had the camera to take pictures of some of the stones.
The town of DeKalb appears to be suffering from decline in many ways. There were few businesses and the homes and buildings were old. The only library was closed on Thursdays. There was no historical society or archives. The court house was open, but they did not have any property records from the 1800's. I was told I would have to go to Jackson, MS, the capitol of the State. We did not go back to Jackson. What a disappointment. I had hoped to find at least some descendants of my grandfather's brothers and sisters. Pappy left the area and came to Tennessee in about 1937. As far as I know he never went back to MS. We never knew any of his family. I am finding that it only takes about two generations when family records are not kept to have information lost forever.
Like stepping back in time.
De Kalb, MS


There are a lot of Pine Trees being grown in Dekalb, MS to reforest

De Kalb, MS has many dirt roads.

Natchez Mississippi

We finally arrived in the historic Civil War town of Natchez, Mississippi after a long drive from Tunica down the Blues Highway 61. Most all of the buildings in Natchez have an "Old South beauty and exquiste charm that I love.
Below is the bridge that goes across the mighty Mississippi River from Natchez, MS to Vadalia, Louisiana. The view is from our hotel room window the morning of Wednesday, March 25, 2009. It started raining about 15 miles North of Vicksburg as we headed south on Highway 61 on March 24th and rained all the way to Natchez. There were violent thunder storms with ligthing that accompanied the storms this night. C and I rode around the town of Natchez on the 24th and 25th to see as much as possible. The buildings are very old in this Nationally Historic City. I would like very much to go back when the weather is nice.

Monmouth, Natchez, MS

Parlor at Monmouth Natchez, MS

Auburn, Natchez, MS

Gov. Holmes home in downtown Natchez, MS

House on Elcott's Hill in downtown Natchez, MS

Longwood Hall, Natchez, MS

Unfinished inside except for the basement level where Julia reared her eight children. Her husband died from stress at age 42 after losing his money in the Civil War. He had started this exquisit home but died before the completion. It is now owned by the Natchez Garden Club

"Rosalie", Natchez, MS

Eudora Welty's home in Jackson, MS

After leaving Natchez, MS C. and I continued on with our fast trip to Jackson, MS. I wanted to see the home of writer Eudora Welty. Here is a picture of her and the home she lived in and wrote most of her work. The tudor home is located in a modest older neighborhood where the dwellings are charming and loaded with and abundance of character.

Mississippi Trip to continue in "De Kalb" Blog

Grace

Highway 61 - Blues Highway

We left home Monday March 23, 2009 an headed down I-40 towards Memphis, TN.
Our final destination would be Dekalb, Mississippi. I wanted to do some family research on my father's side of the family. C. does not have any interest in genealogy, but went along reluctantly.
The weather was warm and sunny and it seemed, at first, the trip would be good. Our first stop was Casey Jones Restaurant and gift shop to get coffee and an Oatmeal cookie to share. I've stopped here many times when travelling with my job before retirement. I know the country cooking here is superb, but it was too early for lunch.

Next stop, Harrah's casino in Tunica Mississippi. It was a lovely building. Paula Deean, the famous Southern Cook has a restaurant located in Harrah's. We decided to spend the night in Tunica, MS but not here.

We stayed at the Hollywood Hotel and casino. The place was very interesting because it was decorated with pictures of old movie stars and movie memorabilia.
C. enjoys playing Black Jack at a "$1.00 table" now and then. He played for about 2 hours and only lost $16.50. That was quiet enough considering the 2009 economy. I knitted in our room. I'm hardly the party girl these days. we had dinner at an all you can eat buffet. Nice variety.
The mattresses were great for sleeping after a long day of driving. They were "Tempurpedic" It rained this night.


Tuesday March 24, 2009, we checked out of the Hollywood Hotel and Casino. C. wanted to stay another night, but I was anxious to move on. I have a horrible fear of elevators. For security reasons, at the Hollywood you have to insert your room key in the elevator control panel to make it go. There were no lobby level rooms for non-smokers, so an elevator trip to the second floor was necessary. A trip down the "Blues" Highway 61 seemed the best way to get to Natchez, so off we went. The sky was grey and covered by volumptuous yellow and green-grey clouds. Again, rain seemed imminent. The terrain was flat and there was one cotton field right after another the entire 5 hour drive to Natchez. we saw hundreds of yellow and green John Deere tractors plowing the fields in preparation of planting Cotton.

The poverty in this part of Mississippi was obvious. Many homes were in a sad state of repair. There were fans on front porches. I imagined the fans were to create a breeze to circulate air through the house. The doors on some homes were open and you could not help but see the lack of furnishings inside. Some were preparing meals on tables in the front yard. There were many abandoned vehicles and old farm equipment. Most barns were in the process of falling.




This marker is at the crossroads of Hwy 61 and Hwy 49.



















Actor Morgan Freeman has a tavern in Clarksdale, MS. We stopped in this little town for a coffee refill. A tornado went through Claksdale, MS the day after we had stopped there. As I mentioned, the weather was threatening the entire trip.











This is a house we saw on the road
from Clarksdale to Vicksburg, MS




This is a typical looking swamp on Hwy 61 to Vicksburg, MS. A beautiful site. There was a lovely crane posed for us, but you can not see it in this photo.

Blog to be continued in "Natchez, MS"

Grace

Maturity and Motherhood

These are the hands of four generations of Tennessee mothers and daughters I have the privilege of knowing.
They were born by and have continued to nurture one another through all of their
important life events and levels of maturity. How lovely that they are all still an important part of each other's lives.
The first and oldest is now being helped to find comfort and security as she ages and is no longer able to live alone without someone to assist her with her activities of daily living.
The second has just finished her long work career and is looking forward to a time when her own responsibilities are not as great and she can spend time enjoying her family, leisure time and other activities.
The third women is in the midst of her busy career as a mother and writer. Early in her life, she realized that she would have to be creative daily and work very hard along with her husband to have a comfortable home in which to rear their five children to be responsible members of society. As always, she continues to make every attempt to guide her children to make good decisions about their own lives. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic by going to work every day that she is scheduled. She is respected by her family and friends and is ever mindful of her community and civic responsibilities. This woman knows that the world does not owe her a living. She works very hard for her money and a sense of pride in knowing she has done a good job everyday.
The fourth and youngest of the four pictured has finished high school and is about to complete college this Spring. This girl has acknowledged that good jobs with benefits are harder to find these days, so she has been networking constantly and has landed a job as a TV News Writer. Much to her sorrow, she will be leaving the Middle Tennessee area this Summer. Fortunately, this young woman has reached a maturity level that will afford her the ability to be able to provide for her self and make prudent decisions as she embarks on her new life adventure.

Kudos,
Grace

Cheddars

A new "Cheddars" restaurant has been built close to our home. The restaurant is one in a chain of many based out of Texas. The food is FABULOUS and service was friendly. The afternoon we went, there was a 30 minute wait. Friday, Saturday and Sunday noons and evenings are slammed; the wait is around 1.5 hours. They provide dining service inside or outside on the patio. For lunch we all had Monte Cristos with red beans and rice. The Salmon and Chicken Tenders are also fabulous. Our family is looking forward to other visits and trying different entrees. The ample appetizer was chips with a cup of salsa and a cup of melted cheese containing ground hamburger. Prices are reasonable and the food quality is outstanding.

Grace

St. Patricks Day Party

Step Dancers at the party

My husband C. is a member of the Knights of Columbus. The council sponsored a great St. Patrick's Day Party at our church Saturday night. What a great time for everyone who attended.

Upon arrival, we were awed by the beautiful decorations. There were white table cloths with green shamrocks and helium filled green and yellow balloons everywhere. Green pots with gold pieces were centered on each table. The bar had ample wine of every type, beer, including green beer and sodas. A colorful table centered in the dining room was laden with appetizers.

A bagpiper and drummer piped everyone into the party room, and continued to play as they walked around the room. When the party was over the pipers piped us out and on our way as well.

About 7 Pm a bountiful buffet opened with braised beef, flounder topped with shrimp and cream sauce. There were green beans, mashed and/or boiled potatoes along with glazed carrots. For desert, we sampled an assortment of Irish cakes as well as chocolate cheese cake. The Nashville Irish Step Dancers entertained us during dinner. The girls ranged in age from 14-40 yrs of age.

At 8PM the band began to play and the lively crowd started to dance the night away. The band played mostly rock-n-roll with a few slow dances thrown in now and then.

I must not forget to mention the silent auction. The purpose of the evening event was to raise money for charity. At the auction, there was everything from a large stained glass window left over from a recent church renovation to a light colored fur coat. There was Rieslings champagne along with other alcoholic beverages up for the bid. Seaside and lakeside trips were very popular. I bid on a beautiful knitted scarf that had been crafted with a combination of ribbon and yarn. Luckily, I won the bid for the scarf and C. won his bid for a grocery gift certificate.

Of course we wore green. People were certainly dressed for the occasion. One of our friends wore his dark green plaid Kilt with all of it's ornamentation. I must say he looked quite dashing. Some had on hats and necklaces that lit up or flashed intermittently.

We are already looking forward to going again to the party next year.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Grace

Ashley and Alexis

A few years ago my friend gave me Ashley and Alexis. They stay on our kitchen stove all of the time. C. and I have grown very fond of them. Their expression is always pleasant and they are so colorful. The other object is a small white plate decorated with green shamrocks. This we use to place tea bags after seeping.

GRACE

Pictures I have painted

This painting was done during the year 2000. It commemorates Antarctica where the millennium began January 1, 2000. I love penguins. This picture symbolizes me and C. together at the beginning of the millennium. Grace loves C.

My husband C. used to fly fuel to remote areas in Alaska during the late 1980s. I painted this to

commemorate that time in his life. Grace

Light House - inspired by a Christmas card sent to me by my friend Karen. She passed away from a ruptured brain aneurysm shortly after Christmas in 2005. By Grace

Italian scene inspired by another famous artist. By Grace

Inspired by a famous artist to paint this lady with a red hat. By Grace

Right - Our home.

Upper - A French Country scene

Middle - Inspired by Thomas Kincaid

By

Grace

Two Swans a Swimming

These two lovely swans live on and around a pond that I pass frequently. I absolutely love to watch them. Grace

Nunsense

What a wonderful play.
Yesterday was C's birthday. I planned a special treat for him. We went to a community theater for dinner and to see "Nunsense". The story was about Sister Amnesia who aspired to sing country music. There were lots of funny lines and jokes. The music and voices were fabulous. We highly recommend.
Grace

Ten Things I Saw Today

Sunday March 1, 2009

Snow melting

A panhandler asking for money

Trees blowing in the wind

Husband drinking buttermilk

Gas spilled on the pavement

Doctor writing

A woman in a hospital gown

Two swans swiming in a pond

Ten women and one man knitting

Krispy Kreme Donuts - chocolate

Looking Forward to Spring...

Grace