Let's All Just Love One Another

What a week it's been. My mother marked her thirtieth day at Baptist Hospital with a ride to a nursing home where she'll spend another couple of weeks in intensive rehab. My dad and I spent the day on Thursday trying to find the right place for rehab, and despite being told that the one she wanted was full, she still managed to get into Wisteria Gardens, her first choice. And all is right with the world...

That done, I felt comfortable leaving town for a night. My neighbor/friend, Phyllis, invited me to go on an art-run to Fairhope, Alabama for her fabulous art gallery. I had been to Fairhope with her before, for the annual art show there, and fell in love with the town. I was ready to return! We stayed with her friend, Stephanie, and her two precious children. 

Friday night the three of us went to Faulkner College in Fairhope to see a documentary made about Pulitzer prize winning author Rick Bragg. 

According to Wikipedia, "Bragg worked at several newspapers before joining the New York Times in 1994. He covered murders and unrest in Haiti as a metro reporter, then wrote about the Oklahoma City bombing, the Jonesboro killings, the Susan Smith trial and more as a national correspondent based in Atlanta. He later became the paper's Miami bureau chief just in time for Elián González's arrival and the international controversy surrounding the Cuban boy. Bragg won the Pulitzer for his work.

Bragg has authored five books: All Over but the Shoutin, Ava's Man, The Prince of Frogtown, I Am a Soldier Too: The Jessica Lynch Story, the authorized biography of American POWJessica Lynch, and The Most They Ever Had."

As is the case most of the time for me, when I meet an author and hear them speak about their work, I'm more motivated to read their books. The documentary was great, and I learned so much about Bragg's life and writings. We read "The Prince of Frogtown" in our book club, and I admit, it wasn't one of my favorites. But after seeing the documentary, and hearing Bragg speak, I'm ready to read "It's All Over But the Shoutin'," followed by "Ava's Man," and yes, "The Prince of Frogtown,"  again. The books are memoirs--true stories--centering on Bragg's life growing up in northeast Alabama. 

I got a little more background on Bragg from our hostess, Stephanie, who actually dated him several years ago. She hadn't seen him in ten years, but he knew who she was the moment he saw her. 

Here's Stephanie and Phyllis, hamming it up at the book signing:

Getting away, even if for one night, is a good thing. A change of scenery, new adventures, and quality time with a dear friend is all good for the soul. Our trip to Fairhope wasn't the only fun thing Phyllis recruited me to do. Earlier in the week, we made a visit to Beth Israel Temple, where we enjoyed their production of "Oyklahoma." No, I did not misspell it. 

You see, while most of my friends are observing Lent and preparing for Easter, my friend, Lisa Palmer, was celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim. What is Purim, you ask? I had to look it up myself. Purim, which literally means “lots,” is the holiday in which Jews commemorate being saved from persecution in the ancient Persian Empire. According to the Book of Esther in the Bible, the Jews of the city of Shushan were threatened by the villain Haman (BOOOOOO!), a prime minister who convinces the King Ahasuerus to kill all the Jews (because the Jewish Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman). Haman casts lots (hence the name of the holiday) to determine the date he would carry out his plan: the 13th of Adar. In the end, the Jews are saved by the heroic Queen Esther, Mordecai’s (YAAAAY!) niece (and adopted daughter), who married Ahasuerus (after he banished his first, rebellious wife Vashti). When Ahasuerus discovers that his wife Esther is Jewish, he decides to reverse Haman’s decree, and instead of the Jews being killed, Haman, his sons, and other enemies are killed instead.

Each year, Beth Israel congregation presents a Purim spiel, or play, with a different theme, but it tells the story of Purim in a way people can understand. This year, the theme was a takeoff of the play "Oklahoma," starring my friend Lisa as Esther Laurie (kind of an Ado Annie character, if you are familiar with the original play). 

It was an audience-participatory production, and we were each given noise makers when we arrived. Here's mine:

Every time the narrator said Haman's name, we were all supposed to BOOO and fire up our noise makers. When she said Mordecai's name, we all cheered.

My favorite song was "The Persians and the Hebrews Should Be Friends." The takeaway from the play is that no matter our heritage or other differences, we are really the same. We are all just people, and worthy of each other's love and respect. Nice.

With Mama settled in at Wisteria Gardens, and Nicole back home (she spent a week in New Orleans as an extra in a couple of films and a television show), it's time to focus on work. Luckily, I've got lots of it right now. 

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Shack Up Inn Fun

It's the serendipitous moments that make life sweet.

I was tooling around on Facebook a couple of nights ago and saw that my pal Stephanie Dwyar was going to be attending the Barefoot Workshops screening event at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale. I replied that I was jealous (I have had a strong wish to attend a Barefoot Workshop for about five years now...). Five minutes later, my phone rings. It's Stephanie. Asking me to go to Clarksdale with her. No thinking that one through...I'm in!

I've been wanting to write an article about Shack Up Inn and Barefoot Workshops for some time now, and I have just the publication in mind. Talking to the go-to guys for both would certainly help with my pitch. 

We got away late Friday afternoon...Stephanie, me and her two precious pups, Tripp and Gracie. Two and a half hours later, we drove up to our home-away-from-home, the Legends shack. Next it was off to the movies!

One of my favorite flicks was a documentary about Erica and Hayden Hall, owners of Oxbow restaurant in Clarksdale. 

Nicole met them last year when she was in Clarksdale working on another documentary. It was great to be able to learn more about this amazing couple by watching a film about them.

After the film, we went to eat at Rust restaurant, where our friend, Allen, took care of us.

(Stephanie and Allen)

We woke up to a glorious day. I haven't been to the Shack Up in about five or six years, and I walked around to see how much it had changed. Stephanie's thumbprint (and bottle trees) is all over the property, including graffiti by someone who was inspired by her trees.

Sweet Allen cooked us breakfast...scrambled eggs with pesto and tomatoes and artisan bread from Rainbow in Jackson.

We met two fun women from Memphis, who have shacks across the road at Shackland. Sandi and Erin each gave us tours of their shacks. 

Before leaving, we had a visit with Blue Mike, who was converting a houseboat into an apartment for Betsy, who runs the front desk at the Shack Up Inn.

Then is was off to town to meet with artist Joey Young. His studio/gallery/apartment was as creative as he is, and playing with is kitties was fun.

And before we knew it, we were back on the road, leaving the dust from the flat Delta landscape in our rearview mirror. It was the perfect getaway: short and sweet and filled with great food, music, people, and fun. 

Thanks, Stephanie! I'll accompany you to Clarksdale any time!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Turkey Dinner

I just had the best Turkey dinner ever!

Actually, it was the only Turkey dinner I've been to. Not that I haven't eaten my weight and then some on Thanksgiving.

This Turkey dinner was actually a luncheon I attended at the Jackson Hilton today. The Turkey, Azerbaijan & Mississippi Business Summit Luncheon, to be exact. I was covering it for a newspaper, but that was just an excuse to be exposed to a culture I knew absolutely nothing about. Until today.

Turkey is a cool country! So is Azerbaijan. The people (and there were a lot of them) are just as nice as they can be, although those with strong accents were a little difficult to understand. All the big-dog elected officials were there: Congressman Gregg Harper, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, and other assorted State senators and representatives and a sprinkling of mayors. And no, we did not eat turkey (big disappointment for me, as I love irony so very much!).

I had so much fun with my new Turkish friends that I went to the Old Capitol Inn tonight for the reception. Am I glad I did. I got to hob-knob with our new governor, Phil Bryant.

(That's Bill and Linda Wilson. Don't they look important, posing with the Guvna?)

And the food (again, no turkey) was a. maze. ing. Kind of a mix between Lebanese and Greek food, but with a twist. All fresh, delicious and beautiful.

We drank special Turkish tea and Turkish coffee in little demitasse cups for dessert. All while listening to wonderful blues music by my man, Raphael Semmes, and some of the best musicians in Jackson: Jewel Bass, Greg "Fingers" Taylor and Barry Leech. It was so surreal, being in that grand ballroom, surrounded by so many people speaking a language I've never heard before, eating amazing food that was new to my tongue and listening to familiar blues music. I loved it when they closed with B.B. King's "The Blues is Alright," and several of the Turkish-Azerbaijan contengency got on stage to sing with them. I've never seen grown men have so much fun!

We even did art projects! I made a picture of a flower, but the technique was the craziest thing I've ever seen. Paint is dropped on water using a paintbrush made of a rose bush stick and horsehair. Then you "dot" the paint with a little metal stylist. It's much more involved than I am describing, but trust me when I tell you my artwork was magnificent. I gave it to my mama and she was so proud of me!

Since the Baptist Hospital, my mother's home-away-from-home, is just down the street from the Old Capitol Inn, I scored a few Turkish treats to surprise her with. She was a happy camper!

Now added to my bucket list: a trip to Istanbul. I'm serious. I want to go!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef...

Deja vu...all over again!

I've spent the past week, off and on, in a hospital room. This time it's with my mom. Ahhh....memories....

She developed a little boo-boo on the tip of one of her toes, which for most people would have been no biggie. But Mama has a touch of diabetes (insulin injections and the works), so it became a bit more serious for her. (Long story...could get gross, but I won't go there.) After a week of intravenous antibiotics that did nothing but tear her gut up, she fell last Friday night and hit her head. That meant an ambulance ride to Baptist Hospital and the decision was made to axe the bad toe. Get rid of it for good.

Now I didn't really count it down, but my sister, Sarah, said it was the "little piggy that ate roast beef." Always looking on the bright side, Sarah pointed out that Mama can now get a 10% discount if and when she ever has a pedicure. Now Mama likes a bargain, so she really liked that idea.

(Note: photo for illustration purposes only. I have no idea who's feet these are. My mom's newly missing toe is the third, or middle, toe.)

Sarah and I are taking turns spending the night at the hospital, as Mama is not real compliant when it comes to staying in the bed. Even then, I slept through her trying to get to the bathroom a couple of nights ago. She's like a stealth fighter, that one.

In between hospital time, I'm trying to get work done, but it's been difficult to do this week. I did manage to cover two awesome things for PORTICO jackson magazine. Both were a splendid diversion from hanging out in the hospital.

The first story I did was last Sunday, when I had the time of my life covering Supperklub, the most incredible supper club I've ever seen or heard about. Those folks were SERIOUS foodies. I'm not going to say much more about that, because you'll be reading it in the March issue of PORTICO, but I will say that it was the best 8-hour feeding frenzy I've ever experienced, and they really raised the bar on what I want to put in my mouth from now on!

The next story was a feature on a spectacular home on Belhaven. I've covered lots of homes for PORTICO, and it's one of my favorite things to do, but this house was hands-down my favorite. I think it's because I could really feel the creativity, love and happiness in the home. Again, I don't want to give too much away, as the story and photos will be in the April issue of the magazine. Just know that both of these events were a huge blessing, as I had so much fun covering and writing the stories, and both inspired me in such a big way.

We'll be here through the weekend, and then Mama will be moved to a "step-down" facility, where she'll do some rehab, mostly getting her strength back after being in a bed for a couple of weeks (at home and then in the hospital).

During my time in the hospital (I'm here now), I've mastered my new obsession.

I've never seen so many creative ideas in my life! Sarah has gotten addicted as well, and we are constantly pinning and re-pinning things to our boards. Check mine out here. I've had such fun finding and pinning each thing on each board, and each of my boards has a purpose. I LOVE it. It's like an online bulletin board and a place to put things so you won't forget where they are. In the process, I've discovered some really great blogs. If you aren't doing Pinterest, I really encourage you to do so. Life will never be the same...

Now, if only I could spend some quality time at home, doing something with all the ideas that are filling my head. This little piggy really wants to go to the market about now!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Got me some Hot Pants!

So...my dreams have come true!

All I have to do to lose two jean sizes is to wear a pair of "hot pants" every night for two weeks.

Count.
Me.
In.

It popped up on my email today. It's the Groupon Deal-of-the-Day. Only $26 (regular $71) for a pair of bike-short lookin' pants that are supposed to "smooth thighs and other dimple-prone areas by galvanizing the skin's internal zamboni to promote a deep warming of body tissues and promote lymphatic drainage. This process boosts sweating by up to 80% and aids in eliminating the toxins responsible for cellulite. Ladies can sport HotPants alone or under other clothing while awake and active, asleep in bed, or executing a series of high kicks when sleepwalking." (Hmmm...cute copy to boot!) The pants are supposedly made of a comfortable bioceramic material (can you imagine wearing bioceramic material??!!!) that emits *~*infrared rays*~* to help wearers naturally and efficiently amp up weight-loss regimens.

Here's what they look like:

I assure you, I will NOT look like that while wearing them, not for the next two weeks, at least. Or even for the next two months. So, I'll wear them in my sleep, if I can stand it.

And yes. I ordered them. Of course.

Actually, I accidently clicked the "order" button, but then I thought the Universe might be sending me a message and I decided against cancelling the order.

If you'd like to have your very own pair of Hot Pants, click on this link to order.

Really, something's gotta give. I do yoga two days a week, but that's more for sanity than anything else. I've signed up to do Jazzercize again, and will begin next Tuesday. Three days a week. I'm determined. That, combined with my healthy-eating regime and the Hot Pants to make me sweat my fat away, and watch out...I may just end up being the skinny hottie was meant to be! (wink-wink.)

There's only 3 days left to order at the incredible low, low price! Let's start a Hot Pants sensation!!!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan 



T.G.I.F.

TGIF!

No, I'm not talking about the restaurant, although I do have good memories of TGIF in Highland Village in Jackson. If you remember it, you're old like me. I loved the colorful Tiffany-style lights above each booth and I remember how sophisticated my friends and I felt when we sat in the bar. 

Back in the day, the legal drinking age in Mississippi was 18, and we'd order up exotic drinks like tequila sunrises or Singapore slings. But I digress....

TODAY. IS. FRIDAY!!!!!

It's been a long week, and even though I have an extremely full day, just knowing it's the end of the week helps me to give a sigh of relief, knowing that the pace can slow just a little bit this weekend.

I am wearing multiple hats these days, but I'm not complaining. I wanted more work, and I'm getting it. My day started yesterday with a meeting at the Gulfport Police Station. I met with the Chief of Police, and someone from Parks & Rec. about the Walk to Defeat ALS I'm coordinating. It will be March 31 at the old V.A. Hospital. The place is better suited for a haunted house. It would be the ideal place to shoot a horror movie. But it does have pretty live oak trees and it's the ideal place for a fundraising walk. I think it's hauntingly beautiful...check out this video and see for yourself: Centennial Plaza.

Next I drove up Highway 49 and stopped in at Mt. Olive's City Hall, where I met with the mayor and the guy who runs their water system. 

I'm doing work for the Mississippi Rural Water Association and my assignment was to write a feature article about the Mt. Olive water system for the Association's in-house magazine, The Faucet. The water guy was about as enthusiastic about water as a dog is with a bone. He loves his job and wanted to tell me all about water pressure, additives, valves, water tanks, pumps...my head was spinning, but I got all the information I need to write the article. 

Then it was up the road to a little slice of Heaven I like to call Donna's #6 Produce. 

I do their facebook business page posts and I had to take some new photos to use online. While there, I picked up some Florida strawberries (they smell divine...) and a sack full of white sweet potatoes. I've only had those one other time, when I was in high school (another very old memory) at my friend's deer camp. Later today, in-between writing about water systems and working on the ALS walk, I'm going to look up some recipes for white sweet potatoes. 

The day ended with a "sip and see" at Leslie Puckett's house, where I got to meet her new granddaughter, Autumn, who is visiting from Alaska. The best part of the night (besides seeing Autumn's little pink painted toes), was seeing her meet her cousins Liam and Spencer for the first time. It was fun seeing Leslie with all her little chickens.

Thank God It's Friday!!!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Waking up in Different Places

For the tenth time this month, I've awakened in a bed different from my own. It's been a busy month!

My first trip was to Jefferson, Texas for the annual Girlfriend Weekend. Now, it wasn't just a weekend trip with a bunch of girls. It is a full-out literary adventure, with over 40 authors and 300 book club women from across the country talking about books.

In. Jefferson. Texas.

  I know....


Kathy Patrick, THE Pulpwood Queen, has put together quite an event, born years ago in her interesting business, Beauty and the Book--part hair salon, part independent bookstore.

This was my third year to attend, and my sister, Sarah, went with me this year. She just had to see what it was all about. In the past, Pat Conroy and Fannie Flagg have been there. This year, John Berent (Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, etc.)

 and Tina Sloan (she played the character of Lilian Raines on "The Guiding Light" for a hundred years) were there. She wrote a fantastic book called "Changing Shoes." Read about it here.

We all had a ball.

We stayed in a bed and breakfast called The Captain's Castle.

It was my second year to stay in Bill and Angie Herlocker's beautiful inn. Staying in a B&B is so much more fun than staying in a generic hotel. Getting dressed and eating a wonderful breakfast at the dining room table with other guests is a great way to really know about a place, and to meet other folks. We met a vacationing family from Austin, some of the authors who were in for Girlfriend Weekend, and a mother-daughter pair who were in for the weekend.

I had a two-day turnaround at home before heading up to Nashville for the ALS Association Winter Walk Forum at the Opryland Hotel. I stayed with my bestest pal, Carol Terry, so I had to get up super early every day to drive to Opryland. It was worth it for the brief visits we got to have.

After a whirlwind grocery shopping trip at Trader Joe's in Nashville Saturday, I drove home, only to turn around again on Tuesday morning to drive to Bay St. Louis on the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast for an events conference. I had never been to Bay St. Louis, but I'll go back. It is the cutest, quaintest little town filled with wonderful antique shops, restaurants and the nicest people ever!

Today I woke up to a severe thunderstorm. I could have just stayed in that nice hotel room all morning, but I had to get up and drive to Gulfport for an 8:30am meeting with the Police Chief and Brittany Dyess from Parks & Rec. about the ALS walk I'm coordinating on the Coast. (Check it out: Walk to Defeat ALS, March 31, Gulfport, MS.)

Yep, I've been a girl-on-go, but so has Nicole...she's had speaking engagements all over the state this month. This morning she's in Tupelo, speaking to a group of high schoolers for the American Lung Association. I'm so proud of how she's turned a tragedy into a way to inspire so many others.

It's 10:30 now, and I'm just sipping on my first cup of coffee for the day, watching the rain outside PJ's Coffee Shop in Gulfport. It looks like the sun is trying hard to peak through the clouds.

Here's praying I make it home safely today. I'll look forward to laying my head on my own pillow tonight.

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan