I got skills

Celeste decided that we needed fancy napkins on the table for Thanksgiving so now I can add napkin folding to my short list of skills.

I am sure that sometime in my life I will win a contest or amaze others with this new knowledge.

It is probably a skill that Southern Belles are suppose to know and before now, I had surprisingly managed to get by.

To equal out Carly's hunting lessons in the morning, I gave her a napkin folding lesson in the afternoon. She's nothing if not well-rounded!

With my new skill, I am sure to get invited to all the best parties.

thanksgiving from the lake

{we had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner - antipasta of bacon-wrapped shrimp & cannellini tapenade, then beef tenderloin, parsley-pesto pasta, spinach madeline, and yeast rolls, then pecan pie}

......

{recycled turkey artwork for Nona's fridge}

...... ...... {grilling up my bacon-wrapped shrimp antipasta}

......

{Nona telling secrets}

...... {Happy Thanksgiving from the Lake}

thanksgiving - round 1

• I love Thanksgiving week. Mostly I love it because it is a minimalist week full of family. For years we have taken the week from the Friday before Thanksgiving until the weekend after Thanksgiving to spend time with family, eat, hang out, visit, and in general just enjoy each other. Some years the "girls" have taken off for a little outing while the "guys" do what they love best about the season which is to hunt.

• We left yesterday to head to the "Lake House" to spend a long weekend with Kenny's side of the family - Celeste, Doug, Beege, Libba, JC are all here. We had a fabulous dinner last night of roasted pork loin, butternut squash risotto, apple-cranberry-spinach salad, and green bean casserole. Yum! We hung out into the night drinking red wine and enjoying a roaring fire.

• Today the hunters left in the freezing dark while I snuggled deeper into the quilt covered bed. The sun woke me as it shone brightly into the window, and I had the lazy morning to pick up my book and enjoy the quietness.

• The hunters returned without any bounty, in time for us to eat a big breakfast. Doug made his famous biscuits while Celeste took care of everything else - bacon, sausage, egg, cheese grits. And Beege started the party with fabulous bloody marys with spicy pickled okra and asparagus. And as usual before we could finish one divine meal we were planning the next which led to discussions about Christmas meals.

• And now, as I am sitting in my pajamas in front of another roaring fire and listening to a room full of others taking a mid morning nap, I am thinking I might need to change into real clothes and get ready for football. It was decided that only in the South is there a food and drink menu for an afternoon of football.

the end

This year's soccer season has come to an end.

As usual, I feel a mixture of relief for a break and sadness. It always feels like it is over just when they are taking it to the next level.

Carly and her good friend Miss K

MamMam and Grandaddy made it.

And like last year, they came to the coldest game of the year!

{simplified} SPT

Happy Veterans' Day

to my favorite veteran

Love you Dad!

where in the world is belzoni?

A few years ago, U-Haul added lots of new trailers to its fleet. On these trailers were post cards of several different United States cities. At this moment I can not remember what the other cities are but one of them is

Belzoni, Mississippi.

.

Belzoni is the county seat of Humphreys County, Mississippi. Humphreys County with a population close to 10,000 is a rural, agricultural area. It has been known as the Catfish Capital, Heart of the Delta, the Most Southern Place on the Earth. It was a happening place when cotton was king, but not so much anymore. It is more often recognized as being either on the top of lists or the bottom depending on what the lists are measuring like the highest poverty level, lowest high school graduation rate, highest infant mortality rate, you get the picture.

.

I am from this county. I grew up in a small, more like tiny, town close to Belzoni. Population 200 and that is probably counting large family pets. My parents still live there. Some of the people I love the most are there. The people who shaped me are there. Some of the best teachers and role models are there. A wonderful way of life is there trying to hold out with many things working against it. I frequently say "it is a wonderful place to be from and it's nice to go back and visit."

.

It makes me chuckle that U-Haul chose Belzoni. It is a county sport to not only see the Belzoni U-hauls but get your picture taken with them across the country. The local paper is frequently printing pictures of Belzoni residents on vacation standing by a U-Hall with captions like "The Brown Family recently vacationed in Texas" or pictures of people connected to someone from Belzoni like "Sam Brown, uncle of Bill Brown, in Austin, Texas".

.

I wasn't able to actually get in the picture with the U-Haul but my caption could read: {Kim Sue, daughter of Slick & Kathy, gdaughter of Finn, sister to Kacey in Southaven, Mississippi}

book character parade

{each year Carly's school has a book character parade

Carly got another wear out of her olympic gymnast costume

yes I know, no Halloween at school, but costumes the week after

don't think the irony is lost on me}

{all the kids come dressed as a character from a book -

some costumes are really simple and some very creative}

{Carly with her friends...oh, I mean 2 Nancy Drews}

{Carly's 3rd grade class}

wordless wednesday

{simplified} SPT

17th anniversary of our 1st date

November 4, 1991

want to see other {simplified} SPT

go check them out here

september & october reads

1. Stone Cold by David Baldacci Seriously? It's just going to end like that? I saw Baldacci has a new book out. I'm sure it picks up right where this one left off. Which means I have to read it because what happens with Annabelle?
2. Marley and Me by John Grogan funny and sad...found myself relating as an owner of a dog who has eaten her share of items that were not meant to be eaten, crashed through her own screen doors and has her own irrational fears of fireworks. Just read that the movie comes out in December with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson - glad I didn't know that before I read it because the picture I drew in my head does not match those 2 actors.
3. Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods Stone (not to be confused with Baldacci's Stone, what's the chance of that? 2 main characters in 2 books I read this month with the same name) and his gang on an island off the coast of Maine trying to solve a rash of murders. Holly is kidnapped but all is well in the end
4. Angel's Flight by Michael Connelly Howard Elias, LA civil rights lawyer who made a name for himself for suing cops, is murdered. Is it a cop or not? Lots of twists and turns. As usual Bosch figures it out in the end.
5. Now and Then by Robert B. Parker Listened to this one on audio. Joe Montagne reading Spencer and Hawk's dialogue full of wit and sarcasm was great.
6. Bad Business by Robert B. Parker Spencer and Hawk at it again. Initially hired for a divorce case to gather proof of husbands infidelity but of course the plot only thickens from there. And in the words of Hawk "oh , what a tangled web we weave".
7. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier dark, mysterious, full of secrets....keeps you reading so you can find out what is going to happen next. And moral of the story "don't move into a scary mansion, with creepy servants because you fell in love with a man who had a dead first wife" just don't do it!