Happy Un-birthday to Liz...

Our friend, Liz, had a birthday this week. It's okay to publish that on the blog because she turned an age where people still celebrate birthdays. On one occasion, Liz and a few other friends were discussing the phenomenon that is Stuckey's. Anyone who has driven the stretch of I-55 from Jackson to Memphis has stopped here for a pecan log or trucker's hat with a catchy slogan from time-to-time. It's not just a convenience store and a great place for chicken tenders, but what people from Vaiden, Mississippi, use as a reference point.

Here we are on location....


Chester-Fried, Crispy AND Moisturized, is a specialty of this establishment. It looks as though Chester is saying, "Look at me! I'm good enough to eat!" The truth: he's no better than KFC. The cowboy hat and bandana are really too much to chew!

Mythbuster!

The porch ceiling has been painted a pale celery color for as long as we can remember. Traditionally, Southerners have used pastel colors over others because of a belief that doing so will keep bad spirits and harmful insects at bay. Screens also supposedly have been used as protection from our many six-legged friends. National Street, it turns out, is no place to test such lore. Just take a look at our friend, Benji, who crawled in the other day!

It's a bird, it's a plane...



This cucaracha was more enticed by the light fixture than frightened by the green paint!

Hola, senorita!

Olivia said she wants to re-claim her space on the blog. But, she hasn't been able to make many posts due to limited computer access. So, I decided to dedicate this post to her — since it will be awhile before she's able to blog. 

Below are some pictures of her that were taken for a story I wrote about junk art for a Home and Garden special section at the newspaper several years ago. The pictures, however, never ran in the paper. I thought this would be a great place to exhibit them. She hasn't done much in the junk art realm lately, but I'm sure she would be happy to take orders if you see something you like! 

Ned and Mary Beth are lobbying to be the next Home and Garden feature. Keep those tomatoes coming, and we'll see....

Here she is surrounded by her art, most of which is of the bottle cap variety.

The detail shot.

Another angle of Olivia and her art.

Sarah Heartburn

Lauchlin's nieces and mom spent the night on National Street last weekend so Lucy and Stephen could celebrate their 10th anniversary. It was a lot of fun to have them at our house! May had a melt down after they took a bath in the square tub. We documented the melodrama, but the video wouldn't upload before now.
We recorded it right after she told Ellen, "I never stopped loving you!" So funny! The Capri-Sun that magically appears seemed to nip the crying in the bud. 

We're working on posting some other May videos, where she does fun things like name all of the Star Wars characters, a skill she's had since she was about 2 years old. We'll have to spread them out, though, seeing as it's taken us nearly a week to post this one! Enjoy...

What a Gas!

Has anyone noticed the high gas prices? Well, with regular gas now approaching the $4 mark — especially here in Vicksburg, where "competition" causes us to pay more than any other Mississippi cities — we decided to look back to a different time.
In 2000, Olivia went on a road trip to California with Jenn, her friend and roommate at the time. The hilarious account of their trip has truly become a document of history. It was only eight years ago, but OMG, things have changed! Check it out — and drive sparingly...


A journal entry that describes "high" gas prices on the road.


Here's another entry that shows Olivia and the car they were driving cross country.

May in April

May turned 5 Monday! So, now she's 5 going on 30. She had her birthday party at McDonald's. Here she is 16 days before her birthday (we know this because she was counting down the days.) We're not sure what she's doing, but, as always, it's funny!
Five years ago we got the call, "May came in April." It took awhile for us to figure out that Lucy was talking about that sweet baby girl coming into the world.

GEe that's a nice appliance!

We replaced an old GE appliance with a new one. Our oven, dishwasher, and stovetop are all using our general electricity in harmony. Because we chose an energy-efficient model, we will get a small tax break. (That makes us AND Al Gore happy!) Clementine has already done her "dance" in the new one. (She likes to stand on the lid and run in place.)