Browsing: Living

September is a sweet month, especially for the kids in New Albany, Mississippi. In fact, Sugaree’s Bakery has worked for the past several years to make it the sweetest month of the year through its “One Smart Cookie” award program.

We have all seen them – bright red kettles, hanging from a tripod, with one or more folks steadily ringing a little bell, inviting you to drop in a coin or bill or two for a good cause. For those of us that have spent time ringing those bells, the experience is heartwarming. As in every year, the kettles will be out by Thanksgiving and this is a great opportunity for community groups and organizations to pitch in to make life better for people in need.

The South Mississippi Toy Fest will return on Saturday, bringing more than 100 vendor booths featuring toys, comics, video games and other collectibles to the Lake Terrace Convention Center. 

Can you believe it? As August drew to an end, I found myself feeling slightly fidgety. I could not figure out why. “Perhaps, I’m feeling nervous about classes,” I thought to myself. After all, this is my final year of graduate school, and this is the year to really buckle down and officially get my life together. And yes, that certainly played a role in the fidgety feeling, but oddly enough, only a background role. It suddenly became clear that I’ve been in Boston for nearly one year. This year flew by.

There is something about sharing a meal that has always brought people together. In McComb, that idea will take on a whole new meaning this fall when one long table stretches down Main Street for an evening centered around food, fellowship and community.

There is fall, and then there is fall in Mississippi.

Ours may arrive a little late. We may still be wearing shorts while the rest of the country is pulling out sweaters. And yes, there is always at least one October afternoon that feels suspiciously like July.

I’ll admit that serious birdwatching is new to me. After moving to an old farm place in Union County, the amazing array of beautiful birds we encountered just flew into our hearts, so to speak. It was a natural process, but before we knew it, we were feeding, watching, and documenting every new bird species we encountered out here on Buttercup Hill.

For most of us, Labor Day arrives with all the familiar signs of a Southern September. Football is back, grills are fired up, and summer is beginning—at least according to the calendar—to loosen its grip.

Saturday, September 5, 2026, is the opening day of dove hunting season in Mississippi. 

Dove Day, as we call it, is a big deal for our family, and it always has been. In fact, it might just be one of the most long-awaited days of the year for our crew, second only to Christmas morning.

There are certain sounds that seem to follow us through our entire lives. For me, one of those is the sound of cicadas.

Even though I have lived most of my life here in Mississippi, it’s been a long time since I resided in a rural part of our state. In fact, it’s been almost 40 years since I was a true Mississippi country girl.

I don’t know about you, but I am not as old as the calendar suggest. At least that is what I tell myself. My joints often suggest otherwise, especially after what used to be easy activities, like all those things that I didn’t worry about in my younger years. Our age is just a number after all. It is what we do with our time, at whatever age we may be, that is important. 

It’s once again time for some good ol’ Mississippi football. and I, for one, am so grateful.

A mother-daughter duo from Blue Springs, Mississippi, is fulfilling their dream – one cup of coffee at a time. But for Heather and Cierra Goad, the coffee is just a means to an end: serving and ministering to each customer who comes to the window of their mobile Cup of Faith coffee truck.

Every local café has a story to tell about how it came to be. The Traveler is no different, its name honors the world travels of Walter Anderson. But this quaint space has its own story to tell and provides visitors with a feeling of home. 

Last year we bought a boat that weighs about two tons, and I needed a pickup truck to haul it. My son-in-law’s dad had one sitting in a barn up around Forest that had not been started in over three years and was there for the taking. My daughter had warned me that it’s no beauty, not as far as trucks go these days. But bless her female heart, she was only judging it by the way it looks which, as any guy in good standing can tell you, has little to do with pickups. The way it sounds? Sure. But how it looks? Way down the list.