Browsing: OurMSVoices

Many of us will gather with family, friends, and loved ones tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday season often encourages an attitude of gratitude, allowing us to reflect on the things we are most thankful for.

This year, I would like to add the state of Mississippi to my list of things to be grateful for.

I have been making homemade eggnog for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays for 50 years. Homemade eggnog has a vastly different taste than anything from a store. It is best served hot, right out of the pot. But most of all, it is best if shared with family and friends. The recipe below is my gift to you this year.

As a kid, living at home with my family, no matter where we were in the world  (dad was an army officer), Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday.

November 18-25, 2024, is officially National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child (OCC) Shoeboxes! 

Finally! It’s high school basketball season in Mississippi.

Growing up in Pascagoula, I always enjoyed Halloween. My parents taught my brother and me all the traditions, and made sure we had cool costumes to wear for trick or treating and parties. My dad constructed a life-size witch (we called her Witch Hazel) who resided outside our front door for Halloween week (and scared the devil out of younger trick or treaters on the big night).

Last week, I shared about growing up on the front porch of my grandfather’s grist mill and forge in Chickasaw County, Mississippi. My childhood memories truly are an amazing gift from God. So much so, that I often wonder if the memories our grandchildren are currently making here in the great state of Mississippi will be equally joyful and amazing. 

“Stay out of that corn crib!” I can still hear my grandfather fussing at my sister and me as we giggled and conspired on how we would make our way back to the top of the corn crib and slide down again without incurring Papa’s wrath.

So it was that at the annual “Battle of the Cats Breakfast” on August 30, I was able to take a deep breath of fresh air reminding me of what is good about this old world. The event, sponsored jointly by Pascagoula High School and Moss Point High School on the morning of each year’s Panthers-Tigers football clash to start the season, was held at PHS’s sparkling, state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center, and was a huge success by any and all measures.

Bridal showers and baby showers have been on my mind lately bringing back memories of ones I’ve attended and the food and fellowship that accompanied them.

The Country Squire was opened in August of 1970 by Jim and Gwen Reeves and has been a tradition for many families for over 50 years. Mr. and Mrs. Reeves worked to create a pipe and cigar experience that offered the finest smoking products and accessories for the sophisticated enthusiast.

Maybe it’s because we celebrated Memorial Day just a few weeks ago.

Maybe it’s because we recently observed the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Maybe it’s because I just completed the striking novel, The Women, by Kristen Hannah. (More on that later.)

Maybe it’s because the Fourth of July is upon us.

I think I am officially a little old lady. 

If I was not certain of my elderly status before, my recent backyard birding adventures have sealed the deal and specifically marked me as a little old, crazy bird lady.

What’s a summer like in Mississippi? What happens in the Magnolia State that lets you know that summer is officially here? Summer is swiftly approaching, there are so many elements, some nostalgic and some current, that remind me that summers in Mississippi are something special. 

I went to school in Vardaman, Mississippi, from seventh through twelfth grade, and those years provided me with some of the greatest memories of my life. That school also gave me some lifelong friends who would stand beside me and fight for me even today, 44 years after graduation.

It’s that time of year again…. Mississippi high school playoff baseball is in full swing, and my hometown George County Rebels are still in the mix, still chasing another state championship!