Month: December 2008

  • Southern New Year’s Eve

    New Year’s Eve . . . and a toast to the New Year. I was introduced to my favorite champagne by Sergio, a wonderful waiter at Brennan’s in New Orleans. Sergio was great and we miss him since he retired. He suggested Perrier Joet with breakfast and it was a match made in heaven. I…

  • Southern New Year’s Traditions

    Black -eyed peas for luck and greens for prosperity. When I was a kid I didn’t like black-eyed peas but my parents made sure that I ate at least one on New Year’s Day for luck in the new year. They weren’t superstitious but it was a tradition that they had always followed and so…

  • Southern Reflections

    This is a week of reflections. Looking back at the past year before plowing into the new one. What went well this past year and what didn’t? As I grow older, I realize more and more that experiences, good and bad, are learning opportunities. The good experiences we should tuck away for good memories and…

  • A Southern Table

    My family is coming for Christmas this weekend. Because they weren’t here for Christmas Day, I served kind of a non-traditional Christmas Day meal. We’ll have more traditional stuff this weekend. For Christmas Day we had herb roasted pork tenderloin, roasted new potatoes, roasted asparagus and hot rolls. This was an easy dinner to fix…

  • Merry Christmas

    Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. I am grateful for the Christ child who came to bring life and light to the world. I pray for those who do not know Him. I am thankful for so many things. I…

  • A Southern Santa

    It’s Christmas Eve. Is everybody ready for Santa? I just checked the Norad Santa Tracker and saw that he is in Australia right now. My father used to grow a beard around Christmas and when he did he looked like Santa Claus. I remember when my nephew was young he thought his Papaw was Santa…

  • Clowns in Columbus

    The South is famous for its hospitality. I think in all my travels, my experience in Columbus, Mississippi was a great example. I arrived in Columbus in the evening before I was to begin working with a local client the next morning. I was in my hotel room when my phone rang. It was the…

  • Southern Christmas Pecans

    I’m watching the squirrels raid my pecan tree, carrying their treasures away to both eat and hide. I hope they leave me some. I remember picking up pecans with my mother. We would take them to a place in town that would crack them for you. All you had to do then is pick out…

  • Being Dead is No Excuse

    I collect two things, cookbooks and etiquette books new and old. One of my favorite books is a combination. It is called “Being Dead is no Excuse – The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral” by Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays. This is no small thing. Really, funerals are one of the…

  • Southern Catfish and Remoulade

    I was recently reading Julia Reed’s “House on First Street” which tells about her New Orleans experience pre and post Katrina. It is a good read and I definitely recommend it. You will get hungry reading it. At one point she talks about eating catfish with remoulade. I thought “yum!” I make a pretty mean…

  • Magical Times

    The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a magical time. It is when we turn our thoughts from our everyday lives and reflect on our blessings. It is when we make an effort to spend time with friends and family. It is when we decorate our homes with trees and lights and ribbons. It is…