Lessons to a Teenager by Mary Schmich

Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

The adventures continue

From the Starkville to Seminary and onto New Orleans, we enjoyed our "week off" and have a few pictures to show off...more will follow as needed.

Thought Jenny would like this black German Shephard who was the mascot of our Vampire Tour. He looks tough, but he was very friendly.

What about these great slipper chairs we sized up at Pottery Barn! They were comfy, bold, and on sale. Sigh...

Xandi tries on raw oysters at the strong urging of me, the master shucker Hollywood, and the unnamed intern shucker at Acme Oyster House on Iberville Street. She was a sport, though they were not her favorite. We also sampled chargrilled and fried oysters. Very tasty, very fresh.

Big Time in the Big Easy

Bummer, I left the camera cord at home, so I cannot upload any pictures until tomorrow evening. But I can tell you about it. 24 hrs and we are having a blast down in New Orleans. After watching Interview with the Vampire before coming, we went on a Vampire Tour starting at St Louis Cathedral and walking all through the French Quarter. This morning we went to the Aquarium of the Americas along with a million school kids, and checked out one of the better aquaria in the country (imho). We also saw a very powerful film about Hurricane Katrina and the loss of wetlands. Then we hopped on a streetcar and went up into the Garden District for a fancy cup of coffee and snack. For dinner, we met up with my friend William, who las lived here for about a year, and it happened to be his birthday. We went to the Port of Call for some local color and HUGE burgers. Thanks to William for sharing his birthday with him and for the driving tour of the city.

7 am jackhammering?

City of Vicksburg, what are you doing? I thought you wanted people to live downtown, and if you did, why would you do this to us? Normally I would be up and at 'em at that hour, but I was on vacation and looking forward to sleeping in.

Invited Seminar=ROAD TRIP

Xandi and I hit the road today and headed northeast in search of desolation, cows, and maroon-clad men. We found all such things on the way to Starkville, where I was invited to give a research seminar to the College of Veterinary Medicine. We got a great tour of the clinic, and even got to visit the Morgan Freeman Equine Reproduction Research Unit-- home to many new horse mamas and some frisky studs. One such stud was about to undergo sperm collection, and was drawing quite the crowd. We had another meeting scheduled, much to Xandi's disappointment. Just another day in the life of a biologist...

Bubba-ga-WHAT?

This may be the name of my new business--I have signed up to be a vendor at the new Vicksburg Farmers Market. I am selling homemade hummus and baba ganouj, Middle Eastern dips that I started making about 10 years ago, and now can't imagine my life without. I am still working on the ROI spreadsheet, but money is not necessarily the only deliverable here. The market was an astounding success this morning and I really enjoyed the atmostphere, the socializing, and the satisfaction of introducing some folks to some new foods. See you again next week!

Spectacular Zucchini

Eight-ball zucchini, purchased from the Memphis Farmers Market this weekend. They were like Christmas ornaments, but much tastier. Seen on the bottom stuffed with mushrooms, almonds, orzo, herbs, and topped with cheese!

Introducing the new sidekick...

And our names even rhyme: Sandy and Xandi! My niece came to the bustling metropolis of Vicksburg for a month or so--she can barely contain her excitement. She came in town to volunteer for GEMS camp , but I think we will have some deep south adventures along the way.

Yet another way for garlic to make me happy

From the Memphis Farmers Market, these are elephant garlic clove flowers--I LOVE them!

it's a duck's world

Met the family up in Memphis for a fun-filled night of ribs, music on Beale, and late night nachos. We even hit the start of the Delta in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel--watched the ducks marched out at 11 am sharp. Pretty cool to think birds could be trained to stay in this fountain. I told Xandi she would be make it from one end of the Delta to another in one day--From the Memphis to Vicksburg.

Let the Dinner Parties begin...

Last Thursday was the inaugural dinner, and the high water mark has been set. We went with a Middle Eastern theme, I made a recipe I had seen my secret shame crush Bobby Flay make: Spiced Yogurt and Grilled Salmon and Mary Beth made Baklava which was out of this world. We must have been too busy telling stories to take pictures, but I will designate a photographer or maybe the local paparazzi will read the blog.

June: the month of plenty

According to my prized (and free) Whole Foods calendar, June is National Dairy Month, National Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Month (yea Vicksburg Farmers Market), National Iced Tea Month, National Seafood Month, and National Papaya Month. Life is good...