Winter Rolled in on a Heavy Rain

And with it came cold weather and holiday activities...

Cliff's pecan pie December 2017

Cliff made a pecan pie. The recipe for this pie came out of a small booklet Cliff had been saving for many years. Until this particular pie, Cliff has always baked a pecan pie using one of his grandmother's recipes, and while that recipe turned out delicious, rich bodied pies, in my humble opinion this was one of the best he'd ever made. Drool a moment...

We also went back to West Point, Mississippi, a few days ago, hoping that our favorite waitress, Martha, was at the Main Street Market and Cafe to wish her a Merry Christmas. She and Cliff has hit it off over the past few months, and her story, like others I have met here in Mississippi is never just what they do. Martha is a waitress, but she is also a survivor of several health issues, which she has shared little by little with me and Cliff. But it is her unsinkable spirit and openness that endears her to us and I'm sure other people.

West Point was decorated for Christmas on our most recent trip, and it's nice to see that the street lamps were adorned with wreaths. The lamps themselves are nice and antique looking, which adds to the effect. Of course the Main Street Market Cafe was also decorated.

Cliff and Martha at the
Main Street Market Cafe

Here is Martha and Cliff in front of the tree in the cafe. We'd stopped in to see her and to have a piece of Elvis Presley cake, which is always good, though somewhat sinful, but the sin is absolved with strong, black coffee and a visit with Martha. We made sure to tell her about the pecan pie, which were made with pecans from the market. We have one bag of pecans and one pie crust left, which Cliff will use when he makes the next pie.

We learned of Martha's plans for Christmas, which in part involves making a soup for the Christmas get-together at her church. It's visits like these with people like Martha that makes for pleasant memories and knowing that Mississippi is much more than its bad reputation. People like Martha and others I have met here in restaurants, banks, coffee shops continually delight me with their sincerity and good nature.

After we left the cafe we spent a little more time driving up and down the downtown and getting a look at the Christmas decorations. On that day, we also drove through more streets lined with Victorian and Anti-bellum homes, and even though it's smaller than Columbus, the downtown there is nice, as well. Yes, West Point, like Columbus, has its big-box stores, but the real place is their downtown and historic neighborhoods.

Cliff is the shorter of the two figures
in case you were wondering

West Point has a beautiful park that runs through much of downtown. Here is Cliff standing next to the Santa in downtown West Point in the city park. Near this Santa is a typical southern town statue. The small towns commemorate either people or events with their statues, and while there is currently a movement to remove certain statues from prominence in many of the South's cities and parks I hope the small towns don't have to lose their singularity with an over-reaching enthusiasm for wiping out their history. And again I have to say that the people I've met in Columbus, Tupelo, West Point, Aberdeen, Starkville, Hattiesburg, or any other places I've been here in Mississippi belie the negative reputation that outsiders and those who have never been here seem to think defines this state.

Most of my experience with people in New Mexico is similar to the friendliness of the people in Mississippi. Of course I can only and always speak of my personal experiences. And I do have to say that added to their friendliness here in Mississippi (in the places I've actually been) are that people are open and not coy about talking about themselves, and they react quite willingly when you engage them in more than simple conversation.

The Virgin is the blue statue, visible just below the
bottom of Cliff's Jacket. She has been knocked over
by one of the sheep.

One of the popular Christmas displays in Columbus is the near-live Nativity on 3rd Avenue North, just two blocks from Main close to the downtown shops. In a neighborhood of historic homes and churches and funeral parlors is the Nativity with the live sheep and the statues of the Three Wise Men, Joseph and Mary, and of course the Baby Jesus. The sheep have access to the entire Nativity display, and so when we were there, one of the sheep came out of their hay-filled area to visit with us.

And now the weather is turning cold again, although the weather site I view has said that the deep south is due for a warmer than usual winter. I hope that's right, but we've already had snow and parts of the South are known for their winter ice storms.

Let's close out with a two-hour compilation of Christmas Blues...