LUM REEK HOUSE TOUR

I wanted to share my favorite house on the Carrollton Pilgramage tour, that I have been posting recently. This is Lum Reek-it is Scottish for chimney smoke.The delightful owner of this home said he named it that because that was about all that he bought when he got the house. He wasn't kidding-I had seen the house from the outside before he got ahold of it and he shared photos from the inside. The termites had eaten the floors down to bare dirt! He has done a wonderful job restoring the original parts-it is on the National Register of Historic Places. Of course he has added a  lot onto the back part-you can do that as long as you preserve the original part.

The wide hall has been turned into a library. The part of the house on the right in the photo above is the original part of the house,two rooms up and two down. Other parts were added at a later time. This pretty bowl has odd bits and pices picked up from the property-interesting to see some of the patterns in the broken pieces of pottery and glassware.

A swimming pool and guest  house were added in back.

View from upstairs front balcony.

Love this photo of the owner in his kilt, with his dog x-ray. Sorry I didn't get the story behind the dogs name-I bet it was an interesting one.All of the doors were open that day and the dog was in and out through all of them visiting with everyone-this dog has eyebrows-I just love a dog with eyebrows! The owner told us that he is redoing a house near Vicksburg or Natchez-can't remember which- for Tate Taylor the director of The Help.I am sure it will be as beautiful as this one. I am sharing this at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com  There are so many shadow shots in this post I have to share at http://www.heyharriet.blogspot.com  for Shadow Shot Sunday. 

A HOME FROM THE MOVIE THE HELP

I recently shared photos of the library at Cotesworth, today I am going to share the house. This photo is from the brochure I got at the Pilgrimage,it was a very nice publication with lots of information on the different homes. Now some of you may know that Cotesworth is the home of Celia Foote in the movie The Help. Cotesworth was the home of U.S. Senator J.Z.George who served from  1881 until his death in 1897. The fifth generation of his family lives there, it is a working plantation still. The home was built in 1843.In this photo you can see the library to the right of the home.Do you remember this sign hanging at the mailbox when Minnie went to Miss Celia's for the first time?This table that was used in the movie is actually a long rectangular table. The prop people made the heavy tabletop and put it on top. I must say it would have fooled me-it is beautiful.This is the corner desk that Senator George used when he was drafting the Mississippi constitution.Notice the windows that open from the bottom, this house is built so it has never needed air conditioning-and it was HOT outside the day I was there, but wonderfully cool inside the house. Carrollton, Mississippi has over 26 homes,buildings, and churches on The National Register of Historic Places-I do hope you will visit there someday. In the mean time I will be sharing other homes on this tour and a special visit with an extra from The Help-she was cute as a button-stay tuned.

THE LIBRARY AT COTESWORTH

Todays shadow shot is of the freestanding library on the grounds of Cotesworth in Carrollton, Ms. The library was built in1887. The building has six sides and the floorboards inside run from the six sides and meet in the center.The tall bookshelves all radiate toward the center of the building and are filled with Congressional records from the sixteen years J.Z.George spent in the United States Senate as well as classic novels and law books. The desk still has items and papers used by the Senator.Senator George was the primary author of the 1890 Mississippi Constitution.

Visit http://www.heyharriet.blogspot.com  Cotesworth Plantation was used as the home of Celia Foote in the movie The Help.

CHURCH SHADOWS

This is a shot of a small village church here in Mississippi. I love hunting for shadow shots and usually do them about four in the afternoon, because that seems to be when I find the most shadows. However I was out taking photos in the early morning last week and snapped this. I did not even notice the shadow when I was taking the photo, so it was a nice surprise when I did my editing. Now I will be out looking for early morning shadows! I am joining http://www.heyharriet.blogspot.com  for Shadow Shot Sunday.

ROAD TRIP-TAYLOR, MISSISSIPPI!

I was early so the market was just getting set up. They have entertainment every Saturday during the market. See the log stools for people to sit on.

Spent the last two days in the little village of Taylor, Mississippi where my father lives. They have a wonderful farmers market next to the Plein Air neighborhood. This is a neighborhood that has a Southern Living show house. Southern Living magazine builds a show house every year and several years ago they chose to build one here.The farmers market is on the village green-or park. This beautiful building houses an antique store and Emilee's Table-a wonderful restaurant . On Saturday you can visit the farmers market and have a good old fashioned southern breakfast here. Notice the huge locally grown sunflower in the Cathead vodka bottle!Lovely homes, that look so old fashioned and southern.This is a very famous restaurant in the "downtown" part of the village. Everyone from presidents to rock stars have eaten here, and most have signed there name on the walls. They have the most wonderful food. On Friday and Saturday nights there is a line to get in , so people visit, or sit around on cars in the parking lot having a good time-nobody minds waiting. There is an art gallery next door, where I sometimes have paintings hanging, and another one up the street.

There is even an old building that has music on Saturday night. The stage is a flatbed truck, hence the name. This is a sleepy little village during the week, but it comes alive on weekends. Taylor is about six miles south of Oxford, and well worth a visit. Come back tomorrow and I will share more photos. I am joining Laura for her new party.Go visit http://www.decortoadore.blogspot.com and take a vacation without ever leaving home.

CAROUSELS AND THE QUEEN OF THE GYPSIES

I am joining http://www.smilingsally.blogspot.com for Blue Monday. I was recently in Meridian- a town close to me. I noticed there was lots of blues in the photos and immediately thought of Sally's party. Besides I travel a lot and thought I should share my Mississippi with everyone.This is a view riding through downtown.

There are lots of trees downtown-I like that!This is one of the main attractions-carousel horses placed throughout town. They even put out a book with photos of all the horses. I can sit and look at it for hours.Meridian is also the home of the Jimmy Rodgers festival-anybody know who he was? And they also have a cemetery where the Queen of the Gypsies is buried-can't believe I don't have a picture of that cemetery! I feel another road trip coming on!

OLD FENCE SHADOWS

Look closely at the shadows of the fence reflected inside on the tombstones-beautiful. This was taken at another old Mississippi cemetary. I am joining http://www.heyharriet.blogspot.com  for Shadow Shot Sunday.

SCREEN DOORS AND SWEET TEA

As most of you know I LOVE COOKBOOKS! I probably have around 100. At the moment these are my favorites. They are by a fellow Mississippian,Martha Foose Hall.Martha lives on Pluto Plantation, her childhood home. She has stories of the Delta and life at Pluto mixed in with her recipes. Don't you love a cookbook like that? I know I do.

This coconut cake is delicious as are all of the recipes in this book.I recently visited with Martha at an event in Canton-wish I had brought my books for her to sign. She will have a new one on  just desserts  that will be out next spring-I can hardly wait. If you cannot find these books in your area,you can order them from Amazon. I promise you -you will not be dissapointed!

SHADOWS ON THE BLUFFS

This is a shot of the bluffs in Natchez, the sun is setting in the west over the Mississippi River, which is just beyond. I am linking to http://www.heyharriet/ . She has some of the most amazing shadow shots every Sunday.