Vicksburg Vignettes -- Part II

Thank you for joining me for Part II of my "Vicksburg Vignettes" photo shoot (if you haven't read Part I, and would like to, click here).

Here are a few more pictures I captured "off the beaten path" in downtown Vicksburg ...

I love the red doors of Holy Trinity Church, one of the most beautiful churches in Vicksburg ...

Can you imagine the size of the loads this old tugboat used to push up and down the Mississippi?

These pretty irises growing in
another churchyard caught my eye ...

This sign marks the old Sisters of Mercy Convent which was built in 1868.

Some of the rooms downstairs have been restored, but "upstairs in the convent, it's still pretty much like it was when the Sisters left. The rooms where they lived are tiny and don't have any luxuries. You had to really want to be a nun." The convent is going to be part of the Vicksburg Spring Pilgrimage next month, and I'd love to see inside this beautiful old building.

My next stop was a residential area which is home to this truly amazing little playhouse ...

Yes, that's a PLAYHOUSE! I wish I could have gotten closer to capture the details of this exquisite little house. The roof appears to be covered with slate, and it even has a little wrought iron fence surrounding it like the fence surrounding the big house.

Here's the real house it belongs to ...

I would like to meet the lucky little girl, or girls, for whom the playhouse was built and hear the story behind its creation. Wouldn't you love to see the inside!

I enjoyed looking at Vicksburg from a different perspective ... and I look forward to doing that everywhere I go now. I'm sure I'm going to be pleasantly surprised by all the new and interesting things I see that were there all along and I never saw them ... like "huge one-eyed bears in windows."

Vicksburg Vignettes ... Part I

Yesterday was a great day to be outside (partly cloudy, with temperatures in the mid-70s), and I decided to just ride around Vicksburg, and take pictures of whatever caught my attention.

Vicksburg is a photographer's treasure trove when it comes to historical, architectural, and cultural photos, but I decided to "get off the beaten path" to see what treasures I could find.

I headed downtown where there are literally hundreds of old historical buildings I drive by every day.

Well, yesterday, instead of just driving by them, I really studied them and discovered that a lot of them are more interesting above street level.

I noticed elaborate architectural details around windows and doors ... some of which were in various stages of disrepair and deterioration. It saddens me to see the toll time and the elements have taken, but as a photographer, I also see beauty in the shabbiness of peeling paint and crumbling wood.

[You can click on the photos to enlarge them, if you'd like]

On a more positive note, there are signs of restoration to be seen all over town, too, like this pretty window that has the same iron trim as the gold windows above ...

And the beautiful restoration of the old Constitution Fire Station (ca 1870) ...

Here are a few other things that caught my eye ...

The exquisite details of the Ionic columns on the old Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Depot ...

I don't know the significance of this plaster or stone relief depicting three children overlooking Washington Street, but it was another thing that I've overlooked downtown simply because I didn't look UP! ...

This is a lichen-covered crepe myrtle tree trunk that I couldn't pass by without capturing it with my camera ...

This huge one-eyed bear was peeping around the window frame watching me as I stood across the street and took his picture.

I don't know how long he's been up there, watching the world go by from his window high above shops that I go in all the time ... but I never knew he was there until yesterday.

I have a few more photos I want to share, but will save them for tomorrow. I enjoyed my "off the beaten path" photo shoot and hope it will encourage you to "look up" the next time you're out and about ... you just never know what hidden treasures you may discover.

Please join me tomorrow for Part II of my Vicksburg Vignettes.

Sincerely,

Spring Centerpiece -- "Tablescape Thursday"

This is the 27th Edition of "Tablescape Thursday," so graciously hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Thank you, Susan, for taking the time to host it for us.

Be sure and visit Susan to see her elegantly romantic "Dinner-by-the-Fireplace-in-the-Library" tablescape.

Today I'd like to share my Spring centerpiece for my dining room table. It features a collection of silk flowers I have accumulated through the years and update each spring. It's "growing" and I may have to scale it down next year, but I'm going to leave it as it is for now ...

I'm looking forward to seeing all of today's tablescapes, and I'm sure I will be inspired by your imaginations and creativity.

Sincerely,

Spring Wreath with Birds -- "Outdoor Wednesday"

Welcome to my last "Outdoor Wednesday" post for February. Hopefully, in the coming weeks our outdoor posts will be filled with signs of Spring making its appearance.

I'd like to thank Susan at A Southern Daydreamer, for taking the time to host our "Outdoor Wednesdays," and hope you will visit Susan to see photos of her beautiful outdoors in Georgia, as well as everyone else's contributions.

I've been inspired by several unseasonably warm days here in Vicksburg, and today I decided it was time to hang my "Spring Wreath" on the porch door leading into our breakfast area. I made the wreath last spring and added a few sprigs of new greenery to it today before hanging it.

(I discovered that taking pictures of something hanging on glass is a challenge, but if you click on the photos to enlarge them, it may help!)

I'm looking forward to visiting your outdoors today, and hope they are filled with sunshine and God's promise of Spring being right around the corner.

Sincerely,

2nd Time Around Tuesday: Tole Trays

I love all kinds of trays, from tarnished brass or silver, to tole and wicker. For this "2nd Time Around Tuesday," I'd like to share a few of my tole trays.

Please be sure and visit our gracious hostess Diane at A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words, and see the beautiful watercolor prints she bought at an estate sale, plus everyone else's treasures featured today.

This is the first tole tray I bought many years ago at an antiques sale in Jackson, Mississippi. This was "way back in the good old days" before eBay, when you could buy trays like this for $35.00, which I did ...

[You can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like]

I love it displayed behind my cooktop in my kitchen ...

These two trays are also seen from my kitchen. My sweet daughter Whitney (Avery's mama) gave me this one ...

And I can't remember where I bought this one ...

They are hanging in the breakfast area between two windows ...

This is my newest addition to my collection and it's on top of my china cabinet in our dining room ...

I love pineapples and, although this tray is not tole, it's one of my favorites and is also in my kitchen ...

I've enjoyed sharing my trays today, and look forward to visiting the other participants in this "2nd Time Around Tuesday." Thank you again, Diane, for taking the time to be our hostess.

Sincerely,

I Believe ...

I believe for every drop of rain that falls,
A flower grows ...

I believe that somewhere in the darkest night,
A candle glows ...

I believe for everyone who goes astray,
Someone will come to show the way ...

I believe, I believe.

I believe above the storm ...

A smallest prayer will still be heard ...

I believe that someone in the great somewhere,
Hears every word.

Every time I hear a newborn baby cry ...

Or touch a leaf ...

Or see the sky ...


Then I know why ...
I believe.

May your Sunday be filled with all the reasons why you believe.