Time

As we say goodbye to 2010, and look forward to the new year, it is a time for nostalgia and reflection. As I transfer notes from my old calendar to the new one, I am thankful for the blessings and sweet memories that were ours throughout the year. And, as I turn the pages of the new calendar, I can't help but wonder what the new year will bring ... what memorable happenings will be noted on its bright, clean pages? What joys, or sorrows? Only time will tell what God has in store for us.

And that brings me to the subject of my post today ~~ TIME.

Have you ever really thought about how many expressions there are using the word "time?" Here are just a few for you to ponder as we mark the passage from the old year into the new:

And the list goes on ...

Time is on my side.
Time after time.
The time is right.
The time is now.
No time like the present.
Time will tell.
The third time's the charm.
Time is of the essence.
Time heals all wounds.
Only time can heal a broken heart.
So many [insert your own word], so little time.
Running out of time.
Time management.
Spend your time wisely.
It's just a matter of time.
Passing time.
Killing time.
There is a time and a place for every purpose under heaven.
A stitch in time saves nine.
Time is everything.
It's about time.
The time of your life.
Time's a wasting.
All in good time.
Time well spent.
Desperate times.
Time on our hands.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Keeping time with the music.
Tracking time.
The times, they are a-changin'
All the time in the world.
End of times.
One at a time.

I could go on and on, and I'm sure you've thought of some not on my list, but in closing — I'd like to wish you only the best of times in the coming year.

A Winter Garden

Once Christmas Day is over, I can't wait to put up all the Christmas decor and get ready for the New Year. One of the first things I decorate for the seasons is my Welsh Dresser in our breakfast area, and I decided to use a "garden theme" for the winter months.

I love birds and had several decorative bird houses on hand, along with some other "garden-style" accessories I gathered from the attic, my "decor" closet, and even from outside. I still had a few blank places on the shelves that I needed to fill to achieve the look I wanted, and, after a visit to a couple of my favorite shops in Jackson, I was able to finish my decorating project.

It makes me happy every time I look at the dresser, because, even though it's winter, the garden theme reminds me of things-to-come in the Spring, too. Like this little robin sitting on its nest ...

I couldn't resist this mossy green stone bird with its iron feet, and the little pot of violets were calling my name, too.

The little snow birds that were huddled on the steps of the church under our Christmas tree ...

Have now taken up residence on the dresser ...

It was "love at first sight" when I saw this decorative "book" box with its ragged cover and faded picture of a bird on the front.

I rescued this little guy from my "decor" closet, and I think he looks right at home in his new "garden," don't you?

I found the stone planter in the attic with the orchid leaves, and added the "hens and bitties" plant and fern fronds ...

I love it when a plan comes together, don't you!

I hope you enjoy these last couple of days of the year, and are looking forward to decorating your house for the winter, too.

Passages 2010

With the countdown of the final days of 2010 beginning this week, I'd like to dedicate this post to some of the celebrities who passed away during the year. I'll begin with two of my favorite ladies:

Rue McClanahan, my favorite Golden Girl, died of a massive stroke on June 3rd, at the age of 76.

Rue began her acting career at the age of 30, and was best known for playing the saucy character, Blanche Devereaux, on Golden Girls.

Actress Dixie Carter, who played the lovely Julia Sugarbaker on Designing Women, died of complications due to endometrial cancer on April 10th, at the age of 70.

TV legend John Forsythe, star of hit shows such as Dynasty and Charlie's Angels, passed away on April 2, 2010 at the age of 92.

Actor Peter Graves passed away of natural causes at his home in California on March 14th, at the age of 83. He was best known and revered for his role as the chief agent on the hit show Mission Impossible, as well as the host of A&E's Biography. You may also remember him as the pilot in the movie Airplane!.

Actor Dennis Hopper died as a result of prostate cancer on May 29th. Dennis was best known for his work in films such as Rebel Without a Cause, Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, and Blue Velvet.

Former Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman died on May 28th at the young age of 42, following a brain hemorrhage.

Legendary Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner, suffered a fatal heart attack on July 13, in Florida, a few days after celebrating his 80th birthday.

Actor Tony Curtis, who graced the screens since the 1950s, died in September at the age of 85. Over the course of his long career, Tony starred in over 150 movies, battled drug addiction, was married six times, and fathered six children, including actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

Steve Landesberg, best known for his role as the unflappable police detective on the ABC sitcom Barney Miller, died of colon cancer on December 20th.

Art Linkletter, the genial host of two of television’s longest-running shows, People Are Funny and House Party in the 1950s and 1960s, died May 26th at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 97.

Linkletter is probably best rememembered for his interviews with children on House Party, which led to a series of Kids Say the Darndest Things books quoting children.

Sadly, the list goes on ...

Tom Bosley (Happy Days)
Helen Wagner (As the World Turns)
Pernell Roberts (Bonanza)
Patricia Neal (Actress)
Robert Culp (I Spy)
Robert B. Parker (Author)
Jill Clayburgh (Actress)
Kathryn Grayson (Actress)
Lena Horne (Singer)
Mitch Miller (Musician and Conductor)
Merlin Olsen (Football Star and Actor)
Eddie Fisher (Singer)
James MacArthur (Dano on Hawaii Five-O)
Jean Simmons (Actress)
Barbara Billingsly (June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver)
Blake Edwards (Movie director and husband of Julie Andrews)
Elizabeth Edwards (Wife of politician John Edwards)
Leslie Nielsen (Actor)
Jimmy Dean (Singer and "Sausage King")
Fess Parker (Actor, best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone)

Jack Frost

As winter settles in across the country, our temperatures here in Vicksburg dipped down into the high teens last night. This morning our plants and flowers were covered in a heavy frost, and I couldn't resist venturing out with my camera (thank goodness for my duck hunter husband's heavy jacket — I was warm and toasty, except for my hands).

After basking in warm temperatures in the 60s just days ago, my poor pansies were shivering under their coating of frost (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them to see the ice crystals up close, if you'd like).

Even our waterfall was feeling the effects of the cold, creating its first icicles of the season ...

Some of the leaves on our hollies looked like crystal ...

Viewing the world through my camera lens opens up a whole new world sometimes, and here is what I saw as I zoomed in on the layer of frost covering our cobalt gazing ball ...

I could see the individual ice crystals which reminded me of snowflakes.

I hope winter is being kind to you wherever you live. I'm afraid Jack Frost is going to be nipping at our noses — and a lot more — for quite a while.

Merry Christmas from Dixie

Merry Christmas from Dixie Christmas Camellias To every thing there is a season. May the Spirit of this Special Season Fill Your Heart and Home.

What Child is This?

I created this brief slide show using pictures borrowed from the Internet. I hope you enjoy it and will be inspired by it. Be sure your sound is turned up so you can hear the music.

Only in Their Dreams ...

[By Vic Harville, Political and Sports Cartoonist] Let us take time out from our Christmas celebrations to remember with sincere gratitude our servicemen and women who are risking their lives every day to keep America out of harm's way. May God protect them as they protect us, and bless them and their families for the sacrifices they make for us — especially at Christmastime, when they'll be home for Christmas ... only in their dreams. Christmas Eve, by Thomas Kinkade

December Lagniappe: Vines and Berries

Now that winter has finally made an appearance here in Mississippi, the cold temperatures have taken a toll on the landscape, replacing the glorious Fall foliage of a few weeks ago with bare limbs and the drab colors of winter. But Nature has a way of compensating for the bleakness — in the form of vines with bright red berries growing wild in the woods and on fence rows along our roadsides.

In the spring and summer, those vines were probably covered in a profusion of wildflowers, but now their colorful fruit is all that remains. That reminds me of these lines from one of my favorite poems, William Wordsworth's Ode Intimations of Immortality ...

What though the radiance which was once so bright,
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be ...

Isn't that a beautiful way to describe the passage of the Seasons!

Last week, I noticed a tree in some woods not too far from our house that was almost completely covered with tangled vines and bright red berries — and I knew there were pictures there just waiting to be taken.

And sure enough, a couple of days later, under a brilliant blue sky for background, I went back and captured those pictures.

If you are a regular visitor to Southern Lagniappe, you know that if I'm not familiar with a flower or plant I photograph, I try to find out a little about it. I have seen vines like these, but never this close, and, after diligently browsing through several Google images and web sites featuring "wild vines with red berries," I discovered that these vines are called Carolina Moonseed (Cocculus Carolinus). They get their name from their seeds, which resemble a crescent moon.

Of course, I had to find out if my berries had "moonseeds," and upon dissecting one of the berries, I was delighted to see that mine, indeed, had a little crescent-shape in the center of the seed.

Isn't that awesome lagniappe!

Here are the rest of the pictures I captured ...

I love the graceful way the little tendrils of the vines curled and twined around the limbs ...

And the berries! — So plump and ripe, and almost translucent ...

A word of warning: Although it is beautiful, Carolina Moonseed vine is an invasive plant and should be used where its vgorous spreading nature would be appreciated. It may not be wise to move it from its native habitat if spreading is a concern. Once roots are established, it can be difficult to remove, so plant wisely.

For more information about Carolina Moonseed, you can visit Carolina Moonseed.