Mississippi Magic

Wow, what fun did we have at Mississippi Book Festival! I'm so grateful.

Here is a collage that includes a picture of the Children's Illustrated Book Panel:

Sarah Frances Hardy, Louise Borden, William Joyce,
Irene Latham, Barry Moser, Carole Boston Weatherford

I'm thrilled that I got to meet in person Keri Collins! Sad that we didn't get a picture. :( But I DID get a picture with Margaret Simon:

me & sweet Margaret

AND I had a surprise visitor from my distant-past! Our family friend who's known me since I was a preschooler, traveled with us to Saudi Arabia and back again, and who was also my father's former secretary... I cried when I saw her, and again when she shared with me some things about my father.

An aside (nothing to do with Mississippi!): What a blessing it is each time someone comes along to remind me that my father is still here in so many ways, by the lives he touched, and the way he lived. What's amazing is how my relationship with him continues to grow and change...

me & Brenda

If ever in Jackson, MS, I have a restaurant to recommend, that was recommended to me by a dear friend: Walker's Drive-In. It's in the arts little Fondren district, and no, despite its name, it is not fast food. So many seafood dishes to choose from! Paul and I started with the fried lobster skewers and later feasted on some flounder... with this lovely plate of truffle fries:

Afterwards we drove around in the dying light and discovered Boyd House, also known as "The Oaks," which survived the Civil War.

On Saturday morning, before the book festival, we stopped in at the Mississippi Farmers' Market. It's a pretty big market with all the usual fun of tomatoes and honey and okra, etc., and also bread and crafts and live music and.... fresh-caught SHRIMP.

Shrimp! My kind of farmers' market!

I love Mississippi. I love Mississippi readers. Great way to spend a weekend!