EASTER TIME AT GRANNY'S- Easter Memories in Mississippi

Growing up, Easter time for my family was almost like Christmas .
I think that the family celebration was just as big.
We would always gather at my grandparent's house in West, Point. (MS).
It was both of my grandparent's house...but we would always say Granny's house.
 
Now that I am older, it seems almost like an inside joke.
Our family is KNOWN for having some VERY strong-minded, strong-willed, domineering, out-spoken women...  So, naturally it would be her house ! (Laugh)
Now, that I think of it, whenever we went to my aunt's houses. We would say their names.
 
Anyway, our family always made a very big deal about Easter.
We knew that we would be going to Granny's house and we knew that we would be seeing all of our cousins.  We knew that we would have lots to eat ...which always included chicken and potato salad...and of course, sweet tea.

After lunch, there would be the BIG Easter egg hunt all around my Granny's house.  There were SO many places to hide those eggs!

Many times, we would spend the whole weekend at at Granny's house.
So, the Easter bunny got to visit us there. We would be so excited about going to bed just like at Christmas, because in the morning we would have lots of goodies laid out all over the floor in the living room.
We always got huge baskets stuffed with all kinds of things. We of course got candy, but there were toys and, of course, the customary book. Our family believed in giving books on every special occasion'

Attending church at "Granny's church" was a MUST, which meant getting dressed in our Easter finery.  There was much activity in the house on Sunday morning getting ourselves all together with ribbons and bows, hats and bonnets.

Our Easter celebration was an all day affair with LOTS of eating , joking laughing, and storytelling At the end of the day we were all tuckered out , STUFFED and headed back to Tupelo.

In Loving Memory of my Granny,
 ~*~ Martha Ann Missouri Neely ~*~

MY POEMS ARE ON THE JOB...Always, Always Celebrating the South and Promoting A Positive Mississippi

EXCITING NEWS!!
 
I might just be able to add the title of songwriter 
to my resume, soon!
I recently received this wonderful e-mail:

.........................................................................

My name is...........
I am a songwriter in South Florida.
My writing partner, ............., lives in Mississippi. .
We have some pretty cool things happening right now.
I am working on a song titled ............. which talks about all the amazing things about Mississippi.
While writing this song I googled things relating to Mississippi and I stumbled upon your site and was captivated by your poetry. Really loved your style, timing, rhyming schemes, etc. You paint a beautiful picture!
There were several phrases that I saw that I think could fit quite well into this song, that we have brewing.
I wanted to reach out to you to see if you'd be interested in allowing us to use some of your phrases into the song. In exchange we would share co-writing credits between you, my partner and myself. It could be fun! And perhaps we can create a great song that will move some people and do Mississippi proud!
If this sounds interesting to you, I'd love to hear back.
Thanks Patricia! Keep writing!

............................................................................

Almost every day amazing things come 
my way concerning my books and poems. 
I feel truly blessed !
Of course, I would love being a part of 
anything promoting a Positive Mississippi!
It's what I (and my poems) try to do !
I'll keep you posted and share more 
details when I can !
Stay Tuned !

Who's Your Favorite MISSISSIPPI POET??? I hope it's ME!!!

TODAY is World Poetry Day !

World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO in 1999. 

The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, 

publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world.

 My first book of poetry: Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia- A Life In Poems *Link to book on Amazon.com*
Published  February, 2008 

 
My second book of poetry: My Magnolia Memories and Musings -In Poems *Link to book on Amazon.com*
Published  February 2012
I call both books a
"celebration of the south and things southern". 

 Using childhood memories, personal thoughts and dreams, I attempt to give a positive glimpse into the southern way of life. There are so many negative connotations associated with
Mississippi and the south in general. 

I want to show a flip side of the coin.
There is much to love about this maligned and misunderstood part of our country.
I would really love for you to get to KNOW Mississippi 

(and the south) in a different light.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

* * * SPRING HAS SPRUNG!  * * *
*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
*(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ ¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)   .................

Today is the first day of Spring ! Enjoy !

¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)

 





















¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
*(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ ¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)

Spring begins with the vernal equinox at 7:02 A.M. (EDT) 
on March 20, 2013 in the Northern Hemisphere.

*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
*(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ ¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)  *´¨)¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)

A One And A Two And A Three...LAWRENCE WELK , GRANDDADDY AND ME

A One And A Two And A Three...
LAWRENCE WELK , GRANDDADDY AND ME


Recently, I posted on my Facebook page :

Hubby is always trying to get me mad or make me say crazy stuff
by turning the television to something he thinks will irritate me.
It seems to be very amusing to him !
How MANY times do I have to tell him that he cannot phase me by trying to hold the tv hostage on Lawrence Welk.  I was raised on Lawrence Welk!
Lawrence Welk was MANDATORY viewing if you were at my Granddaddy's house on a Saturday night.
We couldn't make a move or even breathe too hard while the "tap dancing 'colored' man" was on !!! 

PND: Please, James..You gonna have to do better than that !

Lawrence Welk - (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992)

DID YOU KNOW...
There was a singer from Tupelo on the Lawrence Welk Show
Guy Lee Hovis, Jr. (born September 24, 1941), along with his former wife, Ralna English of West Texas, was one of the featured acts of television's The Lawrence Welk Show.Born and reared in Tupelo, Mississippi, he was the son of an officer from the Mississippi Highway Patrol. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Mississippi at Oxford. After a two-year stint in the Army, Hovis decided to try a career as a musical performer in Hollywood.
On his days off, Hovis still continues to perform, at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Branson, Missouri, for pledge specials on PBS, or with Ralna at state fairs, concert halls and casinos.

Ralna & Guy

Commenting on my Lawrence Welk post, one of my dear Facebook friends wrote :
"Patricia, thank you for stirring up this old memory machine...How we looked forward to that too. Our Sat nights were filled with smell of yeast from cinnamon rolls rising...and then baking, Lawrence Welk, and the biggy was  wrestling at 10:00pm...beautiful thing to think about."

I have a poem about my Granddaddy that mentions his love for The Lawrence Welk Show that I plan to put in my next book. I think that is the true beauty and real attraction of my books/poems.
They bring back so many of the readers' own wonderful memories of days gone by.

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - A Life in Poems - Link to Amazon

Magnolia Memories and Musings - In Poems - Link to Amazon

MARCH is National Reading Month ! It's time to READ!!!

MARCH is National Reading Month! 

~*~ READ ~*~

Many schools kick off the celebration of National reading Month with a birthday party honoring the beloved children’s author, Dr. Seuss, who was born March 2nd.
Green eggs and ham, along with a birthday cake, are often featured fixtures at those parties!

The goal of National Reading Month is to get children excited about reading, as well as improving their reading skills.  It is the perfect time to emphasize the importance and value of reading and to help them understand how important reading is in daily life and how it will help them achieve goals and become successful in life.  

My books, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia and My Magnolia Memories and Musings are perfect books to READ, BUY and GIVE during National Reading Month. With very simple language and relatable themes, they can be read, enjoyed and understood by readers of all ages 8 to 80 (and beyond). 
There is definitely something in my "little books of southern poems" for EVERYONE.

 

 

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - A Life in Poems - Link to Amazon

Magnolia Memories and Musings - In Poems - Link to Amazon

 

MY NEXT BIG THING...is Showing (More) Love for Mississippi !

MY NEXT BIG THING...is Showing (More) Love for Mississippi ! 

Welcome to......

Blog Hop ...............


I was absolutely THRILLED when fellow blogger friend NancyKay Wessman
at  www.wessmanwords.com invited me to participate and be "tagged" in the “The Next Big Thing,” blog chain “Blog Hop” started by the She Writes blog site to help female authors promote their current work by answering a set of questions and then “tagging” other writers, inviting them to do the same. 
 
Here are the questions and my answers: 

1: What is the working title of your book(s)? 

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems (2008)
My Magnolia Memories and Musings- In Poems (2012)

2: Where did the idea for the book originate? 

As the bible says, out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
I believe that my poems all came from an overflow of my great love for Mississippi and the southern way of life. 

3: Under what genre does your book come? 

Poetry...... more specifically Southern Poetry.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 

Jennifer Hudson ... I absolutely love her !!!
"Jennifer, Play Me ! Play Me !!!!" 

~Jennifer Hudson~

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 

I call both books "a celebration of the south and things southern "
My slogan is "Always, Always Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi ".  One reviewer called Reflections "A love letter to the south".
In My Magnolia Memories and Musings, the love affair continued.
Now, there is, yet another book to come, showing even more LOVE ! 

  

6: Will your next book be self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency? 

Self-Published 

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 

Most of the poems in both of my books were written in a span of about 6 months.
I wrote my very first poem February 14, 2007.   I woke up out of my sleep with a poem just swirling around in my head.  I quickly got up, and scribbled it down.  After that, the poems just started to flow and flow.  In a span of about two months,  I had over 200 poems.  Those poems became the first and second books.
My first book was published February 2008 and the second February 2012.
The poems that were not published there, will be included in my third book.

8: To what other books within your genre would you compare this story? 

The Collected Works of Maya Angelou 

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book? 

My love for Mississippi, the south and the life that I have lived are at the root of all of my poems. 

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? 

For readers, I think the book will bring back a lot of very fond, familiar, shared memories of growing up in Mississippi and/or the south. 
Here are some of my poetry titles....... 
JUST SEE IF THEY DON'T CONJURE UP SOME WONDERFUL 
SOUTHERN MEMORIES FOR YOU .................................

~'Summer Nights' ~ 'The Rules' ~ 'Country Breakfast' ~
~'Preaching Sunday' ~ 'Southern Comfort (Food)'  ~
~ 'Fall in the Country' ~ 'Going to Town' ~
~'Neighborhood Groceries' ~ 'Childhood Christmas'~ ......  :)

Please click this link and ......
LISTEN to me read a few of my "Mississippi" poems.


~ MY NEXT BIG THING ~
 
The 3rd book in the Reflections "trilogy"
It will be entitled Mississippi In Me - Poems and More.
Set to be published early 2014.
I am also working on audio recordings of a selection of my poems.

Always, Always Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi

CHECK OUT these other blogs in hop tour :


Christy Williams
http://www.godsdesignforyou.com/2013/article-blog-hop-waste-storm.html



Emerald Barnes
http://ebarnes23.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/why-yes-i-am-participating-in-the-next-big-thing/


Kory Wells
http://korywells.com/2013/02/the-next-big-thing-is-there-still-a-novel-in-this-poets-future/


Susan Cushman
http://susancushman.com/writing-on-wednesday-the-next-big-thing-authors-blog-hop/


Stephanie MacAfee

http://stephaniemcafee.wordpress.com