Back to School & SEC Football

August 2011

From Your Publisher...

Enter August, the last official month of summer on the calendar. It seems as if I was just introducing July and our arts issue with its plethora of local and regional arts. Since our work here in the Bluffs & Bayous office is always a month or two ahead of the existing month with deadlines mid-month prior to the following month’s publication, I sometimes transpose the month I’m working in with the month I’m living in—a bit of a thought glitch, given all the busy-ness that my life, as yours, entails.

What brought me to the realization that summer is rapidly on the wane and the next season is fast approaching is the recent information posted on Facebook from my friends. Within the past few weeks, I have noticed more families on the go to beach vacations, long weekends in Las Vegas, family reunions, trips to the Caribbean Islands, more beach vacations…and more beach vacations. Just recently I have seen postings for back-to-school supplies, uniforms, and football and softball practices. All of these activities are harbingers of our gearing up for back-to-school mode. Point in fact—teachers report back to their classroom duties the first week of August with students showing up mere days later.

One friend’s Facebook posting mentioned her childhood school days running from after Labor Day until the first part of May. I, too, well remember my own three-month-long summers between school years when we did not begin school until the day after Labor Day. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—didn’t want to think about football schedules, fall clothing, and school supplies until the week of Labor Day. That was the week my mother bought our school supplies to prepare us for the academic year.

With my children now grown, the academic calendar no longer looms with lists of supplies and uniforms and the deadlines of signed parental permissions. It no longer sends stress signals about being tardy for class or late for practice. Instead, it is my friend, making promises of fun and exciting weekends ahead from September through January with NFL (Here’s hoping that the players and owners finalize their deal and get onto the much anticipated season.), college, and Friday night area football games. The excitement is in the air as we anticipate fall and football season; and in this issue of Bluffs & Bayous we share with you amazing recipes that are a “must” to try and serve from your home, tent, or tailgate!

Our story on David Wilson’s unique sauce and Jennie Guido’s review of Crave restaurant located in Cleveland, Mississippi, contribute to the pigskin mania of our August issue as does In the Kitchen with Cheryl’s Friends & Family and its selections to make this season of sports hype a most savory one.

Let’s enjoy what remains of a sizzling summer as we turn our attention toward the South’s signature fall fetish—FOOTBALL …and enjoy its fervor to the fullest in our life along and beyond the Mississippi.

July 2011

The Arts Issue

July…..the month to celebrate our country’s independence day, our local art groups and individual artists, weekends at the lake, afternoons in the pool, and family vacations at the beach and beyond. Traditionally in July, the summer’s heat intensifies; however, June was a warmer than usual month for all of us in this part of the South. Both these summer months have always been a time to dress down and relax. I love to discover new or old reads and change my busy schedule of meetings and commitments to unscheduled daily meanderings.

This month, Bluffs & Bayous provides the perfect magazine for an entertaining summer read and for frequent referrals to intriguing shopping prospects and professional services. In addition, our July’s annual emphasis on the arts and arts listings underscores this area’s bountiful art opportunities for your upcoming season of ballet, symphony, opera, theatre, and museum exhibits. We also highlight some new area artists whose unique flair is sure to intrigue your interests.

Our Bluffs & Bayous’ coverage shares with you the talents and enthusiasm of many gifted artists in a variety of disciplines; and we invite you to become avid ambassadors of the arts through participation in surrounding theatre, dance, and music organizations as well as in the shows, exhibits, and studios of individual artisans as you involve yourself and your family in the enriching diversity of the arts.

H. C. Porter of Vicksburg, Mississippi, one of our many artists of note, has embarked on the fascinating project—Blues @ Home—of capturing living and legendary blues musicians in the Mississippi Delta. Her gift of documentary through photography, art, oral history, and music will provide dramatic insight to enthrall world-wide audiences. Just as her project Backyards & Beyond depicts the personal and economic devastation of the Mississippi Gulf Coast following the ruthlessness of Hurricane Katrina, so her new project will personify the panorama of our rich Delta Blues Legends.

Among our local contributors, Johnny Bowlin reflects on his experience as a first-time softball coach for his daughter in Meadville, Mississippi; and Natchezian Courtney Taylor, author of two cookbooks, How To Eat Like a Southerner and Live to Tell the Tale and The Southern Cook’s Handbook, shares some delicious recipes with us.

I would be remiss if I did not mention my experience with friend, artist, and Natchez business owner Erin Eidt Myers. Her genius has provided rich room and accent colors and imaginative placement of our most prized possessions as we have finally finished the renovation of our new home to make it uniquely ours. Myers’ visual arts flair has engendered a retail business featuring her original works, custom-painted Walter Anderson prints, and hand-stained, hand-painted furnishings. Her eclectic talent graces chic homes throughout this area as she shares her gifts with all of us.

In this escalating heat of July, take a bit of time for yourself, dress down, relax, and enjoy the good read our July issue offers as we share the arts with all of you in our life along and beyond the Mississippi.