The Dirt Behind the Duds...

This photograph was taken by Marcel Speet for his 'Buurtgarderobe' (Neighborhood Wardrobe) series. I was asked to put something on that had a special meaning for me and so I chose my John Deere T-shirt and Black Petticoat.

The John Deere t-shirt is part of what i most lovingly call, 'The Redneck Christmas'* story about a party which took place at my step-sister Tammy's house. *First of all, I am NOT calling Tammy nor any body else in my family a redneck but there was an undeniable Southern-Fried flavor to this party which i knew, were i to tell this story to my friends back in the Netherlands they'd be thinkin', 'Dang, what a bunch of rednecks'.

It started subtly, when my step-brother Earl's phone went off and the ringtone played "Sweet Home Alabama". SKYNYRD! Nice start. We all had dinner then afterwards gifts were exchanged. We did this by playing 'Dirty Santa' which i had never heard of before. Not sure i remember exactly how it went but we took turns... first someone chose a present from under the tree and opened it. The following persons could then either choose to also take an unwrapped gift from under the tree, OR they could take a present away from someone else. It took awhile before the dust settled before everyone had a present, wether that's what they really wanted or not. Hilarity, mixed with wee flashes of mostly-playful, sibling ugliness ensued. YEAH!

I still have, and adore the present i received that night. A Ceramic Chicken Sugar Pot and Rooster Creamer i plucked from under the tree, and retained, from my most eccentric and entertaining step-sister, Adela. Besides the 'Dirty Santa' presents, EVERYBODY got 'John Deere' apparel. Um'hmm, we did.

No one actually got an 'I love Dirt' baby jumper
but only because nobody had a baby.

Okay, so we're starting to feel a little bit of a theme here, right? Well, now we come to the country-fide clencher of this whole story when one of my Nephews opens up his present...

Either Tammy's son, Hunter or his cousin, (Adela's son) Jonathan, who were both around 16 years old at the time, received a new Hunting Rifle...

with which one of them accidentally shot the other the following week. Yep, nothing quite expresses the joy of the Southern Holiday Season like the gift of firing power and then filling your cousin full of buckshot. Can i have a "Yeehaw", Brothers and Sisters??!! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw! Thankfully, after the removal of many a pellet from one of their lanky, wirey bodies, he was okay. I believe it was Hunter who shot Jonathon by accident, which makes this story pretty much perfect.

The petticoat story is more of a sentimental tale and nobody gets hurt which probably only makes it interesting to my parents, who are most probably the only ones who are reading this in the first place. (Hi Mom, Hi Dad!)

During another very memorable summer vacation in Mississippi, my Dad took me to The Promenade Square Dance shop. We had such a great time there. It was in a little wooden house in downtown Gulfport. Unbeknownst to Dad, the owner turned out to be a long-time classmate of his. I believe their last names followed each other alphabetically which meant they were always seated by each other in class. She was quite a gal. Strong, in-charge type with a gift for telling a great story, the one more humorous than the other. Dad told me later that she got a special award when she graduated from High School for having never missed 1 day of school, ever. From grade school all the way through high school, not one day. Dang.

While they caught up i walked slowly through the front room. From floor to ceiling it was a fluffy, ruffled organza petticoat dreamland trimmed in satin. I tried this black one on and while i was beaming at myself in the mirror, Dad said, 'Oh, Shelley that's so pretty, it's just beautiful but,... how ya gonna get it back to Holland, Sugar?' Smiling ear-to-ear i told him that i was definitely going to wear it on the plane. He laughed SO hard. And he's got a great laugh.

Anyway, it was just a really fun time with my Dad in a unique little shop during one of the best vacations of my life. Besides that, the petticoat reminds me of when my Mom and Grandparents used to Square Dance which is where my Mom met my Dad (who is actually officially my step-dad) in the first place. Grandma made me a little red and white gingham square-dance dress and petticoat exactly like my Moms. Although it wasn't easy to get me in a dress as a little girl, the petticoat was a different thing all together and i felt like one hot patootie. TWIRL!

Call Before Demo

This is the story of 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi which Marko and i visited while we were back visiting my folks. It's an absolutely amazing place with a fascinating history and i'm so grateful that there were people who realized the importance of saving this place from demolition after Hurricane Katrina. Here's a video from a Kickstarter Project which was started to make a documentary about this incredible place. They have thankfully raised the funds to start the movie but the 100 Men Hall is still in need of our support. So here's a shout out to all of my blues loving friends to visit their 'sponsor' page and make a donation.

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday

And i don't even want to talk about how bummed i am to miss Mardi Gras day. But, Marko and i did catch one Mardi Gras parade before we left the States to come back to the Netherlands. Marko even got to meet The Big Chief!

Masked and ready to Mardi Gras

Throw me somethin', Mister!

Marko and The Big Chief

Musical Treasure

While in Mississippi i looked through my grandmother's music cabinet and found these gems. They are all from the 30's and 40's and i can't wait to play my way through them. Most of them have the ukulele chords notated with the sheet music. Awesome!

 I especially love the Cowboy Classics!

Mississippi Mama with a Louisiana Crawdaddy

St. Joseph's Plantation

Marko and i took a little trip down the fabled River Road which runs along the Mississippi River in Louisiana. There are lots of old plantations there including maybe one of the most famous, Oak Alley Plantation. Oak Alley has been turned into a sort of 'hollywood' version of a plantation complete with spa and accomodation. We chose to visit a more authentic destination, St. Joseph Plantation which was a 1,000 acre Sugar Cane plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana.

The plantation was built in the early 1800's by Valcour Aime, known as The Louis XIV of Louisiana, it was later sold to Joseph Waguespack in 1877 and is maintained by descendants of the Waguespack families to this day.



I always have conflicted feelings about visiting plantations. It's said that the Aimes were generous and took good care of their slaves. Of course i'm not under any illusions, they still owned slaves. Yet, these plantations and this period in the South are where so many of our southern customs come from....From the food that we eat to the rhythms to which we dance and the aesthetics of our arts and architecture. Most of these elements do not come from the plantation owners but from the slaves which were mostly of West African descent and this aspect was exactly what we were most interested in exploring. We didn't even go into the 'big' house but were content to visit the slave quarters and work houses.

Above and to the left are some images of the slave cabins on the St. Joseph plantation. Notice the rope bottom on the bed. The cabin had 4 rooms, the two larger rooms sharing a double-sided fire place and the back rooms most likely housing a small stove for cooking and other basic domestic necessities.

Here below you see the cook house. Because of the extreme heat in the south the kitchen was always separate from the main house. The following image, the tiniest school room i have ever seen. The large cistern in front of the schoolhouse is what they used to cook the sugar cane in.

















And lastly, two of my favorite photographs which i took at St. Josephs. A view into a slave cabin and a close up shot of the wood on the front porch. If this wood could only tell tales.... The cabin seemed to exude voice and song, story and rhythm.

More Mysterious Scenes from the Abita Mystery House

Besides all the amazing collections and freaks of nature to be found at the UCM Museum there are also many handmade folk art animated scenes of Southern life made by the owner of the Abita Mystery house, Louisiana inventor & artist, Mr. John Preble. 

The Abita Mystery House & UCM Museum

Abita Springs, Louisiana is one of my favorite small southern towns. It's a one stoplight town with only 2,300 inhabitants yet it has it's own Opry House, Beer Brewery and the weirdest damn attractions i've ever seen, The Abita Mystery House & UCM Museum. I am a huge fan of this place and i applaud the sense of humour and dedication it took to make it. To others it make look like a big heep of junk and quite frankly, it is. But, the way this junk has been presented makes it a work of art.

The UCM (pronounced You See 'Em) has all kinds of amazing and ever-wacky collections and exhibits. Some of the collections are: Combs, Paint-By-Number paintings, Barbed Wire, Electronics, Paint-Can Lids, Garden Hoses, Utensils, Bikes, Hot Sauce. Like one sign says: 'If you have 3 items you have a collection and it takes 3 collections to make a Museum' and it's as simple as that.

The main building used to be a gas station a long long time ago. As you enter the front door you find yourself in an amazing gift shop filled with both hand-crafted items and insanely unusual new items. I'm not much of a shopper and i'm usually broke as an artist/musician can be but i can't help but buy something every time i visit. This time i chose a book called 'Weird Louisiana' and got some postcards of the 'Bassigator' (Half Bass Fish/Half Alligator). Which brings me to another realm of collecting to be found here: Freaks of nature such as a 'Mermaid', a 3-Headed Chicken, and the Doggygator just to name a few.

There are many different little dwellings behind the Main House such as 'The House of Shards' made of a bazillion pieces of broken ceramic crap, 'The Hot Sauce House' which of course houses a collection of Hot Sauce and there is even an airstream with a UFO stuck in it thus giving us proof of alien landings in Louisiana...but everybody know that already.

Personally, i think the thing that really ties all this junk/art/collected crap together are the hand-painted signs. Everywhere you look there are words of wisdom, warning and wacky-ness. Some of my favorites, 'Free Possum with Every Purchase' & 'Create Art & Get Rich'.

Even though this place is relatively small, one could visit it a 1,000 times and never see it all. Abita Springs (-wiki link) is in general just an absolutely fabulous place to visit for so many reasons.  It's named after the crystal clear springs which run through it and from which the world famous Abita Beer is brewed, there are also beautiful bike trails running through it and it's only about 20 minutes away from New Orleans. And, if your timing is right, you may even catch a live show at the Opry and hear some amazing Country, Cajun and/or Bluegrass Music. So, if you are ever in these neck of the woods and can't resist seeing a 3-headed chicken...Don't Miss It! Want to see some moving pictures of the Abita Springs Mystery House? Click Here!

Do yourself a favor, click on these images to ZOOM!

Lovelace Drug Store

This gem of a place is located in the beautiful town of Ocean Springs, Ms. Elvis used to come in for a soda while visiting June Juanico, a gal from the Gulf Coast whom he dated right before his big break through.

Headed to New Orleans!

Friday is our last day in the states. We've had a wonderful time here in Mississippi with my folks. It's over way too soon though and i'm a little heartbroken about that. But, let's not talk about that. The good news is that we're going to get the best send off ever! We're going to New Orleans and in the evening is the Krewe of Cleopatra Mardi Gras parade. It will be Marko's first taste of Mardi Gras and i can't wait. I LOVE Mardi Gras and i've missed too many of them these past years that i've lived in Holland.

People that don't know any better (Damn Yankees and Tourist) think that Mardi Gras is just about getting drunk and showing your tits. Well, it's not. It's a very old custom that goes on for many months before Fat Tuesday full of intricate and curious traditions. Way too many to go into here but i will share one of them with you...The King Cake!

A King Cake is a traditional cake made during Mardi Gras time. It's baked in a ring and is divided in sections of Purple, Green & Gold Sugar (mardi gras colors). In one of those sections, there is a little baby inside. One lucky person gets the baby but also has to buy the next King Cake.

Black Eyed Peas & Cabbage

In the Southern States we eat Black Eyed Peas and Corn Bread on New Year's Day. The Black Eyed Peas brings luck and the Cabbage, money in the New Year. And with it is often served Corn Bread to sop up all that gravy of the beans so that you dont loose any luck. I ate me a big ol' bowl of 'em!

100 Men Hall & Little Freddie King

The 100 Men Hall was started in 1894 and was on the Chitlin' Circuit. It's located in one of my favorite Mississippi Gulf Coast towns, Bay St. Louis. We went there to celebrate New Year's Eve and hear Little Freddie King who was absolutely amazing. The first song started and i was so overwhelmed i had to hold back the tears. I LOVE Freddie!

The family home in Long Beach, Mississippi

I'm in Mississippi...

till the end of January visiting my parents. For an occasional glimpse of our travels you can visit my Facebook page. Otherwise, i'll be blogging again when i get back. Hope your year is getting off to a swell start, i know mine is!