Southern Sky

After Katrina I went back to New York for almost 3 years. One of the things I missed the most about Mississippi was the sky.
Not that we don't have beautiful skies in NY, there is something about the sky in the South.

Sun rise and Sun sets are spectacular! I find blue skies with no clouds absolutely boring. Down here we can have a week or two with skies like that. They have no character at all.
Early this morning we had a storm and the rain poured. It might have been the hardest rain of the new year. There was some thunder and lightening too. It started to let up before the school bus came for the kids.

But around 8am the storm started moving away and some blue peeked through the clouds. There is a chance of rain the rest of the week, but the best chance was today.

BBQing

Down south you really don't ever stop BBQing, but when the temps are down in the 30s you don't want to be standing outside flipping burgers.

Last week our new Portable Kitchen arrived, PK/Grill. Rainy weather prevented us from trying it for a few days but we had hamburgers last week and a brisket yesterday. It looks burnt but it wasn't and it was very tender. A whole chicken or turkey breast might be the next food to try.
It has been cloudy and rainy the past week and its going to continue into the next week.
We had a little peek at the sun last night as it was setting.

Rated 3rd most miserable state.

Above, No.1 West Virginia and Kentucky, Mississippi ranks 3rd in this miserable list.

3. Mississippi

Well-being index score: 63.4
Life expectancy: 74.8 (the lowest)
Obesity: 34.0 percent (the highest)
Median household income: $36,851 (the lowest)
Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 81.0 percent (3rd lowest)

Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation by a number of metrics. Its median household income is $36,851, which is the lowest in the country. It also has the highest poverty rate in the country at 21.8 percent. Mississippi has among the lowest rates of adults with a high school diploma or more. Health is also a major issue in the state. Mississippi has the lowest life expectancy in the country, at 74.8 years -- almost four years less than the national average. Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the nation at 34 percent. It also has among the five highest rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and tobacco use among states. It is no wonder that Mississippi residents feel so poorly as measured by the third-lowest well-being score.

White Pillars in Biloxi

Fans of the old White Pillars restaurant in Biloxi have something to smile about. The landmark will be restored and re-opened.

The renovation project went before the city's Development Review Committee on Wednesday morning.

The owner, 84 year old John Mladinich, says, "You can't keep a good man down."

He's battled illness in recent years, but he's awfully excited about restoring his beloved restaurant.

It seems most everyone who's lived here long enough, has fond memories of the old White Pillars.

The White Pillars has been closed more than 20 years. Restoration plans include removing the front canopy and windows, making the prominent pillars the focus of the restaurant's front.

"It's going to be very similar, except for some changes. We're going to take the canopy down and expose the big, beautiful beams," said Mladinich, "That's what you'll see instead of the canopy, which we're excited about that. And we're adding another dining room to compensate."


He'll be leasing the restaurant to what he called a "national concern." Whoever that is, he said they don't want any publicity just yet.

There's no word yet on a timetable for when the restoration and re-opening will occur or the cost of the project.


Since I am not a native Mississippian, and not living down here that long, I never heard of this place before, but even the news reporters are glad of its return so it must have been very popular.

We had a rainy week but now the sun has been out with a brisk wind and temps in the 60s. Perfect weather. But I heard it's supposed to get warm and humid later in the week. I hope summer is NOT here to stay, not yet. It's bad enough the bee's are all in the lemon tree and the carpenter bees are protecting their holes without having the humidity too.

Yesterday we had a sun shower that ended up as pouring rain with thunder and lightening. Around 2:30pm the sky became dark with ominous looking clouds that were moving fast south to northeast. But they cleared out.
We were under a tornado warning till midnight but our weather did not get bad.
It has been humid the last few days and temps near 80^o

Green Winter Grass

We have had only a handful of days where the temperature dropped down into the 20's at night. It has been so mild, except for a few patches, the grass stayed green this winter.
It has been cloudy, rainy, humid and mild this week and it will continue into the weekend with an increased chance of storms.
We can still get cold weather, March is iffy, but for the most part, winter is over in South Mississippi.

Happy Leap Day.