Home for the Holidays

Finally — Elvis is in the house! It’s been more than two years since Husband JP and I moved into our house, and all this time Elvis Martha BeadlehasElvis been languishing in storage. Oh, sure, we had valid excuses: We’re too lazy not sure where to put it, it’s so big that we’re too wishy-washy to commit heavy that it needs professional installation, we’re scarred from a previous trauma of dropping a heavy mirror on a cat’s paw — you know, all the usual. But we live in northeast Mississippi, where folks speak of both Elvis and the War of Northern Aggression in the present tense, so we couldn’t delay much longer. Plus, this piece is from one of our favorite artists — Martha Beadle, of Florence, Ala., who creates wonderfully whimsical fiber art from bits and pieces and her own inspired imagination under the name Martha’s Needlework Eccentricities. She sells throughout the Southeast, and we’re lucky enough to have three more of her pieces — wine, Tupelo honey and the beach  — which we think makes us official collectors. Elvis would be is proud.

Etiquette — and Elvis

Etiquette rules have loosened up considerably since the days when women had to make sure they had a pair of white gloves handy when they went out, but good behaviour never goes out of style. I thought, anyway. Recently Younger Daughter and I were at a popular local lunch spot in Florence, Alabama, and put our purses on a table to save it while we stood in line to order — only to find our table stolen and the thieves brazenly offering to let us sit there if we wanted. Uh, ‘scuse me??? We declined to share and plotted revenge all through our salads — spilling water and dropping plates of food figured prominently. Arrrggghhhh! Then later that afternoon, I posted about it on Facebook and got tons of responses and advice, plus the suggestion to write my next newspaper column about it. So I did: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100108/ARTICLES/1085027

Also, happy 75th birthday, Elvis! If anybody needs something to do this weekend, go to Tupelo, Mississippi, and pay homage to the king at his birthplace — http://tupelo.net/things-to-do/birthplace-elvis.asp. And there’s a party going on at http://www.elvis.com/graceland/calendar/elvis_birthday.asp