Our friends Ginna and Charlie in Tupelo, Mississippi, have the loveliest house 
and it practically glows at Christmastime. Their festive holiday mantle makes me happy just looking at it, although Ginna disavows any credit and says a decorating friend of hers put it together. But Ginna’s the one who bought the raw ingredients, so I think she deserves all kudos. We stopped by to see Ginna and Charlie this past Sunday afternoon in our search for dry martinis and good company. Ginna was finishing one last bunch of holiday goodies and congratulating herself on having the tree up, the presents bought, the presents wrapped and even the stocking stuffers successfully hidden away — unusual for her, she said. Of course, Charlie had done his part by spending all afternoon raking and bagging leaves. Let’s see, they had been busy and productive and had their Christmas to-do list all checked off, while my husband and had been driving around talking about all the things we had to do and bumming drinks off of people. Hmm …
- Ginna’s tree — her kids made her put their old handmade ornaments in the back — and her beautifully wrapped presents.
I’ve passed by this eye-catching yellow concrete-block 
building that advertises “pottery and ironworks” on Highway 72 in Burnsville, Miss., about a million times and wondered what it was. Today was the day I stopped to find out. The business is called Image Wholesale Inc., and it’s made up of four or so barns full — and I mean stuffed full — of pottery and iron pieces from Mexico and Texas. This is a place to spend hours poking around on a 
treasure hunt, whether you’ve got a house to furnish or an outdoors spot to decorate. There were urns, vases, tables, chairs, candelabras, wall pieces, fountains, figurines, statues and all sorts of things that I didn’t know what to do with since my own personal style of decorating is Cat Hair Contemporary interspersed with Vintage Newspaper Stackage (Southern Living, are you interested?). Anyway, this place is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays — just make sure you’ve got plenty of room in your vehicle to transport your finds!
And then, in Tupelo, Miss., I found the first ever Western Sizzlin Express I’ve ever seen. It’s at the Horizons gas station at the Eason Boulevard exit off Highway 45 South, which only has been opened a few weeks. This is like a grab-and-go mini-Western Sizzlin. You order at the counter — the menu has the usual steak and chicken entrees and sandwiches — and then you sit down at a booth or table or a bar-like counter and the waitress brings your food on actual plates with real silverware. Or you can order takeout. I was there at about 1 p.m. and the place was hopping. Folks who work around that area don’t have much to choose from when it comes to lunch, so they’re glad to add this option in to the meal mix. Plus, it’s great for travelers. You don’t often think of steak as fast food, but apparently it’s working here. Wonder if we’ll see more of these pop up?
Coffee with Cathy 