BLUES MUSEUM - LELAND MISSISSIPPI

I think it's pretty safe to say that "The Blues" has a little bit of voodoo mixed in it.

A lot of the art displayed in the museum was three dimensional with such items at buttons, bottle caps, beads, metal findings and such.

This is Pat Thomas, son of James 'Son' Thomas.

I can't leave our neighbors in Mississippi out because during my travels this week I found a sweet little town in Mississippi call Leland. Leland sits on Hwy. 61 and is surrounded by Blues history. There's a Blues Museum here and I decided to give it a visit and I'm glad I did. Inside the museum I met a very interesting musician, Pat Thomas. Pat's father James 'Son' Thomas was very instrumental in promoting the Blues back in it's early days. Pat played his guitar for me the entire time I was there and even gave me a couple of his drawings he called, four legged cat and diamond eye cat. Who knows, maybe I'll have a masterpiece from the original artist one day, we can only hope. If you are ever in this part of the state and see the Blues Museum sign, stop by, it's definately worth the stop.

DISCOVER LOUISIANA - TRANSYLVANIA

This is not a joke and you will not find a punch line at the end. I ignored Nola, my garmin, and ended up in Transylvania, Louisiana. Not really sure of the history or anything about the name, but I was definately interested in what I saw. I stopped at the post office to mail myself a postcard so I could have the postmark to prove I was really there, but it was after 4:00 and it was closed. So, I guess I'll have to finish this story at a later date when I return to this hidden little town in North Louisiana, Transylvania.

DISCOVER LOUISIANA - POVERTY POINT HISTORIC SITE

No, I didn't pose for these figurines, but if it paid well, I'll be in line.

In Epps Louisiana you will find the oldest city in North America. Documented finding date back to 1600 b.c., over 3000 years ago. An ancient indian society settled here in Louisiana. They built mounds and a courtyard along the banks of the river. Surrounding the courtyard are six ridges where historians believe they built there huts. As you can see by one of the photos that the ancient indians were not the only people who preferred this area, Jesse James and his gang were also frequent visitors.

DISCOVER LOUISIANA - COTTON

Driving through North Louisiana brings me back to a completely different way of life. Everywhere you look there are cotton fields. Beautiful cotton fields. You just don't see that in Southwest Louisiana anymore.

My father used to tell stories about having to pick cotton in the mornings before going to school. Now I can't remember the last time I saw cotton in Southwest Louisiana. It has virtually disappeared, but cotton is defanitely alive and well with our brothers in North Louisiana.

NEW OUTLOOK

Earlier this week I decided to embrace my life of travel and go out and see what's right under our noses. This week I rediscovered my love for photography and learning about our great state. I plan to take my camera with me on trips and document my journies.

For a really long time I've wanted to create a photo book with my photos of small town Louisiana. This has been a great start to achieving this dream.

SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE

Entitled Sportsmans Paradise, this is the September project for our Scrapeno group. The shotgun can easily be detached if hunting is not your sport of choice. The pistol is also optional. This month's meeting will be held next Monday, September 20th from 6-9pm at the Westlake Managan Center.

SPOOKENO GROUP

This new paper from Graphic 45 is so colorful and precious. I couldn't wait until this year's Halloween photos. I had to use last year's pictures. I'm so blessed to many so many kooky friends like me.

PRINCESS MARLEE

My precious granddaughter loves to be photographed. This dress was found at a thrift store for $5.00. In fact, I found two and bought both of them. The pendant on the necklace and earrings were a find about 10 years ago. This layout was inspired by my very crafty friend Tanya Joseph. She the Queen of finding treasures at Thrift Stores and makes true Art from it. Thanks Tanya for giving us all a new perspective.

BARTELL FAMILY

Graphic 45's LeRomantic line of papers were the perfect choice for me for this layout. I knew I wanted soft vintage feel to the layout and I didn't let the fact that this line looks like it's for wedding layouts only. I've always loved this photo of my mom, dad, and myself. It had to be special, and I think I've done it justice.