I'm not trying to ignore you

I wanted to write a decent blog today, but I was having dreams last night about beading, so I thought that's where I should put my focus first. I have three new pieces completed and three in the works. I haven't listed my finished ones because it was nasty weather wise here yesterday and I couldn't get a decent shot. Not to mention that my honey was here all day!!We piled up on the couch and watched Lucky Number Slevin. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Good movie and the best role I have seen Lucy Lui in, by far.

Last week, I went to Waverly Mansion in West Point, Mississippi. Me and my friend Tami originally went because it's supposed to be haunted and after watching a Ghost Hunters marathon, we were feeling bold. But when we got there, wowohwow, that place is amazing. It was built in like 1856 and there is so much of the ORIGINAL structure left it's just mind blowing. The last son of the original owner died in 1913 and the house remained totally empty for nearly fifty years. Fifty Years!! All of the furniture had been removed by family, but there was so much left that is just priceless. No pics inside, but here are some outside shots:

I have never been to a place that stood empty for so long that still had such wonderful treasures inside. The house is four stories and eight thousand swquare feet but it doesn't look like it. It was built like nothing else of it's time. You see that turret on the top? It's all windows and the house is made so that when the windows are open in the turret and downstairs, a draft is pulled through the house and it draws the hot air out. It's never been air conditioned and it's never needed it. It was down right cold they day we went.

ALL of the original plaster work was still there and in near perfect condition. There was not one section that had anything missing from it. I have never seen plaster work in such good condition or with such attention to detail. All the light fixtures, the gold plated window cornices, the GIANT French, hand gilded mirrors made just for the great hall, were still hanging where they were hung 150 years ago. In the men's study, the Waverly Novels, where the house got it's name, were still in the bookcase. Those alone would be worth thousands. I've been to a decent amount of Antebellum homes, but I've never been to a place like this before. I could go there time and time again and never tire from it.

In addition to all the wonderful things about this house, such as indoor gas lights, ice, closets, and over one thousand hand turned spindles (of which only three were broken. Can you believe that?!?) there is an absolute treasure that meets you as you walk to the house itself.

The Grand Magnolia:

I couldn't get all of it in the picture. I have never seen a magnolia tree so large in all my days. I've never even heard of one this big. This lovely old lady has been dated to be more than 300 years old. She is the oldest tree in Mississippi and stood 150 years before Waverly was even built. Can you imagine what this tree saw? What she heard? Through storms and war and devastation, she stood tall for all this time. I would have given anything to be able to crawl onto a branch, lay my head on the bark, and listen to the stories she could tell.

If anyone ever decides to come to Mississippi, I suggest going to see Waverly Mansion. It is a stunning piece of architecture in design and innovation. It boasts 20 acres of gardens and the oldest tree in the state. Plus, it really is haunted. :)