Cindy Johnson with Homemade Gourmet Jellies

(A quick note. I thought I posted this two weeks ago and finally realized it was still in my draft folder)

Whenever possible, I arrange my trip to Louisiana to include seeing old friends in Natchitoches. For those who follow the blog, you know that’s where I lived from fourth grade through college and it is one of four towns I used to create the fictional town of Wallington, Georgia for Small Town Lies and the series. For others who might be new to the post, notwithstanding the significance as the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase (1714, two years before N.O.), it is also the hometown of Robert Hartling who wrote Steel Magnolias and is where the movie was filmed. The Christmas festival shown in the movie is very much for real and several other festivals have been added to the annual calendar. When tourists come, they like to wander among kiosks or shops.

A brand new, wonderful little shop, the Lagniappe Craft Market, at 124 St Denis St, is now open although I’m not sure they have a website yet. (318 521-8101). The store is devoted to local crafts, and my dear friends, Cindy and Burley Johnson, are each enjoying their “craft” side. Cindy has developed a line of homemade jellies – Carrot Cake and Blueberry Pineapple Pepper being two of them. Burley has this amazing collection of hand-crafted fishing ties. Jelly, I can taste, and it’s terrific. Not being an angler, I can only say the ties look as good as any that I have seen on television. Burley also has them mounted on little plaques for the perfect touch for décor that is fishing or outdoor themed. The shop of course has jewelry and other items that again, are all locally made. It is a delight to browse in and if you’re shopping for a gift (or for yourself), the odds are you’ll find something you like.

Burley Johnson with Decorative and Useful Handcrafted Fishing Flies