Our neighbors have been out trimming trees and cleaning out flower beds. I decided to join them.
I pulled some weeds that have been annoying me lately, and pulled out the dead remnants of tomato, pepper, and squash plants in the raised beds, making sure to set aside the stakes so I can re-use them. It will be time to plant soon! Won't it?
May 14, 2015
Then it dawned on me. Daffodils are springing up all over, but I've yet to see a crocus. The juncos haven't left yet. A few trees are budding out and people are starting to prune their roses and Crepe Myrtles back, but waaaay too early! So, I asked my neighbors if they thought we might just be making a late February snow storm head this way. They gave me a nervous little giggle and said they hoped not.
Hmmm. For many years, a columnist for the Demo-zette, the late Richard Allin, published an annual column heralding the arrival of "The Frozen Daffodil and Snow Tire Festival." I hope he's not just finishing up a column in Heaven for 2016!
I think.
One more pretty snow would be nice. And the streets are too warm for it to stick on them much, so why not?
My father would tell me I've lost my mind. But, I didn't move all the way to Little Rock from New Orleans to have to shave my legs so I could wear shorts in February!
So. The power was finally restored at Elder Daughter's house at about 7:00 Saturday evening (December 29th) just as I was packing to join Pepper, ED, and grandson, Jack, in a toasty warm hotel room. It was so nice to sleep in the bedroom in only one layer of clothing!
The last of the snow finally melted as puppy Mysti and I set out for home on January 2nd. Pepper and Bouie had preceded us on New Year's Day. This was Mysti's MO for the first 1 1/2 hours of the 7 hour trip home:
It's a good thing she's cute.
On January 3rd, I leapt with both feet into the next project -- the "something else kinda exciting" I alluded to in my December 14th post. So, prepare to be dazzled.
Regular blog buddies know that I rarely post pictures of Moogie. I'm not skittish about posting embarrassing pictures of the family and the pets, but since I'm more often than not the one taking the pics, I just usually stay in the background.
Not in this post.
Moogie belongs to several Carnival organizations, commonly know as "Krewes," such as Muses, Eggs, and CAMAN. The Krewe of CAMAN is attached to the Military Officers Wives Club of Greater New Orleans (MOWC), and it entertains members and their guests with an annual Ball during Carnival season -- but it's a fun ball, and not stuffy like the balls put on by some other stuffy Krewes who shall remain nameless, but you know who you are. Even so, most "fun" balls still adhere to a few Carnival traditions, such as a Second Line at midnight with King Cake, and royalty.
Every November, the MOWC holds its "Royal Dinner," the highlight of which is selection of the CAMAN royalty for the upcoming Ball. Members who have put their names in the hat when registering at the first event of the year (actually, they've put their names in a velvet drawstring bag) watch as one name is drawn from each bag assigned to the Coast Guard, Army, Marines, Air Force, and Navy (see where CAMAN comes from now!). Those five lucky ladies are crowned and will serve for the next year as the Maids representing their service. Then, one name and one alternate are drawn from the King's and Queen's bags, but those names are kept secret until the night of the ball. The Queen unmasks as her name is announced when she makes her grand entrance to the ballroom for her promenade before dinner is served.
Getting excited yet?
You may now bow or curtsy as you find yourself in the presence of Royalty, her royal highness Moogie, Queen CAMAN XL!
(That's XL as in fortieth, not as in "extra large." Just sayin'.)
You may have guessed that the 2013 ball's theme was "Hats Off to Paris."
Here's the rest of the court and some fun stuff:
The King makes his entrance (minus his tunic and tights because his wife had left them at home).
Q-XL and her King bestow favors on Distinguished Guests.
The promenade.
Unmasking the King (who ultimately had to break his mask because his wife had tied it to his crown and I couldn't get it unknotted).
Pepper makes a pretty handsome Consort, doesn't he?
Elder Daughter was even able to fly down and attend the Ball! It was such a treat to show her off. Can you believe she had a baby just five months ago? (And, no, your eyes aren't deceiving you. The Queen arrives at the Ball in a different dress than she wears for her coronation. We must throw the rabble off the scent, don't you know. My tailor had failed to hem the dress I planned to wear as the deception, but, fortunately I had this ancient dress -- and could still get into it!)
This is a color version of the shot published in the Times-Picayune, together with an article about the Ball:
The excitement continued as the Court and Ball Committee celebrated with an after party during which everyone exchanged gifts and let their hair down. I think I finally closed my eyes at about 0300.
And there was more excitement to come. We all planned to meet at about 9:30 Sunday morning to share the Hyatt's brunch. At 9:25, two friends, Pepper, five twenty-somethings toting backpacks, and Queen Moogie, wearing her crown of course, boarded Elevator E on Floor 21 and headed for the lobby. Until we got to about the seventh floor. That's where the elevator decided to stop and display XX as its location.
Fortunately, the elevator had one glass wall that overlooked outdoors, so claustrophobia didn't get a good toehold, but nine folks in an elevator car generate an unexpected amount of heat. It's not a good thing for royalty to let her subjects see her perspire, so let's just refer to it as "the royal aura."
Following some 45 minutes, and several conversations with a member of the Hyatt's management staff who introduced himself from the other side of the tightly-closed elevator door as "Ben," maintenance finally loosened the door and we were helped out of the car that had stopped about 2 feet below the floor, and escorted by several members of management to the restaurant where our breakfast was comped.
What a memory for our last Carnival season living in New Orleans! (Hopefully).
I'm still recovering four days later.
I'll probably be working this in an obnoxious manner for quite some time. Be forewarned.
We are in Little Rock taking care of Elder Daughter's pups while she and family visit her in-laws in Dallas. Christmas Eve was wild and crazy at The Son's with duck gumbo, chili, ham, turkey, and 3 "grand crazies," as Pepper's first wife calls them. Christmas morning was calm at my Daddy's with Younger Daughter and SIL#2 with traditional Christmas Brunch Casserole, cheese grits, fruit, and cinnamon toast (since I forgot to buy Pillsbury cinnamon rolls). I think we may stick with toast in the future -- it was pretty good!
Then we hot-footed it back to ED's house as the freezing rain and sleet began to fall.
It changed over to heavy snow (even some thunder snow!) in late afternoon and kept falling steadily until the wee hours of the morning. There were already a good six inches at 9:00, when the power went out. All told, we have between 10 and 12"! A genuine White Christmas!
That was 2 days ago. There is a huge snowball fight going on across the cul de sac as I type. In my car. While I charge my phone. Because the power is still out and not expected to be restored for days yet.
The thermostat now shows 49. At least there's a gas fireplace and a full propane tank on the grill. I built, and Pepper cooked, tomato soup and grilled ham and cheese for dinner last night. It was pretty good! He warmed water this morning for coffee and spit baths. Not quite so good.
I've decided to decree that 2012 is now officially Moogie's Grand Multiple Power Outage Extravaganza. I'm not sure which is the less pleasant: post-hurricane steamy hot power outage or post blizzard frigid, blustery outage.
We have friends who have offered showers and spare bedrooms, but we wouldn't take advantage of the bed hospitality with four dogs in tow. Maybe a shower!
Classes have been dismissed at LSU and untold numbers of Parish schools, there have been some pretty bad pile-ups on the long bridges around here, there's a cold rain falling, and I'm wearing sweat pants and socks! Daughters, their dogs, and their men are having a "snowed-in slumber party" at Younger Daughter's Place in Little Rock while big, fat flakes fly.
All this winter frivolity has led to The Facebook being a pretty rich source of winter weather material today. I cracked up at these and decided to steal them, the better to share them. Here's a video that explains to the world north of I-10 how we approach winter precipitation in the south:
And this. We are not a winter-hardy people in the South (click to enlarge):
I may not be ready for 70s or 80s, but I could surely stand to be out of the 30s. Yeah, yeah, I know. I hear you all playing those thumb-and-finger record players of violin music for me. Hush up and go make some snow ice cream -- at least you have some pretty white stuff to go along with your wrapped pipes and pets-in-the-bed!
This woman appears to have adopted the "North of Interstate 40 Attitude" --
It's Groundhog Day and that little scaredy cat Punxhutawney Phil didn't have to hide from his own shadow, portending an early Spring for folks north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
On the other hand, in Lafayette, Louisiana, Pierre C. Shadeaux, the Cajun Nutria, did see his shadow, thus dooming us to an early, long, hot, humid summer.
On yet another hand (or toes or something), it sleeted and flurried in New Orleans today, and we are now under a Winter Weather Advisory until sometime Friday!
I think there are some confused rodents out there.
Poor little southeast Louisiana football play-offers are not accustomed to winter weather! Snow fell last night on the northshore of Lake Ponchartrain, and we even had some of what we lovingly refer to as "fat raindrops" plop on the windshield as we drove across the Crescent City Connection (the big bridge over the Mississippi River) to a progressive dinner party aboard the Naval Support Activity. There might even have been a crunching or two of sleet.
Shelters are open and the weather-people are simply beside themselves, warning us all to prepare to protect the "4 Ps" -- plants, pets, pipes, and people. They don't get much opportunity to get all excited in the winter -- hurricane season is usually their "star" time.
Our biggest concern was driving across a big bridge in the company of lots of folks who have no clue about how to drive in winter precipitation. Fortunately, they chose to drive slowly and cautiously.
The surprise arrival of winter certainly did make a festive backdrop for a Christmas gathering -- even if it was a little soggy making the trip between courses. And Bouie got to do a cold weather swim this morning -- his favorite. Pepper said Bouie was really happy to swim once he figured out that the water was probably warmer than the air!
Let us contemplate our forefathers and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former for the sake of the latter. -- Samuel Adams
Envy is always referred to by its political alias, "social justice." -- Thomas Sowell
Curse you, Red Baron! -- Snoopy
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. -- Winston Churchill
It's people! Soylent Green is people! -- Charlton Heston
