Monday, March 31, 2014

-Walt Whitman

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.” 
-Walt Whitman

Here Comes the Sun

○•°Little Darling,
I feel the ice is finally melting.
Little Darling,
It seems like years since you've been here.
  
\|/ ~Here comes the sun.
 
>-0-< ~~Here comes the sun.
  
/|\ ~~~and I say,  ♡It's alright..    


○•°○•°♡It's alright...

Sweet Blessings

Photo: The Rose Cottage
⊰✿░S░W░E░E░T░✿░B░L░E░S░S░I░N░G░S░⊰✿
 "Grace comes into the soul, 
as the morning sun into the world; 
first a dawning, then a light; 
and at last the sun in his full
 and excellent brightness.” 
~Thomas Adams~

Artist.... Mark Keathley
Artist ~ Mark Keathley


⊰✿░S░W░E░E░T░✿
░B░L░E░S░S░I░N░G░S░⊰✿

"Grace comes into the soul, 
as the morning sun into the world; 
first a dawning, then a light; 
and at last the sun in his full
and excellent brightness.”
~Thomas Adams~

The Glory of Gardening


"Doesn't Take Much" by Michael Traveler

Arbor Swing at My Mom & Dad's  kvg


It doesn't take much
to ease my soul
some food on the table
a spot to rest my bones
a small log fire to warm my toes
just a space to call my own
sprinkle in the people I love
and that's my recipe for home


~ poem "Doesn't Take Much" by Michael Traveler, author of "Postcards from the Backroads"

"A World of Wonder" by Michael Traveler


the light from above breaks through the clouds dark and hanging now back lit by glowing fingers as if the hand of God is reaching down to bless the ground from my window this I see everything He has made for me the cattle grazing heaven's light displaying a world of wonder glowing and sublime magical and mine

~ poem "A World of Wonder" by Michael Traveler, author of Postcards from the Past .https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=730512483646099&set=pb.276064969090855.-2207520000.1395782120.&type=3&theater)
photo by Igor Zenin   http://www.redbubble.com/people/izenin

Keep Calm and Enjoy the Rain


 It's an annual rite of passage.  As predictable as Ash Wednesday following Mardi Gras Day.  Springtime in New Orleans means rain, rain and oh did I tell you that it rains a lot here in the spring?
It began raining that night and was still drizzling now nearly 24 hours later.  We received over 6 inches of rain on that 28th day of March 2014. My decision to purchase a Tahoe is affirmed by days like this.  I was reminded of this as I inched my way through streets that had become makeshift canals.  Other more practical cars were casualties of the day.  Gas efficient litter waiting for the receding waters to be towed. One or 5 days a year, I am proud of my decision to drive a gas guzzler that can serve as a rescue vehicle and ride high above the water line that the day draws on the streets.In South East Louisiana rain is a sure thing, like cayenne is red and the dome is super.  

The local news reports that the Mayor has mandated amnesty for citizens illegally parked on neutral grounds and sidewalks along previously flooded thoroughfares throughout the crescent city”.  

Yes, downpours and street flooding is expected. We are not shocked when they happen with spring thunderstorms.
I take days with rain in stride.  Be Calm and Enjoy the rain. 
            

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Follow Your NOLA

Sunday, March 23, 2014

22 THINGS YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO OUT-OF-TOWNERS ABOUT NEW ORLEANS



22 Things you have to explain to out-of-towners about New Orleans

of THRILLIST


And yet we do not understand the loss of one plane in an ocean...



My Daughter, Neice and Nephew Crabbing off of the Wharf at our Camp 1998.


Where has the plane gone?  Why can it not be found?
I hear this question over and over each day by those
seeking honest answers as well as those trying to make
up news as they go along.  The missing Malaysian airplane
loaded with nearly 300 lives has prompted this recurring
question by people all over the world.  The unknowing has
fueled theories of conspiracy, speculation of overt government
aggression, and even supernatural intervention. People are
puzzled by the disappearance, but they are frightened because
the plane seems to have vanished without a trace.
My heart goes out to the passengers and their families. I 
applaud the efforts made to locate evidence of the crash.  
I find myself asking why we think we should be able to locate
debris amidst the vast ocean it is likely to be submerged in?  
I go back to the memories made in the aftermath of Hurricane 
Katrina.  Whole cities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and 
communities on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in
Louisiana were swallowed up by the tidal surge.  The waters 
rushed in. When they retreated, only foundations were left.  
Not a splinter of wood, not a doorknob, a dish, a car, a 
bathtub nothing.  For miles and miles there was only
vast devastation with no debris or evidence of the lives 
built before. 
For generations, my family had “a camp” on a bayou 
outside of the Violet Canal, in St. Bernard Parish.  With
far less than the luxuries of home, the scantily clad 
structure housed our family during the summers of my
youth.  This tradition began with my great grandfather,
a Sicilian immigrant and commercial fisherman.  My
grandfather and father alike, passed on the love of the
Louisiana waterways to our family. “The camp” was our 
family retreat.  Unreachable by land or car, our boats 
delivered us to our niche outside of civilization on a weekly
basis.  I passed a love for the place on to my daughter as
did my brother to his sons and so on.  All of the children
of our family have strong memories of hot days spent 
catching crabs off of the wharf that linked the camp to the
bayou it sat upon. Salt air mixed with mosquitoes and ho
pink sunsets painted my memories and still yank at my 
heart strings.  As our family grew older, our trips to the
camp grew less frequent.  I have pictures and always knew
I could return if the urge grew to large to ignore.  And then
came Katrina.
She took it all. Not just our camp, but everyone’s.  All dwellings
and semblances of civilization. She took vast acreage of marsh
and spit it back out leaving churned- up lifeless mud in her path.  
Nothing was left.  No walls, no roof, no wharf or pilings nothing
Where did it all go?
Where did all of the homes go?  Their contents and appliances.  
The clothes and dishes and mattresses.  The photo albums and
jewelry boxes, the kitchen tables and yard furniture.  Gone.  No 
trace.  20 square miles of civilization washed away into the open
Gulf of Mexico.  Yet still lost. Never recovered..
And yet we do not understand the loss of one plane in an ocean. 
~ YMD


Thursday, March 20, 2014

Kellie Elmore from Magic in the Backyard

Sing me a love song in a slow, southern drawl to the tune of sunny days... 
 Kellie Elmore, Magic in the Backyard

~ Amanda Kyle Williams

“You learn to forgive (the South) for its narrow mind and growing pains because it has a huge heart. You forgive the stifling summers because the spring is lush and pastel sprinkled, because winter is merciful and brief, because corn bread and sweet tea and fried chicken are every bit as vital to a Sunday as getting dressed up for church, and because any southerner worth their salt says please and thank you. It's soft air and summer vines, pine woods and fat homegrown tomatoes. It's pulling the fruit right off a peach tree and letting the juice run down your chin. It's a closeted and profound appreciation for our neighbors in Alabama who bear the brunt of the Bubba jokes. The South gets in your blood and nose and skin bone-deep. I am less a part of the South than it is part of me. It's a romantic notion, being overcome by geography. But we are all a little starry-eyed down here. We're Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara and Rosa Parks all at once.” 
 Amanda Kyle Williams

I'm From New Orleans, We Do Not Keep Calm


Photo

~ John Donne

posting courtesy of Regina Tags and Things

60 Minutes Travels to Avery Island for Tabasco Profile


60 Minutes travels to Avery Island for Tabasco profile Sunday

photo courtesy of Tabasco.com

60 Minutes Travels to Avery Island

Welcome Spring!


Thursday, March 13, 2014

Lace Handkerchief ~ Circa 1882

This handkerchief is absolutely beautiful and per the note that was in with it, it was first carried in a wedding on April 18, 1882 and then it was carried again in a wedding on July 19, 1942.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

“Mothering Myself" ~ by Nancy McBrine

"
“Mothering Myself"

In a society preoccupied with how best to raise a child I'm finding a need to mesh what's best for my children with what's necessary for a well balanced mother. I'm recognizing that ceaseless giving translates into giving yourself away. And when you give yourself away, you're not a healthy mother and you're not a healthy self.

So, now I'm learning to be a woman and a mother. I'm learning how to just experience my own emotions without robbing my children of their individual dignity by feeling their emotions too. I'm learning that a healthy child will have his own set of emotions and characteristics that are his alone. And, very different from mine. I'm learning the importance of honest exchanges of feelings because pretenses don't fool children, they know their mother better than she knows herself.

I'm learning that no one overcomes her past unless she confronts it. Otherwise, her children will absorb exactly what she's trying to overcome. I'm learning that words of wisdom fall on deaf ears if my actions contradict my deeds. Children tend to be better impersonators than listeners.

I'm learning that life is meant to be filled with as much pain as happiness and pleasure. And allowing ourselves to feel everything life has to offer is an indicator of fulfillment. I'm learning that fulfillment can't be attained through giving myself away-but through giving to myself and sharing with others.

I'm learning that the best way to teach my children to live a fulfilling life is not by sacrificing my life. It's through living a fulfilling life myself. I'm trying to teach my children that I have a lot to learn because I'm learning that letting go of them is the best way of holding on.

Author: Nancy McBrine
 —

Why Every American Needs to Visit New Orleans

Why Every American Needs to Visit New Orleans

Monday, March 10, 2014

Here in the South








                                       Thanks to SouthernSunshineSayingsTips

Welcome Home


Relax & welcome home. 
The screen door 
is always open.

Guts & Grace

Sometimes when you step out onto 
the quaint little walking path 
.... you are side swiped by a bus. 
Pull yourself up, shoot the bus driver the bird.
Focus on the positive, and move on with grace. 
...as for the others
~bless their hearts.
♫ ..•* ★¨`*•♫.•´*.¸.•´♥ ♫

The Power of Possibility

Realizing how much this dream 
could change her life, 
Her life already started to change.
...~ The Power of Possibility.

Proper Etiquette For Crawfish Boils

1) Don’t eat on the obituaries. Most crawfish boils will require you to eat on top of yesterday’s newspaper, whether it’s the Times Picayune or The New Orleans Advocate is your preference, but whichever you choose, don’t eat on the obituaries.
2) No cherry picking crawfish. We all want the big ones. It has the most meat in it. But unless you are under 7 or over 70 we don’t suggest you go for it, unless you want your hand slapped.
3) Don’t sit down. The under 7 or over 70 rule applies here too, but even then get on your feet. It opens up the table for more to join. Leading to:
4) is always room for one more to squeeze in at the table.
5) you stack in a neat row or pile it on, there’s no room to judge. The way people discard the shells of their crawfish is no one’s business but their own.  
6) Suck the heads. Even if you do it once, for the novelty of it, to get the t-shirt, suck the heads.
7) Wash your hands before you pee. Just trust us.
8) Crawfish boils should coincide with trash days. As good as that smell is during the boil, it’s that bad two days later.
9) Offer to peel leftover crawfish. It’s like offering to do the dishes, no one wants to do it, but it must be done and is way more fun when everyone pitches in.
10) Planning for the next crawfish boil should start during the current one.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year


Crescent City Water Main Cover


Dare to Be Different


Anders Osborne ~ Summertime in New Orleans

Love Me Some Lima Beans


Finally You'll Hit


A New Orleans Favorite: Macaroni and Cheese Rocky and Carlo's Style

Sunday, March 9, 2014

My NOLA

Beneath the sea lies the City that padded the walls of my youth. The city of lore. The City I love. 

I cannot just visit this place. When I arrive I am immersed in the sounds and smells of life. I am cloaked by the weight of years that are weaved into my history. I fall deeply into the thick, murky pool that  draws me further in. Time moves slower here.The tide rises and falls ~ setting tempo to the lives that dwell upon the sinking soil.The table is set for feasts and nights of long dancing.Recipes passed down from grandmother to grandchild..  Herbs and flavorings of strange names and hints of old remedies.

China with chips.Traditions older than memory of purpose.Cool drinks offered and passed around.Spirits mix with music and temperature and begin to drunken my soul.The humidity clings to my skin and brings the comfort of an old blanket.
I am content with the familiar feeling like an old inside joke.Life's happenings fall into place here. 

Beneath the sea in the city I Love.My Nola.       ~ymd

This Is How We Grow Our Beads

We Do Carry On

The City of Dreams