Work Day!

One day last week, it was time to put peas up.....you know......buy some fresh purple hull peas and some fresh pinto beans and get them ready for the freezer for winter! I'm like a squirrel feeling like I've got all my nuts stored away in a safe place until I need them in winter! Even tho we do eat these treasures all yr round.....they just sure taste really, really good on a cold winter's day. Like a lil taste of summer on those cold days! Forgot to takes pics until we were all finished on the peas, but did take one after I'd stocked my squirrel spot!I was teaching my daughter in law how to blanch, freeze and bag fresh peas and beans. Next week, I plan to do some speckled butter beans....yum.....my fave!

And while we were at it, we decided to make some strawberry jam and some blueberry/lemon preserves! She learned all about the process of jelly making and the water bath process. And we giggled and giggled each time one of the jars "popped".....letting us know the jars had sealed!

Guess what I'm having for breakfast in the morning?? What kind of homemade goodies have any of you been making this summer?

Busy Summer.....

Been lovin' the crazy, lazy days of summer! So much has been happening in our lives......our oldest son and his wife are now living back in the south....where we think they belong..HA!...we've had lots of company at the lake, my youngest son has gone and gotten himself engaged to the most precious girl in the south.... so wedding plans are under way!! My second son celebrated his 29th birthday! And in the midst of all of this, a little babygirl has been growing so big.....going to the beach....and letting her YaYa spend the night with her while her mom and dad spent some time together! So YaYa took a few pics.....only 199!! Heheh! Nah.................I won't show you ALL of them.....but maybe just a few!
She's 6 months old now!!! (Mr. Time......please slow down!!)

Can a Picture??

...tell a thousand words??

You bet your booty it can!! bwahahahahahhaha!

New Orleans.....Part Deux!

We did do a lil bit of exploring in the touristy areas and in the Lower Ninth Ward. I really wanted to feel a little bit of the area by, at least, just looking around. And man, oh man....can you ever feel the gloom of the area when you're actually in it. Just a few more pics of some of the places we visited.

The numbers on the houses are referred to as Katrina crosses. Tells the agency who searched it, and the number of dead found inside. It's been 5 yrs since Katrina and there are still many, many houses there that look like this.

Willie Mae's is a restaurant that served the people who stayed during the crisis. She serves only fried chicken and potatoes and has been written up in Southern Living magazine. Closed the day we were there but it looks like it could hold about 20 people....but the lines formed outside down the street back then.

Also visited the Creole Creamery in the Garden District....it has been featured on Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins on FoodTv. Yummy homemade ice cream in the craziest flavors!

Had drinks on the front porch of the Columns Hotel......one of the oldest in the state.

And a final pic of the galpals.....several of you have emailed me about the fact that we all met on the internet. It started in a book club over 10 yrs ago and we've remained friends all this time, travelling all across the country for visits with each other... They are my peeps. My confidantes. My girl power. My best friends. Amazing, really!! And there are prolly 8-10 more that couldn't make this trip....!

Girls in New Orleans! 7-10

Going to take me a while to finish this post. Having some photoshop issues.....bear with me, plz.

The adventure begins as cool lisa and I take off from the lakehouse and stop in Uncertain, TX at the General Store. She wanted to get some postcards to send to the kids and what better place than good ol' uncertain. Where is it? We're not sure! STILL FUNNY!!

We got shot glasses and postcards and a pizza for the road. Kind of pizza? Roadkill!! No joke...that was the name of it...Heh!

We drive on and on till we get to Lafayette LA, where it is demanded that each car stop at Prejeans Cajun restaurant for a meal. Oh........did we ever have fun here! There was a webcam and of course, we called all our buddies to watch us on it. So, until our food came, we entertained facebook fans thru the camera. A hoot, I tell ya! We also had another friend meet us there for dinner and drinks....Ms. Plucky! She's so fun and a diehard coonass..........she also went to the gallery exhibit with us. And soon after........the heavens opened up and dropped this onto my lap...

OH.MY.GAWD. Oyster Rockafeller. The biggest, most succulent gulf oysters fried over a pool of creamed spinach. Drizzled with aoli sauce and brie cheese. I cannot tell you how delicious this was. Oystergasmic. No lie! The dish in the background was crawfish and alligator cheesecake. Savory and good........but nuthin' like the oyster dish. And just days after this, I read in a New Orleans newspaper that the oyster beds are dying by the day and it will take 5-10 yrs to get them back to the mature state where they produce oysters like the ones above. So sad. After this fun and delicious meal, we go to the art exhibit for a bit and then turn the tires toward Nola. We arrive at our B&B, after only getting a leetle bit lost, about 10 pm. Such a cute place and perfect for a girl's weekend.

Our breakfast nook every morning!

the pool in the backyard..

Day one began with a two block walk to the quarter oohing and ahhing at the sites. Of course, the first sit down stop was at Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee.

Isn't it funny how one can be SO neat when eating beignets while another can be SO messy!!

We did do the requisite touristy things since one of our group had never been to New Orleans but really? You know it ended up being all about the food!! And drink! Duh. After walking and walking.....well, not So much..heh......we decided we needed a beverage in an air conditioned place. So we picked this spot. And had Bloody Salads and this. Basil/lemon vodka lemonade!

And this is a gal who knows how to get her drink on.......with closed eyes & an mm-mm!

We really were only going to have a beverage but when one turned into three and a truck rode past the window with a pic of a hamburger on it.....that's all it took. Time for another meal!

Oyster BLT.....once again, soothing my oyster passion while I can!
Rest of the afternoon was spent walking and waiting for our other friend to arrive. Drinks by the pool and then on to dinner. Guess where?

Yep, Emeril's Nola! Well, you decide if we had fun or not!

Crab and crawfish stuffed chicken wing!

Beef filet with all kinds of stuff!

AND................perfection!

A perfect day with good food, good drinks and the best friends EVAH!!
(and guess what? we all met each other on the internet!! crazy, eh?!!)

So Much to Tell!!

First, I have to tell you how honored I was to have one of my photographs picked by the Vermillion Arts Council in Abbeville, Louisiana to be the featured image in their "Swamp Spirits" exhibit for 2010! They choose a photo that depicts the theme of Swamp Spirits and then 10 painters use that photo for their own interpretations to paint what they see. They had asked for images with people in them and I knew exactly the one to send them. Three little women fishing with their cane poles out of an aluminum fishing boat....they were totally enjoying life, each other and all the beauty around them.

So, first I'll show you my image and then a collage of the interpretations of that image.

Some were exactly like the photo....others were more abstract and some were in mixed media.

All VERY cool!
(sorry about the glare on pics)

the artists who participated!

Friends at Rio Bonito!

Turks! Gurfins! .....oh my, we have so many different names for our buddies from the PNW! heheh...... But mostly, we just like to call them our friends!! They traveled from far away to play with us and hopefully, they took home some new and happy memories. are these two kids precious or what???

All my children gathered round.....um, can you tell who the center of attention is??!

Always a lil "lagniappe" when you visit here!

Cap'n C taking a tour out to the swamps!

And of course.....the way most evenings ended!

Bourbon Street...........

Here We Come!! (photo courtesy of neworleansonline.com)

leaving in a bit for a good time!! clisa and I are going to Abbeville, LA late this afternoon to see an exhibit of one of my photos in the art gallery there!! Will share pics when I get back. Then we're off to the French Quarter for a few days of fun with the girls!! Two from WA and one from St. Louis, one from Nashville and hoping one from TX!! One of the yankee gals has never been to New Orleans so you know how much fun it is to show someone a new place.......specially in coonass land!! I'll be sure to have a hurricane in toast to all of you!!

Only 3 words......

O. MY. GAWD!!

SO. MUCH. FUN!!!

LOVE. MY. FRIENDS!!

back soon to share stories and pics......my buddies stay here till Wednesday and then cool lisa and I take off on a road trip to New Orleans where 4 other galpals are meeting up with us to "explore" the French Quarter!!! bwahahahahahahaha!!

Friends Coming to Visit!

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

~~author unknown~~Believe it or not, I found this one on the internet!!! She's always difficult to leave behind when it's time to go. And she is definitely IMPOSSIBLE to forget!! bwahahahahahahahaha!

She and her family are coming in from WA state this weekend for 4 days of laughing, hanging by the pool, a leetle drinkin'(obviously ^^!), good food and plain ol' Good Times! Her husband and my boyfriend get along great....they've even sailed the seas together...and her kids are so much fun to play with! All my chirren are coming over to meet them and enjoy the fun. I'm sure there will be mucho stories told and I'll forever be defending myself in her stories!! The husband: Yep............he's pretty hard to forget too!!!!

We're gonna have so much fun!

Fourth of July....2010

Let the games begin!! A perfect weekend...from the breezy, sunshine filled days to the fun generated by family and friends just having a great time! Isn't that exactly what this holiday is all about? Celebrating the independence of our great land by laughing and storytelling with just a tad bit of tequilla thrown in, iced with delicious foods!! For the first time in 6 yrs, the whole gang was here, with the addition of that sweet, sweet grandbebe. My only regret is that I was having so much fun that I didn't take enough pictures. There was a time as we were all riding to the fireworks show at dusk in the boat, when all my sons and their dad were standing beside each other....with the wind blowing their hair, backlit by the falling sun......and they were beautiful! The site filled my heart with pride, seeing all of them together, worry-free and laughing, that I wish so badly I'd gotten it as an image. But I didn't~~instead I have it etched into my memory as one of the nicest afternoons I've had in a long time.

Ms. Lilli had on a red,white and blue bikini for the ocassion!

We had ribs, chicken, sausage, boudin, smoked pork..........fresh veggies, grilled corn, bacon wrapped cocktail sausages, many dips and chips.............and of course, I had my hot dawg! I always have to have a hot dog on the fourth! (with mustard-no ketchup, stassie!!) It was just a really nice holiday. Hope all of yours was too!!