What I Learned in New Orleans

I learned that life in the big easy hasn’t always been easy. That New Orleans never sleeps. That 95 degrees with 98% humidity feels like 110 degrees.

I learned that you can stay cool on the swamp tour until the boat stops. That alligators like marshmallows and that KRAFT marshmallows hold up the best in hot, humid conditions.












I learned that New Orleans is the home of Judy, who works at the Houmas House and is the most lively tour guide on the entire continent.


I learned that in New Orleans a taxi driver can talk non-stop from downtown to the airport during rush hour. That Emeril’s Restaurant takes reservations until 1:00 AM but that if you really want a normal dinnertime reservation you should call a few months ahead of time.

I learned that New Orleans is much, much more than just Bourbon Street. It is a city with a complex yet fascinating history. A city full of incredible restaurants, beautiful homes and friendly people. A city full of Stanley’s and Ashley’s, teachers and waiters, musicians and streetcar drivers. A city full of people who when asked will gladly tell you their story and the story of their fascinating city. They will draw you into their world and you will come out with a greater understanding of why even though so many never returned after Hurricane Katrina, so many more chose to stay. It is where their family and heritage are. It is where they grew up listening to and singing the songs of New Orleans. And as Stanley our tour guide said so eloquently with his New Orleans accent, no matter where you live you have to put up with something. In the south it’s hurricanes, in the midwest it’s tornados and in the north it’s the ice and snow. New Orleans is home and that’s where he’s staying.

The Lion and The Lamb

One of my favorite fun sayings is 'When March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb'or vice versa. It is apprently an old folklore saying that has its origins with the constellations Leo, the Lion, and Aries, the ram or lamb. It has to do with the relative positions of these constellations in the sky at the beginning and end of the month. Here is a relly cute comic strip depicting these constellations. (Click on the comic strip to enlarge)

Did you know that Jesus Christ is pictured as both a Lion and a Lamb? John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God (John 1:29). My Life Application Bible says that in the Old Testament lambs were sacrificed to atone for sins: the Lamb of God died as the final sacrifice for all sins. Christ the Lamb won the greatest battle of all!

The role of Christ the Lion will be to lead the battle where satan is finally defeated (Revelation 19:19-21). Christ the Lion is victorious because of what Christ the Lamb has already done! And WE will participate in the victory not because of our effort or goodness, but because He has promised eternal life to all who believe in Him.

So no matter what the weather we know that as believers the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah have us covered from beginning to end!

My Favorite Boys

Here are my favorite Prince's - aren't they darling? Uh, I

Saturday's

Aaaahh...it's Saturday! No work, no school, no schedule to keep. Oh! Wait! A basketball game at what time? 8:30 AM!?! aaarrgh...rush to fix breakfast, down a cup of coffee, rush into the shower, rush out of the shower, rush to get the boys' basketball uniforms out (at least they are clean thanks to Prince Charming). Jump into some jeans, dry the hair and throw it up into some sort of something on the top of my head and out the door we go! I guess it beats being bored! :-)

Pink Saturday

Today I'm dreaming of summer, beautiful flowers, and WARM sunshine! What a great day to share my favorite PINK flowers of summer.

This is a "Bleeding Heart" perennial. It starts blooming in early spring and grows very quickly. We can actually see that it has grown from day to day until it reaches this size. We have two of these and the other one is beside this one. Beautiful! When they die off in August it is sad and there is a big gaping whole in this part of the flower bed that I am continually trying to figure out what I can use to fill in with. Any ideas?This beauty is called "Lady's Mantle". I originally transplanted one very small one from my mom's perennial garden and I now have four or five this size!

This is an annual called "Tidal Wave Petunia". I took this picture about mid-summer when it was halfway to it's full size. They are beautiful and worth the price! There are only two petunia plants in this pot!

The one on the right was taken in August at full size.

There was only 1 plant in this pot along with a small

perennial called "Candy Tuft" (look for more on that

on a future blog)! Don't you love the chair that I found

in my neighbor's trash pile?!? The seat was missing

so I put a pot of flowers in it and set it in the middle

of the perennial garden in the back yard. I love to look

out my kitchen window to this view (I could do without

the view of the woodpile, but am appreciating that wood

pile right now in the middle of winter!)

This my mom's Tidal Wave Petunia pot! She only put 3 plants in this big pot with a spikey plant in the middle. (Those hot dogs on the grill look yummy, don't they?)
I hope you've enjoyed these beautiful PINK signs of summer as much as I have!

Pink Saturday

I see a lot of bloggers participating in what they call "Pink Saturday". I missed the deadline, but wanted to show you one of my favorite pink things. These beautiful dishes with elegant pink roses. I purchased a place setting for 6 (plates, bowls, teacups and saucers) for $20! I still talk about it fifteen years later.

I currently have them displayed on my hutch and get to look at the every day and remember the sweet summer Saturday that my best friend and I were going to yard sales. She thought I was crazy to purchase yet another set of dishes, but I couldn't resist! They are still one of my favorite sets of dishes!

Happy "Pink Saturday" to you! Keep Warm!

Deb

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS