This female Eastern Swallowtail butterfly was enjoying the Princess bush that Katie helped me get a few years ago. I don't remember if we were at Innwood Gardens together or if we just ran into each other. This bush takes up a corner of my garden and fills up every square inch of it. It blooms twice a year. The bees, butterflies, and hummingbords love it.
Maybe one of the teachers here can figure this one out. I surely can't. Patsy sent it to me but I don't know where it came from.
Count first, then watch the move, and count again.
In response to Grandma’s misconception that trekkies are the same thing as devoted Star Wars fans, I felt it necessary to refer to one of my favorite comic strips, The Norm. The series takes place outside a movie theater where they are camping out a month before Episode I is released. Norm’s girlfriend told him that she loved Star Wars too and would come to camp with him. I leave it there…
Due in late September.
Congratulations, Mary, Eric, and Murphy
Scott and I went to see Star Wars today. We went to the Palace in Hammond. We timed it perfectly. There was a very long line inside, but not at the ticket counter. We pre-ordered, but needed to use the machine to get our tickets. The machine was broken so we had to go to the ticket window. It would have really made us mad if we would have had to stand in line. Anyway, we arrived an hour early and were already having to stand in a second group. I went to the bathroom and when I came out the whole group had gone through the line. I had to run to catch up with Scott. We got great seats. It couldn't have been any more perfect. Scott and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but felt compelled to pick it apart anyway. I am very glad that Joe was not allowed to go. I don't think I will even allow him to see it on DVD when it comes out. He is very, very sensitive and I don't think he could handle the violence. His friend, Conner, was in the row in front of us and didn't even blink through the whole movie. He loved it. His big sister (who is in 5th grade) cried and cried through some of the violent scenes, however. I think parents just have to judge for themselves whether it is appropriate or not for their children. I agree with Christina that it is pretty crappy to market merchandise for children when it is not appropriate for them to see the movie. Burger King certainly isn't selling their kid's meal with Star Wars toys to the above 13 crowd. I thought the movie tied all of the original movies together very well. I recently watched the three original movies and was really glad I did. I do wish I had watched the last one recently, but I really didn't like the actor who played Anakin very much. He bugged me and made the movie less fun. I had trouble getting past it. I think I would have enjoyed this movie so much more if I had liked the Anakin actor better. When Scott and I re-watched the original ones, we decided that the acting wasn't all that great, either. However, my 13 year old self thought Luke Skywalker and Han Solo were very FOXY!! My 40 year old self doesn't think much of Anakin.
This newspaper clipping arrived in the mail yesterday. I don't know what paper it was in or when it was published. Sue will have to provide the details.
Once again, Congratulations to Stephen and Kellie.
Samuel and I survived a night alone! Joey is at his hunting camp for a work weekend. They are building an extra room onto their doublewide trailer. They also are planting crops in their food plots and building new stands. Joey thinks his camp is a palace and can’t understand why I have such attitude about it. He thinks there’s running water and indoor plumbing, so what more could you want? I told him that I would rather go in the woods with the bugs than use the camp bathroom.
I went with Mama to Amy’s dance recital last night. It was fun and entertaining as always. The kids in that school always look like they are having a great time. Congratulations Amy, you did great! Afterwards we went to Copeland’s for some truly sinful desserts. Mama and I split a HUGE piece of carrot cake, of which I brought home the leftovers. We didn’t get home until after midnight, but my little man did just fine. I nursed him, put him to bed and he woke me up at 9 am this morning. He was a very good baby last night! Joey should be home pretty early- maybe we’ll go see Star Wars this afternoon. Anybody seen it yet?
Joey and the guys have had their website re-vamped. Check it out at www.johnstuxedos.com.
The commercial they shot is on that site now. Joey is in part of it.
UPDATE:He's in the part that says "Choose wedding tuxedos (part 1)".
I feel like I found a bonanza the other night. Gas at a station in Metairie was $1.97 per gallon. Around here (Mandeville) it is 2.05 at the BP. I think I found it for 2.03 one day last week and put in $20, which went nowhere fast.
Saw "Annie" the other night at E.J. with Christina and the boys, Mom, and Julia. It was longish to me at 1 1/2 hours. I don't love that play, except for the couple of songs I am familiar with. There were 70 kids in this play. I have nice things to say about the production too, but I am a bad audience. If I am not in it, I watch with a director's eye. (Thanks for the tickets, Joey. Your tuxes looked nice on stage.)
Heck, I do that to plays I am in too. One girl that was in "Harvey" with me back in March swayed while she talked. I thought about telling her something about that, but I had been corrected earlier in rehearsals about telling the actors anything when I asked another actor to jump in with his line in this one scene we were both in. He kept missing the cue. The director told me to tell her and she would tell them if she needed to. She was right. There needs to be only one director. I trusted her, but I guess that swaying didn't bother her.
After the play, we had delicious brownies at Angela's - who lives just blocks from EJ high school. We got to see and hold Samuel. He is getting to be a butterball. He is so cute. We didn't get enough time with either of them.
I'm going to try this once again. I am not always successful, even though I follow each step religiously.
I just thought I would let everyone know that I will be visiting your area next month. Mary Catherine Soule, Elizabeth's daughter, is visiting her cousin, Madeline Tompkins, P.J.'s daughter. We will arrive the morning of June 14th and depart the evening of June 22nd. Mary Catherine will be staying in Minnetonka, of course, and I will be staying at my friend Pat's place in Edina. I don't plan to rent a car this visit, although I could change my mind about that. I'm hoping to return in October and for that trip I will have a car at my disposal. If anyone wants to reach me at Pat's, here is her address and telephone number:
Patsy and I watched two critically acclaimed movies this weekend on pay-per-view, Sideways Friday night and Closer last night.
Sideways is sad, warm, funny, and honest. It’s a bit of a squirmer, though. There are scenes that are just uncomfortable to watch because we all identify with the situation. Seeing it makes you squirm almost as much as living it. Paul Giamatti, normally the sidekick comic relief, stole the movie. That role could not have been done better. Glad I saw it but I couldn’t sit through it again.
I’ve heard about and read about Closer since it came out. One thing I heard from Roger Ebert and Christina is that all of the main characters are worthless. They all use deception and honesty to harm. Julia Roberts and Jude Law turned in typically good performances but Clive Owen and Natalie Portman were outstanding. This is another one I couldn’t sit through again.
Anyone else see these two?
This is becoming an all too familiar sight in New Orleans and I suppose it happens elsewhere as well. There are several off/on ramps in New Orleans that have rather sharp turns. This one is near where I work now. There used to be one near my former workplace, too. No matter how many signs, speed bumps, or blinking lights you put up, people will try to negotiate this turn while speeding. Smaller vehicles have difficulty with these turns but they are somewhat easier to control and the incidence of accident is smaller. However, these high trailers that are prone to tipping anyway and have shifting loads find the rails quite a bit. This happened early in the morning and they were still clearing it at 6PM. The cargo had to be offloaded and some way underpaid guy had to crawl up on this thing and attach a cable. The ramp had to be closed while they did that.
In other news, Vanessa Williams is at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS tomorrow night.
I’ve been meaning to put together an entry since I posted that roller coaster picture. Patsy and I took the twins and Patsy’s two nieces to Pontchartrain Beach many years ago. The beach closed in 1983 but I think this was 1981 or 1982. I am almost positive that it was the last time I went to the Beach. Patsy gets severe motion sickness and an adult had to ride with the children. I had/got to go on every ride at least 4 times.
It was hot that day. The Big Zephyr ( Roller coaster ) got stuck due to the heat-expanded rails right at the end of the ride and a guy had to come out and pry them apart to let it finish.
The Rajun Cajun was one of the newer rides then and I had never been on it. Its big thing was the rolls that would turn you upside down a few times. It was much slower and smoother than the Zephyr. Not nearly as thrilling. Four rides on that thing was agonizing.
I don’t remember riding the Wild Mouse that day. Just as well. That one was terrifying even for me. The Wild Mouse was similar to the Space Mountain ride at DisneyWorld except that it was outdoors and quite a bit more rickety. At the top of the ride, the mouse car would take you to the edge and whip around and take you back to the other edge. It would go back and forth like that 3 or 4 times. As you whipped around at the edge, you could look over the side and have a clear line of sight to the pavement about 100 feet below. At the end of the fourth whip around, you would head down. About a third of the way down, the car would leave the tracks and you would free fall for about a second or so.
The Ghost Train: By DisneyWorld Haunted Mansion standards, this ride was pretty lame. There was one great thing about it though. As you came to the end of the ride, its very dark. At the very last ten feet or so, a light shines on a skeleton figure, you hear a deep, loud laugh and maybe a scream, and his hands press down the handle on the detonator. At that instant, a flash goes off in your eyes, you hear a large boom, and the car bangs into the exit door. You’re out of there with ringing ears, a heart beating a little faster, and stars in your eyes. You know exactly when that moment is coming because you’ve seen it the other 85 times you’ve been on that ride but the reaction was always the same. Your heart skipped a beat. I miss that one the most.
I can't even make a decent sand castle. Some people can.
We did our sleep study and PH test last night at Children’s Hospital. Everything went fine. The alarms didn’t go off at all while Samuel was being monitored for apnea. We won’t get the official results until next week, but I think we’ll be turning in the apnea home monitor. The PH probe picked up reflux though so I think we’ll continue using the Zantac. I won’t go in for another one of those tests. I don’t think it’s necessary. We had to get there yesterday at 10 am and we got home this morning at 7:45, and Joey went on to work. Samuel woke up earlier than he usually does, but other than that, I think he tolerated it pretty well. The worst part was all the tape on his face holding those wires in place. Joey and I slept on two fold out chairs- they provided linens and even gave me a dinner because I’m a breastfeeding mom. Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience at all, but there’s nothing like home sweet home! Below is a couple of pictures of Samuel with his wires.
Yesterday was my 15th wedding anniversary. Chef Aaron had dinner waiting, his famous Tortellini Alfredo, and dessert. He made a no-bake cheesecake with a homemade graham cracker crumb pie crust before he left for school in the morning. It is always a treat to walk into a house with a garlicky aroma. We will have to work on his manners, though. He was already sitting down for his second plate of it when I got home with french bread. He and his father don't like to wait, but hey, I didn't complain lest I discourage him from trying to please me again.
Aaron will be attending a new school this fall, Monteleone Jr. High. For 7th grade, he got to pick one elective. His first choice is Spanish, band is second, and agricultural science is third. I guess my diabolical plans of having a musician are not panning out. Que pasa?
Have to give Galatoire's another try. I thought it was nothing special and extraordinarily expensive the one time I went there about 20 years ago. Best restaurant in America? Maybe they've improved.
We chose the only day it rained to attend the Jazz and Heritage Festival this year! Actually it turned out great though. The crowds were smaller, the day was breezy and I only got hit by about 20 raindrops all day. This was Amy's first Jazz Fest and she loved it. It was my 26th and I still love it! Elvis Costello rocked!
If you get an error message (Internal Server Error is the most common) while commenting, here’s what to do:
Do not close the window with the message. Place your mouse cursor anywhere inside of the window that gave you the error. Right click your mouse and then click on “Refresh” or “Reload” depending on what browser you’re using. That should bring you back to what you had typed. Press “Post” again. That usually works.
I’m working on a solution to this problem and I'm hoping what I did this morning renders this entry unnecessary. It only happens sometimes and its hard to pin down. Please don’t let it defeat you.
On another issue: Email addresses are no longer associated with your name in the comments. Before this latest upgrade, a person could click on your name and it would bring up an email program. The software company, Movable Type, decided to remove that feature because it is one way that spammers get legitimate email addresses. I already had some defense in for that purpose but another line of defense doesn’t hurt. I can put that feature back in with some modifications but is it worth the effort?
I've added a link to the side just below the "Login" button to address some of the problems we may be experiencing here from time to time. It links back to this post which will be updated as needed.
A copperhead to be exact. Michael saw him strike, saw the two puncture wounds, saw the snake still coiled, ready to strike. Chip got wobbly and disoriented. Michael lifted him into the truck and rushed him to the vet. Hours later, he met me at the door with his tail wagging, desiring to beat Lily out of some leftover Domino's pizza. He seems to have made a complete recovery. He is on 3 different pills to ward off any infections. The vet said the venom isn't poisonous, but the bacteria is what is the danger to dogs. I have been seeing lots of harmless snakes on my walks lately and Chip has messed with them before. He has killed a couple of moccasins, the dope.
I have twice now posted comments to entries here only for them to be lost; first one was last week to Angela's pictures of Samuel. He is so adorable. And the second one was on your pictures of berled crabs. They looked yummy. I am sorry to have missed that - duty called. I am also sorry to have missed seeing Stephen and hearing about their jazz fest adventures. I want to know who they saw/heard, what they ate, what interesting tattoos were on display.
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