Spring in the South, King Cakes and Open Windows

Spring has sprung in south Texas and south Louisiana.  I find this a double edged sword.  I enjoy this time, don't get me wrong, who wouldn't?  It is warm, sunny, windy and there are signs of life all around.  I have even been able to open my windows!  Open windows are something very familiar to some of you in the spring who live north of the sultry south, to those of us who live down here, it is a delicious pleasure that lasts only moments.  I savour those moments, the fresh air blowing through the house smells so nice and feels luxurious.  I don't even mind the dust that it leaves on all my furniture.  I can dust in the air conditioning....someday.  In the meantime, I choose to enjoy the open windows while I can, I count this as one of life's absolute pleasures. 

I said this is a double edged sword so here is the other side.  Open window season is followed by "too hot to exist" season faster than you can say,"stop talking about the weather.".  I know there are many of you still digging your way out of winter's deep freeze and to you I say, "enjoy it while you can."  At least that is what I would do.

 In other news and observations....people in Louisiana love Mardi Gras!  We were in Baton Rouge last weekend and the entire town was decorated in purple, green and gold.  Evidence....

Just a local shop in a strip mall!

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A beautiful Mardi Gras wreath on my sister's front door

front door fully decked out for Mardi Gras!

Everywhere we went there was Mardi Gras!  I loved it!  We walked into a local grocery store and the smell of King Cakes hit me in the face/nose.  King Cakes are delicious cakes available only during Mardi Gras.  They are similar to coffee cake, and there is a plastic toy baby hidden in the cake and the person who gets the baby is supposed to bring the next King Cake... traditionally.  Have I mentioned that the cakes are delicious?  They are iced with either a sugar glaze or cream cheese icing and sprinkled with green, purple and gold sugar crystals.  So festive and fun! 

It seems every time I go back to Louisiana I am reminded of how much culture exists there and how much I love it.  There really is nowhere like Louisiana.  The food, the culture and the people are truly unique.  One more week of Mardi Gras celebrations and then....Lent.  Party on!

Student... Teacher and a Little Vacation

One thing I have wanted to do for many years has been to reacquaint myself with the French language.  I studied it in high school and college but never had an opportunity to use it until much later in life and by then it was all but a distant memory in my brain. I just never had the opportunity to practice aside from a few trips to France when I found myself totally unprepared to speak the language and overwhelmed by how much I did not know!  To speak another language you need exposure and regular practice.  After a week or so in France I could tell that if I was given the chance I could actually learn to communicate in French.  Sign me up for the next flight to Paris, I need to learn French!

In an effort to keep my brain from turning to mush and the reality that I can't just hop on a plane and spend the next year in France, I decided to so the next best thing and take a French class.  I am also secretly hoping that if I learn the language well enough I might be rewarded with a "graduation" gift and get some real life practice in France, before it all escapes my feeble memory!  One can hope.

So now on Mondays and Wednesdays I teach English and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I attempt to learn French. Last night in French class my head was spinning.  I missed class last Thursday



(a little hint as to where I was instead of in French class)


and even going one week without class I missed a lot.  I sat with that confused look on my face as the professor spouted off unfamiliar words and phrases.  Yikes!  Mush-brain!  I will be doing a lot of studying before tomorrow night's class.  It would help if I had the textbook.  I ordered it on Jan. 24 and still haven't gotten it.  Don't even get me started....I think the seller on Amazon sent it via bicycle or something.


My French class has been an eye opening experience when it comes to teaching my ESL (English as a second language) class.  For my French class I had to take a placement test similar to the test we use to place our students (I'm in level 2, must have remembered something!).  Now I'm the one who speaks with an accent and I am the one who looks up into the sky for the right word!  (still haven't found any answers on the ceiling)   I know exactly how my ESL students feel, immersed for an hour and a half in a class where all you hear is a foreign language.  I also have learned a few techniques from my French teacher.  One of my favorite lines he says is, "It is the same mistake whether you say it soft or say it loud, so speak up!"  He is always saying, "Courage!"  Spoken with a French accent of course! 

 After all that talk of school and classes we need a vacation.  We spent the weekend in New York City and it was another excellent trip with a surprise around every corner.  Enjoy this virtual vacation.

Katz's Deli, he used 6 pounds of meat on this sandwich!

a peaceful stroll through Central Park and what is left of the snow

we were fortunate enough to see a parade in Chinatown, complete with dragons!



and tons of confetti!

YUMMO!  TJ's favorite stop on our tour of Little Italy!

S(no)w Day, Texas Style

This is the massive amount of ice that shut the city down for a day.

Oh, be quiet, I can hear the laughter from here. 


It has been below freezing in Houston for days!  Yes, that is a state of emergency here.  I know there are people all over the country, and the world, who are living in a winter wonderland/nightmare and it is below freezing for months at a time.  I lived in a place like that for a few winters...  Houston is not a place that experiences many days or nights below the freezing mark.  Therefore, they are ill prepared to deal with cold weather.  I forgot that pipes freeze here and plants die.  We do not typically drain our sprinkler systems in the winter because many winter days are in the 60's and all those flowers in your garden need water.  When a cold snap happens you are caught off guard and the pipes can freeze or the sprinklers can freeze and break.  Power outages happened all over the state.  Don't even get me started on the roads.  There are no snow plows and no salt trucks.  We are left to slip and slide on the roads if we dare drive. 

The storm that has paralyzed the Midwest has made it's way to Texas.  On Monday, the temps were in the 70's and frozen pipes were the last thing on our minds.  Then on Tuesday morning it was 22degrees F.  A rare occurrence in Houston.  There were statewide rolling power outages.  They were predicting snow and sleet for Thursday night and Friday.  Talk about craziness....Houston and snow.  People here do not know what to do with snow, especially on the roads.  I waited with guarded anticipation.  These things are usually much hyped and rarely deliver.

This is what my indoor/outdoor thermometer read on Thursday night...

The city shut down, schools closed, both airports cancelled all flights and they told everyone to stay home....and not a flake of snow had fallen!  No sleet, no ice and no snow....BUT it might be coming, so shut it all down NOW!   I sit in amazement at the over- reaction.  TJ said the day would be considered a spring day in Toronto!  I could only wait like a kid for the snow to arrive and hope that when I woke up in the morning I would not be disappointed by the green grass and clear streets.  I slept with visions of my snow covered streets and houses in my head.

As you have probably gathered, the only snow I saw was on my indoor/outdoor thermometer.  In the city's defense, the bridges did ice over and driving was indeed treacherous for much of the day on Friday.  The temps did not get over freezing until late afternoon on Friday and only for a few hours and then back down to the sub freezing zone.  Don't feel too bad for us though, today it is going up into the 50's and tomorrow the 60's.  Such is winter in tropical Houston.


My most sincere thoughts are with those of you who are dealing with "real" winter.  I know you are tired of it and we all seem silly shutting down an entire city because it is "supposed" to snow.  I'm with you!  I hope the snow gives you a break...soon. 

And if this post wasn't amusing enough, watch this  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4D_Zui4H5Q

In the Swing of Things

A nice way to spend a lovely Friday afternoon

This is a statement I would never have uttered until this year.  Up to this point in my life golf was something I neither had time, energy, talent, equipment or patience for.  This fall we joined the golf club in our neighborhood, a first in our married life...belonging to a golf club.  I figured I would use the athletic facilities, ie the yoga classes, and TJ would golf and therefore be otherwise occupied on the weekends.  Good plan.  But as they say....the best laid plans of mice and men...

Last fall, on a few particularly lovely afternoons, I agreed to golf with TJ.  We shared his clubs and to my surprise, I did not suck.  (yeah, I hate that word too but it seems to fit here) Must be my new bionic left forearm that has changed my game.  The other advantage of playing golf on a Friday afternoon is that after golf we get to go to the clubhouse and eat dinner, because "honey, I'm just too tired to cook tonight."  Hey, I am starting to like golf  more now. 

My relationship with golf has several facets.  First, it was what my Dad did every weekend he could when we were kids.  That is just what Dads did, we were kids, we didn't care.  Then when I got married and had kids of my own, it was something my husband wanted to do and I hated it because it meant he was gone for 6 hours and I was stuck with the kids to fend for myself for yet another day in the week.  I resented golf, that frivolous hobby that took my husband away on the weekend.  Occasionally I would be invited to participate in a game of golf back then, usually in Nova Scotia ..for the games.  No pressure....you golf once a year, we really need your score.  Sure, I will find an unsuspecting teenager to watch my kids for what will seem like an eternity while I go and curse my way around 18 holes of golf for what definitely seemed like an eternity. All the while wishing I were back at the beach sitting in a chair watching my  kids play, or cleaning a bathroom or getting a root canal!  Needless to say, golf did not win my heart back then. 

As life would have it, I now find myself with the time to play golf and a place to play.  I have no kids at home who need a babysitter.  No weekend softball games to dutifully watch anymore.  The bathrooms don't get that dirty these days. The weather has moderated for a while so I can't even complain about it being too hot to play.  And, as of Christmas I even have....

My very own golf clubs!

Means, motive, opportunity and....weapon.  I now have everything needed to commit the crime of golf.  I even find myself enjoying the game.  Shocking!  I really can't decide if this is a good thing or a sad thing in my life.  It is a bit distressing that I am now at a point in my life where I have all this leisure time to fill.  A sad state of affairs or a real blessing?  I still feel a bit guilty out there and think I really should be doing something productive.  I guess I'll get over it!

A friend told me about a t-shirt she saw that explains it pretty well.  The shirt says, "I hate golf, I hate golf, I hate golf, Nice Shot!, I love golf."  Pretty much sums it all up!  Mine might say something like, "C#*p, nice shot, S*#t, oh, nice shot...."  inconsistent is my game. 


where did it go?

right in the middle of the fairway....not bad, maybe I do like this game

It Was That Kind of Night

Almost 2 years ago, to the day, I wrote this bit about pubs.  I was reminded of the post last night as TJ and I sat in McGonigels Mucky Duck and listened to some awesome live music.  Must be something about the third weekend in January that draws us to the pub.  Don't you just love it when you decide to do something at the spur of the moment and it turns out to be even more fun than you had hoped ?  Some things happen for a reason! That was last night.

Since we had yet another open weekend, and since it is January, listening to live music at a pub sounded like a great idea to both of us.  A little pub food, some good beer and a little wine, a small intimate venue and the music of Circa Paleo  (whom we had not heard of before last night) proved to be one perfect, nostalgic night for me. If you enjoy Celtic folk music then give them a listen, they are that and much more. Their sound reminded me of some of the Canadian folk groups we love, sort of  Texas Renaissance Festival meets Cape Breton Island (which was the inspiration for one of their songs). 

I had a smile on my face the entire night and I could not stop tapping my foot or hand or some body part to the music all night long.  As if that were not enough...when the band came back for their second set they announced that they were going to give away one of their hoodies.  No, I did not win the hoodie. They called a girl to the stage and then they told her, much to her dismay, that she was not going to win a hoodie....instead.....as a guy she immediately recognized, walked up onto the stage and knelt down in front of her and.... proposed!!!....she was going to get engaged!  Yeah, I cried.  It was soo sweet!  She said "yes" and got the guy instead of a hoodie.  It was just that kind of night.

We sat at the same table as the girl doing the sound board. Excellent table! We visited with her a bit and found out that she is in a band as well.  Another Irish Celtic sounding band complete with a bagpiper.  I was  just looking for something to do when my sister comes to visit next month and because "it was that kind of night", she told me they are playing at the Mucky Duck the night my sister is here.  Yup, it was that kind of night.  Looks like we will be back next month.

Just January

January in Toronto

What does January mean for you?  I decided January was the northern August when we lived in Toronto...  a long month with crappy weather!  Now that we are in Houston it is just January.  For most people January is the month of resolutions, paying Christmas bills, and the inevitable post Christmas let-down.  January is the month we moved one of our three times to Houston and the month we moved to Toronto.  So I sometimes associate the month with transitions, lonliness, unpacking and trying to get into the swing of things.  Even though we did not move this year the month still has a few transitions and I am trying to get into the swing of things.  I'll fill you in on the swing of things next week!

Have you noticed all the people at the gym lately?  What?  You haven't been to the gym? TJ says there are lots of new people (aka resolutionists) going to the 6a.m. spin class he attends. ( that is not him on the left in the picture)  My only response to that is....WHY??  There are so many things wrong with that, beginning with 6 a.m.!  I like to excercise as much or more than anyone, but as you may have guessed....I am not a morning person!  Apparently there are many people out there who think torturing yourself by waking up at some ridiculous hour in the morning and riding a stationary bike and sweating up a storm is the way to a healthier new year.  For me it would be the way to a grouchier sleep deprived new year. Each to his own.  I'll find a different way to lose those Christmas cookie rolls around my waist.

The post Christmas let-down happens to me just about every year.  Something about a new year and having a clean slate and a year full of hope and possibilities cries out, "do something!".  The holidays are over, the decorations are all put away, except for that bin at the bottom of the stairs that has not managed to sprout legs and take itself to the attic yet.  The kids are back to their own homes and living their lives while we are in the once again quiet house, adjusting to the silence.  The good news about this January is that we prolonged the holiday season at least a week, maybe two, with our trip to New Orleans and then Kelly's late return to school.  The off season did not start until this week!  Yeah!  Only 2 weeks of January left. 



Last weekend we had a rainy, dreary Sunday and found ourselves with nothing to do for the first time in about 2 months, so we sat down together with our blank calendars and mapped out the year.  Where are we going and when?  The early bird gets the worm or in this case the low air fares, if there is such a thing anymore, so it is time to start planning.   These "meetings" do not always go smoothly.  TJ is more impulsive and ready to click that "purchase" button quickly and I need to mull it over, weigh my options, research, think about it, do a little more research and think a little more before I can commit.  This can be frustrating for both parties.  We did somehow come to a few agreements and are now busy until after Labor Day, when we will be wishing for a slow day in January again.  All because of one rainy day!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans

We spent the weekend in New Orleans, the Big Easy, NOLA, the Crescent City, or Paris of the South to name a few of it's nicknames.  It has been over 10 years since I had been to New Orleans.  Growing up in Baton Rouge meant that I visited the city many times a year all through high school, college and early marriage.  I never really appreciated it back then, it was just New Orleans, a place for Mardi Gras and a good time and good food.  Having visited a few other cities since those days I now appreciate NOLA for the awesome city it is.  Post Katrina it seems to be doing well and we really enjoyed our visit.

Our friends Bob and Donna met us there and they had never been before.  How fun it is to share a city with friends.  We were greeted with amazingly perfect weather for the first two days. 



Note the cloudless sky and brilliant sunshine!  Nice architecture too.





We were not greeted by beautiful accomodations.  I was a bit skeptical of our time share exchange from the start.  For 2 couples, we could only manage a one bedroom, one bath suite so one of us would be sleeping on a sofa bed, well... we are all good friends right?  When our bell dude, Nate, showed us our suite, and I use that word loosly, there was no mistaking my disappointment.  Nate picked right up on the shock and horror that I was sending his way and told me discreetly that he had another unit to show me if I was interested.  I practically ran out of the room and flew down the 6 floors to option B.  Option B was only 4 times larger then option A.  Hmmmm, let me think, how fast can you bring our bags down here Nate?  Bigger does not mean awesome, still only one bedroom and one bath but the sofa bed was a queen not a double and the bathroom had a swimming pool size round sunken tub and private dressing area so we dealt with the lack of privacy.  We thanked Nate with a handsome tip and were his good friends for the rest of the weekend.  Welcome to the Crescent City!



TJ and Donna preparing our happy, because we are not staying in Option A, hour treats!



Our weekend adventures included a lovely dinner at Herbsaint on Friday night, which happened to be walking distance from our hotel.  Heck, almost everything was walking distance from the hotel, a bonus.  We all left with happy faces and went back to our room and watched LSU beat Texas A & M in the Cotton Bowl.  Not a bad night if you are from Louisiana!



We began our Saturday with a perfect breakfast!  Here!

Cafe du Monde in the French Market



Beignets and Cafe au Lait, breakfast of champions!  Nom!



The rest of our day was spent soaking in the "flavor" of the Big Easy.  We walked the French Quarter and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city.  There were many street performers that day, one of our favorites was a group that reminded us all of O Brother Where Art Thou.  The Saints were playing football that afternoon in a playoff game and the city was full of anticipation.  Check out this balcony.

Ready for the game!

We had the pleasure of watching the first half of the game in a local brew pub and it was standing room only.  The place erupted when the Saints did anything good.  We were there watching a football game when what to my surprise should walk by outside than a group of bagpipers and an Irish dancer!  I had to leave the game and run out to listen!  I am a sucker for bagpipes!

Gotta love a man in a kilt!

Everyone cheered when they came into the bar and played When The Saints Go Marching In.  My day would have been complete if the Saints had won the game but they lost.  Oh, well....

Our evening was an adventure.  We took the streetcar down St. Charles street almost to the end of the line.  When we got onto the streetcar it was packed full of all different types of people.  Donna says she sat next to Sammy Davis Jr.  There were other groups of visitors going out for dinner just like us.  There were students, families, loners, bums, and our driver was a real character...imagine that!  We found a wine bar where a friend's son works and were treated to several plates of delicious food and had some great wine.  On our ride back to town we ran into two groups of people who rode down with us...everyone wanted to know how dinner was!  People are so friendly in NOLA!  It was a great night!  Several people thanked us for coming to New Orleans too, they are just so happy to have tourists again.

Sunday was a different story.  It stormed all day....so we stayed in and played cards.  That is what friends are for.  We did venture out to dinner and I finally had the quintessential Louisiana dinner.  I can't believe I ate the whole thing and that is what I repeated all night long while my stomach rebelled.  To add to the joy, we had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. for our 6:30 a.m. flight.  Guess who made those travel arrangements?  Not me!

Not wanting to end this post on a sour note I have a little tour of New Orleans to end this post. Enjoy it...we sure did!

Peeking through a wrought iron gate at a fountain

One way to keep the riff raff out of your yard

The river boat Natchez on the Mississippi River

Royal Street

Just making a living.  He gets the creative use of instruments award for the day.

So, as they say in New Orleans....
Laissez les bon temps rouler! 
We sure did!