Saturday cat photo

Friday cat photo

We're off to the beach!

Imitation

To imitate another friend-blogger, I will revive the tradition of Friday cat pictures! Since there is no end of cat pictures in my pictures folder.....

A Room With a View

So we have lived in the same apartment for five years, blah, blah. And it's good on so many levels. Like we are on the second floor and weren't flooded. And the insurance thing (since we rent)....
But sometime it sucks (barking dogs, crying babies). We're too old to not own something. And it's hard to stay positive about the city (Nagin, Vitter) etc. So we keep plugging away...

BUT!

There has been more progress. Observe...........

That's the old view. Here is the new view:

For now ignore the apocalyptic sky. Do you see the change?

Kiddies

Roses

Photo of the Day

I'm not very good at keeping this blog updated, so I am going to "copy" Loulou and at least post photos just to keep it fresh!






This was taken last month in Nag's Head, NC. We flew in for a couple of days to vacation with my family. There were 20 people (9 of them children) in one house!

For Shame!

I can't really say I've been doing much dawdling lately.....Or is it that I have been dawldling too much? Here are some photos of recent forays into the wild...

Duck and ducklings in the Bayou

Live Oak in City Park

Swans there too

Magnolia Tree in Bloom

The new approach to the Museum

The Ultimate scary wildlife...

Horray!

Another New Orleans institution has re-opened. Venezia - "Serving the People of New Orleans Since 1957"

It's one of my favorite old-timey New Orleans restaurants, and not only because it is the only place in New Orleans that serves pizza that remotely resembles the kind of pizza I grew up on.

It has atmosphere. True, this atmosphere includes dusty air vents (shudder), but also guys named Tony who know every single person that walks through the door! This Tony was sitting at the table behind us when we went there on the third night they were re-opened. It was packed, luckily we came right after work, so we got seated before the crowds descended on the place. So we sat back, ordered calamari and pizza and what they used to call "WOP salad"(it's not called that on the menu now - they got all PC on us!- but swear it was before). It was great, and I recommend it to anyone who comes to New Orleans- think outside the box, leave the Quarter, and go to a good old neighborhood restaurant. Some others I'd suggest: Liuzza's By the Track , Liuzza's on Bienville, Doson's Noodle House (a new one), La Vita (also new), Parkway Bakery and Tavern, Lola's, Angelo Brocato's (for dessert and coffee), Cafe Degas, and- wow, there are more places opened in my neighborhood than I realized!

"No More 'I Love You's", it is on "Medusa", one of Annie Lennox's solo albums!

AARRRgghhh!

Tagged? I don't know what that means! I don't know what a meme is, really LouLou.

I haven't really figured out how to do this yet.

But I love the title of the the meme, er tag, or what ever it is!

I'll try to tell you: "The Seven Songs I Would Pick If I Could Only Listen To Seven Songs For The Rest Of My Life, Which, Yeah, Like Someone Is Going To Impose That Condition On Me, And Assuming I Can Even Come Up With Seven.”

Speaking of the Eurythmics, "No More I Love Yous" is a favorite of mine. I really like depressing and inspiring music.

"O mio babbino caro"from opera "Il Trittico" act III "Gianni Schicchi"Written by Giacomo Puccini- the first time I heard it was, I think, in the movie "A Room With a View", a movie which just fed into my slightly scary obsession with dead English authors and Masterpiece Theater.

The Beatles' "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" –This means nothing weird, I just remember listening to The White Album over and over during a certain period of my life and grew attached to it. I also really dig "Rocky Raccoon" from that album, but wouldn't put it on my list.

That's it for today. I can't take the pressure.

Also- I just tried to link the Eurythmics song, and apparently it doesn't exist. I'll get back to you with the proper name.

Cooking tip #1

When reducing balsalmic vinegar to drizzle over your grilled veggies, don't add honey or you'll have a CARMELIZED balsalmic reduction!

Looks good, doesn't it? It stuck to our teeth!

A New Milestone....

After 18 months.....a light at the intersection nearest our apartment! It only flashes, but IT IS THERE!!!!

Happy Mardi Gras!

December is not a month for dawdling

December is a notoriously busy month for all and left me no time for dawdling. I am happy to report that dawdling commenced at 2 pm on Christmas Eve. It involved wine and visiting on the 24th, and then we rested and looked at the Christmas tree:

Monday was a blustery and cold day:

We went for a walk:

And visited the ducks: