December 25th

Merry Christmas.

I think this is one of the most beautiful

portrayals of Jesus and Mary that I've seen.

There's a song entitled

"Mary Did You Know?",

that pretty much sums up

what those of us would ask of Her

while He was a baby.

Except,

it leaves out the incomprehensible

way He died.

I'd like to think She had no idea

of that.

No mother, even the Holy Mother,

could have envisioned that.

This bond, is ubiquitous in art,

song and scripture.

There are Madonna and Child icons

all over the world.

This is a stained glass conception

by a native Iniut artist

This is Chinese, a Hong Kong artist.

and this one from Cameroon.

We see the Mother and Child in our own

likeness, and that's they way it 

should be.

This image transcends time and place.

***************************

Joy,

Peace,

Love, Family,

Memories, Laughter,

Boiled crawfish, Pralines,

King Cake, Jambalaya, Gumbo,

Saints football, LSU, Boudin, Red Beans,

Beignets, Shotgun houses, Levees, Bonfires,

Tabasco, Café Du Monde, Etouffe, Ya mama & dem,

Hurricanes, Who Dats, Andouille sausage, City Park.

Mardi Gras, Jazz Funerals, Riverboats, Gators,

Lagniappe......

ain't nothin'

like 

Louisiana

Holidays!

***************************

and...

a totally, super easy

New Orleans

recipe,

Stuffed Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

2 jars of artichoke hearts

1 can of white beans

2 cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup of parmesan

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp of onion powder

3 tsp lemon juice

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Assemble:

1)Drain the beans and artichoke hearts in a colander.

2)Then, blend them, or use a food processor until smooth.

3)Transfer to a bowl and add all other ingredients.

4)Grease or "PAM" a 9x13 baking dish.

5) Pour the mixture into the baking dish.

6) sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and parmesan

and drizzle the top with olive oil.

7)Bake approximately 15 min.

Serve with toasted French bread rounds.

Delish!

December 21st

Christmas is almost here.

Wow!

Feels like the summer was yesterday,

not to mention

our tiny Fall season.

But...

Winter is Coming!

I don't mean to sound like

I'm rehashing Game of Thrones,

it really is coming.....

today.

According to 'The Farmer's Almanac',

the winter solstice will occur

this year at 11:19pm CST.

That means that the sun is

directly overhead at the 

Tropic of Capricorn.

It's then that the sun is further away

in the Northern Hemisphere.

There are 2 Solstices and 2 Equinoxes.

All are based of the Earth's

position in relation to the Sun.

Just think of it this way...

the solstice brings more sunlight.

So from now on the days

will get longer.

But,

the weather will still be cold.

*******************

And now

presenting,

the chicken girls

with their renditions of

"The first 4 days of Christmas"

On the 1st day of Christmas,

my true love gave to me,

a chicken near a 

blood orange tree!

On the 2nd day of Christmas,

my true love gave to me,

two chicken girls

(pretending to be

turtle doves!)

On the 3rd day of Christmas,

my true love gave to me,

three (Cajun) French hens!

On the 4th day of Christmas,

my true love gave to me,

Four clucking birds,

(who can't wait their turn

for a treat!)

--------------

Thank you for your support.

The girls love to sing!

But,

their Christmas album didn't

make the charts.

Oh, well...

they do take requests

for Christmas songs,

but they're partial

to anything about hens.

And,

sadly,

they are off key and tone deaf.

*************************

You Can't Make This S**t Up!

All I can say is...

This happened in Pennsylvania,

why didn't they use 

Philly Cream Cheese??

*********************

Merry 'Louisiana' Christmas!

with

Merry Christmas Hugs!

December 14th

This picture is just so wonderful.

So New Orleans.....

I love it.

We need to hear this message again.

Peace.

Let it Be...

(Thanks John and Paul)

In that same vein...

Another of my Grandaughters' creations.

She gave this to the CEO and I.

We love it.

Thanks!

.

Different words and symbols, 

same message,

especially at this time in history.

**************************

Some of the herbs don't like 

the colder weather.

The temperatures have been all over the place,

and you can see the results in some of

the more barren pots.

This is Desi, 

the Cuban Oregano.

He's not doing great, but there are

a lot of new growths coming in.

If it gets too cold, we'll move

him to a warmer area.

That's Cher, the Thyme in the above

 picture, bottom right.

(Turn back Thyme)

She's doing well in this weather.

Chrysanthemums.

The CEO rescued a bunch of them and they're 

liking their new home.

They live in a planter by the mailbox

in the front yard.

Gardenias.

They must think that it's spring!

They've been sporadically blooming

and the bush has so many bulbs.

************************************

The girls are following me

as I check out the veggies.

The bell peppers are still growing

as well as the tomatoes and eggplants.

I'm going to pick the green tomatoes

and hope they ripen on the window sill.

If I don't grab them now, the hens will lunch

on the low hanging ones.

Nugget at my feet

Pepper, Lucy and Ethel

Pepper and Nugget talking to me 

as I wipe my feet to back into the house.

************************

The Case of The Stray Gray Sock

Laundry,

A chore that I do almost every day.

I don't love it or really hate it.

It's just a necessity.

Here's my plan to get it done.

I've got 4 laundry baskets.

The CEO's clothes go in one. 

They usually need bleach.

Then I separate the darks from the lights

with the towels in a separate basket.

Once a week, I wash the bed clothes and

the mattress cover.

Sounds reasonably normal, right?

Well....

there's always a kink in the plan.

Somehow,

in my universe,

I lose a sock periodically.

Why?

Pairs go in but somewhere in

another dimension,

one of the little buggars

will disappear!

So,

I've made an orphan sock home.

It's a box above the dryer.

A simple abode for a lonely

girl or boy sock to live in, till

a suitable mate is found.

Yes, sometimes when another

one can never be found,

they'll be reborn

as a wonderful dusting cloth

or a rag used in painting.

(especially the "holey" ones.)

But...

This happened yet again yesterday morning.

I put 2 pair of my dirty socks in the wash,

and I saw both pair as I transferred them

to the dryer.

When the dryer was finished,

I transferred all the laundry to a basket.

I dumped the basket onto my bed to sort and fold.

There was only 3 gray footie socks!!! 

I looked everywhere.

Couldn't find it.

Chalked it up to the 5th dimension

portal inside the dryer.

Now.....

fast forward to today.

I was making the bed this morning

and pulled up the spread and blanket.

Oh, my goodness!

Then I saw it!

Right there!

Big as you please, 

relaxing on the bed,

smiling, 

like it just came outta the

 dimensional portal!

The stray gray sock.

Couldn't provide any answers as to its'

whereabouts yesterday,

just mute as always

but taunting me nonetheless.

Glad that it came back home,

I didn't question it.

But, 

I shoulda put on my Deerstalker hat

and sleuthed a bit more.

I just hope she had a wonderful

time and won't leave home again.

Oh, and I'll just bet she shares her 

adventures with her mate!

This is the "mugshot"

(can't you see that smug smile?)

*****************************

and just because,

I know I'd miss this

incredible sight

if I was ever to leave...

Late fall in Louisiana,

beautiful!

Take care...

December 5th

This is my 13 year old Granddaughter's

 art project for school, that she gave me as

an early Christmas present.

It is oil pastels.

Not bad for her first art piece.

Our whole family misses our Leia,

and she wanted to do this in memory of her,

I love it!

*******************************

This will be in our Grocery Garden

Every time we buy celery, we never 

get the pre-cut ones,

because we re-plant the roots.

When they start growing,

The CEO plants them.

That way we have a tasty harvest

for quite a long time.

This is the one that has been harvested 

many times. You can even eat the leaves.

Those newer guys will join this one soon.

A few Bell Peppers and Long Tall Sally Peppers

This is an artichoke.

We haven't had great success with them,

but we're hoping this little guy makes it. 

A few of the blood oranges.

They'll deepen in color with a reddish blush.

Then you can pick them.

They are a milder citrus flavor

with a beautiful red color.

The hen girls LOVE tomatoes!

If there's any hanging low,

they lunch on them!

Bay bush

English Ivy

It's about 4 feet tall growing onto a trellis.

It started life as a clipping.

Hazel, at one point, used the pot as an

extra coop to lay her eggs.

She hasn't done that again, thank goodness.

********************************

Ethel (black) and Nugget

Hazel, Lucy and Pepper

Hazel eyeballing me while I walked 

around the garden.

**************************

I'll call this the

"Who Knew?"

section.....

Yes folks,

now you can own your own

 chicken anatomical

model to show your friends!

I can understand if it's for a 

Vet school or Vets office, but

this is just weird.....

and this....

This is mine. My sister told me they are

selling the old Corning Ware on eBay.

These are also mine.

Got them as Wedding gifts back in 1974.

Amazing!

I'm gonna have to go through my

cabinets to mine more gold!

********************************

This section I'll call,

"Rant"

Have you ever noticed these really ridiculous car names?

Kia Soul, Honda Fit and pretty much every car by Volkswagen.

It also is standard to name the more expensive cars with only

letter designations, like LX, RX, NX, QX....

Why??

I understand that they are trying for a "catchy or classy" name, 

but c'mon...

The Volkswagen Tiguan is literally a portmanteau of

Tiger and Iguana.

What do those animals have in common that might make a 

great car name? 

Absolutely nothing!

How about the Nissan Versa?

Versa is a Latin word meaning "to talk with".

Ok...

How about Cadillac Escalade?

Escalade means to scale fortified walls using ladders.

Yeah, ladders, not tires.

Then there's the Jeep Rubicon?

The Rubicon is a river in Italy that was famously 

crossed by Julius Caesar.

(OK, I concede that the Jeep guys might wanna

say "Look at this car! It can even cross a river!"

So,

Then we have the Chevrolet Avalanche.

Why, why name a vehicle after a 

catastrophic geological event??

I don't get it.

Doesn't give me warm fuzzies about riding in it either.

Ford Fusion.

Fusion is a lighter atomic nuclei that 

forms a heavier nucleus.

So, the Ford exec's said,

"Oh! I have an idea!

Lets' name our car after

an unstable physics event!"

Then we have the

Mitsubishi Endeavor

They endeavor to try harder??

And,

Chevy Equinox.

Equinox is a time or date when the sun

crosses the equator twice a year.

So, does that mean that the car isn't 

functional the rest of the year???

But,

in full disclosure...

I drive a Highlander

and it has never been to Scotland.

At least that I'm aware of....

(Probably could have with the amount

of miles on it!)

Just sayin'

***************

Our take out fork

is a Trekkie

November 18th

Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

(to steal a line from Mr. Rogers)

The deciduous trees are loosing their leaves.

There's not a cloud in the sky.

Ahhh.

South Louisiana in the fall and spring

are my favorite times of the year.

Never too cold or too hot.

But,

that can all change in a heartbeat.

Ya just never know.

So....

I'll take today as it is.

Practically perfect in every way.

(to steal another line,

this time from Mary Poppins)

Hope I don't have to pay royalties

to Disney.

************************************

When the temperature went to the low '30's last week,

I thought I'd lose some of my Aloe plants.

Luckily for us, they didn't succumb.

This is the Mother Ship.

She is always making babies.

We've put about 8 or 9

into their own pots.

Grow babies, grow!

This is Elvis Parsley,

and his cousin...

Curley Parsley.

They still like the cooler weather.

I harvested some last month and put them into 

an ice tray with olive oil.

Then I freeze it to use later.

The olive oil never freezes hard

and doesn't damage the herbs.

Mint flower.

The flowers are edible too.

My succulents.

They are growing into beautiful plants.

Desi the Cuban Oregano.

He doesn't like low temperatures.

I don't want to prune the dead pieces yet

because they'll protect the ones under them.

Nugget and Pepper.

Pepper.

Nugget, Lucy and Ethel.

They are better trained than some dogs.

They always come when called,

they like to be held,

and

they always want to come inside the house.

Nope,

ain't happening.

They aren't house trained.

*****************************

The ongoing kitchen reno project.

The CEO had to replace some old wiring.

Glad that he found it because

it'll prevent an electrical fire in the future.

I like the idea of fixing up my 40 year old home,

but the reality is exhausting!

I watch some of those home improvement shows

but admittedly some are ridiculous

and

the home buyers are unrealistic.

They use several terms that grind my teeth!

Here's a few: 

1) Clean lines - Ok, I get it but some may prefer

an actual kitchen or dining room.

They act as if they need to be observant of all

areas of the home at once. How much time

do they really spend in the kitchen cooking?

All freakin' day?

Doubt that.

2) Open Concept - same deal. They need everything

open to see everything at once. 

Sight Lines, another pretentious word,

 means the same thing.

3) Complete Gut Job - Yeah, yeah, you don't like

something about your potential home and would 

like it completely changed. 

4) Turn Key - I don't know if this is completely

true because most would like something changed.

5) Man Cave, City Center, Outdated - these are also

useless and sometimes not based in the reality of

a budget.

So, watching the First World problems of young

professionals who make the rest of us feel 

like we live in hovels,

can be highly entertaining!

Just sayin'

And this one because I couldn't help myself...

Read this on Pinterest,

"HGTV be like....

I work part time at a daycare for goats

and my husband breeds salamanders.

Our all-in budget is

$1.3 million."

**********************************

So now that I've had another rant...

I'll just close with pleasant thoughts

(dunno about those ants and spiders...)