I will be dreaming of New Orleans!

I will return on January 5, 2010...Happy New Year!!!

Hear The Bells Ring!

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the word repeat of peace on earth, good-will to men." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...American Poet (1807-1882)MERRY CHRISTMAS

SILENT NIGHT

"A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; It makes no noise at all, But softly gives itself away; While quite unselfish, it grows small." Eva K. Logue....I have no idea who this person is but I love her quote....so I say she is an author of quotes! We all should give our self away softly and gently on this holy night. May the spirit of Christmas, light your way!

Naughty 0r Nice

"Lets be naughty and save Santa a trip."....American country music artist...Gary Allen

"Christmas at my house is always at least six or seven times more pleasant than any where else. We start drinking early. And while everyone else is seeing only one Santa Claus, we will be seeing six or seven." W.C. Fields

Naughty or Nice...try not to see too many prancing skeletons or let your reindeer get out of control.... do not celebrate too hardy...we always have carnival season...coming right around the river bend!!!

a wonderful world

"I see trees of green...red roses too, I see'em bloom...for me and for you, and I think to myself...what a wonderful world. I see skies of blue...clouds of white, bright blessed days...dark sacred nights, and I think to myself...what a wonderful world. The colors of a rainbow...so pretty...in the sky, are also on the faces...of people...going by, I see friends shaking hands...sayin' how do you do, they're really sayin'...I love you. I hear babies cry...I watch them grow, they'll learn much more...than I'll ever know, and I think to myself...what a wonderful world." words by the great Louie Armstrong.

Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Satchmo, has made New Orleans proud! He grew up very poor, drawing inspiration from bad times, he has said,"Every time I close my eyes blowing that trumpet of mine-I looked in the heart of good old New Orleans...It has given me something to live for." Born in New Orleans in 1901, he learned to love life with struggles and hardships. Working for a Jewish immigrant family, he was taught how to live with extreme determination. The Karnofsky's gave him odd jobs and he was treated as family. Louie Armstrong later wrote a memoir of his life with them titled, "Louis Armstrong+The Jewish Family." Mr. Karnofsky gave Louie Armstrong his first cornet...the rest is history!

The Karnofsky Project in New Orleans is still helping other Louie want-a-be's, by giving hope to children who desire to play, but can not afford a musical instrument. For it's really... a wonderful world!

"What we play is life." Louis Armstrong

"There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell them." Louis Armstrong

DEAR SANTA

I need help finding time to do everything I want to do, so I am turning to SANTA. Dear Santa can you help me out, there is too much to do and see in New Orleans. My list is long and it is so easy to burn the candle at both ends, but I just have three little places to visit! Every one's list should include Celebration in the Oaks, and of course the newly renovated Roosevelt Hotel. We all should remember the Angel Hair Lobby...I can not wait! One more thing Santa, please, I need a Miracle on Fulton Street! It is decorated so nice, I must go! I am in such a "Happy Holly Daze"....so much to see, so little time...can you help me out, Santa Dear?

Don't just sit around...go and be merry and find joy!!!

"Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?".....Friedrich Nietzsche...German scholar and philosopher (1844-1900)

JOYFUL NOISE

Singing in Jackson Square by candlelight can make everyone feel merry and bright! Every year on the Sunday before Christmas, Jackson Square lights up with candles and song. Since 1946 this Vieux Carre tradition has been a number one favorite of locals. With candles and sheet music provided, all one has to do is make a joyful noise!

"Sing, Sing a song, Sing out loud, Sing out strong, Sing of good things, not bad, Sing of happy, not of sad, Sing, Sing a song, make it simple, to last your whole life long, don't worry that it's not good enough, for anyone else to hear, Sing, Sing a song." Joe Raposo...composer and songwriter (1937-1989)

PRAW-LEENS

Please do not say pray-leens! These little intoxicating mixtures of cream, sugar and pecans are called pralines (praw-leens). A little yummy delight that offers sweetness, rich in history, and is a perfect off-spring of New Orleans. Free women of color, who sold pralines on the streets of the city, were called "praliniers". Fresh made from their kitchen, they would be kept cool in the steamy heat of New Orleans, with fanning motions from palmetto leaves, only to make the sugary treats more desirable!

Today you can find pralines everywhere even in the quick-stops and at most cash registers at gas stations. But it is nothing like coming across Mr. George Clark, selling his pralines from a rigged crate strung around his shoulders. He always wore his Panama hat calling out "number one, one dollar"...Who could resist those sweet pralines? I hope he is still selling them around Canal and Carondelet Street. What a great way to spend your life, selling sweets on the streets of New Orleans!

There's many recipes out there but my favorite is the classic sugar, cream and pecans. Be willing to put time in for practice batches, the sugary treats can be testy! My last batch turn to rocks!

A fun place to sneak a peek of cooking pralines is Aunt Sally's at 810 Decatur. They sell many varieties and have been making pralines for a long time in the Quarter. One more great place is Tee-Eva's on Magazine, 5201. Tee-Eva's is true soul. Years ago I was at an art opening on Magazine and she was jamming with the band. She is the real deal. Her business has been passed to her granddaughter, who now keeps the tradition alive. She makes great pies too!

"L'esperienza de questa dolce vita." Italian for "The experience of the sweet life." Dante...Italian poet 1261-1321

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." Laura Ingalls Wilder

awakening

The french word reveillon means awakening. A reveillon dinner was a meal served after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. A feast to awaken your senses and spirit for the joy of Christmas! The tradition can be traced back to the 1800's with the meal being celebrated with only family members to break a day long fast. Imagine oyster gumbo, turtle soup, egg dishes, bread pudding and yes, drinkable spirits, all prepared before hand. There are many restaurants starting their own reveillon dinners with a prix fixe menu for holiday celebrations. This is a great way to sample a local feast and have yourself an "awakening" New Orleans style!

Another tradition in the South of France, this is my favorite, is "thirteen desserts". Small but satisfying, for the mind, body and spirit! The sideboard or small buffet is decorated with thirteen desserts, being the number at the last supper-Christ and the twelve apostles. The holy trinity is represented by three candle sticks. Arranged beautifully on the sideboard are figs, almonds, dried grapes, plums, pecans, pears,almond paste pastry, soft and hard candies, tea cakes, blood oranges, dates, and melon. You must take a sample of each for luck in the new year. This meal is eaten before going to Midnight Mass with family and friends. Whatever your traditions are, there is always room for more, you can start something new from a city rich in traditions and always filled with cheer! Be awakened!!

"Custom reconciles us to everything," Edmund Burke...Irish statesman & author (1729-1797)

"I came here because the city has a tradition and is a very respected food city." Emeril Lagasse

"Lucky 13"

KNOCK KNOCK! WHO DAT? 13-0 THAT'S WHO!!!

The New Orleans team was admitted into the NFL on November 1, 1966. That day being All Saint's Day in the Catholic Church, gave way for the appropriate name of the New Orleans Saints! On September 17, 1967, the first game between the Saint's and the Ram's started a love affair with New Orleans and its home grown team. As you know love can have it's moments of pure ecstasy or disappointments, but through it all you never give up if it is true love. With New Orleans it is always true love! I can not name a Catholic Saint that did not have any hardships and in the end...Sainthood was granted! You only grow and learn to earn your Sainthood! It is coming...13-0...Lucky numbers for New Orleans! Everyone, get out your gris-gris for a little luck! In the Big Easy, that can mean a lucky fleur de lis charm or talisman that will protect Our Boys! Novena's are being said and candles being lit...nothing else need be said but "Bless You Boys"!

"God, makes three request of his children. Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have now." African American Proverb

"When you reach the top, keep climbing." a Proverb quote

p.s...... send some joy!

"The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their differences." The great author and poet, Audre Lorde, could have been describing how the City of New Orleans lives with the rest of the world! But I will use this beautiful quote for sharing a small act of kindness, by sending wishes in a holiday greeting card. Please send some joy to: A Recovering American Soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington DC 20307-5001

A small act, is a kind act! with joy to all!

i am dreaming

"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." Vincent Van Gogh....Dutch painter (1853-1890)

till death do us part

"What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?" W.C. Fields

Many years ago the "French-Paradox Theory" of French Scientist Serge Renaud, showed that wine reduces the death rate! It started a huge controversy that is still challenged today! So the saga goes on, but so does growing grapes, making wine and drinking the delicious results. For a wonderful sample of a French provincial style tasting room which over looks the vineyards, go to Pontchartrain Vineyards, 81250 Old Military Road...North of Covington. You will need the phone number(985-892-9742); even if you do not get lost, you will think you are! Remember, the anticipation of wine tasting just makes for a delightful love affair.

"Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of good wine." St. Thomas Aquinas

"When a man drinks wine at dinner, he begins to be better pleased with himself." Plato

PEACE

I believe we all seek the divine in our own and private way. Honoring God by going to an extraordinary place, gives me such peace, and a renewal with daily life. The ancient practice of pilgrimage to me is a quick trip to Lacombe to sit in a simple wooden pew.

Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, on Fish Hatchery Road in Lacombe, is an awe inspiring chapel built in 1923 by Father Francis Balay. The wooded spot was so similar to the Gave de Pair area in France, that Father Balay believed a chapel should be erected honoring Our Lady of Lourdes of his native country. His belief is enjoyed by many who find their way as a favorite place for prayer and devotion. Many claim with answered prayer that the water from the spring has cured them of mind, body and spiritual ailments. I believe it is a perfect place for a private afternoon of renewal and PEACE.

"Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof." Kahlil Gibran (Lebanese born American philosophical essayist, poet 1883-1931)

"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." St. Thomas Aquinas...Scholastic philosopher and theologian 1225-1274.

LA LA LA

Not everyone can whisk themselves off to the South of France but you can enter John Besh's La Provence with a short drive to Big Branch! Open the door and there to greet you is a wonderful pear painting with the warm colors of welcome! Be ready to have all of your senses filled. With a rustic South of France feeling...you may not want to leave!

Being a vegetarian for many years, I choose very carefully what to have an affair with and my choice of cheating is Escargot au Pistou! That is so french! Something about the earthly flavors and surrounding myself with the airs of Provence..voila..I am there like magic. In a dream state...sitting at an antique french bar next to a warm crackling fire or on a hot summer's eve sitting in the quaint courtyard with scents of Louisiana, that only Louisisana can produce. Now if I can not always get to my dream state, I can dream over John Besh's book..."MY NEW ORLEANS"...either way I will be dreaming of my La Provence! When it slowly comes to the end...I feel a sense of being proud...I was raised in Louisiana and Louisiana is my home...and baby it ain't nothing like it!

"Dreams are necessary to life." Anais Nin

"Nothing happens unless first a dream." Carl Sandburg

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope someday you will join us, and the world will live as one." John Lennon

LOUIE AND THE REDHEAD LADY

Chef Louie serves up passion and The Redhead makes joy! I could really just stop now and leave desire of wanting more here, but there is nothing wrong with wanting more! We are a community who knows how to indulge in more. And if you don't quite have the life you want, go to Louie and Ginger's and let them serve up some passion just for you. Louie's has a pulse that makes you feel a little under an hypnotic spell. It is the family you would choose. Come in and sit at your mama's table and fall in love at first bite!

I can find no perfect substitute for cheer and joy for everyday! Louie and Ginger are a loving example of following your heart with passion. They both do what they love and that love shows for each other! That in itself is a recipe for happiness. Love what you do and love the person you are sharing it with!!! They have the real deal...now I know it is not always easy but these two bond with each other and go with guidance that only can come from above! The address to almost heaven is...1851 Florida Street, Mandeville...go and let love and passion fill your day!!! xoxo

"Nobody is to be pitied as much as the person who gets nothing out of his job but his pay." Dale Carnegie

"Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put heart in it, take yourself out of it." author unknown

JOLLY YOU!!!

If you can not find jolly in New Orleans...you are not looking hard enough. Or something just might be wrong! Maybe an adjustment should be considered. Just for today have a jolly session! Practice being jolly. HO HO you know...laugh, smile, think outside the box...now that should come easy, even on the streets you can find an outside of the box person. Study the word jolly...think jolly...eat jolly...drink jolly...a jolly shared is a jolly doubled!

"Well, my opinion is-it's a jolly strange world." Arnold Bennett (British novelist, playwright, and critic 1867-1931)

"There might be some credit in being jolly." Charles Dickens (English novelist, considered the greatest of the Victorian era 1812-1870)

bread crumbs

You do not have to be a foodie to know a good bread. Bread alone can make or break a meal, especially if that meal is a po-boy! George Leidenheimer came to New Orleans from Germany and founded Leidenheimer's Bakery in 1896, his family still operates the business today. As their motto goes...."good to the last crumb." It is so true! New Orleans food grew with Leidenheimer bread.

I love seeing a Leidenheimer bread truck with Vic and Nat'ly, painted on the side, creations of artist Bunny Matthews, it just makes my day! Now, this is so New Orleans!

"Give us this day our daily bread." The Bible

"Acorns were good until bread was found." Francis Bacon...artist

sugar sugar

Etienne de Bore, the first person to hold the title of mayor for New Orleans, successfully granulated cane juice in 1795, an event which inspired a change in history. The original sugar kettle is a landmark on LSU campus, marking Eteinne de Bore with revolutionary vision for the commercial use of sugar.

Sugar kettles were used for processing sugar cane into sugar and syrup. Early use was powered with an animal-powered roller mill. The cane was crushed and the extracted juice was heated, clarified, and evaporated in a set of large sugar kettles. The cane grinding season was in the fall with a feel of crispness in the air. This was a festive time with social gatherings and a little gossip around the kettle. "Hot Punch" was served....to loosen one's tongue and to get in the spirit! I have had the pleasure of experiencing being around a sugar kettle, dipping a cup, and tasting the sweetness of pure sugar cane juice. How sweet it is!! "Hot Punch" was a drink made with boiled cane juice and French brandy. Sugar kettles are not used today, but originals and reproductions can be seen scattered around in beautiful gardens for aesthetic purposes.

"Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not dissolve in one's bath like a lump of sugar." Pablo Picasso

Here's to "Shananigo" and Muey! How sweet life was!!!

JINGLE JANGLE JINGLE

Here comes Mr. Bingle...a favorite childhood memory that comes to life every Christmas. Mr Bingle was a delightful holly-winged snowman who was a helper to Santa Claus. He lived at Maison Blanche department store on the famed Canal Street during its heyday! "Ocsar" Isentrout was the voice and puppeteer of Mr. Bingle. When Mr. B. would appear it was definitely the season of Christmas, he would dance and fly right into every child's heart. For years I have dusted off my Mr. Bingle and proudly displayed him but the real magic of Maison Blanche and Mr. Bingle are sadly missed!


"It is never too late to have a happy childhood." Tom Robbins...American novelist

"The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind." E.B. White...American writer 1899-1985

proper attire...please!

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it." Oscar Wilde's quote appears on the lunch menu of Commander's Palace. Why wouldn't you want to have a bit of temptation in your life? Lunch is one way to enjoy a long standing tradition of New Orleans. Located in the sultry garden district of the city, this aqua blue establishment is like a very large Tiffany wrapped present you can give to yourself! The service alone will make you feel as if you are royalty...so gracious, you will immediately feel you are some where out of the ordinary. Everyone should have this experience at least once, but once is never enough! If you go for dinner please dress for the occasion. Never ever in shorts or jeans, not even for lunch! Pamper yourself with turtle soup spiked with sherry and order desert first if you choose bread pudding souffle...for it takes awhile to achieve it's perfection...and perfection it is! Commander's is pricey but it should be...for the experience you receive... it is worth it! Go and yield to temptation!!!

SHOP

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde

a good dinner

"Never eat more than you can lift."....Miss Piggy

"After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives." Oscar Wilde

seasoned

There is nothing like starting a roux in a well seasoned cast iron skillet! Years of use only add to memories that last a lifetime. It is something about the even heat that makes a first-timer cook shine. If you are lucky enough to inherit one from a past family kitchen, you know exactly what I am talking....but if not, you can start to season one of your own. Joseph Lodge founded Lodge cookware in 1896. Lodge is the oldest family-owned cookware in America. Try using a cast iron dutch for your next jambalaya.

Some cooking advice from Julia Child..."Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you will need."

"If you are afraid of butter, use cream."

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces-just good food from fresth ingredients.".....BON APPETITE

a slippery subject

Growing up with oyster dressing on Thanksgiving is a fond memory of many of New Orleanian. Some people are very grateful that they do not have to wait until that thankful Thursday. It is nothing like standing at a raw bar with a skilled shucker as your guide!!! Oh Love! You can be driven into a maddening love for the bivalvia molluscs. The oyster is associated with aphrodisiac powers, so eat oysters and be loved.

Famous words from "A Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemingway....."As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy, and to make plans."

sumptuous feast

Lucullus was a Roman general and famous for his extravagant lifestyle and luxurious feast. Cicero and Lucullus was ardent friends. Cicero's finest feast was at Lucullus's table..."Tonight Lucullus dines with Lucullus"....Through the red french door from Lyons France, you too can imagine dining with yourself or with friends in grand style if you step into Lucullus Culinary Antique shop at 610 Chartres in the French Quarter. Passion is without a doubt the spirit of this fabulous culinary shop, owned by Patrick Dunne. I promise you will want to plan your next dinner party as you walk around and gaze upon some of the finest culinary antiques of the world! The passion for life is all around as your eyes feast with delight! You too can be a true Lucullan, which means lavish, luxurious, and gourmet...it is waiting at Lucullus Culinary Antiques. A Lucullus feast is a sumptuous feast!!

"Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast." Epictetus 55AD-135AD

Growing Yourself

Cicero, the Roman statesman and Philosopher, 106BC-43BC, pointed out 6 mistakes of man. This also in today's times spells woman too! We should never stop growing or examining our self. This is a life long task and must be done in order to be fully human and alive.
The mistakes are...The delusion that personal gain is made by crushing others. The tendency to worry about things that can not be changed. Insisting a thing is impossible because we can not accomplish it. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences. Neglecting the development and refinement of the mind. And finally, attempting to compel others as we do or think.

"Cultivation to the mind is as necessary as food to the body." Cicero

"Confidence is that feeling by which the mind embarks in great and honorable courses with sure hope and trust in itself." Cicero

WUNDERKAMMER

New Orleans is a cabinet of curiosities....I think of the city as a cupboard of arranged artifacts, just waiting for the world's eye to gaze upon. Just let your mind wander to the oddities, curiosities, and the wonderful whimsical obscure delights. You never know what you will find and guaranteed not to be BORING!!!

"If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis

DRAWN BLANK.........

"The human mind is like a t.v. set. When it goes blank, it's a good idea to turn it off." anonymous

BLAST OFF

Atlantis Space Shuttle blasted off yesterday to deliver thousands of spare parts to the international space station. The space station provides a simulated environment for human life to exist. The whole space adventure is sometimes hard to wrap your brain around!! To get a better example and an adventure yourself, go to the Stennis Space Center. Tour buses depart from the Mississippi Welcome Center, just 45 miles east of New Orleans. Enjoy the out of this world space exhibits, have some local cuisine in the Rocketeria and shop The Odyssey Gift Shop. Leave your world behind and seek some space!

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot

"In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors." William Blake

always on my mind

When away from the allure of New Orleans, I see it everywhere. I like to compare and make mental notes of how New Orleans would be in another location! With The Crescent City dominated by water, I must not get to far fetched. New Orleans being a city that knows how to create, could pull it off even in the desert. But the water is life itself! So imagine taking the food, drink and the celebration with you. As I stroll on my favorite beach, I will let the coconuts become Zulu and keep New Orleans always on my mind! It is easy to travel with bits and pieces of memory and always "let the good times roll".

"Memory feeds the imagination." Amy Tan

"The heart that truly loves never forgets." Proverb

missing morgus

The famous New Orleans scientist....Morgus the Magnificent, with assistants Chopsley and E.R.I.C., once upon a time had a laboratory with a full case of ghouls and experiments!!! Now they are lost in time! Oh how I miss them. Come back Morgus...New Orleans needs you. Come Back!!! Saturday nights are not the same without your guided hosting to our favorite frightful movies! Morgus, where are you???? You can find him at...Morgus.com...go for a visit, but remember, you may never come back!!!! The next generation needs his science views...we are a lost city...we need the higher power of his mind to guide us into the new world of intelligence??? I say Morgus for MAYOR...of NEW ORLEANS!!!!

The quote of the day....as Morgus would have said it, but I said it...."Think for yourself"......HAPPY FRIDAY the 13th.....

STACKED UP

What do you do when there is too much to do in one day? That day is here and now! But I remember what Mother Teresa said, "If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will."

May I quote Mother Teresa's words again. "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

American Honor

Courage and sacrifice for the common good of American people. New Orleans is proud to embrace the past with honoring the American soldier at The National World War II Museum. Glory and honor still stands proud today!

"The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope. Love of the past implies faith in the future." Stephen Ambrose

Stephen Ambrose was sometimes called "America's Uncle History". He has left his family and the nation with a great legacy of words and his long staking efforts with founding The World War II Museum. A portion of Interstate 10 at the Louisiana and Mississippi state line is Stephen Ambrose Memorial Highway. A perfect thank-you! I had the great honor of being introduce to him in an local art gallery, and instantly I knew I was in brilliance and grace. Stephen Ambrose said it best as describing himself, "I am an unabashed triumphalist, I believe this is the best and greatest country that ever was." Thank you Dr. Ambrose as you are teaching us all still, just only from a different place.

"Success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom." General George S. Patton, Jr.

"We are not retreating--we are advancing in another direction." General Douglas MacArthur

soul blue

Get in the mood...a blue mood...when the weather is moody it is a perfect time. Send your mind off somewhere in the Delta, feel the heat, the raw, soulful and blue! Listen to a little BB or be a friend of John Lee Hooker. It does not take long and you can be blue all over!

The House of Blues has a mixed bag of reviews. For some "The Thrill is Gone"...but for me a quick fix anytime will do. A beer in the voodoo garden or a quick bit to eat. I have seen some good acts in the Parish Room and have been in a trance sneaking in the Foundation Room. Whatever the cause for me...the thrill is still there. Who cares if it is a franchise sitting in the middle of a cradle of jazz and blues, it maintains a soulful, raw, and delta feel. Just to be surrounded with some of the great outsider artists, is enough for me. The masters are all hanging, Sudduth, Dial, and Tolliver, just to name a few! The art collection is suppose to be one of the largest in the country and very impressive for a blue soul.

The HOB mission statement alone will promote one to eat, drink and be soulful;
"To celebrate the diversity and brotherhood of world culture. To promote racial and spiritual harmony through love, peace, truth, righteousness and non-violence." Who would not want to embrace this kind of soulful living!

I am dishing myself some soul and blues, cause "I'm In The Mood" for a little John Lee Hooker and Bonnie Raitt!

"The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning." John Lee Hooker

"The blues ain't nothing but a good man feelin' bad." Leon Redbone

"Blues are the songs of despair, but gospel songs are the songs of hope." Mahalia Jackson

One of the most important things in life is to be able to touch other people's lives, the blues do that, we are all richer as a result.

PIMM ME

You are always cordially invited to take a seat at The Napoleon House...500 Chartres Street and have a Pimm's Cup. A Pimm's Cup can be a delightful summer drink but with a step outside, one realizes that the date on the calendar and the weather have their clashes, especially in New Orleans.....So a Pimm is good anytime! Most bars have their own thumb print on this London born concoction, but the best place is Napoleon House. This famous landmark was offered to Napoleon in 1821 when he was in exile; he never made it there but his name did and stayed with the building. Today the Napoleon House is a great haunt for artist, writers and just everyday characters! The essence of New Orleans is all around. Pimm's #1 is a gin based drink containing a secret mixture , which only a few people know, sets the base with lemonade, topped off with 7-up and a cucumber for garnish. When making at home you can add your own magic with sliced fruit and bubbly champagne... BAR IS OPENED TILL......

"The best cure for the body is a quite mind." Napoleon

"Throw off your worries when you throw off your clothes at night." Napoleon

Camellia Friday

Do something different today! Cook your Camellia Beans today instead of Monday. Just make the whole day different. Wear something different, do something different, be somebody different....just today...think different! Be a Camellia! In New Orleans you can be whoever! Soak-up some beans and Soak-up some LIFE!
BON APPETITE.... CAMELLIA

"Red Beans and Ricely Yours." Louie Armstrong signed his personal correspondence this way!

"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." ....Cecil Beaton quote...gotta love him!!

Ignatius of New Orleans

"A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head." The first line in the book "A Confederacy of Dunces" by...John Kennedy Toole

Need I say more? Well I think I will!!! The title comes from an essay by Jonathan Swift...."When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

More of Jonathan Swift quotes....."A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying...that he is wiser today than yesterday."

"Books, the children of the brain."

"May you live every day of your life."

If you have not read this book...do so immediately, you will love it! I am really more fascinated with the author...John Kennedy Toole....what a story and a life!!!
So New Orleans!

RUTHIE

New Orleans comforts people who live outside the box! One of those people who received that comfort was Ruthie. Ruthie was a small woman but she was really larger than life and life she lived....smoking, drinking and being one of the most famous character's of the Vieux Carre'. She had a constant smile but in an instant she could curse you straight to hell. She was never interested in reality, only her own created world with her feathered duck friends. Ruthie's youth name was "the duck girl" but I knew her as Ruthie "the duck lady". When she was young she would roller skate through the Quarter in some get-up....she was known to wear a bridal gown or evening wear...always near were the ducks. As she aged the skates rolled away and some of the evening wear but the ducks were her life. I think of all the smiles she gave to tourist and I would spy her going down the street only to engage a smile myself. Ruthie had her people and her ducks....and a life with a permanent smile! On a rainy day in September 2008 she was laid to rest... a perfect rainy day for a duck lover.

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss

VooDoo PICASSo

I like to compare Picasso and New Orleans. Think about the process, so creative and colorful! Mask, women, out loud, love, celebrations, bold color, slightly off, alluring and seductive. Picasso has many periods...so does New Orleans. Classic, harlequin, still life, large women, realist, blue and rose, just to name a few....so New Orleans but all Picasso!

Picasso needed to be fully engaged with life. It was very necessary so he could then completely empty himself. This was the way he lived his life. His expression of release gave the world great visual pleasure! New Orleans breathes life into each person with food, music, celebrations and sights...just feel and embrace.

Picasso has many critics....so does New Orleans. When you are out loud, as Picasso and New Orleans, people will notice. When negative creeps up and critics attack...I just think to myself...they do not get it! Life in New Orleans is like living in a wonderful Picasso! Never boring... so see New Orleans with all the colors sprinkled with lots of black and gold!!!

"Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not." Picasso

"The artist is a receptacle for emotion that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider web." Picasso

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." Picasso

Soulful Day

All Souls' Day....this day commemorates the faithful departed, the celebration follows All Saints Day. Prayers are said to help the dead attain sanctification and moral perfection. The skull, which symbolizes death and rebirth, is used as a symbol of All Souls' Day. A reminder of death is aways near but life should be LIVED NOW!!

The Catholic faithful of New Orleans clean and decorate tombs of their deceased loved ones. Only in New Orleans can a party be thrown at a tomb, where families come together to share gumbo, jambalaya and family news.

New Orleans tradition has many rituals for celebrating life over death. All Souls' Day reminds us that life is a precious gift, very fleeting and must be enjoyed to fullest every day. This is a day of joyous celebration in a city filled with Life!

"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin." W.M. Lewis

"Life is just a chance to grow a soul." A. Powell Davis

HAUNTED SPIRITS

Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar located at 941 Bourbon is the most haunted bar anywhere and the oldest. You do not have to have a drink of brew to see spirits! At times the legend lives on as a dying man's last words to his wife...""I will meet you at the bar." He keeps his promise!! Some customers say they have felt a tap on their shoulder only to find no one there. An apparition of a beautiful women has appeared many times in a mirror, only to tease the person who gets the glimpse... The ambiance is old, dark and spooky. After sundown the candles and lanterns are the only illumination which can become very sultry and alluring. If you close you eyes and vision how a New Orleans bar should be, it would be Lafitte's. The best rated drink is the hurricane....original old recipe, no mix and packs a punch too! So go around twilight when candles are glowing, cozy into the HAUNTED far left table and order up a spirit or two....feel the magic of New Orleans!!!

Some famous last words....on drinking

"I should have never switched from scotch to martinis." Humphrey Bogart

"I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record." Dylan Thomas, poet

"Drink to Me." Picasso

HAPPY HALLOWEEN NEW ORLEANS!!

Campo Santo

The resting place of the dead. Saint Roch (pronounce rock) Chapel and Cemetery at 1725 St. Roch Ave., is the home of the National Shrine of Saint Roch, patron saint of miraculous cures. The little room off to the right of the chapel, houses the tales of cures and answered prayers. The tradition is to leave behind your distress with gratitude for recovery. Honoring death has always been a strong character trait of New Orleans. Burial plots became known as "cities of the dead." Walking through the twisted paths of this special place you will feel the spirit and tradition of New Orleans. For the "cities of the dead" are very alluring but beware of the living as well as the dead!!! DON"T GO ALONE!!!

The soul should always stand ajar,
that if the heaven inquire,
He will not be obliged to wait,
or shy of troubling her.
Depart, before the host has slid
the bolt upon the door,
to seek for the accomplished guest,
her visitor no more......Emily Dickinson

feet first

There were many rituals and customs when a death occurred in the 19th century. The house had to be dressed for mourning! Mirrors were always covered in black so the spirit would not get trapped here on earth. Windows and doors were open so the soul would be able to escape. Turning down or covering family photos to prevent the dead spirit from possessing them. And the dead was always carried out of the house feet first, to prevent the spirit from looking back into the house so as not to beckon another family member with them! The final ritual of resting is the black wreath hung on the front door. Still some superstitions and traditions are hovering around today.

The Hermann-Grima House, located at 820 Saint Louis, is one of the jewels of the Vieux Carre. Catch a glimpse of this 1831 Federal Mansion, with the parlor decorated as if the house is in mourning. The tour is early October to November 2, and imagine someone going out feet first!!!

"While I thought I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die." Leonardo Da Vinci

The Ghost of Madame Mineurecanal

Who was Madame Mineurecanal? Was she really the wife or lover of Bernard Marigny?
This creole mystery has led to a dead end, if I may use these words! Madame Mineurecanal may or may not have been Bernard Marigny's wife or lover but she did decide to end her life. She walked up the stairs of her house in Faubourg Marigny and hung her little dog then turn her deadly thoughts to herself. Hung from an overhead beam......to this day know one knows why!!

The Faubourg Marigny house has a host of haunting and ghostly stories. There is not much known today but I can not help but wonder is her presence still felt now?


"One need not be a chamber to be haunted; one need not be a house; the brain has corridors surpassing material place." Emily Dickinson

the city of ghoulish

Let's serve up some Halloween, New Orleans style! I can not think of a better way for fantasy to be served. With the newly formed Krewe of Boo Parade...for a good cause! nothing will stop the city now...ghoulish Halloween will only grow with each year!!! This city has the perfect bones to be creative. At every turn you can find and seek something ghoulish, let the whisper of New Orleans send a chill down your spine! Spooky celebrations, haunted houses and masquerading ourselves to tease the dark of night.....doesn't that spell NEW ORLEANS????

"It is as much fun to scare as to be scared." Vincent Price

illusions

There are days when we all need illusions. For me the fastest way there is Champagne!!! It really goes down so smooth and with a little tickle.

I am dropping everything for Champagne...Brut Yellow Label, Veuve Clicquot. I can dream can't I?

A good place to have sparkling wine is at the Hotel Monteleone. The famous Carousel Bar serves up the bubbles in style with a-round on an animal stool. I prefer the monkey myself! Go to 214 Rue Royale, head to the Carousel.....POP POP SIP SIP LOVE LOVE!!!!!!!

"Illusion is the first of all pleasures." only Oscar Wilde can say it like it is!

Anne Rice

Thank-you so much for responding to me about my blog "a little Rice" you are truly so New Orleans.....we all love you!!

EAT

If you ever have been through the doors at 416 Chartres you will know what I am writing about! Pardon me while I reminisce back to 1979 when K-Paul's opened as a famous Louisiana Kitchen! They did not take reservations at the time, resulting in long lines forming quickly. Customers amused themselves with drinks in their hands and exchanges of lively conversation. You could really stand in line for hours so you had to drum up Quarter talk. I think at one time everybody had a shot of the stuffed moose on a near by balcony. It was a perfect Quarter icon sporting Mardi Gras beads around his neck. By the time you were at the front of the line you bonded with everyone...it was a perfect line party. Now of course they have reservations and take credit cards, but they stopped giving stars stuck to your cheek if you cleaned your plate. That was a clear sign you ate at K-Paul's!! It is their 30th year feeding a city that is in love with the word EAT. Thank-you K-Paul's for the food and the memories!!


"To eat is human, to digest is divine." ......... a Mark Twain quote

a little Rice

Long before cell phones I called Anne Rice at her home in New Orleans. Not knowing why I was doing such an act, I was not a fan of hers, still I dialed her number! To my surprise she answered her own phone and I was speechless. Being very kind, she asked if she could help me! All I could do was thank her for being herself. Being yourself is a very hard feat to do at times but Anne Rice was certainly true to herself. As she started out in life, her given name was Howard Allen, but knowing that name was not fitting she changed it to Anne. She seemed to be so mysterious and so very New Orleans.

I never read her earlier books but her 2008 release "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession", I could not put it down!! I savored every word she wrote. You could feel the love she had for New Orleans, her words gave you sight to the very objects she was sharing with her reader. Pure Beauty! Her next book is due out October 27...."Angel Time".

"To write something, you have to risk making a fool of yourself."...Anne Rice

Barbiel, the angel of October, reminds us of the generosity of nature, and at this time helps us understand 'as you reap, so shall you sow'. Some things we shall enjoy immediately, others we can keep until the optimum time." from the book, "An Angel A Day" by Margaret Neylon

HA HA

New Orleans is a perfect city to say HA HA!!! Just when you turn away from it, you can't! HA HA!!! Oh that is LIFE too! HA HA!!! Be strong and be brave!! When you come face to face with a problem .....challenge it and then on the back side say HA HA!

Love also has it's moments of Ha Ha's and another big one is the Birthday!!! HA HA!
This blog baby has it's Ha Ha's too!!! But I am learning!!!
I learned the HA HA word from my dear friend LOUIE!!!!!! Thank you, LOUIE.....HA HA!!!

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." Voltaire....French Philosopher 1694-1778

HA HA