And So It Begins.....

Thanks to all of you all that have called us and written personal e-mails to me today and that have left sweet and thoughtful comments on my site today.

My family totally appreciates your prayers and the thoughts and the support that has been shown... NOT JUST for us.....but for ALL Louisianians right now.
And many are spread all over 7 States right now. Can you imagine that?
It's amazing to see how everyone in the Nation is once again coming to the aid of our State.

And for that we say "Thank you" in advance.

The winds have begun.

And we are currently under a Tornado Warning...and will be for probably the next day or so.

I think we are ready.

Well as ready as a person can be.

The men got the windows on the house boarded up.......

*We've checked on our friends and neighbors to make sure they are going to be okay.*
Then they got the vehicles all into position....


Stripped off all the patio cushions and pillows off the furniture and moved the patio bistro set.
Moved all the plants in tight.....and brought in all the "yard art." So they don't become "PROJECTILES".....
We've stocked up on all the "hurricane supplies" that you might need.....believe me...we know what happens AFTER the storm.
Some of the hardest items to find are..bread, milk, ice and water of course.


Today I made a HUGE "Chicken and Sausage" Gumbo so that we could share it with my friend Nora and her husband......oh yeah and we have a lovely potato salad with that....and French Bread.


Where we used to live before in very South Louisiana.....I learned from the people there to "make a Gumbo and potato salad" for hurricanes.....and to "boil a dozen eggs."
Not sure what the "egg reasoning" was but they put boiled eggs in their Gumbo there so ....maybe that's it. HA!
A good friend of mine and I agreed tonight that "this is so surreal."

It feels like when you get on a roller coaster....you KNOW it's going to be scary...you know there will be ups and downs and turns and wind in your hair.

And at some point you just want it to END.......that's how I feel right now. I just want it to be over......and we haven't gotten far into the ride yet. Ugh....

Our neighborhood seems to loose power very easily. We lost power a few weeks ago in fact for several hours in the night from Hurricane Dolly that just hit Florida.
Sooo.....we have our generator we bought right before Katrina ready to fire up.

So you all probably won't be hearing from me right away although I will will try to post something and let you all know how things are going....as soon as I can.

Obviously when the power is out.....you have to run the most important things on the generator like the freezer and fridge, and FANS!!!

I'm exhausted....so is my family. I think we will sleep well tonight.....
For a little while at least.

To everyone that can read this in Louisiana and other affected States......
Hang in there!

Here I am.....

Today I met my good friend Diane for lunch.

She had "found" this new place to eat at and wanted me to go with her because she said "you'll love it..because it would make a GREAT Tea house." We both think alike in that manner because we miss our local Tea Room that we used to go to and hang out in.

I picked her up today and off we headed to "Central" which is a little ways outside (but not too far) of Baton Rouge.....it used to be Baton Rouge but they have annexed themselves from the Big Ol'Red Stick.....so I want to honor them that way.

The restaurant is located on Joor Road....(for any of you that are interested in going) in a big old house.
It's called "Coopers Catering".....the food was excellent. Their service and prices were great too. I'm sure we will be going out there again sometime.
My Good Friend Diane

This month was Diane's birthday and last month was mine and since she spent the greater portion of July in Michigan visiting family and I had my niece and nephew here for two weeks in July once she got back...we haven't had a chance to get together and celebrate so we were able to do just that today.

I've been "wandering" away from my computer the past few weeks with minimal output from me onto this site. Guess I will work on that some......like when it gets colder here and I'm not outside so much. HA!

Ummm......by the way as far as that "cooler Louisiana weather thing"....that could be in late December or January here.
One never knows forsure.
But what I DO know....is rain.
It's rained here EVERY single day. Our yards are a mess. But I heard on the news tonight we may have a bit of dry weather this weekend.
Right.

Weather: A "balmy" 79 degrees....but feels like 80....

I just checked the temperature.
When I woke up this morning I knew the temp had changed and it had to be humid. My body ALWAYS tells me...usually through "swelling" in various parts of it and or some other odd manifestations. Blah!
As I let "Danny O'Shea" out the door I was hit with a "balmy breeze" and the familiar smell of......"mold." Phew!
Oh yes...we are back to January weather here.

I'm just grateful for the five minutes of "cold weather" we did get near the holidays. Makes it more "festive" and all here in the South.
Plus..it wasn't all that bad at all and it did help clean up the air a bit.

Good thing Miss Priss and I wore our "new" hats. We may not get to wear them again for another....hummm....year? Who knows. You can never tell down here.

Here's the deal though on my hat....I found it at "Whole Foods" and I thought it was a GRAND ideal.

It's made out of recycled plastic bottle caps and plastic bottles. They spin those things into a "Fleece." IS that amazing? I mean, it looked just like "normal" fleece whatever normal is. HA!

I of course loved the ideal and the hat and it was a rainy, dreary day when I was at the store and that helped me motivate on buying it by thinking....
"I might REALLY get to wear it." And I did. For one day. I wore it all through a lunch visit and all through a visit to a coffee house......so there you go.

I have it "saved" in the coat closet with our scarves and "Winter" coats...in case we get another "cold snap".....but I'm not entirely banking on that happening.

Good life.....Good friends.....

Miss Priss snapped this photo of my friend Shawn and I after lunch at the Cafe we went to.

Yesterday my good friend Shawn, Miss Priss and I went to lunch and had a great visit.
Miss Priss and I decided it was cold enough (and it was for here) to wear our new hats and our winter scarves...good thing too because where we were first seated at the Cafe......was so cold....then we saw there was a "HOLE" in the woodwork in the window....like from humidity and condensation...ummmmm......
"Welcome to Louisiana."

This eatery is no "dump" either. It's just how it works here with the weather here at times.

So we moved tables.....and the place was STILL cold.
Oh well.....better cold than hot. Or something like that.Miss Priss...cold but cheerful.

Shawn gave me and Miss Priss some lovely "Christmas gifts" and we had some things for her and her children as well.

I MUST say though....I was the one that was SOOOOO happy with my GIFT!!! I mean we all liked what we recieved...but I NEEDED what I was given big time.

Shawn gave me a tube of lipstick and it was a MIRACLE I am telling you!
I had just started to "fret" a bit the other day....because my ONE and only tube of lipstick is down to a thin "sliver"....ha!

I'm the kind of person that HAS GOT to have on lipstick...I mean I may not dress up...I may not have my hair done...I may not even have any other makeup on my face but I have to have on a tad bit of lipstick.
Don't ask me why but I am a bit of a freak about that.

Thing is..I never buy make up until I NEED it bad I hate spending money on make up so even though I need and use it. Just me.
So..I was very out of lipstick at this point.

I had even resorted to looking for something "close" to the color I normally use at the GROCERY STORE the other day when I was in there getting some items.....sill me.

However.....my friend Shawn didn't know any of this. I was overjoyed when I opened my package and seen a lovely tube of lipstick in my EXACT color!! She used to sell this make up so she knew what I wore! HA!
IS this awesome though or what?

This is the SECOND time this has happened to me since Christmas....

I had been wanting a new "cloth purse"....something lighter weight and something CUTE (of course) and something...ummmm....cheap (not designer)....yet elegant enough....Ha! And something with a longer handle so I could cross it over my body if I'm out shopping or whatever.

Hummmm......it was a tall order....because I had even somewhat looked around and nothing suited me.

We had received a package before Christmas from my Father and Step Mother and I put all the gifts under the tree without checking them over any at all.

One night.....before leaving to go to church.....I reached to turn off the Christmas tree lights and had to "move" one of the packages...and it was soft. Hummmm....and it was for "ME!" Hummm....well I was telling my friend Lori about this and she said...."Open it early."

So I followed her "good advice" (I know I'm "naughty" but it was only like 4 days from Christmas at this point)and IT WAS A NEW CUUUUUTE "Purse"...just what I would have WANTED....long strap.....cute, cute...and I could tell it was hand made.
I loved it....great colors and shape.
It was the "Total package!!!"

My Step Mom had "no clue" that I had wanted a purse like this. She even had someone make it SPECIAL for me!! She lives in Illinois and she had someone in Missouri make it for me after picking out the fabric and such herself.
VERY NEAT! She told me all this later on.

This just goes to show you that if we don't get in a rush and if we "Wait" on the Lord...HE will work it out for us if we let Him.
Even our tiniest, craziest, "desires!"