Fleur de Aleta

I am guilty of buying things I don’t need and tossing stuff I never used. In fact, I was shocked with how much we had for the garage sale (and the profit from said sale). Tonight, Greg sent me a link and I thought I’d share it here. Take 20 minutes of your time and listen to the entire thing. After you listen, is there anything you think you can do to make a change? We are all part of the big picture and it’s time we took responsibility for it. Truly, what are your values? Click here to watch Story of Stuff.

Everything gets compared to Katrina when you don’t have something that you take for granted. The water lines were turned off all day. Someone backed up into the fire hydrant that services our street. When the water department realized what happened, the first crew came out to do a repair. Only, the hydrant was built in the 1950’s and they couldn’t just fix it, they had to replace it. (Goes to show you that those hydrants were built right! It took someone backing into it to take it out of commission!) The second crew came in with the new hydrant and of course, there’s the "it’s never an easy" fix type of situation with parts that didn’t quite go right and having to get another piece. The biggest factor in the 12 hour project was because the first crew didn’t tell the second crew that when the hydrant was backed into, it broke a water line. Hence, when the second crew turned on the new hydrant, it blew up the service line that was cracked! During all this time, we had to rememb...

One of Greg's friends has a keyless entry that not only opens the car doors and trunk, but also starts the car. We received an email that you can open the car with a cell phone and Greg decided to give it a try. His friend stood by the car with a cell phone. Greg walked miles away with the keyless entry in his hand. He called his friend on the cell phone and said, "OK, hold your cell phone to the car." Greg clicked on keyless entry and Viola! Not only did they open the car, but with the keyless entry, he STARTED the car too! So, if you ever lock your keys in the car, just call someone who has your other keyless entry and they can open it for you! I also received the following info, but haven't tried it to know for certain that it's correct: "info on a free service for locating businesses when you are on the road - note that this is for the US only: dial 1-800-goog-411 from any phone. state your location and the type of business you are looking for. the goog...

A friend of the family sent an email to me and with this friend’s permission, I wanted to share it on my blog: "I communicate with most my friends and business associates via e-mail, I have access to e-mail on my BlackBerry and it’s become an important part of my life. However, I never expected that e-mail had reached critical mass until my doctor, dentist and LAWN CARE company asked me for my e-mail address. Yep, LAWN CARE companies want to send me e-mails and conduct business this way. Did you know that every e-mail on the internet is sent unencrypted? Yes, that means that any third party, the internet service provider, telecom company, employer or any institution in the route between the mail servers can read your e-mail messages. My first exposure to this reality was in the Summer of 1995 when I worked on a mail server that connected a e-mail system to the internet. When I was working on that system, a few e-mail messages lost in the mail system. When I recovered the messages ...

Woo Hoo! I accomplished another thing on my list! Last night I cooked pancakes. OK, it’s not supper material, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t rushed in the morning and to feel comfortable with making the food. I followed Greg’s recipe and they came out great! I’m tickled! For those who might be interested, here’s the recipe: Greg’s Nearly World Famous GREAT Nanna Pancakes NOTE: Do not try this recipe with an unripe banana. It must be ripe, at least have speckles on it. NOTE: This entire recipe is made directly IN a measuring cup (with an exception to smashing a banana) I used this big 4 cup measuring cup, which gave plenty of room and easy to use. Directions: Thoroughly beat one egg in a "2 cup" or larger measuring cup. Add to that egg some milk until it reaches the 1 cup line. Stir Add 2 packets of sugar or Splenda (I like Splenda) Add "Bisquick" to the egg/milk/sweetener mixture until you get the mix to your desired thickness. (you add quite a bit of Bisquick t...

(picture is of the Mississippi River) The Bonnie Carre Spillway is open. The winter water and heavy rains from up north made the Mississippi River swell. It was a risk of flooding New Orleans East or opening the spillway and dumping the water into one of the largest lakes in Louisiana. Poor Pontchartrain, she takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin. At first, when Greg mentioned the sediment from the river that normally goes to the gulf and how this sediment will now be in the lake, I thought it was a good thing. Isn't that sediment supposed to be rich? His response was that the sediment includes the nitrates and chemicals from livestock and agriculture, such as pesticides from farmers, washing down from northern states. The sediments will create "dead zones" in the lake. The spillway, an area of 5 1/2 miles, is where River Married Lake, the water f low is said to be a third of that at the Niagara Falls. We drove up the spillway and saw all the land that used to be dry, ...

Johns Creek, Georgia  June 2014 Visiting with Rene Eurika Springs, Arkansas  October 2013 First vacation with our son Nashville, TN, December 2012 Charles Dickens Christmas and Gaylord's Hotel St Michael's, Maryland October 2012 Relaxing vacation in Maryland TEXAS 2012 Trip to Texas celebrating Danny's 50th Birthday Party New York City 2012 There are multiple posts for our NYC trip Part 1 - Restaurant and Times Square at night Part 2 - 911 Memorial Part 3 - Broadway Show (Book of Mormon) and Pedicab Part 4 - Empire State Building - Twilight Part 5 - Lady Liberty Part 6 - Ellis Island Part 7 - New York style Pizza and Sweets Part 8 - Terracotta Warriors Exhibit Final: Part 9 - Circle in the Square Broadway Show ARIZONA 10/11 There are multiple posts for our Arizona trip (from Phoenix to Page): Drive from Phoenix to Sedona Helicopter/Jeep Tour in Sedona and Visiting with Family in Flagstaff Grand Canyon Horses...

NBA Cares & Cisco are dedicated to the rebuilding of New Orleans. Cisco works directly with the schools. I blogged about an article regarding the Promethian board and my Mom. She's also in this video (look for the lady with white hair and a red blouse). To see the video, click here and then click on the link that reads: "Cisco and NBA Cares Video." I'm proud of you, Ma! Love ya! To NBA Cares and Cisco ~ God Bless!

Inspired by Semi Charmed Wife (she has a wonderful site!), I'm following her list idea of "101 things to do in 1001 days." Goals are a great idea and help to keep a focus on obtaining what you want and need. In doing some research about making goals, it seems that being specific, yet flexible is the key. Giving 1001 is the flexible part, because there is time to get things done. But the specific comes to the actual goal itself. As each goal is achieved, I'll notate the day it took place next to the goal. My starting day is today, April 11, 2007 and my ending day is Jan 7, 2011. If you want to figure out how to find your ending day, click here . Hobbies: 1. Write 20 poems, includes all forms, in 2 months 2. Make 10 new pieces of jewelry in 2 months (completed 8 bracelets 7/2/08) 3. Photograph the new jewelry and update my jewelry site 4. Play the piano at least once a week for 2 months. 5. Learn two new songs on the piano (learning "Foolish Games" - Greg'...

Greg and I were watching the National Geographic channel. The theme for tonight's show was super human powers. One example was how a man could control the temperature of his body. He could run with only shorts on through freezing temperatures in the snow for over an hour and not have frost bite. Another story was about a man from Turkey who was born with no eyes, yet he could paint incredible pictures and even have dimension in the paintings. He painted with his fingers. I liked that story the most, just incredible paintings! The story that Greg and I found a little hokey was a women who said she could see sounds. When she hears a sound, she sees colors. The first time it happened, she was in her late teens and was caught in a rainstorm. She realized each sound of the raindrops had individual colors. She described the colors as a ribbon and also said that even words have different colors associated with them when someone speaks. The artist in me thought "beautiful," but ...

" Top of my head feels like a beading cloth " is the text that Greg sent to me. I busted out laughing. Only Greg, that wonderful man, could express himself so eloquently. Lol. How many men do you know would be able to relate to a "beading cloth?" Greg can, because he knew I wanted some material that holds the beads while I’m making jewelry. He went to various stores and found some for me and knows how it feels to the touch. So, he has a really good reference point to that fuzzy texture. I like it. He used the shaving gadget on # 1; it’s the closest you can get without going bald. Another Greg quote is, "Great, now we’ll have Dandelion Yellow on the walls. Why can’t they come up with guy names for paint, like Beer Yellow or Road Kill Brown?" He listed off a number of other more masculine names and kept a group of us laughing at Home Depot. If you want to play a " paint chip game " - where you see the name of the color and pick which color it's...

Henriette’s comment made me reminiscent of the poetry forum I used to run. I don’t write much poetry now, but from time to time I’ll try a form or two. For those who might want to do the same, here's a few, including examples I wrote for each. Hummingbird Palindrome hummingbirds dance and flirting to tender blossom sweet with sunrise delight ~ Fragrance ~ delight sunrise with sweet blossom tender flirting and dance to hummingbirds * Palindrome Form ~ carefully placing words to form the sentence, whether it is read forward or backward. Clerihew ~ Southern Belle Scarlett, belle of the ball, living in chaotic years defending against carpetbaggers and fighting tears With attitude and self confidence to spare living vicariously, gutsy, no-nonsense and flare A Clerihew is a verse consisting of two couplets and a specific rhyming scheme, usually aabb and is about a person/character within the first rhyme. Poetic Renderings (forum name) was based on "Gone With The Wind" so I coul...

I thought it was an ironic thing, but come to find out it's not an unheard of concept. One of Greg's friends is a Rector Pastor who took up the skill after going shooting with Greg. He had some great childhood stories to share. The Rev also talked about the first and last time he wore his collar on a flight. Someone made that trip very long with confessions and life stories. He made me laugh with the recap of memories. It was differ ent meeting Greg's friend versus the Archbishop, both had a delightful sense of humor. The Archbishop had a quiet, kind demeanor. It was special to share in the private celebration that he offered to Greg's family for his parents' 50th anniversary and his mom's retirement. Click here to read the Clarion Herald article on Greg's parents and their work with charity. (picture ~ Greg's parents celebrating their 50th anniversary) "We are not an island to ourselves" and hopefully feel the need to be there for each other. ...

" Aleta’s Accessories " is a site where I showcase some of the jewelry I’ve created. It’s a labor of love and a great way to distract myself from a difficult day at the office. I wanted to feel certain that I was comfortable with the off-loom even-count peyote stitch. The below bracelet is all peyote and then a ladder stitch to bind the tubes together. This is one of my favorites, a braid in the bracelet. It’s fun to make. So, anyone have any interesting hobbies they’d like to share? I’m also trying to grow a green thumb, that is, a garden. The morning glories are coming up nicely and the vines are starting to curly cue around the latticework, like a child’s hand reaching out… If you are in the New Orleans area and would like to join a great group of ladies who do beading once a month, check out the New Orleans Beading Society Blog.

What would you say to the "future you?" Would you write of goals and hope that you are on track? There is a future me site and I thought, "what the heck" so I sent a letter. I looked at some of the "public letters" which is an option I didn’t go for. It was sad to read how many people said, "life sucks." I’m happy and my letter reflects it, as well as the dream for continued joy. One public letter was from a man in the army. He sent it to his wife, if he wasn’t home from the war that he was in the arms of God. He told his wife not to be mad, because the world won’t stop and the children need her and even if he isn’t there, he needs her too. It was beautifully written. If you're interested in the site, click here .

I’ve heard of the nesting syndrome, the empty nest syndrome and such. You could definitely say that Greg and I have nested, given our home merging and garage sales. It seems the local dove that coos like an owl has decided to join us. I have a "bird condo" built from Katrina wood, but the lovely dovey didn’t find this a generous dwelling and instead took residence on the garage door motor! She stays in the nest with her egg until the door opens and we drive out. Now, here we are, spending all that money on construction and we’re tempted to park the cars outside of the garage in order that the dove have a safe haven. Lol. In the pics, to see the egg, look at the reflection. Below the egg picture, I'm also including updated pictures of the table that Greg made, as well as the concrete painting that we did to make the patio look like tile. By the way, we no longer have a sandbox backyard (not seen in these pictures).