Fleur de Aleta

So often I have friends and family who want to visit Louisiana and ask, "What should I do when I come to visit?" This inspired me to create an ABC Challenge - where I write about my home state following the theme of ABC. As I participate in the challenge, I will add the links here for future reference. If you click on the link, it will bring you to the post, but I'll also give the words associated with the letter in case there's something specific you might want to read about. A is for : Avery Island, Aquarium of the Americas, Angola and Atchafalaya Basin (pictures of swamp tours) B is for : Bourbon Street (Preservation Hall & Pat O'Brien's), Boudin, Beignets (Cafe du Monde), Bon Ton Cafe in New Orleans C is for : Contemporary Arts Center, Cemeteries, City Park D is for: D-Day Museum E is for : Étouffée F is for : French Quarter (St Louis Cathedral, Cabildo, Artists) and French Market (shopping, Cajun Cafe at the Market) ...

Fleur de Lis is a symbol of New Orleans. After Katrina, it became a sign of rebirth and survival. Greg saw that many of my jewelry pieces had Fleur de Lis on them, so when I tossed around names for my blog, it all came together ~ Fleur de Aleta. I figured if it was unique enough for a blog name, it would be good enough for a poetry book title. I write based on experiences, friendships, joys, sorrow and sometimes ~ just vivid imagination. My poetry book can be purchased from Amazon, click here to go to the link.

I have to share an email that Greg sent to my Mom: ****** "I don’t care HOW much you try to ruin dinner… when it comes to "worst dinner award" your "Scorched Roast Beef" can't hold a candle to my "Tequila Lime Turkey". Nice try though. Better luck next year. I think its Lester’s time to get in the running for that award… or maybe Rob and Aleta !!!! When they cook I will have the ambulance and fire trucks on speed dial. THANKS for dinner though. I appreciate it." ***** Mom laughed, of course. Hmm, between the supper she made the other time of red beans that Greg didn’t like, there’s a ditty in there somewhere…. Don’t ask Mom to cook She’ll make you Burnt Roast and Bland Beans Don’t ask Me to cook ‘Cause Honey, it runs in the Genes Greg and I joined Rob and Roda for supper tonight at Spudley’s. It’s a good restaurant if you like huge baked potatoes that are stuffed with all sorts of food. Rob and Roda decided towards the end of the meal, to let...

Alaska 2007 ~ Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Victoria (Canada) Calving, Flutes, Haunted Castles and Cruise Before we left Louisiana, Greg asked me again about the Alaska book I put together for the trip. He teased me, because the book included not only the flight schedules and NCL boarding info but also maps to each of the ports, deck plans on the ship, things to pack, information on the excursions, health concerns to be aware of while on a cruise ship, etc. I wanted to be thorough in my research and maybe it was a bit much? But what really made him laugh was when he saw the luggage ticket for NCL. OK, so maybe I shouldn't have put that in the book and let everyone print out their own. After his humor settled down, he did ask if we needed to cut this out and attach to our luggage. I asked Dad about the luggage tickets and he said, "No, the representative at NCL would give us labels." The flight to Denver went smoothly, as did the arrival to Seattle, Washington....

"Kumusta Ka?" (How are you?) This is how Greg and I greeted my brother and his fiancé, Roda, the other night when they came over to play Canasta. Roda is originally from the Philippines, but she lived in Dubai when Rob met her. They have been engaged for a year and it took that long to go through the red tape of getting her Engagement Visa. We were so happy to finally meet her! My parents, Greg and I stayed at the house to cook a nice meal, not just for Rob and Roda, but for the crew that came in. Below is a picture at my parents' home, Rob is on the sofa on the far right and Roda is next to him. Poor heart, here she was in a plane for 15 hours and I’m sure the last thing she wanted to do was feel the need to entertain or feel the need to do anything other than sleep! Below is a picture of mom, MawMaw and me. When Rob and Roda came over for Canasta yesterday night, we had a blast! Roda is an intelligent woman and caught on very quickly to the many rules of the card game. ...

Oohhhhhh, Ahhhhh, Happy Birthday, A merica! I remember celebrating our Independence as a little girl with firecrackers and those sparklers, where we wrote our names in the sky ~ Rob’s hands shook with his first firecracker attempts and I ran from the sounds. My parents still have that video of our youth to this day. It’s a shame they didn’t video tape the 50 dollar (back then, that was even more valuable dollar wise) firework. Dad called all of the neighbors to come see the 50 dollar show and it was nothing b ut a dud! Hehe. This year though, we celebrated the 4th at the rooftop of Danny’s condo in the warehouse district. He has a condo next to the Children’s Museum on Gallery Row. It was the first time my parents saw the condo and they really enjoyed it. We were grateful for the breeze on this sultry summer nig ht. Greg brought the radio so we could listen to the synchronized music to the “Battle of the Barges” display. I don’t know if you can tell, but the “burst in the air” are huge...

The following was an email Greg sent to my family, thought it was too cute and had to share: "I SO wish someone was here to witness this this morning. Aleta had just left for work. I was about to leave to go service SLU in Hammond but I decided to call Joe Drago over there first to tell him what I am up to as well to see if there was anything he wanted me to look at specifically. While talking to him on my cell Pebbles started rubbing in to me to get some attention. SO with one hand on the phone and one hand rubbing her I kept talking on the phone. Then… as I was multi tasking with both hands a FLY (first one I have seen all Summer so far) started buzzing around me. So I decided to nestle the phone twixt my ample jowl and my shoulder, … kept on scratching Pebbles and with one swift wave of my hand I caught the fly in mid air… DAMN! Wheres a camera when you want one???… so I took said fly… still buzzing in the palm prison that I expeditiously made for him and walked ...

Bridal Selection Not the first time, I must admit and so it just doesn't feel right to meet my soul mate down the aisle dressed in lacy and fluffy white To the stores in search of color I come across some things absurd Yellow feathers at the bottom Is this for women or Big Bird? Bridal bouquets of dried roses dark fabric swags and black lipstick It may be known as a slimming shade but I don't go for the gothic Sleeveless, embroidery, two-piece A-line or organza ahead With plenty of styles to choose from Stands for good luck, I won't wear red Then I remember the saying A bride who wears this remains true It's simple in an evening gown touch of white, mostly royal blue Winter wedding our time for vows Blessed with sweet friends and family In front of the garden we grew Dressed blue for love ~ foreverly I wrote that poem after looking through wedding dresses! Really, sometimes fashion goes a bit on the extreme. But hey, to each their day! Have you ever made candles? My Mom...