Fleur de Aleta

Not long ago, my husband and I went to the Westbank.  This was when the President was in town and we forgot that many of the New Orleans roads would be closed.  Traffic was a nightmare.  Having two car accidents along the route didn't help speed things up either.  But my loving, wonderful, thoughtful husband was determined that we get to the Westbank Best Buy that afternoon. I needed something for my computer and this particular store was the only place we could find it.  On the way we went over the GNO (Greater New Orleans) Bridge to cross the Mississippi River.  I took pictures.  I love bridges :)  (Before you get on the bridge, there's a little sign with a pelican on it - too cute) On the way home, we took a different route, staying on the Westbank Expressway and coming back over the Mississippi River by the Huey P Long.  But the locals call it the "Huey P Narrow."  Construction is underway to make the lanes larger, but for ...

I went to Walgreens first and asked one of the employees for "Nemos." Cue confused look and the words, "The fish?" "No.  I'm trying to find nemos, it's chocolate." "You want a chocolate fish?  We don't sell chocolate fish." Needless to say, they didn't have it.  Nor did two gas station stores.  I was hopeful when a Brother's employee pointed me to an aisle... only to find that he meant the gold fish crackers! Up and down the aisles, telling employees I'm trying to find nemo's a getting some of the craziest expressions in response.... I felt like an idiot. Yes, it was a hunt to find Nemo, but not the clown fish!  Someone even asked if I wanted the movie store?! We ended up going to the local grocery store and settling for brownies. But... if you FIND NEMOS, please let me know - what store, what city, what state.  Because I'll send my husband there!! No, this is not PMS. It's not even for me. ...

Yes, you read correctly, bacon in a can . I was tempted to put this on my food blog, but that's for recipes.  This.... is definitely not a recipe. It all started when Greg's siblings wanted to have a special breakfast gathering to celebrate their parents' 55th wedding anniversary.  Bonnie asked Greg to bring the meat, sausage, turkey bacon, regular bacon. But we didn't bring the bacon in a can.  Bonnie had this at her house: In order to get the bacon out of the can, Bonnie had to open the can at both ends and push the wrapped bacon out.  It unfolded to reveal a bunch of bacon strips.  Greg tried some and said it was a little salty.  Bonnie's daughter said it was "wet."  I didn't have the nerve to try it. Good conversation piece though.  After the taste test, Bonnie concluded, "It will be good to use as seasoning in a dish."

Bon Ton Café on Magazine Street in New Orleans is a must! My parents invited us to go to the restaurant, after having been there with my aunt and uncle a few weeks ago.   It doesn’t look like a big restaurant from the street view in the Warehouse District, but it has plenty of room inside, along with a quaint New Orleans style brick interior and some of the friendliest staff you will ever find. Something to note is that this restaurant is not open during the weekends!   We went for lunch.  If you go, ask for Joy as your waitress.  She’s great.  She remembered my parents from their first visit and even recalled what my parents do for a living and that it was my Mom’s sister and her husband that came with them the first time. Oh and Joy is a trip, she has to start or stop every sentence with “Bebe” in a Southern drawl. My meal started with turtle soup.  I’ve never tried this before.  Honestly?  I’m not sure I’d g...

Above is a video I recently created using a program I'm attempting to learn.  I thought it might be a cute way to introduce my new blog :) Yes, another blog.  But I have a good reason to subdivide things.  I like to stay organized.  Having things variously posted on my blog can drive me a little batty.  Recipes here and there was fine when I wasn't cooking much and I do plan on cooking more (just have a big project in front of me right now).  So, I like having a separate recipe blog. Writing about gardening when I first started it was fun to post here too... but I could really clog up my FleurdeAleta blog with gardening and I don't want to do that either.  However, there's a lot to share with gardening :) I'm also afraid I'll forget the research and tidbits that I've learned about the flowers.  Where to plant them, how to take care of them, water requirements, etc.  So, this new blog is my memory bank for future reference.  An...

No, I don't smoke.  Never have.  I think that's because Dad used to smoke a lot when I was a kid.  I watched as he struggling numerous times to quit.  He finally did, Thank God. My friend, Kristen, has tried various times as well.  Just a few days ago, Kristen came by for a visit and we went to lunch.  I got into her car and she asked, "Do you smell any thing?" During the summer months my sense of smell isn't the best, because of sinus issues.  I took a couple of deep sniffs and said, "Uh, no."  I wasn't sure if she just had her car cleaned and I was supposed to smell mint or whatever spray stuff they use at car washes. Kristen smiled, "Good.  Bill and I emptied all of the ash trays out of the house and out of the car and cleaned it up."  She took out her cigarette, which was being charged.  Yes, it's one of those electric cigarettes, the one with nicotine in them, but not the stuff that's bad for you. She showed me the box ...

I'm teaching myself how to use FCP.  This is a sample of some of the things I've learned... freeze frames, voice over, transitions, slow motion and titles.

Simple version of a Strawberry Shortcake.  Just like in the last post, where I want to get veggies into the diet, I also want to incorporate fruits too.  But it has to be something quick and easy.  If it's a desert, even better. Sara Lee's pound cake Strawberries Cool Whip, sugar free (or ready whip) I sliced a small section of the pound cake, then I cut that small section into smaller pieces, put those around the edges of a small bowl. I cut up the strawberries into small pieces and put that in the middle of the small bowl. Put a dollop of cool whip on top and it's good to go. Not healthy because of the pound cake, but I used a very small portion of it.  Mostly it was the strawberries.  (And if you have a few tart strawberries, the cool whip and pound cake help to take that bite off of the tart.) It's quick; it's easy and it includes strawberries :)  It's filling and satisfies the sweet tooth.

My parents came over one afternoon and stayed in the office room for a little while, with Dad sitting at my computer desk.  I had complained about headaches...  Later that night, Dad told Mom, "I know why Aleta is getting headaches.  It's the afternoon sun coming through the large window.  I sat at her desk and started having a headache within just a few minutes.  I don't know how she handles it." Then, my Dad suggested that I tint the window.  Tint?  Dad continued, "Sure.  Call the company that tinted my vehicle windows."   I had my doubts.  What company tints house windows?  Yes, they do and from what I understand, it's growing in popularity with home owners.  Heck, there's even a tax write off for window tinting because it saves on the electricity bill. I give Dad the credit for the tint idea and my husband the credit for the color.  The tint company came with a variety of different tints.  One tint was just a ...

I'm always saying that we need more veggies in our meals.  I love salads, but I'm more of a "chef salad" - everything and the kitchen sink goes into it.  But my husband prefers a very simple salad. Simple Salad it is :) Lettuce - I buy the bag of lettuce Small tomato Small yellow onion Sunflower seeds (ok, if it's going to be a simple salad, I have to have sunflower seeds!) Dressing Pepper The lettuce, even in the bags is still sometimes too long, so I tear the pieces up to make it smaller. Cut the tomato into small pieces (not diced though) Chop the onions (I don't cut it into rings, I chop it) The main thing my husband and I like about salads is that we shouldn't need to "cut" it with a knife.  The pieces should be bite sized.  Sometimes people put these huge chunks of veggies into a salad and you feel like you need a steak knife in order to eat a salad! The salad goes into a nice sized bowl, sunflower seeds on the side, pepper on the ready, as...

Ever get that perfectly timed picture?  Here's one.... I just love how our dog, Penny, is looking at Tigger yawn.  As if Penny is saying, "I'm not messing with that cat.  Look at those teeth!" Here's the moment after, Tigger giving me a "Whatever" look :)

Ingredients: 4 Boneless skinless chicken breast 2 tbsp honey 1/2 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground cinnamon (though I'd cut this to 1/2 tsp) 1 cup orange juice (look for oj with the lowest amount of sugar) 1/2 cup pineapple juice (I bought a can of pineapple chunks in pineapple juice and used the juice from this) 2 tsp basil 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (probably reduce amount of this as well) salt and pepper butter flour cooked rice Preheat oven to 350 Salt and Pepper the chicken In a skillet, add butter and chicken.  Cook chicken, 2-3 minutes on each side. While chicken is cooking, spray casserole dish with cooking spray. When chicken is finished, place in casserole dish. Add onions and bell peppers and little more butter into skillet.  Cook until soft. While onions and bell peppers are cooking, in a bowl - mix the honey, paprika, cinnamon, oj, pineapple juice, basil, sugar - mix well. Put onions and bell peppers on top of ch...

My aunt and uncle visited from Texas.  While they were in town, we went to eat at Phil's Grill.  It's a fun restaurant where you use a pencil to mark exactly what you want on your sandwich (including alligator, etc.)  It's an experience. Towards the end of our meal, Mom whispers to me, "What does she have?  Is that a phone?" Why, yes... it was.  A bright baby blue phone.  An old phone attachment... that was.... attached to her iPhone!! I tried to take a picture as if I was taking a picture of Dad, hehe. In the below picture she is holding her iPhone in her hand.  So, she has a regular phone cradle part and curly phone wire to her iPhone.  I have to admit, I thought it was kind of neat :)

One of my friends told me about a recent experience.  She was visiting with another friend and they were gossiping.  Friend A had to go to the bathroom.  Friend B said, "Well, leave the bathroom door open, so we can still talk."  Friend A was mortified! I would have closed the door. Pee Time = Privacy Time Honestly.... I don't even like it when someone takes their phone into the bathroom to continue a phone conversation, because..... - Yes, You can hear the voice echo in the bathroom over the phone, so you know where the person is - Yes, You can hear the stream (or worse) - Yes, You can hear the toilet paper whizzing off the roll (pun intended) - Yes, You can (hopefully at this point) hear the toilet flush - Yes, You can (praying this happens next) hear the sink water run So, to certain people who read my blog... *cough* family...  if you need to go badly and we're talking, by all means let me off the phone and call me back... or do the potty dance...

Did you know that Lowe's has a clearance section for plants?  It's usually outside, way, way, way in the back... and typically a sectioned off part that isn't labeled as clearance.  But it's there and the prices are at least 50 percent off, sometimes more than that. Of course, most of those plants look at least 50 percent dead. I was with my friend, Kim, when we did a little shopping in the clearance area.  I saw a firecracker plant.  It was mostly brown.  Kinda ugly.  But I saw some potential.  I thought... heck it's cheap and if it doesn't make it, it won't break the bank.  There was some green barely peaking through the waves of dead. The firecracker clearance plant found a place in my front garden.  It's been watered daily.... and look at it now :) :) :)  Love all the red blooms!  I think it's found a happy home.