The Bridge

We live across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans. To get there, we go "across the bridge". The bridge is the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway. The Causeway is the longest bridge in the world that is over water and the second longest in the world overall. The Causeway consists of two parallel bridges that are approximately 23.87 miles long. We have to pay a toll if we are going southbound to New Orleans, but there is no toll for the return trip. This picture shows the toll booths for the south bound traffic.

Driving across the bridge brings some interesting sites. Sometimes you will see a pelican sitting on the railing or seagulls looking for dinner. Many boats are seen along the trip...sailboats, fishing boats, those who are crabbing, and those just out for a ride. I don't think we give much thought to how amazing the bridge is. It is just a part of life here on the Northshore.

Volunteering

Today, Robyn started volunteering for S.T.A.R.T. (St. Tammany Animal Resource Team). They are a local animal rescue agency who offers pets for adoption at our local PetSmart. Robyn will be cleaning the cat cages and helping on Saturdays when the bring the dogs to the store in hopes of finding their forever home. Today was cage cleaning day. I did this job several years ago and had to stop because my allergies were going crazy. I am allergic to both cats and dogs, but I seem to be able to handle it in a house a lot better than in a tiny room with no ventilation and 8-12 cats. It is so fun to play with the cats while they are loose in the room. Some of the cats are scared and you can help to get them used to humans.

Robyn enjoyed her work. Like I did, she has found a favorite or two. It makes you feel good when they are adopted out. They will have a family who will love and cherish them as all cats should be.

Multilingual? I Wish

We had to head back to Lowe's to pick up something we forgot and saw this sign. I wish I could speak a second language. It was be so cool to be able to go to another country and feel as though you could do what you needed to do without worrying about being at the mercy of hoping they knew English or understood your game of charades. Bk, before kids, I went on a tour of Europe with my parents and sister. In Rotenburg Germany, I saw a lovely pitcher I wanted to buy. The owner of the shop was away at lunch and the clerk handling the store didn't know English. We were both able to point and act out what I needed for my purchase, but it could have been so much easier. I would have love to have been able to talk with her. I think she felt the same way. When I look at the pitcher I remember the transaction. It brings a smile to my face and I wonder what that clerk is doing now.

Still Pitiful

Jasmine is such a silly thing. She moans, groans, and sleeps in all sorts of contorted positions. She is comfortable and doesn't seem to mind. I frequently pass her "room" throughout the day and find her in all sort of crazy ways. This is one of her latest. She is sleeping on her back (her favorite position) and on top of her bowl. I had come in to take her bowl out of her room (see here as to why she eats in her room). I guess I was not fast enough and the sandman came for a visit.

A New Family Member

Such is the life in Southeast Louisiana. As soon as the end of May nears, we start thinking about hurricane season. We bought a generator in Houston while we were evacuated for Katrina. Phillip used it when he had gone back to check on the house and his office. It was a cheapish model and served its purpose briefly. We bought a second generator year before last. It was used last year when Gustav blew through. It was tossed around a bit when the small tornado ripped though the back yard. Phillip tried to get it up and running for this season. It was not cooperating. He has tried everything and Bill, our next door neighbor, came over to lend his expertise. Nope, nothing, nada.

We headed over to Lowe's and bought another generator. You really don't want to go too long without power. Trust me on this. Hopefully, it will be easier to put together than the last one.

Added 7/6/09 Phillip decided to take the air filter out of the old one and rinse and let it dry as a last resort. He is convinced that the old generator started up right a way because it saw the handwriting on the wall with the new generator sitting next to it.

Happy Independence Day !

I love the 4th of July. Seeing the colors of red, white and blue makes me happy. I also love Christmas because of the colors. But anyway...we had a mini party with Uncle Gary, Shelby and Tessa coming over to eat, knit, and watch movies (Phillip and Gary refrained from knitting). It was a wonderful day spent with family and friends.

Cara decided to wear her new outfit to show Tessa. I was telling Nana how cute she looked in it and wanted to send her a picture. I called Cara in for the picture. This is the pose she liked best. I just love that girl!

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old...

A couple of times a year, my pal Tina comes into town. A couple of buddies from Baton Rouge come down as we meet at Tina's daughter's house to catch up on each other's lives. Paige is so gracious to let us use her house as our base. These ladies are my some of oldest friends...the ones I have kept in contact with the longest over the years. We initially met in college and later worked together. Debbie and Gina were in my wedding and Tina has given me support and strength (although she might not realize it) throughout the years. We don't get to see each other as often as we would like due to work and family commitments as well as distance.

Friends bring so much richness to your lives. These three ladies are my a few of my "golden girls". They are gold treasures in my collection of friends.

Vernon

Robyn has been back at the needles again and has created yet another cute "softy". This one she has named Vernon. I have no idea where the name came from, but it seems to suit him. She says Vernon loves music and can often be found by the stereo, jamming to his tunes. Vernon joins an already filled softy area of her room. He will have plenty of buddies to hang out with.

Adventures in Felting Part Deaux

The next step, in my bag creation, was to felt it. I put it in the washing machine with a tiny bit of soap and a pair of jeans. I put the water on hot and added some big time agitation. I got on the computer to start working on these blog posts and kinda forgot about the time. I was supposed to check it every 5 to 10 minutes to see how it looked. All was well and I love how it turned out. It is the perfect size for what I wanted. I put a box in it to hold its shape as it dries. Once it is dried, I will get all of the fuzzies off of it from the felting and I will be good to go.

The New Hard Drive

The hard drive is here! The hard drive is here! I felt like Paul Revere as I ran through the house announcing its arrival. I called Dell and they were able to walk me through the process of removing the old drive, installing the new one, and reloading Windows. The tech was amusing because he kept telling me that I was doing very well. He said many people have trouble following directions. I didn't find it all that hard. I can follow directions...when I choose and I was completely motivated to do so here. It took most of the afternoon to get it all of the software back on, drivers installed, etc. I gave my computer a big hug and told it how much I missed it. Computer...please don't leave me like this again!

My First Attempt at Felting

Robyn has felted a couple of items and I like the way they came out. I decided I needed a felted bag to put my current knitting projects in. I wanted something a little bigger than the bag I was using, but I didn't want a big bag where I would lose stuff in the corners. The solution was to make my own. I have a love/hate relationship with the sewing machine. I would love to be able to machine sew, but the bobbin hates me. A felted bag would do the trick for me. I could make it completely my own design. I knit until the sides looked long enough and then started another side. The same with the handles.

I really had a great time making something to keep for a change.

The picture above shows the bag before the felting process. I am curious how big it will finally be.

The LYS

Since my computer was kaput (and you probably know where I am going with this), I did a little knitting. A yarn shop opened up last September about 20 minutes away and I felt the need to make a visit. You will be impressed that it was my first visit there. I was afraid to go, because I knew I would fall in love with a ton of yarn and you know I don't NEED any more yarn. Want it, but don't need it. Today I did need a certain color. My trusty chauffeur took the wheel and off we went. I spent a lot of time drooling over the yarn. I picked up a bunch, but I made myself put it down. I was proud of myself, because I only bought the one skein I needed. Robyn on the other hand was the big purchaser. At first she wanted me to drive home so she could admire her purchases, but the lure of being able to drive was stronger and she decided to let her poor mother do the admiring for her.

LYS= Local Yarn Store

Waterproofing the Deck

Phillip decided this was the weekend to seal the deck. I wonder why he chooses to do this in the summer, and not only that...he waits until mid day to do it. He doesn't feel the heat like I do, but I think this time he did. I question why he doesn't get up early to do work outside. He tells me he will do things on his time. OK...it is just painful to watch him outside working in the heat when the heat index is around 110 degrees.

He did stop long enough to come in to get some water and to tell me to come and take his picture for the blog.

Round #2 of the Birthday Sleepovers

Round number two of the birthday sleepovers featured Haley. Haley is another friend Cara wanted to have over. Cara and Haley spend a lot of time online checking out various sites and discussing characters they have created. Sleepover time with Haley will be similar to the time spend with Tessa as they will swim some and spend the rest of their time on the computer. I don't think they will be able to stay up as late as Cara and Tessa did, because their Girl Scout troop is going horseback riding in the afternoon and they can't sleep in as long as they would like.

Birthdays are best spent in the company of those you share things with. Cara was able to have two great sleepovers with two friends who make her happy.

National Champs!

Yaa Hooo! I am so thrilled. Our boys pulled it out. I had been glued to the TV for the past 3 nights awaiting the outcome of this series. It ended the way I wanted it to. I had to get a picture of the front page of today's paper.

I remember when we first moved to Louisiana. It was 1970. Our next door neighbors were die hard LSU fans. On home game Saturdays, Mr. Benefield would open all of his windows and crank up "Hey Fighting Tigers, "Tiger Rag", and any other songs played by the Golden Band from Tigerland. He would then proceed to get ready to leave for the game. Getting ready seemed to involve filling his trunk with cases of beer. He always wore his LSU football game attire of a purple shirt, gold pants, white belt and shoes, and freshly manicured flat top. We had just moved to Louisiana from New Mexico and I thought he was crazy. I made a vow to never go to a school where the fans and alumni were nuts. Fast forward 3 moves and 8 years later, I am graduating from high school. The funny thing about saying you are never doing something is that sometimes you do exactly what you said you would never do. Yes, I attended LSU and received my B.S. and M.A. from there. I love the place! I am not as nutty as Mr. Benefield was, but I love me some LSU. Needless to say, there was some hooting and hollering last night when my beloved Tigers won the College World Series. Go Fighting Tigers. Go all the way...

Added on 7/2/09...I had forgotten to post this one when I was updating the blog after the great hard drive mishap. How could I have forgotten?

RIP Hard Dirve

Due to the untimely demise of my hard drive, I will not be able to post until the new one is installed. I will continue to take pitures each day and will update the blog with these as soon as I can.

Creative Advertising

As I was being chauffeured around by my oldest, we noticed this car while stopped at a light in downtown Covington. Since I started this blog, each member of the family (well the human ones anyway) has pointed out certain things that would make great pictures of the day. This was no exception. Robyn told me to grab my camera, but I was not as fast as the light. We made a trip around the block, so I could capture this bad boy. I could not get the whole car and still get the license plate, but you can probably figure out how the rest of the car looks. I still laugh when I think about the license plate. It is definitely memorable. I may not remember Troy's phone number, but I will remember his car.

Birthday Sleepover

Cara's birthday was this past week and she wanted to have friends sleepover. Unfortunately neither of her buddies were available for her actual birthday, so she compromised by having them over one at a time to hang and be silly. Tonight was Tessa's night. She and Tessa have a great friendship. They are both very funny, dramatic and compliment each other well. They spent the evening swimming and "working" on the computer. Plans are that we will go to IHOP in the morning for breakfast. I have a feeling there will be little sleeping tonight for these two.

Yes, Virginia, There is Another Hat

While I was in Tampa, I kinda went on a minor yarn shopping spree. I hit the Jo Ann's for their sale and came away with some excellent yarn. One of my purchases was a skein of Jo Ann's brand yarn called Sensations. It is this huge skein of multi-colors acrylic that I thought would look great as a hat. So I started a knittin' and here is the result. I really liked the yarn. It is soft and I like how it felt in my hands. Robyn is a big fan of the striping.

Sympathy?

Skittles has not been herself today. She is kinda mopey and wants to lie very close. The only thing that seemed to cheer her up was a ride in the car. Yes, I did drive her around the neighborhood to make her happy. She has spent some time today lying at my feet under the computer desk. Usually, that is Pretty's place of business. One might say that Pretty is not the friendliest of cats. She pretty much likes just me. I am sitting on the computer goofing around, with Skittles at my feet, using my foot to scratch her tummy. All of a sudden I get a swat on the other side of my leg. Pretty has come and is sitting in close proximity of Skittles. To say that Pretty hates the dogs is putting it very mildly. I wonder if she sees that Skittles is not herself and is giving her a break from her usual surliness. Maybe she thinks my foot is bothering Skittles. Pretty and sympathy...who would have thought?