Mid April, we started our little garden. There were all kinds of weeds that we had to pull, some were actually very pretty, so I decided to gather some for a picture. I love the purples and yellows, and no, I am NOT an LSU fan. Purple and yellow have always been two of my favorite colors.

In our garden, we have tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, green beans, cantaloupe, several types of peppers, and several types of squash. My husband, Bill is actually the one with the green thumb. He is the one that does most of the work in the garden. Every evening when he gets home from work, he and our dog, Sox love to go out to see how the garden is, and do a little piddlen'.

Spring In Monroe

About a month ago--around mid March, Bill and I went out to the Bayou and surrounding areas to take some pictures. It had been a beautiful spring, and I was itching at the opportunity of taking some photos. Here is a little of what we saw...

Spring Break!

Finally, spring has sprung!!! Living in Louisiana, you don't really expect much cold weather, but this year, has been a lot different. It started out early Fall 2009, with A LOT of rain. By mid October, all the lakes and rivers were above flood stage, and fall isn't even our rainy season.

Not only have we had a tremendous amount of rain, but we have also had some very cold temperatures, and even a little bit of snow. Several weeks ago, we actually got about four inches of that white stuff. From what I understand this area has not had measurable snow for about 15 years. Even though I am not a fan of snow, I will have to say it was BEEUTEEFUL!! Besides its beauty, I will have say what I liked about it, is that it was only around for a short while. It started snowing late into the afternoon, all night through til about noon the next day...then....it started to go away. The kids (and some of us adults) had our fun with it, and then it left. I can remember living in Indiana, once the snow came, it was there for a while. It started out really pretty, but then we got sick of it real quick. When snow lingers, it soon gets dirty and ugly, no beauty about that.

The last couple of days, I have noticed the trees blooming--looks like "Popcorn popping" on those trees! The temperatures have also been nice--70's and yesterday it actually got to 81!. Today--65! We are still getting a lot of rain. The lakes and rivers are still pretty much above flood stage (this is our rainy season). I do think it is time to start getting our gardens ready, as those cold temperatures are a thing of the past. Summer is just around the corner, the rain will cease, and those hot and humid Louisiana temperatures will be back...and that's fine with me!

Save the Space Program!

I grew up right smack dab in the middle of the space program. My dad was a NASA engineer during the Apollo era, so it was a huge part in my growing up years. What an exciting time! Don't our government leaders not realize how important the space
program has been? Not to mention the jobs, but the way we live today,
the comforts we so enjoy–microwave ovens, computers, television,
internet, satellite, news, weather, safer sports equipment, our modern automobiles, cell phones, food, clothing, medical advancements…I could go on forever…are all due to the space program. I sure hope they think twice before they cut the space program!

Check out these sites:
http://gizmodo.com/5461806/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYUcZFlvI_A

Superbowl XLIV

Living in Louisiana, I have seen people going absolutely crazy about anything Saints oriented. After the game last week, there were many who went to the local sports store (after 11 p.m.) to get their championship t-shirts. CRAZY!!! Mine can wait.

As many of you know, the New Orleans Saints have not been very good for many years. They have been referred to as the "Aints" and many so called fans have gone to the games wearing bags on their heads. Now that they have had a winning season, and are headed to the Superbowl, many are taking off their bags and stocking up on anything Saints.

I have a friend that is getting ready to move from here to Utah. For a going away gift, I decided to make her a necklace. I knew I wanted to put a fleur-de-lis pendant on the necklace and thought it would not be difficult to find one here in Louisiana. Well, when I went into the craft store, I was greeted with black and gold ribbons and bows, Mardi gras beeds, etc. in the entrance of the store. As I looked for my pendant, I could not find what I was looking for, so I asked one of the employees and she showed me the one and only in the store...they were almost sold out! So, I grabbed some black and gold beads and headed home to put together these necklaces. Even though I am not a Saints fan, I thought these came out pretty nicely. I've just got to figure out which one to give my friend.

In a couple of weeks we will all be sitting down watching the Superbowl. My husband has been a Colts fan since he was a little boy. He loved watching Johnny Unitas and Mike Curtis. When we lived in Indiana, about an hour northeast of Indianapolis (in Muncie), our kids became Colts fans. I never really got into it that much. I like teams like the Miami Dolphins or the Denver Broncos. Anyway...we will all be rooting for the Indianapolis Colts. I think we may be a little out numbered here in the neighborhood, but that's ok, especially when the Colts win...lol. But even if the Saints win, then that's o.k. They have never had a better season than this one, and for so long, they have struggled. Soooo....may the best team win!

I'm BAaaaack....!

It's been awhile since I've been on my blog. A lot has been going on. As I mentioned before, we had a great Christmas. Soon after all the holidays, though, we had a blast of very cold weather. Something we don't get much of here in Louisiana. We even had a little bit of snow. No, it did not stick, but it did come down to where we had a beautiful show. It was just that the ground was too warm for it to stick. When we lived in Indiana, our dog, Sox, use to love the snow. She hadn't seen the white stuff for quite a while, so when I opened the door to show her (thinking she would be excited) she ran the other way. Yes, she was scared of it. It was pretty funny.

Well, after our cold spell, we all started getting sick. First it was my 16 year old son. He started the coughing, sneezing and watery eyes stuff. Then it was my husband. He actually got it pretty bad. At first he was ok, just a little cold, then it hit him like a rock. He missed two days of work (it would have been three if it had not run into the weekend). Then two days after he was well enough to head to work, I got it, and boy did I ever get it. I was in bed for THREE DAYS!!! I hated every minute of it, but I just could not move. The fourth day, no matter what I was determined to get OUT OF THAT BED! Which I did, but did not accomplish much at all. It has been over a week ago that our family was struck with this crud, and my son and I are still having coughing attacks. I remember last year, once I got the cough, I had it for more than 6 months. I do this every year. Hopefully this will go away soon. Our youngest boy has not gotten sick yet. We are hoping that he stays well.

The weather has warmed a bit. Today it actually got into the 60's and this past weekend it was 70. We are suppose to be getting another round of cold weather, and they are calling for more snow. No, I'm sure it won't stick then either, it will just be a little teaser if it snows at all. I hope that the weather holds for a little while. You see, I have not been able to walk since before Christmas. Between our company, rain, temperatures in the teens, and then being sick, it has been over six weeks since I've walked. So....tomorrow, I am planning on walking! I am really looking forward to it, and hope that I do not have a coughing attack!