Lady Luck?

The ladybugs made a lunch time appearance. I do not think it has anything to do with my gourmet meal of low fat hot dogs, but I am beginning to wonder if this is "a sign". Earlier in the day I found them on the washing machine and my treadmill.

I googled the symbolism of ladybugs and have decided that they are indeed a symbol of good fortune. The Powerball is up to $100 million...we'll buy our tickets on the first day of the new year to seal our luck!

The Bully

You see, Muppet is ready for his nest, but BeeBee is there. So he drops his pink ball onto the spot, and then stands around giving Batture "the eye" until he gives up the nest. What a bully.

Fall Garden

The rain has held off for a few days which meant I was able to clean up the garden a bit. It is wet and messy out, but we were able to clean out the herb bed, cut back the banana trees, and rake up lots of leaves!

Working in the yard has been a great distraction from painting that front bedroom that still sits with little progress.

Many of the flowers had to be cut back with the slight freeze a few weeks ago, but several are blooming...

Guess Where Muppet's Pink Ball Is!

Cookie Time

Janet makes cookies for Christmas. They aren't just ANY cookies, either. There are always gingerbread boys, candy canes of twisted red and white dough, and then there are those of the frosted variety...my hubby's favorite.

Well, we've got the cookie cutters, and I got the recipes, so I thought I'd devote an afternoon to baking my dear husband some cookies like his mama makes.

I did manage to churn out an army of gingerbread boys....



Many were a bit malformed with elongated necks or in various "dancing" positions....



but overall, they turned out rather cute. Now please keep in mind that these cookies, along with some holiday breads, were to be parts of gifts for friends, family, and neighbors. Well, to date, there is only one friend who has a bag of gingerbread added to the gift bag.

And about those FROSTED cookies...well, I did manage to roll out the dough and cut out several Santas, trees, stars, bells, and snowflakes. Charlie did let me know that Janet does not bake snowflakes or stars. I had to put my own spin on sugar cookies, right?




The snowflakes got frosted the same night as they did not require dye in the frosting.



The others would be frosted later. And frosted they are...Charlie found the tub of frosting and has been plopping it atop the cookie at each bite.

I knew these cookies were time consuming, but I have a whole new appreciation for cookie creation. Maybe next year I'll do better. I need more cookie sheets, wire racks, and icing bags. I suppose I can try to do better at Easter.

They're Still Here

The ladybugs keep on coming!



On Saturday afternoon they made a strong showing as I baked.

The Day After

Boys and girls all around the world are out today riding new bicycles, putting batteries in remote control cars, and strolling their new dollies around.

Well, Charlie can't be left out of that new toy excitement. I'm sure he'll be in the shed until dark (maybe later as he's headed to Lowe's to buy lights!).

Our Tree, Again

This time with presents!

We got our tree the day after Thanksgiving, exactly one month ago. Surprisingly, it isn't losing too many needles and looks as though it'll make it through King's Day.

Socks for the Pooches

Muppet and Batture have new socks, just in time for Santa to fill 'em!

Bugs!

We've had a ladybug invasion! I've been seeing them on the bathroom ceiling, on my shoes in the closet, on the washing machine, and now in the kitchen!

They are all light orange with no spots. I hope they make their way out to the garden.

In Bloom

Each winter I plant bulbs indoors. It has been a favorite activity for my students. Without a classroom this year, my only bulbs were around the house. I had a hard time finding the amaryllis bulbs, and the one I did plant was a dud...no growth at all. The narcissus are blooming. Despite the disgustingly sweet aromoa, I love them, especially in the kitchen window.

Festive Feet

The holiday socks made a surprise appearance at Ralph's on the Park for Mary's birthday dinner. His collection will have to be expanded!

Who Dat Fever!

The Saints have the city charmed, regardless of their loss last Sunday to the Redskins.

On the neutral ground on Napoleon....



"Prepare Now, Category 5 Brees, Heading For, Super Bowl, Go Saints"

On a home on Carrolton Ave...

Happy Birthday, Aunt Mary!

Knitting Freeze

I got all this yarn on clearance, and I can't knit a stitch! It is too cold to knit! My hands are icy no matter what the temperature in the house. They stay tucked in the pockets of my fleece of under the blanket. I hope we warm up soon so I can get back to my scarves.

Christmas Shopping

We decided to keep our holiday purchases as local as possible. We have always liked to support New Orleans and Louisiana merchants, but now it seems more important than ever.

So what better place to do some holiday shopping than Festivus? We left Festivus with gift for ourselves...



...never too many NOLA coasters. We added these to our collection. We are hoping the artist will make one for us with the "Original Brown Derby" (which is no more) and "Casamento's."

We did manage to get one gift while in the Warehouse District; just a few left to buy!

Nest with a View

Batture is the dog that loves to be outside. Muppet would much rather lounge around the house.

We had nest overload, so we've moved one out to the front porch. Now Muppet can see what Batture is barking at without having to leave his nest.

"I'll be YOUR Apprentice," he said

"That'll be a great project for you. If Lee can do, then I'm sure anyone can do it."

This is what he said about my getting the programmable thermostats.

We turn the heat WAY down after we go to bed in an effort to conserve energy. I am the first one up in the morning to get the house going and so that means I am the one that gets the house toasty. By the time it warms up, it is time for me to leave for work. So these thermostats weren't really to conserve energy; rather, they are for my convenience.

Anyway, he offered to be my "apprentice" as I was flipping through the instructions. Well, that role lasted about 90 seconds. I think it was my unscrewing the screws improperly that prompted the take over.



Perhaps it is for the best that I didn't do it just right. He installed the one upstairs and I got to do other things (paint).

Who Dat!

We've got the bigger and better Saints flag flying today!

Never Too Many Lights

Well, now that I think about it, I can think of several instances of Christmas displays gone bad with too many lights. I think we saw several last year in Oklahoma City. Surely Al Copeland's former neighbors would agree that you can have too many lights.

We are hardly the Copelands, but we do have the cutest, most festive house in the city! Charlie took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants, and hopped out onto the roof to complete our holiday light display.

That Pink Ball

For the first few weeks that Muppet had claimed his pink ball from the box of goodies Aunt Mary sent, you couldn't get near him. It was him and his ball, and that was that.

Well, Muppet has decided he wants some interaction with his pink ball. He still sleeps on top of it and won't let you take it from his nest. He has to bring it to you. And bring it he does.

The dog is driving me nuts! He puts the ball in my lap and wants me to try to keep it away from him. He will only leave me alone if he thinks he's really not going to get the ball back; then he finally goes back to his nest once he's gotten it back in his possession.

Here he is waiting for us to finish dinner so he can drop that ball at our feet or in our lap.

Frozen?

The cold temperatures have certainly had a toll on our tropical plants. Nothing damaged beyond repair, but the yard looks sad.

This hibiscus out front has several buds. This one just doesn't seem to want to open. I don't think I would want to either!

Holiday Toes

Playing footsies with our festive feet!

The Stockings are Hung by the Chimney with Care

My favorite Christmas decoration is up, the stockings! J.D. sent our stockings from Denver, so up they went.



I knew I was officially a Streich when my stocking was added to the other family stockings. Take note: my stocking is twice as big as Charlie's!

The list of items to purchase at the after Chrismas sales is growing. I found these online today and hope they'll be on the mantle next year. Each of the pooches has a stocking now, but I am not sure if Muppet will be interested in anything that should appear in his on Christmas morning as long as that pink ball is still around.

Jimmy? Gimmy? Jimmeys?... Ya mean Sprinkles?

Since he got some heart shaped goodies last week, Charlie's been yapping about jimmeys. "Don't you like jimmeys?" he'd say.

What in the world is a jimmey??? I thought this to be Streich jargon or a "Pudge-ism" as they are known on Bordeaux Street, but I had to investigate.

Well, I consulted Webster's, and sure enough, it is a REAL word:

Found on Webster's:
jim·mies
Pronunciation: 'ji-mEz
Function: noun plural
Etymology: origin unknown
: tiny rod-shaped bits of usually chocolate-flavored candy often sprinkled on ice cream

So, yes, I do like jimmies, but I don't think these sprinkles qualify as "jimmies".

Bedroom: Before

I began to prep the front bedroom for painting.

These are the before shots of the faux finish walls the previous owners did...






I hope to have the after shots up within two weeks.

The inspiration for color is coming from this little tin mirror we picked up in South Padre. So, it won't be traditional. Charlie likes an orange and I like a greenish blue. We'll see what the final result will be!

The Sunbather

12:00 p.m. Batture has got the perfect sunny spot.




1:30 p.m. The sun has shifted, so new perfect spot.




But that means Muppy gets the small bed. Poor dear doesn't really fit!

Cream, Flour, and Love

I am the one first up, Monday - Friday, to make breakfast, get the newspaper, tend to the pooches, and pack lunches. Charlie usually takes weekend duty when the dogs give a nudge in the morning and on really good days, I stay in bed and he brings up the paper. This morning the cold weather made staying in bed a must, so Charlie brought up the paper and then headed back downstairs.

Well, when I got up I found....



...a mess!

But then I saw....



...something in the oven and...



..my goob-a-tron acting goofy.

Yummy! He'd made cream biscuits (heart shaped no less) and sausage!



That's pure love.