Monday 25 June 2012

ATTACK OF THE KILLER VACUUM

Ever since Leroy moved in he has been terrified of the vacuum.  It's an irrational fear, really, but you can't tell him that.  When he was little he would lay on the futon while I vacuumed the family room and when I got close he would growl and bark.  Hubby thinks it's funny but I've always found it annoying...it makes it a little difficult to get chores done.  I've taken to closing him in a bedroom when I vacuum the entryway floor mat and vice versa.  When I was cleaning the spare room yesterday I happened to look out into the mud room and saw my baby like this.  It was so funny I had to grab my camera.

Friday 22 June 2012

HEEYAH, GATAH!

More Big Easy!

We both agreed one of our favourite things from our trip was the swamp tour.  (If you ever go to NOLA, this is a must!)  It was an hour and forty minutes of air boat ride through the Louisiana swamps.  Completely amazing.  Gorgeous scenery for those of us who have never seen that kind of landscape, and alligators everywhere.  Hubby was very good at spotting them from far away - what a woodsman I have. :)  We were lucky enough to see a thirteen foot gator up close...directly beside us on the boat.  Captain Chip fed him/her raw chicken and marshmallows.  Everyone likes marshmallows!  He said you'll never see another gator that big in the wild again.  (And I believed him because when we got back to the bus, other groups said they never saw any nearly that long.)

Captain Chip feeding chicken to the 13 foot gator.
At one point Captain Chip got off the boat to pee (shh, don't tell) and a little guy started to follow him.  He just turned around, whacked it on the nose and said, "Stay back!"  Quite funny.  I can't imagine growing up in the swamps like that and being comfortable just whacking an alligator on the nose (he also kissed the really big guy).  When he came back from his, um, bathroom break...he was basically surrounded by alligators.  It was crazy!  They were all around the boat and on the ground all around him.  I snapped some great pictures and just tried to edit one in a cool way.  You'll see.  I think I'd like to blow up the nature scene (of the swamp) and put it in our dining room or bedroom.  It was my favourite photo of the trip.

These canals were man-made to dig for oil, although we went to more natural parts of the swamp as well.
This was when Captain Chip jumped off the boat to go to the bathroom.  I wouldn't want these guys in the bathroom stall with me...

Wednesday 20 June 2012

IT'S A BIRD...

I was quite a lucky girl this week.  My friend K came to visit!  We met when I was K's RA (resident assistant) during her first year at university (and my second year).  Two years later we actually ended up being RAs together and we hadn't seen each other since I graduated.  It's so wonderful to catch up with friends, isn't it?  Our visit consisted of playing guitar outside on the lawn, being introduced to new music, going out for butter chicken, a long walk around a local park, youth group, henna tattoos, a movie, aaaand...flying a kite!  Apparently K did this a lot last summer and she reintroduced me to the art of kite flying.  I hadn't done this since I was a kid (and I remember most attempts being unsuccessful as Mom tried to run with the kite to get it into the air).  Somehow K had that kite flying in all of a minute and we had lots of time to take pictures.  It was sad for me to watch her leave today but we had a nice visit for a few days!  Thanks for coming, K, and we wish you well on your adventure. :)


Thursday 14 June 2012

BEIGNET DONE THAT

You're going to see New Orleans a little bit at a time.  Today: my favourite thing to eat in the Big Easy.  Beignets!  They are French doughnuts in the shape of squares that are deep fried and sprinkled (understatement) with powdered sugar!

These beignets and frozen cafe-au-lait are from Cafe du Monde, a well-known local cafe that has been around a long time.  Definitely worth a visit (or ten)!  While watching the New Orleans news one night the owner of Cafe du Monde shared the secret to the perfect beignet.  Beignets cooked later in the week with the older grease are more tasty because they have soaked up all the delicious flavours from the past week.  He was definitely right because the beignets we ate later in the week were darker than the first ones we had.  We brought home some mix I'll make at some point when we get a hankering!

Wednesday 13 June 2012

BEACHY KEEN

At this point it must be common knowledge I'm not working this summer.  Since it's my last summer off ever (gasp) I decided to take advantage of it - especially since I've had a summer job since I was fourteen.  Why I started working so young, I'm not sure... I remember begging my parents to let me work that first summer.  Regardless, this is my last taste of freedom (and I can't afford medical school either way), so what the heck?!

My days consist of: waking up, driving hubby to work, coming home, taking Leroy for a run, making lunch, possibly having a nap, reading a book, gardening, running errands, picking hubby up from work, making supper, going to sleep.  Sometimes something fun is thrown in there like a lunch date, a movie, or a campfire.  It's a hard life, really.

We were in New Orleans on vacation last week (more about that later) and we sure missed our guy!  Since I'm home with him all day, I decided to take him to the beach today to celebrate our reunion. :)  It was our first beach visit of 2012.  The best thing about where we live is there is a beach very nearby.  It's wonderful for Leroy to be off his leash and chase the frisbee, and we have a lot of fun relaxing and looking for beach glass (sometimes while eating an ice cream).  The delights of summer. :)  Here are a couple of pictures of our guy chasing his frisbee today.