The Diva Divulges

I have been in Nashville for the last couple of days and was hoping to get out and about to shoot some of the nightlife.  Between time and weather limitations, I was only able to meander the Vanderbilt campus for a few hours.  Nonetheless, in spite of the grayness of the day and chilling temperatures, I found some cheerful signs of spring juxtaposing themselves against the bleakness.  I’m not sure why, but for some reason I have found the young buds of new growth on all of the trees and plants to be particularly beautiful this year.

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So Mardi Gras, Lombardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day and everything else holiday is over for 2010!  Exhale … wow, I’m sitting here on a lovely Saturday realizing that for the first time since Christmas we are not rushing to go somewhere or do something.  That’s actually a big part of the charm of living in New Orleans … I always say that if you can’t find something to do in this town, you’re not trying!  Anyhow, all of the New Orleans visitors have been accounted for so I actually got to go out for lunch this week!  I stopped to have lunch in City Park and take advantage of the glorious weather when I noticed a sure sign of spring - a bevy of wheelbarrows!  Actually, I wasn’t sure what to call a gathering of wheelbarrows so I checked Wikipedia listing of collective nouns.  I didn’t find a listing for wheelbarrows, but did you know that a collective group of lizards is called a “lounge of lizards”? Is it just me, or does that conjure up images of a smoke-filled room full of “Geico geckos” ordering cocktails for you, too?

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Not sure life could get any more hectic … well, I guess I shouldn’t say that because last time I stated that, Katrina hit, totally proving to me that life can get really hectic sometimes!  Nonetheless, between work, wedding planning, and just plain living, things have been very hectic for the last week.  I slept nearly half the day on Saturday because, well, frankly, it feels like life has just been kicking my butt this last week, and on Saturday, I just let it win!  Now that I have finished “counting” all of the visitors to New Orleans for 2009 I am finally catching up on a few things … finally got the new Nikon D90 set up and took it out for a spin.  And what a beautiful day to walk around the park and experiment!  Wow … can’t believe I lived without this new toy for so long.  It has awesome, easy to use features and with the 50 mm fixed focus lens, I’ll be shooting like a rock star in no time!  This is just a little warmup … I love that there are signs of imminent Spring popping up all over the place!

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I know the calendar says is February, but the sunshine says its spring!  Wow, what a beautiful day in NOLA.  With the Japanese plums starting to bloom, it’s hard not to believe that spring has sprung.  Caught this one while I was unloading groceries … I noticed the way the late afternoon light was hitting the neighbor’s tree and it just took my breath away.

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The last couple of days have been an absolute whirlwind!  I’m just catching my breath and glancing at the calendar and suddenly … ooops!  I note that I’ve lost a couple of days here.  I can only hope I will be better at the marriage commitment than the everyday post commitment!  I have been shooting, albeit not necessarily doing anything more creative than documenting the blur of activity that has become our existence … but carrying the camera everywhere and having it become part of me is part of the process, as well.  So in that regard, I have been successful.  Its rather challenging to be artistic when shooting on the fly to dodge the crush of a Mardi Gras crowd, or, particularly when I have to rely on the “point and shoot” because the conditions are not conducive to carrying the Nikon. Nonetheless, what follows is my recount of the weekend.

(Friday, February 12, 2010) We started the weekend by riding in Morpheus.  It was absolutely freezing, but we still managed to have a great time.  By including “Big Daddy” on his costume, Steve added a whole new level of fun to the ride; its all about the “relationship” to him, as opposed to just throwing with wild abandon!

(Saturday, February 13, 2010) We managed to scrape ourselves up after a full day on Friday, to attend Endymion.  In spite of strolling out after the parade had begun, our wonderful friend Michelle had staked out real estate near the barricades, which allowed me a place to wiggle up to the front of the crowd to sneak in a few shots under outreached arms.

After Endymion, we strolled back to Michelle’s, where a spontaneous dance party broke out in the driveway.  Can anyone say “second wind”?  Who knew we had any left!

And speaking of “wind” … Steve convinced Julia to stop at Gennaro’s on the way home under the guise of having to go to the bathroom … but he actually was able to slip in his favorite Karaoke tune, “Summer Wind”.  This guy really gives Frank Sinatra a run for the money.  It was here that a whole new definition of friendship was written … a true friend will help you with your Karaoke tune if you’ve had too much to drink and can’t get the words out right! (Put that on a T-shirt!)

(Sunday,  February 14, 2010) We found ourselves again, out and about ready to celebrate Valentine’s day.  We had dinner at LeForet on Camp Street, a new restaurant that we are considering for our rehearsal dinner.  I did actually take my time capturing this image of our dessert, because in and of itself, the presentation was a work of art, not to mention the taste.  This was a carrot cake with a ginger ice cream.

During the entire meal, the chef kept sending out the most fabulous amuse-bouches (I have no idea if that is supposed to be plural … just know that this happened more than once).  Featured here are the mardi gras macaroons, and the rabbit pate.

When we finished a fabulous meal, we toured the facility.  This is the second floor dining room that we will use for the rehearsal dinner if we decide to use this venue.  The building is just stunning.

We ended the night with a walk out to Canal Street to catch Bacchus.  Love certainly was in the air … it was a perfect Valentine’s Day, and a lovely way to cap off a hectic, but wonderful weekend.

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Reggie Bush

Still livin’ on the Superbowl high … had to post another Saints photo today because nothing happened today nearly as interesting as yesterday!  Geaux Saints!

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Who dat in dat dress?

Lombardi Gras!

So this town has just gone stark raving crazy!  It’s wonderful.  Every where you turn people are saying that the Saints’ win is more than just a win for the team - its a wonderful symbol that New Orleans is on its way back.  People are being nicer to one another, I rarely hear about a murder on the news these days … I’d like to believe that they just aren’t occurring, as opposed to the news just not reporting them.  But then again, it is “all Saints, all the time” these days.  Nonetheless, UNO pep rallies culminated today with a certain secret someone (Dr. Chacko) wearing a dress in honor of the great Buddy D!  Then, in an unprecedented move, the student body received a text message that the university was closing at 1:00 p.m. so that everyone could attend the Saints parade.  Wow!  What a parade …. I can’t remember seeing crowds that thick at Mardi Gras.  There was a lot of love out there in dem streets!  Thank you, Boys!

I particularly like this photo of the Saints players on a Rex float …  consider that this may be the only time you see this float photographed at night!

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Whoof dat?

Well the Saints have won the Superbowl, and Jenny scored, too, as she got into the snack tray when we stepped outside to revel in the fireworks!  Neighborhood is going crazy.  Who Dat? What a glorious day for New Orleans!

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 Saints fever is everywhere you look!

Just call me “Mayor”

Fell asleep last night before I got to post a photo so I decided to catch up today by posting two.  There is so much going on around town these days, it’s hard to decide what to highlight.  Anyhow, first photo was taken in the neighborhood while out and about today.  Saints mania has taken the New Orleans metro area by storm.  There is a reference to the Saints in every nook and cranny of this town.  I’m not sure what this city is going do after tomorrow, as the Saints’ trek to the Superbowl has completely consumed us for the last two weeks.  Given where everybody’s head (and hearts have been) it is hard to believe that a major election managed to squeeze itself into the fray of all the hubub … but it did.  I know that this photo sucks, but the moment was just too good not to document.  New Orleans has elected its first white mayor in since 1978 … who cares what color he is as long as he’s effective.  Hey, I hear that pigs have flown and hell has frozen over, so I’m game for believing that anything can happen!  Geaux Mitch, Geaux Saints, Who dat?!

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The collection …

I knew when I started this project there would be hectic days when I’d be scrambling for a photo, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon!  I had to teach tonight, so I looked around the house for the most interesting thing I could find.  The wine and cork collection are always a sure bet; albeit I just don’t think that screw tops have nearly the same intrigue as corks.

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