Here are some images from the neighborhoods that we were working in.
This one says, "Enter at Your Own Risk. U May Die."
I'm always fascinated by how quickly greenery can completely take over a house. And there are so many here that have been completely overgrown.
This house was particularly bad. I had to get pictures of the interior. So I just walked in and took these photos and video. (At some risk to my personal safety.)
Some folks are just frustrated with bureaucracy. Like this fellow:
Others, in more affluent neighborhoods, want rid of the eyesores that are abandoned homes. Spraypainted in the plywood covering the front door of the one abandoned home in the neighborhood, was this message:
Owners:
It's been 5 years!
Please?
Fix or demo!
8/15/10
(It's interesting because people in poorer neighborhoods are living with probably 30% abandoned homes on their block.)
When we were teenagers, my sister Kasey and I used to sarcastically say "A Lady Reveals Nothing" whenever an occasion called for modest clothing or ladylike behavior. I knew we got it from a movie, but couldn't remember which one.
Well I just figured it out.
In A League of Their Own, the management of the female team sends them to charm school so they can learn to be proper ladies, instead of rough and tough baseball players.
And just so you can say it right and with the proper inflection, (in case you ever need to sit in a skirt or refer a friend to my blog) I've embedded the scene. Watch for my favorite phrase at 0:55. Enjoy:
When Summer and I asked around to find out what we "simply must do or see before leaving New Orleans", we were told by more than a few people that we had to go and see Charmaine Neville perform at Snug Harbor on Frenchmen.
Charmaine is part of the great big Neville family which includes the Neville Brothers. Her band plays every Monday night at 8 and 10pm. I definitely agree that you can't go to New Orleans without going to this show. Swallow the $15 cover charge, it's worth it.
This is our new friend Jason, who appears to know everyone. I went to the bathroom and came back and he was gone. Because he was on stage, of course. Playing with Charmaine and the band.
She does a great Louis Armstrong impression too...
Then look who showed up! I about fell off my chair. Turns out my boyfriend Lionel Batiste is a bit of a famous jazzman in these parts. He's the bass drum player for the Treme Brass Band and makes his rounds to all the clubs in the French Quarter.
LOVE
And by the way, Snug Harbor also makes a mean mushroom cheeseburger which comes complete with a loaded baked potato for no extra charge.
Snug Harbor 626 Frenchmen Street New Orleans, LA 70116-2002 (504) 949-0696
I love ferries. And so does Summer. And both of us love brunch, so what better way to spend one of our last mid-mornings than to take the free Canal Street ferry across the Ol' Mississip to Algiers Point and Tout de Suite restaurant?
New Orleans' central business district as seen from the ferry.
Tout de Suite is only about a five block walk from the ferry
If you've known me for more than a few months, you know that I'm an insomniac. It's part of the package. Along with some other curious sleep disorder-activity, I've been this way since I was a little kid. There are a lot of really lousy cons that come with insomnia such as:
Still having to go to work at 8am despite not falling asleep til 6am
Being asked if I was punched in the face when I was in junior high (okay, the real story is someone asked me if my parents beat me because I had such bad dark eye circles)
Being sooooo exhausted but not being able to sleep. The kind of tired where you're watching a movie and you're thinking, why don't they sleep?aren't they sleepy? look at that bed... they should sleep in it!... but you yourself cannot follow your own advice.
Lack of sleep does not = productivity; you usually do some pretty dumb stuff to kill time til you're knocked out (like write this post)
HOWEVER, I've discovered some benefits.
I talk to people from the future
future people = people halfway through their day in different time zones
But mostly, I get the opportunity to take photographs like these:
Two amazing fact about this series:
The flash didn't wake her up.
I was trying soooooo hard to look as pretty as possible. I think I took 25 photos in order to get these. 3 am is not conducive to pretty.
I told you he was a semi famous figure down here in the Quarter.
And he's everywhere. The other night we went to The Spotted Cat to see a show...
Even the bathroom at the Spotted Cat is 'cool', complete with a piano that Summer played for 10 minutes.
...and there he was. Uncle Lionel Batiste. I've never seen him wear the same outfit and I've never seen him without his sunglasses. He told me that when he was a young boy, they would wear monogrammed belt buckles, and the ladies would dance so close the belt buckles got a good shine. So they had to wear sunglasses all the time.
If you look closely in the mirrors, you can see Lionel and me canoodling.
He also told me that he was the first black man sent to jail for DWI. He was driving with his niece in the car and was pulled over. This was in the days before disposable diapers, and so he had a burlap sack with her cloth diapers in it. The cop was convinced there were drugs in the bag. Lionel tried to warn him not to put his hand in that bag, but the cop wouldn't listen. He stuck his hand in, and pulled it out. I'm quoting Lionel here: "his hand had baby yellow sh*t on it. Like stickin' a paint brush in a paint bucket."
I asked if he got some measure of satisfaction from seeing that cop with baby yellow (beep) on his hand. Lionel said, "It was a joy for me."
When asked how many children he has, he pauses, then says, "a considerable amount."
I asked him to hold my chair while I went to the bathroom. He said, "if somebody more attractive comes along, she gets the chair."
He kept laughing at my Lindy Hop dancers. "Every song that band play, they do the swing dance. If I was dancing, I'd do the shuffle."
I said, "Let me know if you want to dance, Lionel."
He said, "You step on my feet I'm gonna get off the floor."
I caught Summer's eye and mouthed the words "I'm. So. Happy."
It's clear that you don't want to upstage Lionel. It's also clear that I wasn't quite getting what he wanted me to do. He doesn't so much dance with you as for you. But it was a blast, and afterward he told me, "you did pretty good. You didn't step on my feet."
Michelle Weaver -- our neighbor and friend makes all natural popsicles right in her store just a few blocks from our place in the French Quarter. She recently put her pops on the shelves of three Whole Foods Stores in Baton Rouge and Louisiana!
My favorite flavor is the Salted Caramel, but I must admit once I find a favorite anything I don't really deviate from it. Salted Caramel it is. Every time. Thanks, McShash for hipping me to this amazing afternoon icy treat.
Delicious! Last time I popped in (pun intended) I ate two.
Put pineapple, cilantro, sugar, lime juice, and salt in a blender, and puree until smooth. Pour mixture into 8 to 10 3-ounce ice-pop molds and add sticks. Freeze for 4 hours, or until frozen. Dip molds in tepid water to help remove the pops.
"I love putting pineapple in ice pops because the pulpiness of the fruit gives them a great texture that’s almost chewy. The cilantro adds a nice punch of freshness to the sweet pineapple—a little unexpected taste—and the pinch of salt helps tie it all together. In one bite you get sweet, fresh, and herbal—plus a hint of sour and salt." Michelle Weaver is the owner of Meltdown, an ice-pop shop in New Orleans.
Meltdown
508 Dumaine Street New Orleans, LA 70116-3312 (504) 301-0905
This flea market is not even a block from our house. It's usually open until 5 or 6pm, but since we always had to work, we didn't get a chance to go until this weekend.
There happened to be a Lindy Hop competition in New Orleans this weekend. I kinda feel like these are my people. I fully plan to get involved in this community. Right. Now. Aren't they adorable? Currently Obsessed!
p.s. if you want to be my boyfriend (as so many of you do) here's a tip: Get goin' on the Lindy Hop.
Dorothy and Toto:
And then This Guy's Beret had to go and ruin a perfectly good afternoon. I'm going to knock it off his head as we're driving out of town, I swear.
UPDATE: THEY WON!! Thanks for your help! The prize was fantastic and included free rentals for a year, movie seats for their family room and a bunch of other stuff.
