Plantation plantings

My cousin and I went to St. Francisville to visit a few plantations while she was here visiting.These were taken at Afton Villa where the gardens and remains of a large plantation are located.

These were taken at The Myrtles, one of the haunted plantations in the area. There is a special mystery tour in the evening, but we couldn't stay for that.

 These were taken at Oakley Plantation where John Audubon spent 3 months painting some of his beautiful birds. I just love all the old gardens and this was the 1st time I had ever seen asparagus growing. It inspired my to try to grow some next season.

Easter Vacation

 We are at Henderson Beach with my son and his family The beach is gorgeous and the weather is perfect in the mid 80s Hope everyone had a Blessed Easter Here are a few pics


 

My Granddaughters enjoying the beautiful beach. It is glorious here.

My grandson fought going to sleep till almost 3 p.m., but when we placed him in the wagon to go back to the campground he fell sound asleep in seconds

Rainy Spring

We are having a very rainy spring this year and quite warm too. The temperatures have been in the upper 80's for several weeks now. Usually we don't hit them till the end of April. I hope its not an omen for a super hot summer. Much as I want to hope global warming is not happening, I think it is probably. I really don't like the summers here in Louisiana, way to humid and hot. I need to hit the lottery and buy a house in Maine for the summer! What a sweet thing that would be.
The garden is planted but I haven't had time to check it lately. The green beans were coming up sporadically so I think we will have to fill in the gaps soon. The tomatoes I grew from seeds didn't look so hot either. Might have to buy some from the nursery. I hope when things dry out a little I can get a better look at things in the garden.
Need to pack for our camping trip to Destin, FL for Easter.
Later...

Lake Bruin State Park

We had a wonderful weekend  at Lake Bruin State Park in St. Joseph, LA. With six of our grandchildren and my son and daughter- in- law, and 2 dogs, we had quite a crew. Our camper sleeps 7 pretty comfortably and we had a tent set up too. It was pretty cold at night and very nice during the day, except Sunday was kinda cold and dreary all day.

The kids brought their bikes and had a great time riding them to the playground. They brought the dogs with them and even had June climbing on the equipment and going down slides. She was soooo tired  at the end of the day she wouldn't even eat.

 

 

There were boats there you could rent (without motors), but my husband and son brought their canoe and kyack. A few of the kids wanted to go in the canoe, but most just wanted to hang around and relax. The lake is really pretty with cypress trees and several nice fishing piers.

Feeding the crowd was an ongoing chore, or um... adventure. We had jambalya one night, hamburgers and dogs one night, monkey bread and of course pancakes and sausage and hasbrowns for breakfast too. I even tried making a dump cobbler that wasn't half bad.

I even ran in to a dear friend from high school. Who woulda thunk!
All in all it was a very nice trip and I think we will try to make it an annual affair.

My Son....the Marathon runner!!!

My youngest son ran his 1st Marathon yesterday in New Orleans. We got to see him at the 16 mile, 25 mile and finish line. He finished in 5 hours and 3 minutes...we are very proud of him.

After the race we went out to eat in the French Quarter at a place called the Oyster House.The food was O.K. but very expensive, as usual in that area.We were seated in the upper area and had to climb some long steep stairs.

 

The weather was gorgeous in the low 60's. The kids had a good time walking down Royal St.

Steve and his family stayed in the elegent old Hotel Monteleon on Royal Street.

Here are few pictures of the beautiful cystal chandeliers that hang in the lobby.

I'm Back!

Been gone a few months....busy with Holidays and Vacations. We took a great camping trip to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas for Thanksgiving. It was COLD and we couldn't stay outside very long. Hiked down to the waterfall, that was very physical for me, but I made it. So what if I couldn't walk the next week.

Christmas time was busy, but wonderful. I sang in the Midnight Mass choir and then Christmas Day all my children and grandchildren came for dinner and we had a lovely day. My birthday is in December too and I received a very special present from my grandchildren. They decorated an apron with their handprints and names. It's priceless to me.

January brought a cruise to the Carribean with my sister. We just returned and had a delightful break. We cruised on the Carnival Triumph to Belize, Isle de Roatan and Cozumel. The temperature was perfect, just a tad warm for me, the water temp was fine. We snorkeled in Belize and had beach time on Roatan and shopped in Cozumel. What more could you ask for?

Labor Day Weekend

Camping in Florida again. This time with my son Kelly and his family. My daughter Emily and her children stayed in a hotel, while we camped in the camper. My husband and I were supposed to get there early Friday to set up camp. Toward the end of our 6 hour drive, I looked at the shadow of the camper on the side of road and saw something flapping on top. I thought it was a tarp Kelly had used to cover a small leak we had on the roof. I mentioned it to Dan and we kept on going. When we arrived at the campground we realized it was the rubber cover on the top of the camper that was flapping and just about shredded 1/3 of the way back. Of course it's not under warranty, so we threw a tarp over it and tried to enjoy the rest of the evening. As we were sitting outside waiting for everyone to arrive, I heard a dripping noise coming from under the camper. I though maybe the air conditioner was dripping or the hose to the camper and I asked Dan why the tire was wet. After a little inspection, he opened the camper door and it was flooded inside. Earlier in the day, Jasper (our 3 yr old grandson) was in the camper and tried to turn the water on in the bathroom sink. Unfortunately he left it on with the stopper in and hence the flood. We drove on over to Wally World and bought some groceries and a shop vac. Back at the campground we sucked up all the water we could and put up groceries. By that time I was exhausted. Then the kids showed up and we went on to have a wonderful weekend....not counting when Catherine (our 5 yr old granddaughter) got lost Sunday night for about 10 minutes. She was found safe and sound and all was well.

We also brought June, our lab, for her 1st camping trip....not sure if she enjoyed it, but I did.

1st day we spent at the beach.

The 2nd day we went to Turkey Creek, a fresh water creek in Niceville that is super cold. The kids loved it.

Hwy 127 Yard Sale

My husband and I decided on Wednesday to leave Thursday after work and go to the Worlds Longest Yard Sale. It goes from Alabama to Ohio and is held the 1st Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August each year. We got to the the sale on Friday a little after noon and shopped till about 4:00 that day and shopped Sat & Sun all day. The areas close to the little towns were usually busy with many vendors in one area. There were antiques and lots of tools and yes....even some junk. Most vendors were willing to haggle. Dan got a 40 gal black cast iron jambalaya pot for $135. He was happy about that.

I bought lots of little sewing supplies and buttons and a couple of washboards to hang in my laundry room.
After the yard sale ended on Sunday we continued north to Shipshewana, an Amish community in northern Indiana. I had a good time there shopping and Dan squeezed in a float trip and a little fishing. There was a huge flea market on Tuesday and I spent way too much money. We headed home Wednesday and stopped at another Amish community in Nappanee Indiana where we toured an old Amish house and farm. It was a busy trip, but I had a great time. I might go back again next year.

Back to Reality

We got back from our visit to Destin FL, and Gulf Shores AL last night. We had a busy 6 days. The children were good, but the twins had trouble sleeping at night and woke up very early..5:30 a.m. every morning. They would come to wake up me and Paw and play in our bed. We enjoyed that. They had a grand time at the beach and camping.

Catherine, my older granddaughter had fun too. She floated down Turkey Creek in an innertube with her uncles. She returned home on Monday while the rest of us continued on to Gulf Shores and shopping at the outlet mall. I spent lots of money, but learned the prices are only about $5.00 off the regular store prices. We asked for coupons at the Welcome Center in Alabama and received a coupon for a book of coupons. Only problem was that there were restrictions on almost all of the savings. You either had to spend so much money or you couldn't use it on sale merchandise. I did spend so much that I received a "free", reuasable shopping bag advertising the mall.

Had tons of laundry to do today. I got the sheets and most towels washed and on the line today. I am organinzing my pictures and videos of the trip. Still have to put up the groceries and clean out the camper.

"Goin Campin"

We are getting the camper ready for a trip to Florida tomorrow. We are camping at a really nice campground in Destin. I don't want to tell you the name, because it's already hard to get reservations and once the word is out, I may never get a spot again! My son and daughter in law are coming with us and my twin granddaughters. I am also bringing another granddaughter because it's her turn to go camping with Ma-T and Paw (us). We will be gone 5 nights, 3 in Destin and 2 in Gulf Shores, AL. I hope to get to the Tanger outlet mall in Foley for some serious shopping. Hope Paw will watch the little ones for us. Will post more when we return.