a visit to the botanical gardens in New Orleans

Finally I managed a trip to the New Orleans botanical gardens. It was something I used to do regularly when I lived there in my youth, but just can’t seem to do now.

All was great! The rose garden was a bit reduced, but there were great specimens of ferns, succulents, and tropicals. The orchids are always colorful, and  inspired me to do better with mine.

Napoleon House

While in New Orleans we stopped for refreshment at Napoleon house.

It was built  to shelter Napoleon when he fled his imprisonment, but, of course, was never used.

A sharp contrast to most places in the Quarter---it is peaceful and filled with the sound of classical music. I drank a Pimm's Cup, munched bruschetta, and remembered all the visits with friends through the years.

The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas

I recently had the opportunity to take my granddaughter to the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. It had been years since my last visit, and I had forgotten how magical the place can be.

Perched on the shoulder  of the Mississippi River and less than 100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, it's a perfect location to showcase the diversity of life in our great bodies of water.

It is world class and a wonderful gem for New Orleans.

good friday

Though I am not Catholic, I was raised in Catholic New Orleans, and my family always honored the tradition of eating fish on Good Friday. It was usually a seafood gumbo and fried speckled trout---the seafood was sometimes bought from vendors that sold fish from small trucks that cruised neighborhoods selling their catch of the day.

So yesterday we drove to Manchac and bought a few small crabs to combine with shrimp for a gumbo-- some catfish to fry--and we will keep the tradition going tonight.

My mom and dad also felt we should be quiet and thoughtful on this day--and if my memory serves me correctly, the movie theaters all closed on this night.

It is pleasantly cool this morning--in the 40's with a north wind--after a week that had temps in the mid 80's --old timers used to call this last blast of arctic the "Easter Snap"--and would knowingly nod--"Yes, we always have another cold front near Easter."
One forecast is for sleet on Easter morning--I sure hope they have that one wrong since I have already placed all my plants outdoors, and bought veggies for the garden.

Lots to do today--it is supposed to be good luck to plant the veggie garden on Good Friday--maybe we'll pass on that one.