Soar-Dream-France

Breaking on Blogging

 

Leaving in the morning to catch the bus into Cahors and then the 12:30 train into Paris.  I'll be spending the night with my friends, the Jolly's, before I head to the states around noon on Monday.  I doubt that I will be doing any blogging at all over the next few weeks while I'm on the road.  (I just remembered, I better go get Babar out of his home in the kitchen so he can spend Thanksgiving with his family too.)  Lots to do in St. Louis, New Orleans, Covington, and Baton Rouge and should have great photos and lots to report when I return.  Have a great three weeks and Happy Holidays!

Moments in the Midst of Overalls

 

Wandering through the rubble from last night's festivities, I followed a path of tiny, cardboard labels from the white chocolate covered cabecous all over the Chatette.  I'm not complaining.  I specially requested chocolate when Madeleine asked what she could bring.  She knows me well.  She brought my favorites.  What's even better...there's enough left over to pack up with the rest of the goodies to take to the states. 

I wandered on the road in front of the Chatette last night before the party, wondering what the evening would hold.  It was a clear, beautiful, stars exploding, kind of night.  All I could think was "here I am in the south of France getting ready to have a houseful of friends (some of whom have become almost family) for an evening of fun in overalls."  I still ask myself how I got here?  How did this happened to me? I pinch myself regularly.  The hard thing now, is that I'm looking ahead to next year when I'm going to be working more, traveling more and here less.  My heart breaks.  But no matter what happens, I have found HOME again in my life and know that there is no where in the world that I would rather be than just right here. 

I should mention a few things about my gang and their overalls from last night.  Patrick was voted by my friends in the states as "the man they most wanted to see in his overalls."  Jean-Pierre and Françoise Martenot made a special trip to Toulouse to get their overalls and were a very chic couple-they are always so photogenic.  Christiane was ready with a forest green pair with lace pockets, a lace shawl and only she could get away with wearing her special rhinestone "bitch" pin that was a gift from our friend Kelly Kerr.  Eddie and Helen Luscott came in white coveralls and looked great, but they reminded me of the HAZMAT suits we used to see all over New Orleans after the storm when debris removal was in progress.  Therese made a bib out of African material to attach to her pants. Last but not least, Annie and Willie Braun were coveralled and overalled and looked right at home.  We celebrated life in overalls well last night, but better than that...all of my friends came out to share a night that was special to me and reminded me once more how grateful I am for them and this wonderful life in Cadrieu!

Overalls & MORE OVERALLS in Cadrieu-FRANCE

Celebrating International Overalls Day could still be going on since it's still November 20 over in the states, so I'm posting these photos from our International Overalls Day Celebration here at the Chatette.  I'll have more to share later, but as you can see...everyone had some OVERALLS FUN! 

HOORAY For International Overalls Day!

As I get ready for our celebration, I thought it might be fun to share a little of what I have planned for this evening. Since I believe in "positive reinforcement", anyone (or household) who comes in their overalls will win an award...a new collage calendar full of some of my favorite photos and the International Overalls Award included therein.  I also wanted to do a little something in French, so this other collage is framed and hosted on the Irish Coffee bar by none other than Buddy Lee.  My friend Kelly Kerr has written a story about our friendship and this place called: "The Overalls of Cadrieu" or "Les Salopettes de Cadrieu" which will be available to my guests in both French and English (special thanks to Kelly for the translated version). So, I think we're about as ready as we're going to be.  I didn't run out of overalls photos for my month of celebrating, and for today I wanted to share the photo that I believe best expresses me and how I feel when I'm in my overalls.  Happy International Overalls Day-with special wishes to Niels, Maya, Susan, Jodi, Kelly, and many more who I've met through blogging and my love of overalls!

And What Do Your Overalls Say About You?

That Dali is a really good sport, don't you think?  My dog really trusts me.  I don't know what got into me this morning, but my overall self just ran amuck!  I was thinking about me and my overall self through the years: other people's reactions, questions, their practicality, their comfort, the hesitancy of others to even try wearing a pair tomorrow evening (but they'll hop right into that plastic Elvis mask!), dressing them up, dressing them down, and maybe even a little "undressing" that was done in them over the years! Ah, the memories! You have a pocket for anything imaginable that leaves your hands free for other more important activities.  Those suspenders serve a myriad of functions...I like to attach my Mardi Gras beads to the suspenders because then they're not so heavy around my neck, I often hook my baseball cap(St. Louis Cardinals, of course) on the suspender latch, same goes for my hair barrettes that I might need as the day goes on.  If you want to, you can make a social statement with your overalls...my New Orleans Fleur de Lis and my Keith Harring STOP AIDS pins both let you know some things that are important to me.  As great as my Dal looks in her overalls, (much sexier from behind than I do) she was afraid to move in them so I don't think she'll be sporting them tomorrow evening.  It's going to be fun to see who does! So as we go into the first International Overalls Day, I am very grateful for overalls and especially grateful for so many of the wonderful people I've met who'd live in them if they could. More on overalls, blogging and friendship for another time! 

Merci to Niels...and Jodi Creager

    
A very special thank you for my award from Niels for International Overalls Day, and to Jodi Creagher for putting it together. This has been so much fun for me over the last six months or so.  Who'd have thought that one tiny post about pearls and overalls would have sent up a flare in the universe to the Bibprofessor! If you're not totally over all of this overalls stuff yet, you can see more on Niels's blog:  www.bibprofessor.wordpress.com and Jodi has some amazing antique photos and other items over at www.creagerstudios.blogspot.com This is a special extra post today.  I'll be back a little later with more and...Happy Day Before International Overalls Day!

On the Hunt

Getting ready to return to the states means many things to me, not the least of which is all the tiny special treats that some of my friends and family love and look forward to.  I've been into Figeac on the bus twice in the last week on the hunt.  Some things I've had luck with and others appear impossible.  I've also been following a pretty serious diet for the last week-we call it the cabbage soup diet.  You can have as much of this cabbage soup as you want and then each day of the week has certain assigned foods.  Imagine, living in France, hanging out with my friends who are apero party experts, and not being able to drink alcohol, eat sugar, butter, bread, eggs, cheese...you get the picture!  One of my treats is to get something to drink and nibble on while I wait for the bus.  You'd have laughed to see me drinking water and chasing these lost and rolling grape tomatoes the way I'm usually chasing M&Ms.  I also treated myself to a bouquet of flowers.  They called to me from the shop.  They were perfect.  Plus, I had a plan.  I'm a little tardy, but I think it's the thought that counts!

Today's overalls shot was taken on the terrace during 2005.  I'm in my "skinny overalls".  They'd be fitting me today with room to spare!  We're getting close to celebration time! I'll have photos to share before I head back to the states!

Gold and Treasures Everywhere

Whether I'm out walking Dal or sitting at my desk working, I see these beautiful trees whose tips look like they've been dipped in an artist's yellow paint.  We are very very gold "partout" this autumn.  Since I'm leaving soon, I thought I better get out and capture this gold.  Not only did Dal and I find gold, but we found treasures too!  The best part though, was running along the river and realizing that not only was there gold on the other side of the river...but, we're gold too!  Wishing you golden days and simple treasures...hopefully in your overalls-maybe even beside the Med in Alicante Spain or on the top of Montségur!

So Near, But Yet So Far.

I've called this shot Pont Vert (Green Bridge). When I took it to the photo lab in New Orleans to be enlarged, the young woman who worked in the lab asked me where in Europe I took the shot. I enjoyed being able to tell her that this beautiful bridge can be found right in City Park in New Orleans.  She had never seen it...so near, but yet so far. 

I'd like to close today's post with two overalls shots taken with my Dad and my Mom outside of Brunning's before we went in to have dinner together.  You got the inside shot and the beginning of the story in yesterday's post.  You can imagine the irony of returning to the West End after the storm, when the Brunning's told me in May that they had just received approval from their insurance company that 2005 to rebuild from Hurricane Georges in '98.  From August of 2005 until I left to come to France in May of 2006, there was nothing left standing in the West End restaurant circle except pilings and pelicans.  I don't believe much has changed out there today.

 

New Orleans Sunrises

Back when I began every day journaling behind one of the big urns on the steps of the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Times Picayune asked its readers to submit their "favorite place to watch the sunrise" in New Orleans.  I knew exactly where my favorite place was, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to submit it and run the risk of finding hoards of morning sunrise watchers in my precious spot. I didn't have to worry.  They listed the top ten, and even though somewhere in City Park was on the list, I wasn't disturbed. In an effort to be true to myself and New Orleans, I've decided to set up two more categories for my posts and photos: My Old New Orleans and MyNew New Orleans.  I already have a category for Storm Stories that seems to cover a bridge period for me somewhere in between the two.  Maybe between my posts, my photos and the friendship and support of my many wonderful readers and commenters; I'll be able to finally make sense of this huge event in my life that's never made any sense.  I still ask myself how you can make sense out of something that doesn't make any sense?  Maybe that's when it's time to let go!

Today's featured overalls shot was taken of my Dad and I by Mom, on one of their many visits to New Orleans.  This photo and the overalls shots over the next few days were all taken at one of those "ghost places"-Brunning's Seafood Restaurant out on West End.  Brunning's was my family's favorite spot to have dinner whenever they came to town.  The original Brunning's in this shot, met its demise during 1998 when Hurricane Georges blew through.  The family was fighting with their insurance company to rebuild, so they rented a piece of property in front of the original restaurant and continued serving the best hot broiled catfish with tartar sauce I've eaten anywhere in the world!  When I spoke to them in May 2005, they told me that they had just received approval from their insurance company to begin rebuilding on this beautiful site.