...at home in Cadrieu take my breath away. I love them. They love me back. They spoil me for all others. You'd frequently find me out on the terrace after a storm (and yes, sometimes in the middle of one) capturing these beautiful rain kissed shots of my roses.
I'm learning that there are some things I just can't grow here and some things I can't grow there. So, I've accepted that my roses are happiest in Cadrieu and my trumpet plants are happiest in New Orleans.
As much as I'd like to have everything everywhere...it just doesn't always work that way. Have a great week!
We are very excited over here on Columbus Street and at Mahognay Oaks this morning. We have baby buddleias budding from the cuttings I got from Mike and John earlier this summer! We are on our way to buddleia heaven on Columbus Street in the same way we are over at home at the Chatette in Cadrieu! With all this heat and very little rain on our side of the lake, I'm taking really good care of our little ones.
A Very Happy Sunday in Columbus Street and Cadrieu Buddleias!
This somewhat grumpy guy on the front porch caught my eye in the neighborhood the other day.It wasn't till I got home, that I noticed the strand of Mardi Gras (or some one of the many bead celebrations we manage to create) beads was wrapped around the chair. I thought he looked much more charming from the angle below! Happy Friday!
Talking about the piano's impending arrival with a friend, I mentioned that I had most of my sheet music favorites with me already. He said: "Can't you just get it on-line, if you want it?" I discovered just how difficult that was to do once I left Cadrieu at the end of 2012. I'd left all my sheet music at the Chatette with Monsieur Winkelmann. Little did I know that holidays and special occasions (and sometimes that means just playing a tune for Mom) would require me to have my old reliables with me. I discovered quickly that finding MY arrangements was not an easy task. So, I got on the phone to Evelyn and she sent a few over to me.
As you can see...these babies are well loved, AND probably at least 45 years old! Which one would be the MOST well-loved? That's easy to see too!
As Time Goes By and the cover for Moon River are both framed and hang in the piano room at the Chatette!
This old photo smacked me hard when I scooped it from the stash. The first thing that struck me was how my Dali loved being under my pianos. You'd find her here on Columbus Street, and under Monsieur Winkelmann at the Chatette. I'd find her under Monsieur Winkelmann so often, that I even put her transitional travel rug under him so she'd have a more comfortable spot on the cold, hard tile.
The other smack came when I realized that there is only one thing in this photo that remains with me today. It's my Je t'aime Paris coffee mug that you can see resting on the far right ledge of the piano (and it's in Cadrieu).
As you already know, the piano, bench and cushion should be on their way back home at the end of August from Sewanee, TN. That sweet inlaid, drop-leaf, semi-circular coffee table went to live with Vann. I laughed so hard when he told me: "You'll never guess, Laury...it makes the best entertainment center!" Vann was murdered earlier this year. Dali passed in April of 2013. And then there is the coffee table book and the tiny velvet covered foot stool, neither of which I have any idea where they went. In fact, I still wake up in the middle of the night from time to time wondering where in the world that little velvet foot stool is.
Kate and I have talked about the piano's homecoming. It really is full-circle for us. It's amazing that it is going to happen during the year that's the ten-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We are excited. We have the place. We're expecting visitors in the flesh and from the other side...I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it was our flock of angels that worked their magic for us-along with a wonderful man named Brian.
...from our 2014 Quatorze Juillet decking out at the Chatette last summer. That front door has done its share of celebrating over the years. It works well, since most people enter from the back terrace anyway And, it really pretties up the piano room if I open the door for a little breeze and color!
I'd noticed this guy circling around out in the back yard. I didn't have my camera with me, but I enjoyed watching him none the less. Wouldn't you know, in and out with pots of water as I attacked a kitchen plumbing problem...there he was? I put the pots down, grabbed my camera, and eased the back door open so I could get this shot. I decided to go hang out under the shade of the banana tree and see if there were any more shots to be had. What an active guy! He didn't light anywhere for more than a second, was constantly moving up, down and around and fluttering madly. I was grateful for the first shot. There will be more. Patience, Laury...patience. Happy Monday to All!
...is easy to do in New Orleans City Park. It's particularly easy in the mornings shortly after sunrise, when only the very early birds and morning people are caught in morning song or noiselessly easing into their work-outs. Join me and enjoy!
Now that I'm back to regular morning bike rides, City Park is on my list most days. On a recent visit, I noticed that the swans had built a nest on one of the islands in a lagoon. I scooped a couple of shots, reminding myself that I'm going to need to come back.
The other morning, I headed out about 6:15 on my bike. I wanted to beat the heat, shoot a few shots, call Mom and Dad from somewhere along the route, and get a gallon of milk at Canseco's. I call Mom and Dad almost every morning at 7am. Canseco's doesn't open until 7. So, I had a nice amount of time to wander in the "cooler-ness" of the morning in the park.
Close to 7, I was near a bench just across from the swans' nest. I shot a few shots and then made my call straight up 7am. Dad answered, as usual these days. Some days I can hear Mom in the background getting ready. Other days she's still in bed and not going to breakfast. You can hear the sadness and disappointment in Dad's voice.
He likes it when Mom goes with him. I'd say that these days, it's maybe a third to half of the time that Mom goes. Dad and I chatted a bit. I told him where I was, and we commiserated about how nice it would be if he could be there with me. Dad went on to breakfast on his own, and I headed out of the park.
Before I could even get to Carrollton, there he was. The big guy swan. I decided to stop and walk along the shore as he floated back toward the nest and the way I had just come.
He had a bath. He had a nibble. And then he meandered his way back to the island, the nest, and his "Mom" sleeping on her nest.
It was difficult NOT to think about my folks and their struggles. I have this picture of Dad heading out on his own in his wheelchair for breakfast and returning to their room to find Mom still in bed. Most mornings he brings Mom breakfast back.Ah, the phases and stages of our lives...babies, old age, and so much more. It felt as if the swans were acting out my parents' mornings, just for different reasons.
It was a morning of pulls on the old heartstrings.
You just can't forget Nadine Henneman's birthday! It made no difference if I was in the states or in France; Nadine always found me with a card AND a telephone call. I consider myself pretty good with birthdays. Nadine was the BEST!