Soar-Dream-France: November 2015

« October 2015 | Main | December 2015 »

November 2015

November 30, 2015

Long Good-bys

Getting Sammie Cat and I ready to leave 411 this morning is emotion filled. I know that during the three weeks between now and my return, most of the contents of the house will be gone. Kat and Tom have done incredilbe work in preparation for the estate sale coming soon. But, the bottom line is that they are the ones who have done the lion's share of ALL of the work ever since Dad fell in 2012 and Mom and Dad moved to Hidden Lake in February, 2013.

It's been a very rough road for all of us. It took almost three years for Mom to be able to let go, so we could begin to get this show on the road. Kat and I shared a lot while we worked. Kat's lament yesterday was that she wished Mom could see "beyond the stuff", to what's important...the memories, family, and all that made 411 a living, breathing, happy place for more than 40 years. Various people have been through the house during this phase. Neighbors have commented about how often they heard laughter from the back porch and the front as well. Strangers commented on what a great house it is and how you could feel what a great family we are. The best comment was that you could tell how interesting we were and that we had fun.

Even empty, 411 is full of life.

So, Kat came with me last night when I had my good-by visit with Mom and Dad. In the midst of talking about everything and how it was going, Mom said: "I'm not dead." Everyone started laughing, and so did Mom. It may seem like a small thing, but it is the first time in ages that Mom smiled and laughed and that we could all laugh together. It felt like a huge boulder had been moved aside.

Last night's good-by was the first good good-by that I've had with Mom and Dad in almost three years. It was wonderful. Leaving well is important.

Here's to more smiles, laughs, and yes...even the tears that come with sharing such a huge transition in our lives!

Posted at 11:07 AM in Fabulous Friends and Family, Just One..., Mélange-ing Magic, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 29, 2015

Being Prepared

The downsizing at 411 had begun long before I was able to make this somewhat extended trip up to Ferguson from New Orleans. I didn't bring a lot of things with me because I expected them to be there. I admit that they are silly things: sweet and low, nail clippers, and condiments in the refrigerator.

It's not so much about the "things"; it's about the "emptiness". It's that feeling when you open a door or drawer expecting to see something there. Not only is it NOT there; there is NOTHING there. I guess if I'm honest with myself, it's good preparation.

This trip, it's drawers and doors. The Christmas trip it is going to be the whole house. Being prepared is a good thing.

Can you ever be ready for something like this?

We shall see.

This shot was taken by Mike Kelly from across the street in winter 2013.

Posted at 01:47 PM in Just One..., Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 28, 2015

The Dolls are in Charge

It wasn't till I looked at this photo this morning that I giggled at what I'd accidentally constructed. These three girls sat on the radiator cover and oversaw all my hard work yesterday.

The Christmas Tree had never been dismantled. Since it had been mine, and it does look like there will be Christmases in New Orleans in the future-it's coming home with me. It now stands in the corner, with all the ornaments off and neatly packed, to make the return to New Orleans in the rental car on Monday.

The music cabinet is going to be coming back with me too.

Even though Mom and Dad have been in assisted living for almost three years now; Mom only agreed to put the house on the market this fall.

As you can imagine, it is a gargantuan task.

All of which, has fallen to my sister Kat and her husband Tom. Wouldn't it have been nice, if the decision had been made last fall when I was here for 4 months? No such luck. So, we all do what we can to help and just keep moving. Tom's been up and was here when the decision was made, so he and Kat worked hard in the basement and elsewhere. Jim has been back and forth, and has since moved to California with Joan and the four-legged children. I'm here now and will return at Christmas.

By then, there will have been the estate sale. We don't know what to expect, but Kat and Tom have it all under control.

It's been an interesting process. I can tell when I'm in denial. I have the blinders on so I can keep moving forward. I'm NOT journaling. I'm sorting. I'm boxing and wrapping. I'm stress eating. I'm falling asleep almost as soon as it gets dark.

We're finding family treasures tucked away in unexpected places. I'm finding things that were mine as a tiny girl that stir long forgotten memories. Why is it that they loom large in memory, but are so tiny today? The magic is in the midst of the remembering, I become tiny too.

It's sad.

It's difficult.

We keep moving so we can move on.

After the estate sale, it is hoped that the house will go on the market early 2016. All these steps at a time...little by little-we'll get there.

Posted at 12:37 PM in Fabulous Friends and Family, Just One..., Mélange-ing Magic, New Orleans NOW, Photography | Permalink | Comments (1)

November 27, 2015

What's to do When...

...the rest of the world is out practicing "consuming" and you're buried under dolls and collectibles, as you work to downsize the family home to get ready for an estate sale?

You visualize the place that you most want to be in the world! Et, Voila!

Posted at 11:21 AM in Fabulous Friends and Family, France Life, Just One..., Mélange-ing Magic, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 26, 2015

Universal Thankfulness

On this day of Thanksgiving, our thankfulness is endless. Sammie cat and I can't begin to make a list (even though I probably have a photo for each item). Today, we are grateful for everything, everyone and everywhere. We praise the universe and its endless bounty in our lives! Happy Thanksgiving to all! Love, Laury and Sammie Cat

Posted at 12:05 PM in Just One..., Mélange-ing Magic, Photography | Permalink | Comments (1)

November 25, 2015

Blessed by Barns

It's no secret that I'm a barn girl.

I have one of my very own.

What you might not know is how on every trip up and down I-55 between St. Louis and New Orleans, each barn along the expressway speaks to me.

For years, I've been wanting to get photos, but I never stop. I didn't stop this time either, but all that cloud practice and the need for mental distraction on the trip up gave me more than clouds. I got barns!

Maybe this is enough of a tease for me to stop in the future...a special trip just for barns. Now, that sounds like a coffee table book!

Enjoy the Barn Blessings and

Happiness Below!

Posted at 02:28 PM in Barn of Our Heart, Books, Just One..., Mélange-ing Magic, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 24, 2015

When Someone's Watching

When I left Columbus Street early Saturday morning, I began loading the rental car around 5am. It was dark. I was cautious. I paid attention. In that 45 minutes of loading, I noticed 3 different sets of people walking past: one lone man walking toward Broad Street; a couple (man and woman) walking toward the track; and, a woman on her own crossing from my side of the street toward the hot dog place.

As soon as Sammie Cat and I were off at 5:45, I didn't give any of it another moments thought until my cell phone rang around the Missouri border about 1pm.

It was my upstairs friend/tenant Rick, calling to let me know that we'd had a break-in on Columbus Street. Rick was there. He scared the perpetrator off, with minimal damage to the house and the apartment. As far as we can tell, nothing was taken. I spoke to the police while I drove. Rick had called my friend/back apartment tenant, and I let Rick know I'd call him when I got to a rest stop.

I yanked my head out of the clouds and began to flow with the rush of thoughts, questions and feelings. I immediately scrolled through the list of people who passed while I was packing and probably saw me leave. I wondered exactly how the guy got in, and had visions of bashed in doors and windows. I'd left at 5:45. I'm not sure what time Wirth left, but it would have meant his car wouldn't have been in the drive. Rick parks on the street. The guy was expecting an empty house. Rick thwarted a Saturday afternoon in broad daylight burglary, that could have been much worse for all of us if he had not been there.

There are huge feelings for me in the midst of all of this, that I'll save for another time. For now, it's a huge MERCI to Rick and lots of thoughts and plans for what I'm going to need to do to make Columbus Street safer. Once the window pane repairs are made, I have a list of other things that can be done.

I would love to be adding a dog to that list, but for now it's just: padlocks for the gate on the alley side of the house; re-installing the locking door and wooden gate across the back of the house in addition to the green chain link fence; and, moving all my garden tools inside to the laundry room.

In the midst of the trauma, there are

gratefulness and lessons learned...again.

Posted at 02:10 PM in Fabulous Friends and Family, New Orleans NOW, New Orleans THEN, Photography | Permalink | Comments (5)

November 23, 2015

Storms a Brewin'

Getting us ready to head north on I-55 to Ferguson from New Orleans Saturday morning, Sammie Cat and I were doing really well. She was relaxed. I was way ahead of our 6am slated departure time. That was, until the booming trash truck rolled by and scared her under the bed.

I kept moving and had the rental car completely packed except for her. Once I moved the bed and scooped her from out of the box spring lining (a favorite hiding place of hers), we were off.

It was just beginning to drizzle a little, but didn't rain hard until we hit the Louisiana/Mississipi border. Sam was having a hard time initially, but soon she snoozed the rest of the way.

It suddenly hit me why traffic was heavy. LSU was playing Ole Miss in Oxford that day. We were surrounded by very visible Ole Miss fans and a sprinkling of LSU's purple and gold all the way to their Batesville/Oxford Exit. At the Tennessee border, clouds started looking like snow.

They felt fluffy, white and full; but fortunately it was too warm to snow. It did rain on us all the way through Memphis and stopped. Once into Arkansas and on through Missouri into St. Louis, it was clear sailing, dry, and cold. The clouds were the show stoppers!

Little did Sam and I know, there were storms of another kind brewing in New Orleans. Somewhere around the Missouri border, my cell phone rang. Any semblance of peace of mind blew right out the window. More on my telephone mystery tomorrow.

Posted at 01:33 PM in Fabulous Friends and Family, Mélange-ing Magic, New Orleans NOW, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 22, 2015

A 2015 International Overalls Weekend Slacker

It's now the tail end of International Overalls Weekend and I have been remiss this year. With teaching and a trip to St. Louis, there just wasn't time for a party or other celebration. Here it is Sunday, and I've done nothing spectacular to celebrate. I will put my overalls on to go over to see Mom and Dad at Hidden Lake here shortly.

So, I'm sharing a few of my favorite overalls shots here for good measure. Two of them just happen to be with my Dali, and the last one is a shot that is the favorite of Niels, my partner in Overalls Crime. Happy International Overalls Weekend 2015-I promise to do better next year.

Posted at 02:33 PM in Fabulous Friends and Family, France Life, New Orleans NOW, New Orleans THEN, Overalls and More | Permalink | Comments (2)

November 20, 2015

A Tale of Three Pumpkins

For all my good intentions, Halloween came and went and I still had three beautiful uncarved pumpkins. We had fun with photo opportunities around the house, but carving just never happened. Monday morning, my friend Lisa Breland came by to pick up some coats for the Clothes Closet at the NO/AIDS Task Force. She desperately needed a pumpkin for a holiday decoration she was making and couldn't find any post season...so, pumpkin number one is now a turkey on a porch on the Northshore.

Wednesday, I finally got it together to make that Martha Stewart recipe I found for roasted pumpkin soup. It looked easy enough. The plan was to carve one and make soup out of the other. Carving began with the hammering of cookie cutters until I surrendered. I was out of that seasonal mood...on to soup, leaving me with one pumpkin left.

I confess to not really following Martha's recipe that I scooped off of the internet. (I'm sure she would be horrified.) I had to make do in a couple departments with a few items and pieces of equipment, but I think it turned out just fine.

I made too much of course, but this is what I do. I had to use the blender in shifts. I made a bigger mess, but I confess to having had fun in the process.

I taste-tested a little bowl just for me. The kitchen and the dining area became sets for our very own Food Network.

And what do you do when you live alone and you make way more of something than you and a whole football team could easily eat at one sitting...you invite friends over for a little fun.

Last night was pumpkin soup, cheese and pate plates, special breads, fruit and pickles, and ice cream, with Stew and Eric to say Happy Thanksgiving before Sammie Cat, pumpkin number three, and I head north again on I-55 Saturday. I don't think we need to worry about adding pumpkin soup to Sam's list of favorites...now pate, that's another story.