Ok, I Lied

I did take my camera, and I did take pictures on our little daytrip to Washington where nothing was open.

We came across the Magnolia Ridge Plantation, which was built by Captain Louis Prescott and used by Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. There is a 5 mile paved path to walk on the grounds of the 60 acre piece of land. It is still a private residence, so you can walk around but not go inside any of the houses.

We walked the path. Not all 5 miles.

Then we saw it. A bunny? A possum? No. A real, live, breathing, rooting armadillo!

I was telling someone that evening about seeing a REAL, ALIVE armadillo and that just seemed like no big deal. Well, for me, the only armadillo I've ever seen is dead on the side of a road. I just figured that's how they come in Florida~ roadkill.

This little guy (or girl?) let us get about 2 feet away from him. It was worth the drive!!

Check out the shiny worm right by his mouth here.

I'd always heard that armadillos have leprosy on their nose. Anyone else ever hear that growing up?? I don't BELIEVE it now, but I sure did when I was a little kid.

Lesson Learned

With my parents visiting for a few days, we piled in the van and took a day trip out and about to see the sights of the Cajun prairie. Our destination was the antique village of Washington, so we drove through several small towns to get there. We arrived with high hopes of antique stores and shopping.

The lesson learned~ Small towns don't open too many stores, shops, or businesses on Mondays. This is especially true for antique shops.

There are no pictures to record today's events, or rather today's non-events.

Hungry?

Yes, you read it correctly~ hot boudin, cracklins, sausage, tasso, and then the whole category of "specialty meats". I guess that includes the rabbit, pounce, and stuffed tongue (cow, that is).

That sure is "special".

Out My Back Door, Inside a Small Town

I've been lax in the blogging because I'm on VACATION! The kiddos and I have traveled across part of Louisiana to visit with the grandparents for a few days.

Upon our arrival, we found out a soldier who had been killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq was being flown in to the local, little airport in this small town, back to his home town and his family. The mayor had asked folks to line the streets and wave their flags and stand in honor of this fallen soldier. The small town turned out in mass number.

It was moving. It was silent. It was a reminder of things still going on on the other side of the world, and how those things still affect folks in small towns and large towns across America.

Embarrassment and Shame, but Keeping It Real

Rice is a big deal around here. Many of the crawfish ponds are turned into rice fields based on the agricultural seasons, which I don't pretend to completely understand or follow...but I'm trying to learn!

Folks grow rice. Folks harvest rice. Folks eat rice.

It's a way of life.

Oh yeah, and folks buy rice. LOTS of it.

That's the rice piled up in a regular store....not a bulk shopping place, not a Sam's or a Costco. These must be 20 or 25 lb. bags.
(This is completely new to me to see that much rice for sale.)

This is the size bag of rice you buy when you are going to make 800 servings of jambalya. There are FIVE of these 50 lb. bags. I walked by these bags and my mouth fell open in awe. The people around me didn't even take a second glance at a bag of rice that large.

Now for the "keeping it real" part.....I am a bit ashamed to admit this. Just keep in mind, I haven't lived here a year yet.....
THIS is the kind of rice I buy.

Yes....it's instant. Yes....it's not even a pound box. Yes....it only takes 5 minutes to cook.
The final confession~ I still make potatoes....a lot!

Hall of Famers

My husband always wanted to visit a Hall of Fame place~ Canton, Ohio (for the football), Cleveland, Ohio (Rock and Roll), but really he's always wanted to visit Cooperstown, New York (baseball).

We haven't made it to those places, but here we are, now living in a Hall of Fame place!

Since moving, the award for the best zydeco or cajun music album has been added as a grammy category. The guy that won this year is a zydeco musician from a town 10 miles east of here.