Thank You, Kindle (and Amazon, and Food Network)

We saw this commercial last night. It may never air again. Part of me expects it will never air again. But by God, it aired at least once and I saw it.




 Looks like I gotta get a kindle. From Amazon. And read cookbooks by Food Network chefs on it. Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee ~ with a side of human rights.

A Part of the Scenery

Lithus and I were out this evening, wandering our streets and taking it all in.  It had been raining hard all day, so it was nice to be out and enjoying it, instead of out and wet and miserable. We were about two blocks away from our apartment when Lithus noted that the area looked like something out of some noir film. Dark City. Sin City. Maltese Falcon.

Glistening streets: check. Flashing neon signs with letters burned out: check. Fog around the street lamps: check. Run-down, formerly elegant stone and brick buildings: check. Windows lit behind sheer curtains: check. I was literally opening my mouth to say all that was missing was some smoky brunette wearing a PVC trench coat when I remembered...

I was wearing this:

For the first time ever, I had a sense of being part of the scenery. Not just an observer, but part of what made New Orleans so special for someone else. Shame the sax player was home for the night...

Just because you can't see the smoky brunette doesn't mean she isn't there.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Four Years

Happy Anniversary, to my Dear Lithus. Four years ago tonight, we were in our living room, with Dr. B., my mom and her husband, and Flora. Crow, Bil, my heart and the hatchlings were in attendance via web cam. The Lovely Cats was scolding us all for not taking it seriously enough. And Lionel was decked out in his tux.

It's only been four years. Good grief, it feels longer. We've been through a lot. And I have spent the last several weeks being awed and humbled by how much I can love another human being, while also being amazed at how perfectly he loves me.

He is loved. So am I. It's good.

Those are happy, wedded bliss Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee ~ and a partner in crime.

A Reminder...

Because it's good to remember.

If you've already seen it, watch it again. You know you want to. If you haven't seen it, watch it. Trust me, you want to.



Now, excuse me, I have to go be not boring. 

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Mardi Gras! (With Visual Aids)

You will find more pictures than you could ever want to see over here. For now, let's talk King Cake and beads. Two vitally important parts of Carnival/Mardi Gras. We had them both in spades. 

Oh my goodness, do I love King Cake.

Rouses is our local (AH-may-zing) grocery store. While their King Cake is not the best, it is damn good. Plus, it's less than half the price of the other least expensive place and it's in walking distance. How does this suck? It doesn't. That's how.

The colors of Mardi Gras are purple (for justice), green (for faith), and gold (for power), thus King Cakes ~ and everything else in town ~ are decorated as they are. Can you see in the hole in the middle of the cake there is...a something? That something is a plastic baby. Usually, after baking, but before glazing, a plastic baby is shoved down into the cake. Then, the whole thing is colored and glazed so you can't see where the baby was buried. Whoever gets the plastic baby buys the next King Cake.

The King Cake baby, rescued from the hole

I have three thoughts on the plastic baby phenomenon. Thought the first ~ Why doesn't Rouses put their babies in the cake? Why throw them in the hole, leaving it for the host or hostess to implant the baby, thus showing where the baby is so everyone can avoid that piece of cake? I don't know. Maybe this is why they are less than half of the cost of other King Cakes. 

Thought the second ~ Most articles you will read about the history of King Cake read something along the lines of "A baby, usually a plastic one these days, is..." Surely I am not the only one whose brain works faster than her ability to read. The rest of the sentence inevitably talks about how the baby used to be porcelain or clay, but dear God, every time I read one of these articles, I think "did they use real ones before the invention of plastic babies???????"

Thought the third ~ Every King Cake box I've seen is emblazoned with "WARNING: Inedible Baby Inside." Which makes me wonder: Is there any other kind? I'm just asking. 

King Cakes have gotten fancy and they fill them with...fillings now. Lithus and I got daring and went for the praline pecan. Wow. My teeth ache at the thought of it. I had no idea there could be such a thing as too much praline pecan filling. But see???!!!!???

Just one slice

This year, we decided to get a wee bit creative with our beads.

But we rapidly (as in not even one parade-worth) ran out of room in our pretty apothecary jar. So we went with the hanging technique. 

Please note, best parade bling EVER

And then finally resorted to the puddle look.

Even Bear and Snorlax got into the act.

Bear in his Rex bracelet and Snorlax with his beads...

And now that it's over, I just may have time to blog again. Happy Mardi Gras, everyone!

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.