Rabbit Hole #45: In/Out July 31-Aug. 6

I've decided to do just a quick reading snapshot each week so I can talk a little more about the books I've read, rather than just listing all of them at the end of the month. (I'm still going to do that, though, to keep track of my reading challenge progress.)  I've taken the idea from a Book Riot feature called Inbox/Outbox, which I highly recommend checking out. Be careful, though: you may find your to-be-read list growing very quickly!

Recently Purchased 

 Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home by Kim Sunee

Sunee was a Korean orphan adopted by a couple from New Orleans. After college she moves to Sweden, falls in love, and moves to France. Interspersed in the memoir are Cajun and French recipes. New Orleans, Europe, and food? Yes, please.

The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson

A YA dystopian novel following 16 year old Scotch, a mixed race teen whose skin is being covered by an unremovable sticky black substance. Then her brother disappears in a bubble of light, and everyone in town starts changing. This sounds like a refreshing take on the popular dystopian genre.

Recently Finished

Villa America by Liza Klaussmann (3 stars)

I had really high hopes for this. I absolutely love the 1920s and the mischief and mayhem of the Lost Generation writers and their set. And while this did give me some of what I was looking for (the Murphys, Fitzgeralds, Picasso, Hemingway, Dos Passos, etc.), I felt let down. Other than the Murphys, the others were just caricatures, lacking the depth that made these individuals so intriguing. The connections between some individuals are also never explained (Dorothy Parker doesn't show up until the last 100 pages, and then she's shown as a beloved, indispensable member of the circle, even though she's never mentioned prior to that.) The use of letters in random spots also makes for some awkward reading, especially since Klausmann sometimes uses real letters, and then uses real letters but switches who they are to/from, or then uses fictional letters. It gets a bit messy. I do like the discussion of LGBT themes and how those relationships were addressed in the 1920s; although, I think she could have gone a bit further with that. All in all, a fun summer read, but not exactly what I wanted.

Currently Reading

The Round House by Louise Erdrich--This follows an Ojibwe woman in North Dakota who has been attacked and her 13 year old son who tries to unravel what happened.

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi--I've read the first volume of this graphic memoir before, but never the second. Satrapi chronicles her life in Iran before, during, and after the Revolution (as well as her high school years in Vienna).

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander--I know I've been reading this for a while, even though it's not a difficult read nor a particularly long one. Because the information it contains is so important and so vital to understand our society today, I'm taking this one slowly. Hopefully I'll finish this upcoming week.

Mardi Gras Mambo

Ok, so it's been just over a month since Mardi Gras Day, but it's taken a while to wrap my brain around this wonderful, crazy, unique marathon known as Carnival season here in New Orleans.

I've been trying to figure out a way to describe what actually happens during Carnival, but honestly, until you've actually experienced it, I don't think words are adequate. (I CAN say, however, that what you see on COPS and shows like that isn't really the Mardi Gras experience, unless you're a tourist who hasn't done their homework. You never have to do anything scandalous to get beads! And NEVER pick them up off the ground in the Quarter, especially on Bourbon Street. *shudder*) 

That being said, here are a few of my observations. (To my New Orleans family, please feel free to add or correct anything I've said--remember, this was our first Carnival season--and I'm sure I've made some mistakes!) 

1. King cakes: so much sugary goodness, it's probably a good thing they're limited to Carnival season.

2. Beads, beads, and more beads: I did keep a fair amount of beads from all of the parades. I have my favorites out, and we'll use the rest to decorate with next year, but I STILL donated a huge bag to charity (several schools/charities, particularly for special needs individuals, repackage and recycle the beads every year for use in other parades and purposes). 

3.  Not all beads/throws are created equal. You will invariably go home with a pile of generic beads after every parade, and those can be recycled/repurposed without any hesitation. Each krewe, however, usually has something signature that it throws, and those are so coveted that sometimes people go a bit crazy trying to get them (I'm looking at you, Nyx purse thieves!). The two all-female super krewes, Muses and Nyx, spend weeks decorating their signature throws (shoes and purses, respectively). Zulu, the traditionally African-American krewe started in response to segregation in the parades, throws (well, gently tosses) decorated coconuts. Rex, the oldest krewe, has a different signature bead for each of its floats, and some try to catch one from every float each year to have a complete set. Then there are the beautiful glass beads that are making a comeback, the doubloons, the stuffed animals, frisbees...well, you get the picture. (I didn't manage to catch a purse or shoe this year, but we did get two coconuts, so I was happy.)

4. Beads can hurt. Especially if you take a string to the eye when you're looking the other way. Carnival should be labeled a full-contact sport.

5. We actually marched in two parades with the 501st Legion, a Star Wars group that my husband is a part of. It was a lot of fun (even if your feet felt like they were going to fall off after walking seven miles!) and a completely different way to experience Mardi Gras. 

6. It is impossible to go to every parade. They're not just limited to New Orleans, either. There are parades all over the Greater New Orleans area, and Louisiana for that matter. I'm hoping next year, since there's a little longer Carnival season, we'll be able to go to a few more. With Lent starting so early this year, though, everything was squeezed into a few short weeks. And the last week...whew. I haven't been that tired in a long time. (It was all worth it, though!)

7. Mardi Gras Day is only one small piece of Carnival season. The smallest part, actually. It's the last day, and after the two morning parades, all you really want to do is go home and sleep!

8. Sadly, it's not all fun and games. Some people use this time to try to settle old disputes, fight over territory, and cause harm to those just wanting to have a good time. There are also remnants of segregation lingering over the fun, even now. Although technically the krewes are desegregated, and have been for years, there's still a sharp distinction between the old krewes and the newer ones in their rider make-up. Like a lot of things in this country, it's gotten better, but there's still so far to go.

9. At the end of the day, though, it's all about friends. To all of our friends who invited us to come watch parades with you, offered your hospitality (and bathrooms!), gave tips and parade watching advice, danced, laughed, and made this first Carnival season amazing: thank you, thank you, thank you. I've said it before, but it cannot be stressed enough, we are so lucky to have found all of you! Here's to many more!

I think the most common misconception about Mardi Gras is that once Lent starts, everything becomes very serious around here. Not. A. Chance. We just had the St. Patrick's Day parade here yesterday, St. Joseph's Day and Super Sunday are next weekend, and the spring festival season starts in earnest the first week in April! As we've said many times--if you're bored in New Orleans, it's your own fault!


**I'm hoping to upload my own pictures from Mardi Gras at some point, but we're having computer issues right now, and I'm lucky to get this posted!

The First Six Months

December first marked our sixth month anniversary here in New Orleans.

A year ago, if you would have asked me about living in New Orleans, I would have said "Hopefully someday soon." In March, that turned into, "We're moving in June!" There was a lot of excitement and heartache in the months leading up to the actual move, but now, six months later, I can confidently say: "This was the best decision we could have made."

One of the things we were a little worried about was finding a community of people we could hang out with. Our friends back home were an extension of our family, and we didn't know if anything could come close. Thanks to Twitter, and in particular, the very community-minded NOLA Twitter, we have a wonderful circle of friends here that I would love to introduce to our friends back in Nebraska.

Don't get me wrong: I miss our friends and family back in Nebraska like crazy. We don't keep in touch as much as I'd like (I will take the blame for some of that) because we're all going on with our lives, but they're never far from my heart. I'm excited to see them in a few weeks when we go back for Christmas. But...

I'm not so sure about going back to cold and snow. I am loving the fact that we're just now having our first real "cold" snap--highs in the 50s and lows in the 40s, knowing that this is about as cold as it's going to get this winter. And I really don't miss the constant wind in Nebraska.

Things here are a lot different than back home. The pace, for one, is much slower. People aren't in a huge rush, especially during the hot summer months, and while that can be aggravating if you think you are in a hurry, it's nice that people take their time. Unless you're driving--then all bets are off. People are scary on the roads. It's no wonder car insurance is so high here, as someone cuts across four lanes of traffic without turning on their blinker, or blocks three lanes of traffic so they can merge where they want.

I previously talked about the abundance of things to do in the Greater New Orleans area, including the festivals. If you are bored in this town, it's your own fault. In fact, it starts to become more of "maybe we should stay home tonight" instead of "there's nothing new to do." There's always something new--you could eat at a new restaurant every night and still only scratch the surface of amazing places here in town. This town has everything, in every price range, from traditional Creole and Cajun foods and New Orleans favorites--gumbo, jambalaya, seafood, po'boys, muffalettas, to name a few--to amazing greasy diner food, hot dogs shops, fabulous pizza places, and small mom and pop places. And you can pretty much find any type of "ethnic" food you want here as well: Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Israeli, Filipino, Ethiopian, Japanese, Vietnamese; the list goes on and on. It makes it really easy to try new things. That's not to say that some of this wasn't available in Nebraska; it just was much more difficult to find, and it wasn't all within a quick driving distance.

We are still exploring, and plan to be "tourists in our town" for quite a while. The best complement we've gotten is from people who think we've been here for years--all of the visits have paid off! I'm looking forward to continuing our adventure!

4th of July on the Mississippi River

Thankful

Just a short, sappy note today as we head out to our Thanksgiving dinner:

To my readers--thank you for taking a few minutes to read my brain droppings every so often! It isn't easy sharing thoughts in such a public forum, and I really appreciate it.

To our friends and family back in Nebraska: Even though some of you weren't particularly happy with us moving to New Orleans, you understood why we had to do it, and that means the world. I miss you all, and if I could just move every one of you down here, things would be perfect.

To our new Louisiana "family"--I can't say enough about all of you amazing people who opened your homes and hearts to us and have made us feel loved. You made this move so easy, and I will forever be grateful to you.

Most of all, I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, who knew I needed adventure and a change, and was willing to do whatever necessary to make my dream of being a Southern girl a reality. I can never thank you enough--I love you.


I hope all of you are safe and surrounded by loved ones today, and spare some time for those who aren't as fortunate.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrate the Little Things

(I thought I posted this yesterday, but apparently not.)

One of the (many) things that I love about living in New Orleans is the fact that there is always something to do here: whether it's taking in one of the amazing art museums or galleries, walking in Audubon or City Park, strolling through the French Quarter on a beautiful afternoon, listening to music on the streets or in the clubs or in the concert venues...the list goes on and on.

And the festivals. There is literally a festival every single weekend here. There is even a special festival calendar so that people can keep track of them all, and they have actually started denying permits to hold new ones because there just isn't any more room. Most of the festivals are free (minus food/drink, of course), so anyone can go spend a few hours looking at art, listening to amazing local music, bumping in to friends old and new.

Of course, everyone has heard of Jazz Fest and Carnival season. But down here we also have:

Oak St. Po'Boy Fest (where we hung out today)
French Quarter Fest
Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco Fest
White and Dirty Linen Nights
Crescent City Blues and BBQ Fest
Tremé Creole Gumbo Fest (last weekend--amazing!)
Tales of the Cocktail
New Orleans Seafood Festival
Tennessee Williams Festival
New Orleans Film Festival
Running of the Bulls
Bastille Day
Essence Fest
Satchmo SummerFest
Bayou Boogaloo

The list goes on and on and on and...well, you get the picture.

This town celebrates life. The little things. The big things. The things that seem insignificant (Creole tomatoes and mirlitons, anyone?).

With everything that goes on in our lives, in the world, we tend to forget what we have. Life isn't perfect, of course, and everything has a dark side. But this town reminds us that every day has something worth celebrating.

Satchmo SummerFest

Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival

Southern Decadence

Running of the Bulls

Oak St. Po'Boy Fest
(All photo credits are mine.)

"Some of us just belong here."

John Goodman has said what I have often tried to explain to people:

There have been two places in this world that I have felt instantly at home. One is Ireland, the second, of course, New Orleans. Both places have an instant calming effect on me, accepting me as if I have always belonged there. Just stepping off the plane on visits to New Orleans, my stress would slip away, leaving me feeling more alive. This feeling was a large part behind us moving south--I simply couldn't be away from this place anymore.

New Orleans isn't for everyone. She's beautiful, but dangerous. As I've said before, her beauty comes as much from her flaws as it does the physical landscape. But I think that's part of her charm--she's almost human; she's like all of us, the light and the dark.

I've often thought of friends and family members and wonder: Will they get it? Will they understand the craving for this place that I have? Will they see the beauty in the cracked sidewalks, dive bars, and massive live oaks? In the cities of the dead, the second lines, the constant festivals, our beloved Saints? Or will they only see the poverty and the decay, and notice the smell of the canals and Bourbon Street (which I will always say is better than cow manure!) Some will and feel the urge to return again and again. The city will be in their soul.

I know this post isn't doing the city I love justice. It's almost too complicated to put into words. There's just a feeling here--you either get it, or you don't.

One of my dearest friends calls the people who truly understand and love New Orleans "the true believers," regardless of how long one has lived here. I know New Orleans is not for everyone, but for a lot of us, even if we try, there's no other place we can be. 

My Darlin' New Orleans

Today the sky is a brilliant blue, a far cry from that day ten years ago. I watched in horror as my second home, the city I had fallen in love with, who had bewitched me from the first day I laid eyes on it when I was fourteen, was torn apart by wind, rain, and negligence. I watched from afar, but many I love were here, or in the process of evacuating.

Things are still fragile here, no matter what you may see or hear from the politicians and media pundits: the city is, the land is, the people are. There is still a lot to be done, people to bring home, problems to be fixed.

But today, I want to say I love you, and wrap each and every one of you in a hug as the healing and work continues. 

On Leaving and New Beginnings

I've been musing over this post for a while now. Every time I sat down to write, it just didn't feel quite right.

I've gone through the gamut of emotions the past few weeks, from being nervous to incredibly excited, to a feeling of sadness at leaving so many amazing family members and friends, to sheer joy at FINALLY being able to call New Orleans home. Those have settled down for the most part now, to a feeling of contentment. This move was the right thing. It FEELS right.

To my family and friends back in Nebraska: I love you and miss you. That was the hardest part about leaving--saying goodbye to all of you. However, I think moving across the country today is much easier than it would have been even ten years ago. As much as we love to complain about social media, it allows us to stay connected in an instant. We no longer have to deal with collect calls and worrying about long distance charges (annnnndd... I just dated myself with that reference. Ugh.). Text messages and unlimited talk on cell phones makes connection easy. So while I miss you, we're never very far away!

And we are settling in here. As I write, it's been raining off and on all day, and the dogs and cat are snoozing. They're still getting used to all the new smells and neighbors, but they're adjusting. There are still boxes to unpack, which I'm sure there will be for a while, but we have the main areas settled and are starting to make it feel like home. Our neighbors are amazing and have been extremely welcoming. We've already been to two festivals, are going to another tomorrow; we're heading to a brewery tonight, and we are meeting fabulous people (some of which we were lucky to know before!), so boredom is definitely not an option! We're not naive about the city--we know it has its dark side, that not everything is a party. But it's more alive than any other place we've ever been. It's what has drawn us back here year after year, and why we finally decided to stay.

There will definitely be more postings on our new adventures here, so you've been warned!

Our new home

Learning to Live With Uncertainty

Our realtor in New Orleans sent us updated pictures of our house yesterday. It's being completely renovated, so seeing the progress made since we were there in March was really exciting--and a bit sobering.

It really hit home yesterday: We are moving. In six weeks. Halfway across the country.

And while this is such an amazing change, and I can't wait to get started on the next stage in our lives, I'm having to deal with a degree of uncertainty that I haven't had in a while:

• We can't just pop over to see how the house is coming along; we have to have complete faith in people we only met for a few hours to create a wonderful place for us to live. 

• Home insurance is drastically different in New Orleans than Nebraska (ya know, floods and hurricanes and things). 

• I still don't have a job. I don't know if I want to continue teaching or branch out into something new, so I'm applying for a lot of different things. I would like to have something in place before we move, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen. (*cue mild anxiety*)

• We have three dogs and a cat. How on earth are we going to get them all down there with minimum stress on all of us?!?

• We have to find a vet, doctors, dentists, etc., etc. . . . 

• I'm sure I can come up with more. . .just give me time. . .

Luckily, we know the New Orleans area, and we have some dear friends there who can help us once we get down there. That makes this easier than if we were moving to, I don't know, the Philippines. (Right, Mom and Dad?)

In the midst of all this uncertainty is a quote by Paulo Coelho that keeps reminding me why we are doing this:

I've got this. 

"Ch-ch-changes..."

March has been a crazy one so far. Not counting the weather that can't seem to make up its mind (it's 87 as I write this; tomorrow's high is 55), there are big changes to our life here in Nebraska.

As a lot of you already know: We're moving. To New Orleans.

Sorry, had to be done. (At least I spared you the audio!)

This has been a dream of ours for several years now, and things have finally fallen into place. Now, it's house-hunting, packing, finishing out the school year, figuring out how to transport four furbabies. . . the list goes on and on. All by the end of May. Hopefully.

 (You never realize how many books you own until you start packing. . . sigh.)

But for all the difficulties change brings, it's exciting. I am looking forward to living some place that is completely different than Nebraska, having new experiences, and cultivating a new life (going to Saints games in the Superdome!! Don't worry, Husker fans--I won't defect to the SEC!).

Ask my mom: I've had wanderlust since high school. It's time for me to take this plunge.

I hear too many people saying to me, "Oh, I wish I could do that" or  "When I'm retired. . .". The fact is that you never know what the next day is going to bring. Yes, this move is scary (I still don't have a job). Yes, we're moving halfway across the country. However, if you wait to live out your dreams, you may never have the opportunity.

"What if you hate it?" is a question people have been asking, and it's a valid one. We've been going to New Orleans for twenty years on vacation--what if living there isn't what we hoped?

We move on to another adventure.

Thelma's Cross Country Observations--The Trip Back

I hate leaving New Orleans. Absolutely hate it. And it's getting harder each time because of the wonderful friends we're making there. But more on that in a bit.

Mississippi, thank you once again for being so beautiful to drive through. I could have done with a few less vultures circling the skies, though. When there aren't many cars on the highway, it's a bit unnerving. I also didn't need to get more mosquito bites standing INSIDE a Burger King waiting for my food than I did traipsing around the Myrtle's Plantation last night searching for ghosts (I really wish I was being hyperbolic).

**A Mississippi note from the drive down: I'm sure the people in Batesville are very nice, but I won't ever be renting a hotel room there. When your main industry is a casket company, I'd be too worried Norman and his mother would be running the hotel. Sorry.

Louisiana, you didn't fail to give me one last smile as we left the state. I had no idea there was a Transylvania, Louisiana. I have to find a way to go to the Transylvania Baptist Church next time (how could you not?!?).

Arkansas, you redeemed yourself. No offense, but your eastern side is rather boring. Today's journey was absolutely gorgeous. We do need to talk about a couple of things, though. First, your choice of names: who comes up with Toad Suck Park?!? Nasty. And what in the world does one see at a Walmart museum? And a Vampire face lift would be what, exactly? 

Missouri, your western side is not nearly as beautiful as your eastern side (although it doesn't have the billboards). Being this close to Kansas, though, I can understand why you may not want to ruffle feathers--they're a little crazy over there (my friends and family in Kansas, you know there's truth in that!).

Back to New Orleans, and traveling in general. Talk to people. Learn about the places you're visiting from the people who actually live there. Don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone because the best experiences happen in those moments. While we were in New Orleans, we listened to fabulous music, ate great food (some prepared by our friend, James Cullen, the chef at Treo in Mid-City. Definitely put it on your list if you're heading down there!). We hung out at dive bars drinking and talking to incredible people. It was amazing and completely relaxing.

To James, Rylan, John, Meloney, Louie, Kristen, and Ashlee--thank you for making our trip. (Margaret, Collin, and Tracy--we will catch you next time!) We will see y'all very soon!!

Thelma's Cross-Country Observations Day Two

Being from Nebraska, I'm used to road-kill on the interstate: deer, raccoon, skunk, even the occasional coyote. Armadillo? That's a new one for me.

Mississippi was a nice rest on the eyes after the onslaught of billboards in Missouri yesterday. Loved all of the trees. Did not like the rock chip in my windshield you gave me in the construction zone through Jackson, though. Where's the Southern hospitality?!?

Then Louisiana. You are the very definition of shabby chic. You have such rough edges, have been beaten down by everything man and nature could throw at you, and yet you are still beautiful (I'm just talking about the state in general. New Orleans takes everything up still another notch.) And then the WATER!!!! Sorry, Nebraska. I love you, but you just don't have enough of it for me. From swamps and bayous, to spillways and causeways, to lakes and rivers, there's enough water to make this island-born, water-sign baby smile for years.

And now, my beloved New Orleans--ma coeur. My home for the next few days. Hot, yes. Humid, yes. Full of life, music, unimaginable food and experiences, yes. Full of tragedy and hard times even today, yes. But full of a spirit that keeps it thriving, keeps it living, keeps me coming back.

Makes turning 40 a little less difficult. How could it not?