It's early Sunday morning and I've been glued to weather news for 24 hours now. Hurricane Gustav is heading straight for the Louisiana coast. You might ask why that should matter to me as I live in Dallas. 21 years ago next Friday, I married my wonderful husband in Dallas and then we headed to our new home two days later. Our new home was in New Orleans. A refurbished, two story, anti-bellum home on Canal street.....the second floor....only window units for airconditioning and just blocks away from Lake Ponchatrain. We spent the first five years of our married life in this charming town and did our best to immerse ourselves in the culture and the history of this most unique city.
In those five years we lived in four different houses. Our second house was unlike any other I've ever lived in. It was this castle in a small, fishing village just east of New Orleans called Irish Bayou. We moved into it just before Christmas in 1987 and spent our first Christmas together as a married couple here. The photo I'm using is not from that time. I haven't been able to hook up our new scanner yet so I've pulled one in from Google Images (noteworthyinnola.com).
The yard is very overgrown, but what's so amazing is that this photo was taken AFTER Katrina hit. The castle was the only thing left standing in Irish Bayou after the storm. Amazing! My husband and I lived here with our Old English Sheepdog, Maggie, for 6 months. Big Daddy traveled on business alot then and would usually leave out of town on Monday and return home on Friday. Maggie and I spent lots of time here, just the two of us, and my biggest fear was that she would become dinner for a 'gator. When I get my scanner working, I'll post again about this bizarre newlywed home and show you pictures of the inside and tell your more stories about living here.
There are many old, beautiful cemetaries in New Orleans. Angels abound everywhere you look. As the city is now under mandatory evacuation, I pray that this storm will NOT be a repeat of Katrina and that the angels wrap their protective wings of comfort and love around this historic and charming city. New Orleans has not had enough time or support to get itself back on its feet yet. The news reports that are coming out of the city currently seem to point to a new evacuation plan that is more organized and the chaos is not like what it was three years ago this past Friday. Please keep this city and its people in your thoughts and prayers.
Boiled crawfish and shrimp.
The best shrimp po-boys ever!
Don't forget the hot sauce, cher!! 
And a little piece of fudge to end the day! 
We took a week off and headed to the Big Easy for a week of vacation and fun. I took a ton of pictures and have all kinds of ideas for posts on my blog but am struggling to get the time and the creative muse to be happening at the same time. One day at a time, right?
Gators are so ugly that they can be cute, no? This charming little man just looked liked he was in need of a hug from another sweaty tourist. 
And chocolate gators are so tasty. With 3 styles of chocolates to choose from, what's a girl to do? Why.....try all 3 of course! Visions of the my favorite movie, Chocolat, came to mind. 
