It's all down hill to Mardi Gras now

My last post was 1/7 so it's been less than a month since I posted last. Woot! Let's see, what has happened in the last month...

I survived the polar vortex that shut New Orleans, and pretty much the whole state of Louisiana, down. We didn't get any pretty snow just sleet. It was freaking arctic here. I grew up in Florida and have lived here the past 20 years so I'm not accustomed to below freezing temperatures 3 days in a row. A freeze over night is not a big deal because I sleep through it. We were hunkered down like in a hurricane. During all of this I had the crud. I've been sick for 2 weeks now and finally think I'm getting over it.

And even though I was sick as a dog there was no way I'd miss the Pussyfooter's Blush Ball. It's our annual fundraiser which didn't happen last year due to an early Mardi Gras and the Superbowl. I laced up in my new corset, got glammed up and managed to go until about 12:30am. Strangely there are very few pictures of me that I've seen but here are the ones George Long Photography took. We sold out and exceed our fundraising goal, ending up giving METRO $34,000!

That me on the left pointing.

I've also been gearing up for Mardi Gras which is one month away. Looking at this month's calendar, it's full of Pussyfooter dance practices, Krewe of SPANK den days -- where we work on our float, throws and costumes -- and Krewe of Muses events like throw pick-up and float viewing and of course, parades. I'm not riding or Pussyfooting in the Muses this year. It falls on my birthday, so instead I'm going to enjoy the spectacle at my friends' parade party. Of course, I have to stay mum about the themes and throws for Muses and Krewe du Vieux/SPANK but will post after the parades are over. I will Pussyfoot in three parade: Carrollton, Nyx and Orpheus. I can't wait!

Other than that, pet sitting has been slow. I remember that happening this time last year. I'm trying to build up the dog walking side of the biz since that's steadier income. Doing a little design and also doing PR for the Freret Street Festival that will be April 5th. Been shopping for a new set of wheels. Visiting dealerships and test drives is fodder for a whole separate post. Skeeball started back up and we won our first match last week. Yay!

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I love April in New Orleans. The weather, while very unpredictable, can be spectacular. Today, after several stormy days this week, is gorgeous. I remembered to put on sunscreen (unlike Mardi Gras) and put on a floppy hat. After voting and walking to Harry's Ace for a few things, we stopped by Cafe Atchafalaya for a crawfish boil. Lordy be, this was some of the best crawfish I've had in a while. Very flavorful, hot and spicy. They had a trio playing tunes while we stood outside, sucking heads, pinching tails, drinking beer and chatting with neighbors from the 'hood.

After our fill, we headed over to the Freret Street Festival. It's a shame I was so full of crawfish because there was some good smelling food there. It was very crowded. I was looking for a jewelry maker who is usually at the Freret Market. It took us our third time down the street for me to see her. I bought her shotgun house necklace. Love it!

(P.S. I can't remember if I said this before but a friend of ours bought Cafe Atchafalaya back in January and has changed up some things for the better. Open on Mondays. Check it out!)

R.I.P. Wah Laundry Sign


Any old sign aficionado who's driven down Freret Street has noticed the Wah Laundry sign. The good news is the owners of this long neglected building is finally doing some work on it. It only took an expose on TV. Public humiliation does work! The bad news is they took the sign down. I snapped these pics just before they started work. Will the sign go back up? I'll let you know.

Festivus on Freret

This Saturday the Freret Market is having "Freretstivus" with double the vendors, double the free music and Festivus Festivities. So bundle up and come support local vendors and bands.

Saturday December 13th from Noon to 5 pm on Freret between Napoleon and Valence
Join us around the Festivus Pole, Airing (and reading) of Grievances, gift exchange, Flattery Booth, Insult Booth, and the Mighty Feats of Strength--See how many Big Easy Rollergirls can you pull on a rope?

Also featuring 130 Vendors with local art, food, produce, craft and junk, plus six bands for free on two stages.

Market Stage
The Space Heaters at Noon
String Beans at 1:45
Billy Iuso and Restless Natives at 3:30

Freret Stage
Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots at Noon
Viva! Los Americanos at 1:45
Los Poboycitos at 3:30

Two Freret bus line posts in a row?

Why not. As I left my office and drove down Freret, in hopes of seeing the Ferret bus again, I decided to stop and check out the new, funky bus shelter at the corner of Cadiz. I was curious about it and so went to Google. Turns out it was the summer project for Design Corps.






I think the orange and yellow colors were inspired by the colors of the signage for the Freret Market. The shelter has a place to post notices, a bike rack and those colored squares on the back side spin, which I'm guessing is for bored children to play with while waiting. It even has a potted plant. I love the metal roof that identifies Freret Street and the direction of uptown and downtown. It provides a shady place to sit and wait, though I don't it would do much to keep you dry in the rain.

My Google search also pulled up a blog by a young lady who spent 3 weeks in New Orleans and I think she did a lovely and insightful post.

A picture's worth a thousand words...

But I wasn't fast enough. I was driving down Freret Street today and passed one of the new, groovy bio-diesel city buses. I was admiring the bus when I noticed the route info said it was "FERRET" Cracked me up. Maybe I'll go track it down...

Freret Market is tomorrow y'all. They moved it back a week because of JazzFest.

Noon to 5:00
Freret at Napoleon
75 Vendors
Pet Adoptions
Free Live Music:
Washboard Chaz @ noon
The Tanglers @ 1:45
Billy Iuso & Restless Natives @ 3:30

Musical Chairs with Big Easy RollerGirls at 1:30 & 3:15