Now What?

I spent most of my free time in February cleaning and organizing our house in preparation for SB's birthday party last weekend. I was glad that I did, too, because it was no small turnout - at least 30 people came for the celebration! It was a blast, and the house looked great. Man do I love this house.

This month was also Valentine's Day, which we usually celebrate by making a slightly more extravagant dinner together. This year we went out to see my new favorite band - the Cactus Blossoms. They played at a popular little dive bar down the street from our house. We stood right next to the stage and were hit with a wall of classic country sound that was, in my opinion, delightful.

We also saw a living legend -- 77-year-old Spider John Koerner, who inspired Bob Dylan. I snapped a photo of him performing.

Last weekend we returned to the little dive bar for brunch, as they have themed brunches featuring music -- outlaw brunch, jazz brunch, polka brunch, tunes and toons brunch, etc. It is definitely our new neighborhood hangout, and only a few blocks from our house. LOVE it.

Speaking of fun things to do within a few blocks of our house, it appears to be official that a national soccer stadium is going to be built about a half-mile from us. It is hard to know what that will mean for what is currently a fairly run-down neighborhood... I'm hoping good things.

Anyway, now that the birthday party has passed, I find myself returning to the question, "now what?" I enjoy having something on the horizon to look towards as I go about my everyday life. I'm not sure yet what the next something will be.

If You're Going to New Orleans...

You ought to see the Mardi Gras!

While drunken revelry out in the streets is not my idea of fun, I love my own version of Mardi Gras celebration, which mostly consists of some kind of creole dish with shrimp and LOTS of New Orleans jazz. There is no genre of music that I like more than the jazz, blues, and zydeco from that beloved city. Even my favorite contemporary folk band, Hurray for the Riff Raff, is from New Orleans.

I visited New Orleans very briefly a few months after Hurricane Katrina (doing disaster relief work, but I spent more time in Mississippi than in Louisiana). SB was also there a year or so after I was, also doing disaster relief work. We both love it and aim to go back.

Anyway, here are a few favorites for this Mardi Gras day...

Professor Longhair

Louis Armstrong

Kermit Ruffins

Dr. John

And, on a completely unrelated note, here is my new pride and joy; I completed this during the Superbowl.

Here's a bonus.