Photos From New Orleans

Cousins!

My cousins from New Orleans are here again. We got together with them a couple years ago when they were bringing the oldest daughter to college in Tampa. She's a senior this year and they were here to help her furnish and get settled in an apartment.

It was fun reminiscing about New Orleans and interesting to hear of the progress post Katrina. All three homes were destroyed by the storm but everyone is in a new house and impressed by some of the progress made. Granted, there are still areas that haven't been rebuilt but from what I heard the rebuilding was an opportunity to update and improve.

My cousins were talking about City Park and how, because of Katrina, many people and organizations supported upgrades to the park as well as restoration and replanting of the old oaks. This probably would not have happened without the storm, or if so, would be slower.

Of the three schools I attended while living there (St. Anthony, St. Leo the Great, and Sherwood Forrest) only Sherwood Forrest remains closed. My cousin's estimate is 80% is rebuilt and bragged about the number of unique restaurants and shops that have appeared in the rebuild.

I'm excited to go visit - it's been a very long time. Jerry's never been. I think he will have a blast.

(Photo is my cousin Bill's wife Thania on the right; her daughter, who is my first cousin once removed, Denise, in the center; her husband Chris on the left. The twins are Margarette and Luke and the little guy is Calib - my first cousins twice removed.)

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez

Some of my New Orleans relatives are here on vacation. Mom and I visited with them Monday night but I stayed out too late to post that night ;) They were a lot of fun and I really enjoyed our visit. I hope to see them again soon.
My mom on the left and cousin-in-law Thania on the right. I remember Thania from when I was a child and we lived in New Orleans. She was so very cool - a career woman, smart, funny. She is married to my first cousin , Bill, but he grew up with my mom so he "feels" more like an uncle. That happens in large families where mothers and daughtes are having babies at the same time.

Three generations of beautiful women: Thania with her daughter Denise (my first cousin once removed) and Denise's daughter Sarah (my first cousin twice removed). The last time I saw this part of the family was at my Grandmother Barnes funeral in 1993 and Sarah was a toddler.

Sarah, me, Denise, and mom which is technically four generations just not direct lineage.

Maybe one day I will darken their doorstep in New Orleans around the time of Mardi Gras!

Gumby & Pokey

I came across these toys one day while waiting for a table at Cracker Barrell restaurant. Just as the merchandisers intended, they took me back to childhood and I just HAD to purchase them for my desk at work. Really, I was "owed" them in a sense. Here's the story.....

When I was a young girl I wasn't terribly fond of regular plastic dolls. I preferred products like Raggedy Ann (my fav), Gumby & Pokey, and those trolls with the long hair. This is partially because, and I haven't shared this story with many people, is that a neighbor girl told me (when I was 4 or 5) that when you die they put you into a liquid that shrinks you and that's where dolls come from - shrunken deceased people. I remember putting dolls away in the closet at night because she had me thinking they could wake up. How's that for trauma! I ended up giving her a doll of mine that she really liked and that was probably the motivation for her story.

I did trust Barbie, sorta, because we all know she's not to scale with a real human body, LOL. Actually, I didn't get a Barbie for a while later and I wasn't as freaked out by then. But on to Gumby & Pokey. One Christmas while we were living in New Orleans I got G&P as a gift and was very fond of them. So fond, in fact, that when we went on a camping trip to Pensecola Florida I took them with me. I don't recall who all went on the trip but I do remember two things - the tent leaked and it rained and there was a nasty boy in our group who torchured me. He figured out I was fond of my G&P and he threw them in the campfire! Some adult helped me to fish them out but Pokey was a total loss. Gumby, being bigger, was charred but still maintained some green and shape. Unfortunetly he was soft and we set him down because he was hot and dirty, and when I picked him up his feet stuck and as I pulled it created these long, wierd, pointed feet - not that Gumby's feet aren't wierd already. Anyway, it ruined the toy for play because he couldn't stand and he made your hands dirty.

I guess my relationship with Gumy & Pokey did not achieve the natural closure a child has with her toys and perhaps that is why they still capture my attention when I see them. One time I even had a miniature set of them that I put on my Christmas tree! In doing this post I Googled G&P to ensure that I am spelling it correctly and discovered a Gumbyworld website and Gumby the movie! I am going to go check it out when I finish publishing this post. And for those of you who also have a pair of these bendables buddies, keep away from fire!