Let it SNOW!

December 11 has been an unbelievable day here in Mandeville. One that made everyone smile, bundle up and then go Christmas shopping! 3" of snow in our little neighborhood! It started falling heavy just before 7:00 a.m. Our doorbell rang at 7:15. The ringer was our neighbor, Meghan (she catches the bus with Ellie). She awarded me a snowball, a smile, and 'Merry Christmas' greetings. Reluctantly, the kids all loaded the busses and went to class. I'm certain that our three, accustomed to the 'mountain factor' in Franklin County which kept them home when snowflakes fell, were totally in shock. By 9:00, most parents had gotten the 'unofficial word' that the students were 'excused'. Busses wouldn't run until regular time, but kids were all finding a way home and there were no penalties. Did we use all our 'weather days' during hurricane season? I don't know. I encountered long lines at all 3 schools to sign the kids out, but nobody...no nobody...complained. These folks (me included!) were psyched! No real snow in 6 years here! Many of these kids had never seen snow that they can remember. Video cameras out...cell phone photo ops everywhere. The bayou was WHITE!

So, yes, laugh now...I locked the Armada into 4WD at 9:30 and ventured out of the driveway to fetch the 'chillen'. Realizing that our serious snow gear was still in TN, as were our sleds (which were of no use anyway because there are no hills!) we layered up, grabbed the dog, and tried to find snow fun in Mandeville. We soon discovered that the lakefront was BARE! No snow at all but whitecaps like crazy coming from the south. I think I have some weather lessons to learn. It was very strange, but the snow started about 3 blocks north of the lake. Heavy snow from all the moist air made for great snowmen, but apparently the slightly warmer air off the lake chased the flakes away from lakefront neighborhoods while ours was covered (remember...I'm from TN and I locked 'em in!)

Such fun. Snowmen (actually two...the first suffered a violent ending which then resulted in a bloody lipped neighborhood kid courtesy of Zeke. Go Zeke!). Ferns inside. Christmas shopping and crawfish etouffee by the fire tonight and more freezing temperatures to come. I feel like I'm living in a seafood version of Gatlinburg!

We'll be home in TN soon for the holidays and then travling on to OH for some long awaited family time. Like most everyone, we can't wait to see all our friends and family as we travel this month. We are WAY overdue on some fronts!

By the way, many have asked how Ellie Grace did at the AAU Cross Country Nationals last week. Here's the deal. 8 South Louisiana Roadrunners up against about 90 more fast chicks from all over (California, Delaware, Nevada to name a few). It was cold as could be in Decatur, Alabama on Saturday morning. Grandparents from TN were there to watch their first cross country event. Anxiety was high. Ellie finished late in the pack, but her time was her personal best. A 2-mile run in 15:45 in under 40 degree weather is braggin' rights in my book! It was definitely an event to remember!

Of course, after leaving Decatur we slipped up to TN for the end of the Cowan parade and then came in under the radar at Sewanee for the Festival of Lessons and Carols. Upstairs heat's not working well at the Winchester house, so kids were happy to be snuggled up at grandparents and friends' homes for the evening. Yes, we are glad the price of gas has decided to show mercy on us this month as we drive back and forth. Between our wonderful week home at Thanksgiving and the recent visit, rumor is (go ahead and put it the rumor on local radio) that we're back in town!

This weekend holds many holiday parties (imagine that...),our first lacrosse game, neighborhood Secret Santa exchange (this has been WAY too much fun with alot of 'ding-dong ditch' played by the kids), and a bit of Advent celebration at our new church home. Nutcracker practices fill the week and we hope to see grandparents here as Ellie has more personality/costume changes than Sybil! Let's hope her makeup artist (mom) gets the hairbun, lips, and eyes just right or I'm sure someone will be at the whipping post! I'm getting hives already!

Change (ugh..yes that's the title here!)

No, I'm not talking about the voice of the voters. We all deserve a breather on that topic, don't we? I'm talking about the change of seasons! Watching the seasons change here shares a few similarites to home. Mandeville reminds me of Winchester in that:

• October's bright blue weather is inspiring and it extends into November.
• Rabid and colorful football fans (the Vols got nothin' on the Tiger fans! Here, school bus drivers even decorate their windshields with bright blue and gold lights for the daily route to get folks psyched for the weekends!).
• Halloween fun (even more magical here thanks to gas lights adorning the entrances of most homes and people who have trunkloads of costumes that they find excuses to wear throughout the year!)
• Fall food. In TN, it's turnip greens and BBQ (we miss both more than you can imagine). Here in Louisiana, the shrimp is amazing right now and 'r' months truly produce the best, saltiest oysters I've ever tasted. Satsumas (Louisiana grown citrus even better than clementines) are ripe and there must be a bumper crop this year), mirliton (funky green vine fruit that look like wrinkly pears...pronounced 'mella-ton' by the locals) are everywhere. Paul had my first attempt at cooking mirliton for his birthday in the form of a pie which was a huge hit. Now I've found out that I can also stuff them with shrimp, crawfish, etc. just like they do eggplant down here. The epicurian adventure continues!
• Rec soccer is winding down until spring season. Meanwhile, cross country runners, after enduring scorching heat during training, enjoy faster times as cool weather arrives. Zeke's 3 mile best is 19:09 (yes, he lettered his freshman year!), while Jacob's 2-mile is 13:50 and Ellie's mile is 7:40.

And now the differences:

• The colors here are just nowhere as wonderful as home. Some gold in the bushes give me some comfort, but I miss the reds and oranges of the maple trees.
• Swim practice outdoors makes for freezing arms when they leave the heated pool to perfect the strokes. Last week was really chilly and the coaches were bundled up alongside the heated pool. This week is much more 'normal' I've been told, and should produce less whining from the kids.
• My first launch at my new gym left me longing for home where everyone in class knows everyone else by name and the party afterward was fun. Here, all we did was change the music and add balloons to the room.
• School soccer is just beginning and will play thru the winter.
• High school homecoming dance was more like a prom with corsages, ties, sportcoats, and dining groups of friends who attended dinner at parent's homes. The parents provided the food and table service, and were rewarded with watching a group of young adults grow into their social graces.
• We talk of hurricane season ending and putting the trampoline back up instead of lowering the storm windows and checking the gas heat in preparation for winter.

Tears continue to appear frequently as we remember our 'Henry kitty'. Always a street savvy tiger, he must've been chasing an armadillo or raccoon on his last adventure a few weeks ago. His loss left a hole in our hearts and a very lonely place at the house. Since that time, we have now adopted little 'Lafitte', whom Zeke named in honor of the bayou pirate, Jean Lafitte. He's very sweet and is proving to be as fearless as Henry was.

Etc. (I waited too long between postings, didn't I?): ROTC experiment didn't turn out so well, so Zeke returned to PE class. Guess he's just not a military kind of guy as he gladly turned in his uniform. We love the 9-week grading period, and we've determined that French is a very difficult language for the hillbilly kids from Tennessee, but they're hanging in there. Honor students are treated to breakfasts which gets them excused from class, which is always a good thing especially when you like to eat as much as Jacob does. (I think he inherited my dad's love for all food!) Ellie is still working hard on upcoming Nutcracker performance and is a becoming a real 'long-division whiz'. Paul's work has him much busier than he would like to be and he'd love to have some of those engineer geniuses he counted on in TN down here to help him! Meanwhile, I took a 'field trip' with a friend who manages a barge company over to Mobile last week to learn a bit about the barge industry. It's only an 90 minutes to Mobile! How cool is that?

We're looking forward to Thanksgiving back home, hanging out with our family and friends, making ourselves sick on BBQ and turnip greens, and going up on the mountain to enjoy some change in elevation. After all, we look forward to interstate overpasses around here to provide elevation change! Bicycling is flat out fast but I'm missing the curves and hills! I guess you can take the girl out of the hills, but you can't take the hills out of the girl!

Love Bugs, Fire Ants, and What? No Oysters?

Gustav has come and gone, Ike doesn't look like it's going to bother us, and we survived our first evacuation back to our home in Tennessee. Actually, after a great week of visiting old friends, we left our pets in Tennessee to keep my mom busy, we returned to discover our home and our boat unharmed. The boat just rode the storm surge up and back down again in the marina. We learned alot about hurricanes and evacuations, and hope there's not another anytime soon. Thinking Ike would get nasty as well, we've planned more Tennessee events this weekend after which Noah's Armada will return to Louisiana, stinky pets and all!

Unfortunately, this year's crop of love bugs was also unaffected by Gustav. They apparently either love or hate the sound of the push mower, as I was swarmed by them during my entire mowing session yesterday. Nasty little pairs of insects originally from South America, these little critters all eventually die on car bumpers and windshields. Unfortunately, we expect a few more weeks of them. Another discovery: the secret of the fast cross country runners around here has got to be the presence of fire ants. Kids all ran their first Lousiana cross country meet yesterday on what had to be the steamiest day of the year. Fire ant hills were throughout the course and even causing the spectators to move quickly at times. Anyway, Ellie Grace made her debut in cross country...ants, mud and all. Jacob ran the same course as Zeke, and we were all glad to get back in an air conditioned car!

My two budding politicos, Jacob and Ellie, are in midst of student government campaigns. Each using the slogan 'Stick With Stevens'. It's interesting to watch them strategize. They're pretty savvy! Not sure what all Jacob is promising in his campaign speech today, but I think a baked potato bar in the cafeteria and more pep rallies were on the list. Meanwhile, Zeke has decided he wants to transfer to the Jr. ROTC program (here it can count for P.E. credit), so he's going to learn a bit of the military life. Should be interesting! A soccer buddy recruited him. No, I don't think he will have to shave his head, but he should still look pretty handsome in uniform! His first high school swim meet is today, and was preceded by a pasta dinner party earlier in the week complete with cute girls and swimmer camaraderie. He is one happy camper with the exception of one teacher that draws on her eyebrows (very unsymetric and extreme) that they are all scared of. After all, this is the land of voodoo. I think I may be scared of her, too.

Paul and I are providing taxi service and working out like always to stay ahead of the pounds that good food can put on. I keep discovering new ways to cook eggplant (one of my favorite veggies) and fresh shrimp appears on the table frequently. We had planned to bring back a couple hundred oysters for friends in Tennessee this weekend, but were told yesterday that the oyster beds are closed until they can assure they are safe from bacteria stirred up by Gustav. Bummer! Our order is in at the market just in case the beds open in time, and our fingers are crossed. Now I'm craving them worse than ever. How in the world can the Lord expect us to survive long with fire ants, love bugs, and no oysters?

Back and Forth to Tennessee

It's been a week of travels to and from Winchester for us. I returned back for my last (hallelujah!) school board meeting last week and then drove back down with my parents. This week took Paul back to Winchester for design meetings in Tullahoma, so we've worn out the road thru Mississippi! It was great to visit friends back home and then we had a blast showing the grandparents around Mandeville. They can now visualize where the kids go to school, where they play soccer and the neighborhood that we are calling home for awhile. They even had an afternoon trip to eat oysters in New Orleans (southshore) in between eating shrimp, gumbo, beignets, and red beans and rice on the northshore. They loved the grocery and seafood stands where we now shop, and they met neighbors that I've yet to meet. They saw alligators in the marsh near the Tchefuncte Lighthouse (little ones) and heard the endless song of frogs and critters in the evenings. The kids were SO excited to share their new discoveries with them and we sent them home 5 pounds heavier but smiling. We're ready for the next guests!

August in Lousiana is extremely hot (duh!) and I walked into my hair salon on Thursday requesting a 'butch cut'. I was all done with the relentless humidity which has driven me to use hairspray again. I haven't used hairspray since my wedding day! As a bonus, I have ankles covered in fire ant bites from yardwork (really attractive!) and I now have an 'itch eraser' in my purse which really doesn't work but I feel better having it. My hairdresser (Kim) calmed me down, assured me that by October I would miss my hair, and so I didn't get it shaved after all. I think she gets a kick out of all of us and our reactions to the local flavor. As with any good hairdresser, Kim can fill me in on the 'who's who and what's what' in town, and Paul will be forever grateful that I still have 'longish' hair.

Seems that fire ants aren't the only source for misery these days. New school board members who are not even sworn in are building empires and swarming for trouble. If you're a blog reader in Franklin County who cares about education, please take a stand before the anthill takes victims. Enough said about that.

Zeke and Jacob are both doing alot of practice on their conversational French these days and they're teaching Ellie Grace a bit as well. This will come in handy trying to navigate, order food, and pronounce friends' surnames in this town. They are both really enjoying having a foreign language in school. So far, they are ace-ing all that comes their way. Thank you to all the teachers back home who prepared them so well.

I taught 5 classes at the gym this week and I'm finding new ways each time to build relationships and meet interesting folks. I've discovered that if I tell people that I'm from a town near Lynchburg, home of Jack Daniels, I always get a smile. Seems many folks here have a Memphis connection. Odd. We don't hear much about Memphis in Winchester, do we? Maybe it's the Mississippi River or maybe it's the music, but it seems that so many have family living in Memphis. I'm on the lookout for Elvis down here. I'm thinking he might've escaped to the Quarter and he's disguised as a drag queen, whatdayathink?

Doin' It With Passion...and Style

The first day of school met all of us with new challenges from figuring out the bus schedule to making new friends to finding our way around unfamiliar hallways. These schools aren't as nice as our old schools, but after all they've been thru a hurricane and have experienced a huge influx of students. We have been spoiled! The cafeteria food isn't as good either, but hey, we're eating plenty well other places! Seeing just one familiar face in Ellie's class of a new friend we had met at a swimming pool made me so happy that I cried. It was tough on all of us facing unknown territory but it seems that the kids are probably doing better than mom. Jacob's 5-Finger Shoes got him busted by the dress code police. They technically met the code, but they are a bit different and I don't think the vice-principal understood the spirit of the shoes. So much for Jake's fashion statement. I didn't argue the point as I have finally learned to pick my battles. I just took him tennis shoes and was thankful that there was no school board connection and no local radio to sensationalize the silly story. Wonder what else we can get away with down here where nobody knows us?

Ellie Grace is continuing to kick the heck out of a soccer ball and has just been selected for a 'Developmental' Team which apparently is a real honor. Boys tryouts are this week. Kids are preparing for an Optimist sailboat race on Saturday in Gulfport and our sailing efforts on the Beneteau last Sunday resulted in a no-wind, dropped anchor, swim in the brackish water surrounded by mullet and an occasional sighting of a manatee but no gators.

We have enjoyed watching the Olympics this week and thinking about our own goals. Kids are loving life and are really making a splash here in Mandeville. Ryan, owner of runner's store near lakeshore, hosted a run on Saturday morning with an Olympic theme. Lots of costumes, including one couple in red dresses (both male and female) who were also doing the Red Dress Run in the French Quarter later. Kids took home medals, stood on podiums, and for just a moment maybe felt like they were in Beijing. Zeke hung out with his new cross country team friends and avoided his parents like any red-blooded teenager would do. However, the style, fun, food and colorful nature of the surroundings was typical 'all out' awesome. Whatever it is, the folks here make the most of it. They do a great job of drawing the line between work and play, and they do each one with equal gusto. Franco's, my new fitness venue, requires all of us who work there to memorize and demonstrate their credo at all times while in the club. The credo: 'Change lives, Build relationships, Love what you do, Show you care, Have Fun, Excel in Everthing, Do it all with Passion.' I like it! Fits me just fine! So, to my Uncle Newt who chided me once for being a 'Pollyanna' living in 'Utopia', I guess I now must agree that I am just that. Utopia is what you make of your world wherever you are.

Alligators and White Linen

Last week was off to a bizarre start around here with the story of a nearby 11 ft. alligator named 'Big Joe' and his attack of a 11 yr. old boy who tried to share his swimmin' hole. The boy has miraculously survived but his arm, recovered from the belly of Big Joe, was unable to be re-attached. The story was wild and provided a reminder that's why it's called 'wildlife' and we should be respectfully aware of our surroundings. Seems that nature keeps everyone a bit on their toes down here. As August is the anniversary month of Katrina, it seems that the weather is never far from anyone's thoughts. Somehow you just feel that the whole community is watching and waiting for the next storm as if it's the 'boogeyman in the closet'. Storms move thru fast and furious here, and as sailors again yesterday we were watching the skies closely. Kids sailed their boats before the afternoon storm and then we all sailed the big boat until sunset after the storm moved thru. Zeke's sailing skills and his 'Macgyver' innovativeness are translating well to sailing the Beneteau. Paul actually claimed yesterday that he wasn't sure he could sail this boat on this lake without Zeke. No, I don't think he would say the same about me.

Saturday night's entertainment came from a trip to New Orleans for 'White Linen Night'. This event showcases art galleries and gives everyone a chance to dress up in white linen and endure the heat. With fans in hand, we enjoyed the people watching as much as the art. No, Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore, nor are we in Winchester. The people watching stretches from the beautiful to the bizarre and everything in-between. I think I had too much fun. Yep. No doubt, I did.

Kids are are registered in school. 3 different busses come thru the neighborhood to take them to 3 different schools. Zeke has 7 classes (no block schedule here) and 4 of them are Honors courses, so he'll have his work cut out for him. School lunch prices are under $1 here, but I don't see how they do it. We'll see if the food is as good as it was in Franklin County schools. Red beans and rice every Monday and Gumbo most every Wednesday. Here at home, we have crawfish stuffed chicken to throw in the oven for dinner tonight. Will be a nice way to pig out after I appear on-stage teaching Combat down here for the first time. Teaming with other instructors, we expect 70+ participants to kick and punch with. Should be lots of fun!

About Time to Buckle Down

School is just around the corner and registration is today. I can only hope that we have all the documentation necessary to prove who we are, where we live, and that we are in fact pretty darned smart kids. : ) Who knows! Registration earlier this week for soccer and gymnastics and scoping out swim teams rounds out last week's ballet find on the list of things to make mom crazy this fall. Everything is much more expensive here, so guess who's got to get serious and get to work. Looks like summer is almost over.

Our visit from our Bolin buddies made for a spectacular weekend of fun, food, sailing, and storms. We re-visited some of our favorite culinary sites both in Mandeville (Broken Egg Cafe and Rips) and New Orleans (Cafe Du Monde and Felix's Oyster Bar). We also discovered a new and spectacular restaurant, Jacques Imo's, in the city. The most common utterance as we stuffed ourselves with bbq shrimp, alligator sausage and shrimp cheesecake, fried grits, duck and andouille gumbo, and creme brulee was 'oh my gosh'! It just got better and better as the meal went on. We managed to burn a few of the calories off on Sunday as we rigged the boat and sailed between some wicked summer storms. Good thing the yacht club had cold margaritas to sip on while we watched the light show between sailing adventures. Needless to say, with more calories in than out, I have tried to take up running again this week (with Scout at my side early before the heat hits) and re-discovered how much I hate that sport. Kids and Paul love it, but I love my group fitness, friends and good music, so I'm out looking to sub classes at the local gyms. I hope they find me soon! I sure miss my buddies at Mass Appeal! Maybe I just need to get out on the slip 'n slide with the kids in the afternoon. Sounds like a good way for an old momma to break something, huh?

Lots of prayers have gone out over the past weeks to friends and family who have suffered loss, accidents, and are just dealing with rough times. Life comes at ya fast, and I am in constant reminder to be thankful for the blessings of today.

Ballet and boats

Thursday already! Last night's boat adventure wasn't on the big lake, but rather motoring up the swampy river to the new dockspace. It was beautiful. Almost sunset when we finally finished getting the boat tied in and prepped it for it's first Louisiana sail this weekend. Dark clouds overhead never got us wet, but it rained all around us. Kids have discovered that the wildlife really gets interesting after a hard rain and they love to go explore the neighborhood bogue looking for alligators, turtles, and huge frogs. There's usually a few new critter noises, too, which we're all enjoying.

Today brings our final ballet class for the week. No more ballet until after school starts on Aug. 8. Ellie now has the official 'red' leotard which designates her class and new 'split sole' canvas shoes which was new to me. Don't think they have that kind at Hammer's in Winchester!Anyway, as you can see, I was totally embarassing her by snapping this shot on my cell phone. I am enjoying so much embarassing the kids nowadays. It's what us moms do best. Ellie has a dentist appointment today with a local dentist whom I'm sure can't compete with our Winchester dentist, Dr. Hyde, but it's checkup time and we're here! Maybe some pool time and just enjoying summertime for these last few days before it's time to hit the books.

Using Cyberspace to Stay in Touch

Noah's Armada arrived safely on Sunday night carrying the TN critters to their new home. The house is pretty much unpacked, but we are still having trouble finding where we put things. Scout (the 115 lb Great Labeneese) has experience A/C for the first time in his life and I'm having a hard time convincing him to ever go outside. Henry (15 lb yellow tabby) was scared to death yesterday by some type of reptile, but today has become the kitty version of 'Crocodile Hunter' as he stalks lizards in the yard. Rocky (guinea pig) is just glad that there is a refrigerator here with a seemingly endless variety of salad scraps for him...just like TN! Ellie Grace is going to ballet this week at her new ballet school, Conservatory Ballet Aviv. Zeke and Jacob are sleeping, eating, and preparing for their first sail on Lake Pontchartrain tomorrow night. Paul has pretty much recovered from his bike wreck on July 4th, and we are hoping to sail the Beneteau on the big lake tomorrow night as well. I have just created a Facebook account and now my first blog...so I'm trying to assure we can all stay connected to our friends and family in this hectic but fun adventure. We are all missing our buddies and family back home, but hope to see many of you soon. Our first Louisiana houseguests, the Bolins from Tampa, are due to arrive Friday. Probably have to snag one of the alligators in the neighborhood Bogue to cook up in a stew or something to celebrate!