Best Beans EVAH!

I've always liked the Louisiana tradition of serving beans on a Monday, a throwback to the days when the Monday was washday, and there was little time to fuss over dinner preparations. (Sounds like a plan to me!) Even though everyday is washday around here, I like having a standard fare on the first night of the workweek (school week), a night when Kevin's homework could be a little heavy. There's not much thought involved with beans...just pick up pickled pork, sausage, and either red or white (great northern) beans and throw it all in the pot of water with onion, Tony Chachere's, garlic powder, and a few bay leaves. It couldn't be easier.

But tonight's beans were special! Brendan offered to grill the sausage, and once those smoky links were added, the aroma from the pot was heavenly. I think he's got a new job on Monday afternoons.

Craigslist

I sold my first item on the New Orleans Craigslist a few weeks ago. Since then, these items are no longer in my house and yard:





The really fun part was getting rid of the wooden gym set. One guy called and asked, "Let me get this right. I am going to come and haul off your old gym set and you want ME to pay YOU $75 to do it?!" "Yep."

It DID come with a brand new never-used plastic wave slide! Anyway, I graciously reduced the price to $60, as the fellow who came to take it off had to completely disassemble it to get it out of the yard through the gate. He was a pro and had it done in mere minutes. (And all I could think about was how many weekends it took for us to put the thing together!)

Hmmm...if you sit still too long at my house, I might snap a photo and list your butt. That's a warning!

The Circus

I had never been to the circus! So, when a big top sprung up during the night in the Zephyr's stadium parking lot, and Kevin asked about it on his way to school, I thought it might be a good idea.

WRONG! What was I thinking?! We had a high of 96 and the circus tent was not air conditioned. It was soooooo freaking HOT. Can you just imagine how nice the camels, elephants, and ponies smelled...never mind Julie, Kevin and I! And it is such a racket! At the ticket booth, the Russian lady who took our money, and later performed a gymnastic balancing act, asked if we wanted the regular, reserved, or VIP seats.

"What's the difference?"

"Chairs or bleachers."

"Bleachers sound fine. Two adults and one child please."

We enter the tent with our regular priced tickets to find a tiny set of bleachers set back in one sweltering corner of the big top. The rest of the huge tent were reserved and VIP seating! Immediately we pay for "upgrades" and make our way to the reserved section. Then it got really funny. It was around 4:00 on a Friday afternoon and the place was practically empty. But we couldn't just sit anywhere in the reserved section. Oh no. We had to sit in our numbered seats...right next to another sweating family of four, with hundreds of empty seats all around us. "Good grief, I need air!"

We settled into our seats with icy drinks bought from the concession trailer outside the tent. (Aha! It was starting to make sense that the place wasn't air-conditioned.) Then, a few minutes before showtime, they trotted the ponies and camel out of the ring where they had been selling rides, and it began. Well, let me tell you, Kevin enjoyed it all...all the animals, all the stunts. He was intrigued by everything. There were crazy motorcycles racing around a metal sphere, an "educated" mule, puppies that did tricks, an amazing high-wire troupe (whose youngest member was only 10 years old!), a juggling act, clowns, camels, gymnastic and balancing acts, and three cute old circus elephants. The expression on Kevin's face, when the guy shot out of the cannon in the finale, was priceless.

At least I can say I've been to the circus now. And that excuses me from ever having to go again!