New Orleans and Spring in the Garden

Good morning! Happy Saturday! I’m still trying to clear the fog after a whirlwind 3 days in New Orleans for my first in-person work conference since the before times. It was wonderful! It was exhausting! And, me being me, I ate my weight in beignets, because:

And:

But before we get to my New Orleans gluttony travel photos, welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s visit the Big Easy.

My first visit to New Orleans

Yes, I fell off the healthy eating wagon I was just bragging about in last week’s post. In my defense, it was my first trip to New Orleans.

And there were beignets.

Seriously, who can resist beignets? They’re the love child of funnel cake and croissants.

And then there’s stuff like this:

I’d move in and live there just for the gumbo. *drool*

And apparently a lot of other people dig the food at the Acme Oyster House, because we had to stand in line for about 45 minutes to get a table.

The Acme Oyster House is half a block from Bourbon Street. By the time my friends and I finished dinner, though, it was late, and we were tired, so here’s the extent of my Bourbon Street adventure:

Yup, that’s my foot. I literally set foot on Bourbon Street. And then I went back to my hotel and went to bed. I am truly the most boring person on earth.

In my defense, the conference was hectic, and I was booked solid every day, so by the end of the day, I was wiped. And I didn’t have much time to play tourist. I did spend a lovely hour or so on the shore of the Mighty Mississippi near the cruise ship terminal, meeting with a colleague and watching the ships pass under the Crescent City Connection bridge.

In the same area was this lovely piece of public art:

In front of a park across the street from the Convention Center was another interesting sculpture:

According to the plaque: “Like so many remnants of cultural debris left dangling from branches brought after [Hurricane] Katrina, Scrap House is a monument to nature’s unpredictable powers.”

In the garden

One of the first things I do when I get back from a trip is visit the garden to see what’s changed. This time of year, things change quickly. Old flowers fade, new flowers appear, and swarms of pests show up to lay waste to the fruits of my hard work (I’m lookin’ at you, aphids on my Marc Chagall rose). Right now the backyard garden is filled with flowers:

My potted herbs are also looking good:

The front yard garden is mostly Sonoran Desert natives, like this blooming saguaro:

And this organ pipe:

This dragon fruit isn’t a native plant, but it’s still cool:

Dragon fruits bloom at night. I didn’t get out early enough this morning to catch an open blossom, but if you want to see what they look like (they’re stunning) check out my pictures from last year.

I hope to post a few closeups of flowers for Cee’s Flower of the Day photo challenge (see my past posts here) throughout the week, so stay tuned for those.

Video of the week

While I was in New Orleans, I attended a luncheon with an amazing guest speaker – Col. Nicole Malachowski, USAF (Ret.), the first woman Thunderbird pilot, an advocate for patients with tick-borne diseases, and a motivational speaker. Her speech at the luncheon isn’t recorded (as far as I know) but her YouTube channel includes a number of her appearances. Here’s one:

She and her story are truly inspiring.

And now it’s time for…

Memes!

Once again, our meme theme is Random Crap I Found While Avoiding All Forms of Productivity. Here we go:

Yep. Pretty much need this one on a t-shirt so it can serve as a warning label.

Looks like Florida may be getting some Left Coast competition in the Dysfunction Olympics.

And while we’re on the subject of moving vehicles:

Yup.

“4 exorcisms later…” ROTFLMAO. Maybe they should have taken this approach:

On a completely different topic:

Not just A memoir. My memoir. And after this week, if it isn’t gumbo and beignets, I probably don’t want it.

And that’s it for me. I know, I know, I shorted y’all on memes, but give me a break: I’m exhausted and suffering from beignet withdrawl. I need to mainline some grease and powdered sugar.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!