New Orleans

I am SO far behind in blogging. And a lot has happened. So I'll just jump in and tackle it one thing at a time.

Tyler, Jasmine and I left for New Orleans on March 17, and as you know from the previous post, we were involved in an accident. It took a while to sort it all out, but now our car is being repaired, and we'll have to go back to MS to pick it up.

By time cars were towed, the car rental place was closed, so we missed the St Patrick's Day activities that we were going to NOLA to experience. We arrived a day late, and the first thing we did was jump on the On and Off bus so we could get an overview of NOLA. 

The photos below were taken from the top of the bus. If you've been to NOLA, you may recognize some of these places.

We got off at Magazine Street. Our first stop was a donut shop!

Jasmine told me I looked too bored in the first photo she took, so here is my "not bored" picture!

We shared a sliders meal and two donuts.

Then we went to the Lafayette cemetery, a historic cemetery in the Garden District.

The cemeteries in New Orleans are referred to as "Cities of the Dead," because family tombs resemble miniature houses, complete with iron fences, lined up along a street. Bodies are buried above ground due to a high water table which would cause bodies buried below ground to float!

Confined within a single city block, the Lafayette cemetery contains approximately 1,100 family tombs and 7,000 people.

There was a guide conducting tours for tips, so we joined in.

 Cemeteries intrigue me. I always wonder about the families buried here. Each person has a story to tell, and I wish I knew those stories. I guess I am naturally nosy about people. :)

Some of the guide's information was so, er, interesting, that I wondered how much was true. But it turned out what he said was accurate. When someone dies, he is put in the cemetery wall in a casket for one year and one day. Then his remains are removed and added to the family tomb. So there can be 100 people stacked on top of each other in the tombs.

The bodies are placed in the tomb with a ten-foot pole, which is where the expression, "I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole," came from.

People place a variety of things in front of the tombs. This one has a shoe thrown during a parade in front of it.

I was sad to find out that the tomb in Double Jeopardy was a fake! This is where it was placed.

 This appears to be the tomb of three children.

People leave toys in front of this tomb, one of the societal tombs. 

The Jefferson Fire Company No. 22 Tomb is the largest of three volunteer fire company tombs in the cemetery.

I'll end with this, or you will all have serious NOLA photos overload.

But I want to put in a quick plug for my books. They are earning an embarrassingly small amount of royalties. There have been too many changes of editors, plus Legacy was bought by Rose publishing, who was then bought by Hendrickson, and the books seem to have fallen by the wayside.

If you have a local Christian bookstore, please check for them there. Otherwise, you can order them on amazon. They would be Easter presents with value! This link unfortunately includes some books that aren't mine, but I think you can find the legit books at the real price.

my books

I'm going to mention two in particular in this post.

 The Quiz book is a fun, interactive book for ages 8-12 and a lot of fun done with a friend or sister.

Brief description: Packed with Christian advice for girls ages 10-12, the Christian Girl's Guide to Me: The Quiz Book will help you discover what your personality says about you! Find out the totally awesome girl of God He made you to be, and have fun with the devotionals, quizzes, and crafts along the way!

This One Year devotional features women of the Bible and how their stories apply to tween girls today. Some women are discussed for an entire week, while others have one day devoted to them. In 365 days, girls will know more about the women in the Bible who faced the same troubles and issues girls today face, and they will be more committed to following the godly examples and avoiding the ungodly ones. At the end of each day’s reading, girls are encouraged to “Think It Through,” a section that asks them questions related to the devotion and prompts them to apply the lesson to their lives. After each week of devotions (seven days), a full page is devoted to activities utilizing information from the prior week’s devotions (puzzles, quizzes, etc.).

Please consider gifting these books to your daughter, niece, a Sunday school class or girls' group.

More coming about NOLA, the kittens, the new house and more!!