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!!

More Updates

Abbi has two surviving kittens, and they both have their eyes open now! They were two weeks old yesterday.

Rosie's four are all doing well and will be one week old tomorrow.

Mommies and babies. We have a "large" and a small solid black kitty, a "large" and a small black and white kitty, and small calico and a small white and tiger.

The girls came over for a day, and we went to the park. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I just have photos at home before we went.

Tyler, Jasmine and I were on our way to NOLA for the St Patrick's Day parade but got in a pile up on I 10 west, so we are at a hotel in Moss Point, MS instead. :(

Quick Updates

 We have new fur babies. Abbi delivered her first kitten around 6 a.m. Saturday. Then there was a delay as she delivered a stillborn, and she removed it from the area. Then she delivered another kitten. I had to leave right after the first one, but Rick kept me informed. He told me all three kittens were black, and two were live births.

So when I got home, I reached into the kennel to lift one out and see it, and I pulled out an orange and white one!! No one had realized she'd had a third live birth!

This is right after the first one was born.

Mama with her three kitties.

I also painted  my office.

Keeping up with the kitty situation and getting moved into the new house has kept me really busy.
Abbi's sister Rosie should be delivering her kittens in the next couple of weeks. I had made spay appointments, but the cats were pregnant before appointment day came.

I am also working on the manuscript for The Christian Girl's Guide to Middle School which will release April 2020. I think it will be a fun and useful book for girls in grades 5-7.

Oh, and I also got my motorcycle endorsement yesterday. I had to retest. I tend to freeze up on tests and do stupid things even though I can do the skills. I also bought a 250cc Honda Rebel.
I'll post pictures of that later.

It;s a Whole New World

It really is. And a world without Internet or phone service right now. We moved within Bay County, but about 30 minutes from our old house. From a lower class area to the better area. Which means things are more expensive. But we are living in a house that still has ceilings and a roof and is mold free. At one time it was the former mayors' house. I guess she lived there until she was 92.

We've only been in the house since Monday, so we are still trying to find our stride. The care and keeping of four dogs and three cats, two of whom appear to be quite pregnant, has been a challenge. We are trying to keep them out of bedrooms at this house. In the last house, the main areas were carpeted and the bedrooms were tile. In the new house, the bedrooms are carpeted, kitchen is tiled, and the rest is hardwood.

These are our "before" photos. Everything is either white, off white or very light pink except our bathroom which is very light green. 

Dining room, which will be our main room. I splurged on a 5x5 square table with a rotating center, six chairs and a bench!! Not sure what the rotating center is for, but for us it's so everyone can get a look at the Dixit cards.

My office

Kaleb's room

Kayla's room

Kids' bathroom

Jasmine's room. The picture went to Adam's house in GA because he has a western theme.

Other view of Jasmine's room. She took the mirror down. She collects keys, sock monkeys and dream catchers.

Master bedroom. Less than half the size of our old one. Old bedroom also had a huge bathroom and walk in closet.

Master bathroom. 

Master closets. This house has very little storage. The water heater is in what should be a hall closet for towels and such. The indoor AC unit is in what should be Kaleb's closet.

 I guess I did not take photos of the large laundry room, which will be Ty's area, and the front room, which was previously used more as an entry room than a living room. For us it will be the living room.

Jasmine and I were messing around taking pictures. This is one of our new chairs.

Next post I'll have more football photos, Jasmine's 18th birthday, Tara's baby and the start of us adding color to the house! And hopefully newborn kitten photos.Hard not knowing the due date. Could be tonight. Could be in two weeks, Who knows? Maybe both. We think both of the abandoned cats we took in are pregnant. I had their spay appointments set, but felt uneasy about it because I thought they might be pregnant. So the surgery will take place after the babies are born. One lady suggested that I go ahead and get them spayed anyway as that would take care of the kitten problem!!!! I could not think of one thing to say that would have sounded even vaguely polite.

So check back soon for updates on the house, kids and cats.

First Flag Football Game

The twins are playing in a free flag football league. No practices, only Saturday games. So only an hour a week commitment. It was pretty fun to watch, and they had a blast.

Kaleb made a touchdown, and Kayla got the ball about a yard from the goal, but she turned and ran the wrong way!!! She may have a hard time living that one down!

We're Moving ... Maybe

We have been in a mold filled house for too long. Partly because it's been one thing after another since the hurricane. And lately because we needed roughly $12,000 up front!!! Who knew? Well, maybe you all did, but I didn't. We didn't face that when we moved into the double wide we are in now. 

The first house we viewed was perfect for us. Huge fenced in back yard, five bedrooms if we used the spare room as a bedroom etc. Even had a big greenhouse in the back yard. But the realtor who showed it to us hadn't checked, and the house was already under contract when she showed it to us.

The next few houses had too much damaged. 

Then we found one that just needed new back steps and a new roof. So we signed a contract and put down $1,000 earnest money.

Then we had to have it appraised for $465.

Then a full inspection for $475.

Then they told us we needed an additional $9,900 at closing for insurance, flood insurance, land tax and closing fees. Good grief!!!

So I emptied three accounts in three different banks and sold a lot of stuff. 

Then they told me I had to prove where the money came from!!!!! It might be laundered money. NOPE. I only laundered 26 cents last week. Honest. It was in the bottom under the gyrator. 

It's a crazy world.

So now we have a list of FIFTEEN things we still have to do (like prove the money is legit) before we can close.

Here the outside of the house. Despite how high up it is, they insist we have to carry flood insurance! We will need an ark before this house floods.

When You Want Just One Photo

of a three-year-old smiling at the camera.

Well, I tried!!