Vignoles Wine
Wow, it has really been a while since I put an entry into my blog. I bet some of you people thought I had fallen off the earth. I bet still others wished that I had. Sorry. I'm still here.

I had to take some time to myself and get a few things together.

Let's see, since my last entry, I've had a birthday, managed to survive it. We've had another election, and it seems that we have C. Ray Nagin for Mayor for another 4 years, in spite of my puny little vote otherwise. Well, New Orleans and the rest of the nation...I tried.

To tell you the truth, I was originally hurt by a few rash statements that were said by the Mayor back around...oh, I believe it was a certain February holiday that has three initials in it...but I was able to let it go...I really was. I came to the conclusion that it was either a man that needed to rally support from a direction that he felt he was lacking it for the past few years...or that he was, what was it that I heard so many times????"swept up in the moment?" Yeah, that was it. Whatever. The point was, I got past it. I moved on. I let it go. I even got past a few other comments that were made. The problem that I had was that I feared the nation and all the other voters in the USA would NOT be able to get past it, or their opinions of our beautiful city, and how narrow minded and backwards they might find we might be if we continued to keep the same leadership that we had.

I also had concerns that they might not feel too warm and fuzzy about giving over their hard earned dollars to a state other than their own, or to a city run by a man seen too many times as a "maverick" (his word, not mine) when they might be able to convince their Senators and Congressmen to keep their funds reserved for their own states instead, or to send it to other states' needs instead of ours. We look too much like a hot roman candle to be worth it.

But May 20th came and went, and apparently not enough of my fellow New Orleanians felt the same, as the elections came and went and the decision was made. Good, bad or indifferent, the ballot has been cast and now we must live with it...or at least until the final demise of our city.

Since my last entry, I also took a much needed break and went on a mini vacation with my husband and met with my oldest and dearest friend. We met in Branson, Missouri, a place none of us had ever been to before. It was a rather strange location for us to decide upon when you consider that none of us really like country western music, or those types of shows. We never even went to a show the entire 8 nights that we stayed there.

What we did do was ride our Harley Davidsons all over the Ozark mountains and look at some beautiful scenery. We took a tour through a cave, and found that the Ozarks are actually filled with caves, some that even served as speakeasy's during prohibition. I can only imagine getting really loaded and getting lost or falling in one of those caves back then!

We also rode down to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, which is known for it's bath houses and massages and spas, where we took them up on that.

Then there was the tour of the built to size Titanic, complete with artifacts from the beautiful White Star ship itself, and even an underwater model that was used for part of the filming of the movie.

We drove up to Springhill, Missouri in the truck one day to check out the Bass Pro Shop and I thought Pat and John Clod had gone to heaven. That store was several blocks in size. It was as big as a mall.

But my overall favorite, and I think if they admitted it, everyone's favorite, was the Stone Hill Winery, that we went to, and took the wine tasting tour. Okay...we went to it several times while we were there, and we are now VIP members, but hey, when you find something that good...you just gotta go with it! (And they ship to our state and to John Clod's state!!!)

While having a moment of clarity, I made some decisions job wise and I go on an interview this Friday. I will see what they say. It will mean a 14K/yr cut in pay, but I think it will be a better move for my mental health. I just need to see what they offer benefit wise.

And this house....oh yes, this house. I will be hiring someone to finish the outside of this house before it kills me. I will finish the inside of it, and then eventually be able to clean it, but it has become too hot to do the outside, and I have gotten estimates to do the outside. They will hopefully be able to get started on it in a couple of weeks.

I had hoped to be able to spend some time with my grandsons this summer, now that school is about to be out, and was sooooo happy to hear that their sperm donor wasn't going to be able to get them this summer, but was informed upon my return from being out of town, that he has now changed his mind and will be taking them after all. It seems that his parents were very upset with him for not wanting to get the boys this summer and read him the riot act, so now he has to get them after all. The oldest one, aged 7, doesn't want to go and it breaks my heart to tell him that he has to go. I hate our court system. Any court system that makes a child go with an abusive parent is just wrong. Still, I just try to tell myself...we will get through this, and I will go to visit them while they are there.

Sanity, what is thy name? Ah yes...Vignoles Wine...