What a week.

This week has been sooo stressful...

On Monday we had to change our vocabulary mastery test because a targeted list was out there, which we're not supposed to give to the students.

On Tuesday, I spent over an hour fixing up the new test in preparation for copying.  New tests were given to all teachers.

On Wednesday, Bob's dad passed away.  At first we were planning a memorial here on June 22, but that was a bust...not sure what we'll do to get everyone together (he lived in Florida).

On Friday afternoon (the day of the test) just before the final period of the day, it was discovered that a student had somehow taken a picture of the answer key and was selling the answers.  So after school, I created another test, which the students will take on Tuesday -- and they won't find out about it until Monday morning.

ARRGGHH.

And it rained and rained and rained yesterday -- a fitting way to end the week...

On a happier note, we're redoing our kitchen, and I chose a piece of granite for the new countertops.  Here's what the kitchen looks like now.

And here's the granite I chose.

 Frank and I also attended the awards ceremony where our Samuel R. Cassel scholarship was given.  The recipient was thrilled -- so cool. And his guidance counselor thought that a younger Sam had a resemblance to this boy (there's a bunch of pictures of Sam as part of the video).

Not the world's best picture, but you get the idea...

So not all was stressful this week, on second thought. :)

Day #3 -- Post-wedding brunch.

We were awake by 7AM because we had pretty much crashed relatively early the night before. First, we decided to take some pictures of the lobby of our hotel, the Monteleone.  It's a beautiful old-style place.

This was the inscription on this beautiful clock.

We also checked out the rooftop pool - really lovely, but we hadn't brought our suits (not that I would have sat there in my suit anyway!)  We also found the newlyweds' nephew Teddy swimming with his dad  - how cute.

Bob took an arty shot of a mosaic mural and flower by the entrance to the pool.

Since we had yet to taste a real New Orleans beignet, we decided to try Cafe Beignet, another coffee/jazz place not too far from our hotel.  The place was hopping at 10AM on a Saturday morning - there was a jazz duo playing, and of course there was a drinks machine where you could get daiquiris and margaritas.  We chose coffee & chicory with 3 beignets, which taste curiously like funnel cake (or maybe fastnachts) - fried dough with powdered sugar. 

Bob standing by the entrance to Cafe Beignet

Then it was time for the post-wedding brunch. We saw Swanna and Christian, looking smashing, as we were having yet another drink at the Carousel Bar.

 Since the place was about 8 miles away, we planned to take a cab and ended up sharing a ride with the Smythe family -- Christian's parents, sister and brother-in-law, and baby Teddy. The place was a private home - the owner had offered it to Swanna's friend when the first place they chose fell through.  It had a pool and some shade and a big porch, but the day was HOT with little breeze.  We chatted, ate, and sweated a wee bit.

Bob made me take this picture of bamboo gone wild - my sister Fran's neighbor was so angry that her husband had planted some in their yard because grows and grows and grows...case in point.

 Swanna's friend Gina took a little siesta before joining the people in the pool...

Of course, she was wearing a bathing suit while Swanna jumped in in her darling dress...

Then some more people joined in...

By this time, we'd gotten word from the Smythes that the cab was due to take us back to the hotel in about 10 minutes.  We all piled in and had a nice chat on the way back to the hotel.  Mrs. Smythe is an artist, and she and her husband often visit the Lambertville-New Hope area.  She gave us her card.

Bob was very tired by this time, and so he took a mega-nap.  I'm so jealous because I just don't do well with naps anymore.  I either can't fall asleep or, if I do, I wake up all groggy.  Anyway, he slept almost 3 hours while I read the novel Paris by Edward Rutherfurd. I woke him up at 5:40, and we got ourselves freshened up to walk across the street for some Mr. B's barbecued shrimp.

The staff there served us with a sense of humor!  We both ordered Crescent City coolers (which used to be called Breeze Specials because of the Saints quarterback).  We both ordered the shrimp--what an eating adventure. It was INTENSE.

They look innocuous, no?  NO. Think about it. How does one eat these things?  They're headed shrimp still in the shell.  You must eat them with your fingers, and they're swimming in this amazing sauce. So you, your fingers, and at least two napkins are slathered with shrimp and sauce; hence, one must wear a bib.

But getting totally shrimpy is totally worth it!!! These babies were swimming in the best sauce I've ever tasted on shrimp.  And because you're getting down and dirty (literally), you really have to just EAT THE SHRIMP UNTIL THEY'RE GONE.  Do NOT try this meal on a first date - or even a fifth date.  Luckily, they bring really hot towels and lemon after you've finished and - voila - your hands are shrimp and sauce-free. A dessert went by just as we were cleaning up that caught Bob's eye, and we shared in some delicious profiteroles.

So sometimes my camera decides no extra lighting is needed...

After dinner, we strolled the streets of the French Quarter and saw another two weddings with second lines -- so cool.  As we returned to the hotel, we saw Swanna and Christian headed out for pizza.  We said our good-bys and had our last drink at the Carousel Bar, where the people-watching on this particular evening was totally awesome.  Because of our early flight, we were in bed before 10PM after an action-packed three days in New Orleans!

Day #2 -- the wedding of the decade!

This morning we awoke at 10:00am!!  We had some coffee in our room, got ready for the day, and decided to walk to Cafe du Monde, a famous coffee and beignet place.  It was already pretty steamy out -- our first taste of New Orleans on a day late in May.  Our walk took us down Royal Street in the French Quarter.

We went into some shops as we strolled.  We were in the art/antiques section of the city.  And we came upon a cat viewing some art as well...

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We arrived at Cafe du Monde at about 11:40 and found a table with two other women, one of whom lived in the area and the other from Colorado.  The place was packed, and we sat there for at least 10 minutes without being waited on, so we decided to leave because we had lunch reservations at 1PM and needed to stop back at the hotel before lunch.  But we took a picture next to the place!

 On our way back to the hotel, we saw this sign describing a short history of the city.

We climbed the steps on the sea wall to view the mighty Mississippi. A huge ship was passing by - awesome.

 As we turned off Decatur to go up a side street to get back to Royal Street, what should we pass but the New Orleans School of Cooking!  I was able to get some Joe's Stuff, a staple of my famous oven-fried chicken, right from the source!

After a brief pit stop at the hotel, it was on to Herbsaint, a restaurant highly recommended by Swanna and Christian, the couple to be married this evening.

What a fabulous place!  The service was great -- friendly and efficient.  There were definitely some power lunches going on; the restaurant was in what looked like a financial area.  We chose carefully - I had my very first Pimm's Cup -- quite refreshing!

Bob chose a wine flight - 3 northern Italian wines.

Here is the list of wines: Bob looks a little scary, I must say!

For our appetizers, I chose cornmeal fried oysters - incredibly succulent with a sauce that had a bit of a kick.

Bob had pork testa -- kind of a pork pate on toast.  Both appetizers were quite delicious.

Our entree choices were the yin and yang of lunch.  Bob had crispy GOAT (he said it tasted like lamb, but it really didn't -- it tasted like chicken -- just kidding -- it tasted like goat!!!).

And I had a spicy chicken dish that tasted like -- chicken. Go figure.  So many interesting flavors in the rub and broth!

View of the restaurant from the street.

We skipped dessert and headed back to the hotel, where we found some friends at -- what a surprise -- the bar!!  This is New Orleans, after all, where it's commonplace to see people on the street carrying various open containers of alcohol -- beer, hurricanes, daiquiris, etc. I chose a hurricane to enjoy while revolving on the carousel.  It truly is a carousel -- the bartenders have to climb over the bar to get out because there's no door through....

While sitting there, who should arrive but Amanda!  We caught up some more (we'd chatted the evening before).

 There were also other people sitting near the bar that we recognized from the previous evening.  I introduced myself to them, and, again, when I mentioned Sam's name, they all knew who I was.

While chatting with them, I discovered that many women were wearing fascinators just for fun to the wedding.  So this sent me on a mission (while Bob stayed behind and chatted with Amanda and his new friends) to find a fascinator.  I can't believe that I ACTUALLY TRIED ONE ON IN CANADA but decided not to buy it!!! I tried a few shops near the hotel -- no luck.  I went further afield, going all the way back to Cafe du Monde just as the skies absolutely OPENED UP.  I got totally drenched before I decided to buy one of the plastic bags that has a hood and armholes - my sandals were sopping wet.  BUT...I found something close to a fascinator!! Yay!! I got back to the hotel just in time to take a shower and get ready for the wedding, which was at 6:30.  

Swanna had been sick all day -- she claimed food poisoning, but it was probably stress and lack of sleep.  And then all that rain.  But by the time we were dressed and ready to go, the sun was out and the streets were almost totally dry.  Amazing.  We ran into a bunch of people walking to the Pharmacy Museum, the site of the wedding, and we sat with Sarah and Amanda, who looked fabulous.

And the skies stayed blue, and there was a lovely breeze...perfect.

Looking up from my seat at the wedding

Of course, Swanna was about 10 minutes late, but arrived looking radiant!

 Exchanging vows.

The wedding was so sweet - they exchanged lovely vows and even sang together - and we sang the chorus!! Then an amazing vocalist sang Ave Maria and a few other songs as well.

We toasted with champagne after the ceremony.  Gitty had told me that there was a memory table set up with friends and family who had passed away -- and Sam and Rhiannon's picture was on that table.  So sweet and lovely and moving.

Then it was time to get ready for the second line, a New Orleans tradition!  The bride and groom basically lead a parade of the guests, who have hankies in one hand and drinks in the other (we had Abita beer), through the French Quarter and to the reception, accompanied by a New Orleans band.  What an absolute hoot!!! We had people throwing beads down just like at Mardi Gras, and the police kept the area clear of traffic.  Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcD1HhcAUI&feature=youtu.be

And then -- my iphone camera was full.... So I took ONE picture at the reception.  But I was too busy chatting, eating, drinking, and dancing!!!!

I did get one picture of the two of them cutting the cake. 

After a full day, we were exhausted by about 10PM, so we said our good-byes and walked back to the hotel. 

The Big Easy Wedding - Day #1

Monday through Wednesday passed in rapid succession after our trip to Canada.

This week I learned that our final exam only counts if it helps the student's grade. What a mess -- here's moment of clarity I found on Facebook.

But then I looked around at my bright classroom on a sunny day and felt better.

We left for the airport a little after 3pm, left our car at the Park n Jet, ate dinner at Legal Seafood, got on the plane, and made our way to New Orleans.

View close to New Orleans

We arrived at our hotel, freshened up, and headed for the House of Blues, where our first event was a meet and greet. We sat by ourselves for a while after saying hello to Swanna and meeting Christian, but then Sarah Shepard and Amanda Schweitzer showed up and we chatted with them.

Looking a little worse for the wear, I'd say -- not Sarah, us!!

Eventually, I introduced myself to Gitty -- when I told her that I was Sam Cassel's mother, she immediately knew who I was. And when  I told her I was ginger 755, she really knew who I was. That same pattern occurred every time I recognized a name from Instagram!

We stayed until 11:30 and stopped to take some pictures of the House of Blues.

The upcoming acts performing

Back at our hotel, we had a nightcap at the famous Carousel Bar. Bed at 12:30ish Central time!!