So my blogging day started off with confusion.
To explain:
I noticed a new bird at the bird bath this morning and originally thought it was a Gila Woodpecker.
Later, after consulting a bird book, I think it may have been a Flicker but I'm not sure.
I couldn't get a photo because of his nervousness.
But I set my camera up on a tripod, actually washed the window inside and out and filmed a video of various finches taking drinks.
But when I wrote and posted the blog and went to check on it I found that I had posted the wrong video.
So I dumped it and went back and tried loading the correct one.
But Blogger informed me that it was too large a file and it wouldn't accept it.
So I dumped the whole post.
Then I decided to drive into Prescott to take photos of the annual Christmas parade.
I noticed as I drove the 8 miles or so between my town and Prescott that the traffic was very heavy.
When I got to Prescott I found that there were no parking places anywhere near the center of town where the parade was scheduled.
Not only that but hundreds of other cars were circling the downtown area unsuccessfully searching for a space.
So after half an hour or so of that futile search I headed for home again.
I should have begun with this: the BRD's vacation in New Orleans.
She went there this past week for a getaway in one of her favorite cities.
Her room in her time-share looked beautiful even if there were a lot of mirrors.
Now, like her mother and step-father, the BRD has a vigorous interest in food and New Orleans is a great town for it.
Grilled oysters at The Corner Oyster House.
Oysters and crab claws at the Oyster House.
Barbecued oysters with blue cheese dressing and a splash of Tabasco.
(Are you getting the idea that she's fond of oysters?)
Andouille sausage, grilled shrimp and cheese grits.
She also enjoyed "Death by Gumbo", in which a quail is boned and served with gumbo in and around it.
But it wasn't all food and drink. (Though it seemed like it to me!)
There was music, too.
In case you didn't know, New Orleans (or more familiarly N'awlins) is famous for music.
She said there are street bands playing on every corner in the city.
And groups playing in a myriad of clubs, like this combo at the Funky Pirate.
She said she walked and walked and took a streetcar tour and a river cruise and . . . she even visited a church!
Well, she took a picture of the Catholic church on Jackson Square.
She didn't say she went inside.
It sounds like she had a great week in the Big Easy.
One she well deserved.
When she got home she found a container of home-made ham-and-beans and some Rice Krispie bars waiting for her, courtesy of her mother, the legendary SWMBO.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.
