What will we do without?

Lent is a forty-day liturgical season that initiates the most sacred part of the Christian year. ... During Lent, Christians meditate on the great paschal mystery -When Ash Wednesday came around and it was time for Lent, I can remember what I would give up when I was a little girl. My most vivid memory was to give up Coca Cola. Silly thing is, though, a Coke was just a special treat we got to have on a Saturday afternoon. It wasn't like Mother allowed us to drink it any time as kids do now. Certain foods and rituals were special treats back then. So I wasn't really fasting from Coke for Lent. Excess wasn't the norm back then. You waited so long for your birthday to get that $5 in a birthday card so you could go to the toy and hobby store and purchase a couple new outfits for Barbie. You got a new pretty dress for Easter. You got new clothes for back to school. You waited all year for Christmas to come and drooled over the Speigel catalog selecting the few really special things you couldn't live without.
Do we truly live "without" these days? What should we give up for Lent?

~ Fat Tuesday and Oh, That Elegant Decay~

"A twist in the personalities of New Orleanians makes for some fascinating interiors. The Vieux Carre's great rooms entertain the eye and stimulate the imagination with items of character and patinas earned with age. In Objets d'art, as in people, the French Quarter prefers the slightly imperfect, the interestingly scarred."~~Allain Bush, New Orleans antique dealer~a shop I could die happily in~

New Orleans Memoirs

Do I wish I were going to New Orleans again? Yes, but not at this time of year. But, you say, Mardi Gras is when it is all happening! Well, that is true, it is happening but I went in 2004 at Christmas before Katrina, and it was the best it could be to me. The crowds are greatly reduced at Christmas and we felt we had the French Quarter all to ourselves. We took the Christmas home tours, the cemetery tours..which were my very favorite, the Ghost tours and of course had our palms read. We dined at Cafe Du Monde at midnite Christmas eve and got covered with powdered sugar from the beignets, I don't think I've ever felt so sticky...was I eating them wrong? Got personally invited to a Christmas Night concert given by Marva Wright, The Blues Queen of New Orleans at Tipitina's...a couple of the Neville Brothers were there and I'll tell you, they played and sang for 4 hours non-stop and brought the house down...they were amazed we could keep up with them...we never stopped dancing! The streets were quiet except for a few people who couldn't hold their "Hurricanes"! It was a perfect time to go, and when we drove off to the airport, I sobbed like I was leaving a dear old friend.

A BEAUTIFUL VALENTINE SUNDAY

A beautiful, scrumptious breakfast, the exchanging of Valentine cards and taking the time to relax and watch and feed the birds and squirrels as they dance on the snow covered branches...that is the setting of a beautiful day. Hope you are having an equally beautiful day, too!

POSTCARDS WITH WEEKLY LOVE

Love isn't always hugs and kisses..it is wonderful communication of the written word, the every day diary details that are, more than not, commonplace and simple... daily tasks done or undone, people seen or not seen, descriptions of trips and the places we live, the tidbit of gossip, the rich and simple statement of love without the frills of Valentine lace and velvet...the phrase "I'll write again next week, till then". The written postcard that could be counted on every week before telephones and faxes and texting was invented. And, you know what, the communication was richer and kept for the next generations to hold to their hearts and cherish.

Snowy nights make for cozy evenings and we have certainly had cozy evenings lately. And what could be more cozy than curling up in warm spot with a cup of mocha hot chocolate and looking at old inherited family photos? It's a prelude to Valentine love...the love of your family, even the ones you never knew...but you wish you did.

HAVING FUN WITH MY FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK WITH VALENTINE WISHES