All Work and No Play...

While parades were taking place all over the city, we celebrated Mardi Gras Day at Mom's house installing the floors. Don had quite a krewe, Ashley, Douglas, Lisa, Maverick and Goby all showed up to lend a hand. I ran errands throughout the morning then provided lunch for the gang...Popeye's chicken. It's not Mardi Gras without a little Popeye's! The whole house now has floors except one bedroom that was being used for storage. We will finish that one Monday after the contractor removes his things from the room. The house is coming along quite nicely. I would rather Don did not work on it as much as he has been, but he enjoys it and says it gives him something to do.
Ashley and Don halfway through the room they are working on.

Lisa supervising Douglas. Douglas was so precise cutting the boards for the room. He did an excellent job. Lisa was right there with him measuring, cutting, and laying the floor.
Taking a little break to enjoy the flavor of Mardi Gras. Well, not everyone, Don and I had a baked chicken sandwich...that was flavor enough for us.


Ashley enjoying a little R&R after helping Don with the bedroom.
By the end of the day, everyone was dog tired!

Meanwhile, Back at the House...

After a long day working Don relaxed after dinner with coffee and King cake!

It's been pretty cold here and with all of the company, we have not been over to the house. But, after resting for a day or two, the rebuilding continues. Don bought a new saw and was putting it together for the floor project.
Ashley and Douglas help Don lay the floor at Mom's house.
Send off breakfast for the girls. Erin and her friends were leaving on Sunday to head back to Florida. I made Lost Bread, Banana's Foster, and coffee with chicory for breakfast, a little taste of New Orleans.

Mardi Gras Madness

Throw Me Something Mister!! It's always fun to have a front row seat at the parade. Ashley's friend Adam slept on the parade route and Ashley got out there at 6:30 AM to make sure Erin and the girls would have a great view of Endymion!
The crowd thickens - there are throngs of people as far as you can see.
Floats heading to their line-up position.
It's always good to make friends on the parade route.
The streets are getting crowded!

Happy Mardi Gras!!

Don's great-niece, Erin, is in town with some friends for Mardi Gras. Ashley took them Uptown to meet Drew and some of his friends who are waiting on the parade route. Whitney and Douglas headed Downtown to meet some of Whit's friends from LSU. Busy, busy times at the Walker house!
Erin, Ashley and the girls heading out to the parade.

My mother's house in Lakeview took a beating in the waters brought into New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Over the last few months it has been redone and is now getting the finishing touches. Don has been installing the tile floors and will install the wood floors once the air-conditioning is up and running.
He stopped cutting long enough to take a picture...but only one. He was a busy, busy man.
I made lunch for the boys and they took a little break on the dining room floor.
Cutting the tile required team work. When I look at these pictures it is hard to believe how many empty lots there are in the neighborhood. Before the storm there were homes on every lot and so many trees...it looks like a completely different place.
The bathroom is ready for grout.
When we ran out of tile, we locked it up tight and headed for home. After another coat of paint on the front door and new windows which are scheduled to go in Tuesday, the outside of the house will be finished.

"If My Friends Come Over, Stay in Your Room"

I picked up my new glasses
today after work and when I got home the response was not good. First, Don didn't even notice (even though I had called him on my way home and told him I picked them up), next, Douglas looked at me in shock and said, "Ohhh, Mom, if my friends come over please stay in your room", and last but not least, Drew said, "Mom, those ARE the loaner glasses, huh?" "Are you waiting for your real ones to come in?" After a while, Don decided he liked them but I am not sure if that is only because he wants to continue living here! I am okay with them, don't love them and don't hate them, just indifferent. Also in the picture are the beautiful roses Don brought to me at work with a very sentimental card...26 1/2 years and he can still be romantic!

Happy Birthday, Drew

Our oldest son celebrated his 23rd birthday this evening. It's hard to believe how quickly the years have passed. Happy Birthday, Drew, we love you.


Seems like yesterday...

She's Back!!!

Ashley came home last night and we listened to wonderful stories of her nautical adventures until 2:00 AM when she dropped into an EXHAUSTED sleep.
We never dreamed that one day she would dress like this to go to work!
When Douglas woke up this morning he wanted to take a look at Ashley's pictures...I'm sure you can guess who had a prime spot for viewing!

All Ashore Who's Going Ashore!!

We were able to talk to Ashley today and she said she is having the time of her life. Most days she dives either two or three times a day in search of a certain coral to make sure it is reproducing. It has been somewhat cold but she said the scenery is so spectacular that she forgets about being cold when she looks around. She has made new friends aboard the research vessel, both those involved in the research as well as the crew. Tonight they are going ashore for the first time in almost two weeks. They have been diving off of Abaco Island in the Bahamas and will spend some time on the island this evening. She said the water is the prettiest she has ever seen. These are not her pictures but some I found online of the area she is diving.

Around Town

Today we got up and headed out to look for doors for my mother's house. Don wanted to go to a store across the river which is quite a distance from our house so off we went. When we finally got there, not only was it closed but it's a wholesale business!! Then, to add insult to injury, there was a ton of traffic waiting to get back across the river.
Guess what creeped up...the unhappy face. Ohhh, there is nothing he hates more than traffic.
After we went across the river, we came back to "our side" and went to Don's favorite store...Home Depot. It was such a pretty day and I asked him to look at me so I could take his picture...he refused. He said I needed to stop with the camera stuff...it was that westbank traffic - made him a little grouchy - that's why we live on the eastbank.
"Did you hear me, I said I am NOT looking."
As we entered the store, Don remembered he wanted to get some bell pepper plants. There were plenty to choose from, and believe me when I tell you...he took a long time choosing!
He's really checking this one out.
That's a lot of looking for one scrawny plant. Okay, he actually ended up with several of these. He was very choosy but they all looked alike to me. We'll see if we get any peppers in the future.
Now he's happy. He's got peppers and a new project to work on, a vegetable garden! And after all day, a little smile for the camera!
So as not to waste the whole day without making some headway on the house, we went to look for flooring. We were finally successful in picking out a floor the store actually had it in stock. We had to buy it while it was available, so we loaded up the Surburban with 30 boxes of wood laminate flooring. It was stacked to the roof, but it fit!

Scuba Flags, Dog Food, and Fishing Poles, Oh My...

Don got up, got dressed and headed out of the door this morning. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was finishing what he started yesterday. My curiosty got the best of me so I went to check on him. His continuing project was cleaning Ashley's car. She's a lucky girl to have a Dad like him.

Don was a little surprised to pull a full-sized fishing pole, rigged with lures and ready to cast, from Ashley's back seat. "What kind of girl did you raise?" was his question to me as I took this picture. Well, I think we all know just whose daughter she is...Mary, Debby, Edward...can I get a confirmation?!!
He vacuumed "five pounds of dog food and dog hair from everywhere" and even found some camouflage...Yep, it's a sure thing - she's his daughter, I certainly don't wear camouflage!
I am not sure but I think I see that "unhappy" face again...I'd better get rid of the camera...
Ooooh, I just had to look back and now I am sure, it IS the unhappy face. I am surely glad Ashley is out to sea and this unhappy face cannot get a hold of her...wait a minute, he sure is looking at me funny and saying something about her being like her mother. Nevermind, I just closed the door. Come home Ashley and get your car and your dog - they are causing me trouble...

And the Number is...

398!!! Here's a recap of the numbers...June '08 - 55,000; September '08 - 3,600; December '08 - 600; February '09 - 398. Whoo hoo! Can you tell by the picture how happy he is. Last week Don said he knew his cancer count had come down because he felt so good and he was right. I think he was a little worried this morning because he was very quiet. But not to worry - he's doing great! I asked the doctor if this was normally how the chemo worked, that the number would come way down and then go back up. He said, "No, the number usually does not come down"!!! I guess he doesn't know that Donnie Walker doesn't do anything the usual way!! We are thrilled to say the least! Ya'll keep praying and we'll do the same as well as taking the shakes, hopefully we'll get to zero!

Time Out For a Message to Ashley

I am having trouble getting pictures to Ashley via e-mail while she is gone. So I am blogging these photos to make sure she gets this urgent message.

Ashley...come home. Your much loved lab has taken up with the ill-behaved big, grey, lug. She has replaced your companionship with his. The proof is in the pictures. Here she is scratching his ear and checking his teeth.
Now she is rubbing his head as she listens to his lies.

A little kiss on the cheek. When you return she will only have eyes for him. I guess she likes the bad boys!!