Paper

The other day I bought a couple of magazines at Barnes and Nobles and did you know they offer a paperless receipt?  They just emailed it to me!  I think that's fabulous....no little piece of paper that ends up in a recycle bin or land fill or ends up floating around as a piece of litter in the parking lot. I hope more stores offer this option!

I also took the opportunity to look at the Nook tablets. So many options for hand held devices out there!  I have the original Nook reader, no bells and whistles.  Do I need another one?   Not really...I have an iPad (original, 1st edition) that I no longer carry everywhere because I'm afraid the battery will run down and I won't be able to recharge it (issues with the plug and cord). I really miss not taking it everywhere because with all the apps I can read, play games and with WiFi can get online. Do I need another one, not really.  But I can dream

Thursday I was up a 0600...for years this has been my normal rising time, but because I haven't been sleeping well getting up later has been the norm lately.  Hopefully this changing seasons will be a new beginning for me. Not that I like getting up when it's dark!  But the longer I stay in bed the more my back hurts.  And it does give me quiet time for reading and hearing the birds as the sun comes up.

Around mid morning the clouds started dissipating and the sun came out!  I wanted to make a run to Lowe's for some plants so we changed into our city clothes and headed out.  

I did managed to find a potted chrysanthemum I liked and chose a couple marigolds to flank it.  Also bought a tomato plant, a pepper plant and a dish of succulents   Our hanging pot of fuchsia looked pitiful so I bought some impatiens to replace it.  Stay tuned for pictures!

We also bought a new bird feeder, squirrel proof according to the label...we shall see.  Along with some bird seed and suet cakes we're all set to watch the birds and squirrels

Next stop was Verizon, we get a 15% discount for Jim's military service and we had to show his ID card and send in paperwork to continue getting this discount.  Not a big deal and after a few minutes we were good to go. I like saving money, how about you?

Next stop was Subway for lunch.  I had a $10 gift card and we took advantage of the $5 foot long and along with a soda and chips we indulged ourselves.  Can't recall the last time I had real soda

Our last stop was Publix for a few groceries.  Back home Jim unloaded the truck, placing bagged plants all over the patio and I took care of the groceries.  Couldn't help but notice it was only 1300....Jim took a nap

Once he was up we both headed outside to take care of the plants and I did some re-potting. I filled the new feeder and hung it out while Jim set out seed in a couple other feeders   Then it was time for cold beer....have you ever tried a fruit flavored beer? I had an Abita Strawator, Strawberry Harvest Lager.  Quite nice on a warm afternoon.

Our Thursday night Pizza/Pot Luck was quite pleasant.  This front that went through left us with a cool breeze and lower temperatures.

It was so nice that when we got back home we opened the windows and turned on the exhaust fans.  We haven't done that in the last few months!  Then we showered and settled in for an evening of TV watching.   Shortly after 2100 we had to close up the house and turn on the AC...it was nice to have the fresh air moving through the house once again

What this world needs is a new kind of army - the army of the kind.  ~Cleveland Amory

Last Sunday, Mother's Day, we packed up and headed east to Madisonville.  When we travel we try to avoid the interstates as much as possible.  They are boring and tend to make us sleepy.  Interstate 10 through Louisiana can be pretty but the road surface is awful and in need of repair.  We chose highway 190 as we've traveled this road before and it's interesting driving through small towns.  Well there's a section that they're working on and we know why!  Jim got an upper body work out just trying to keep us between the lines.

After two stops, one to stretch and relax from the bumpy ride and one for lunch we finally made it to Fairview Riverside State Park in Madisonville, Louisiana.  Nestled in the pine and live oak trees on the Tchefuncte river it's one of our favorite places to stay.  We always stop here when in the New Orleans area.

home sweet home

As you can see we are among the oaks just dripping with Spanish Moss

our backyard

 We chose this site, back by the boat launch because it's so pretty

bald cypress on the Tchefuncte River

 There's a boardwalk along the river with benches set up so you can watch the river.  We saw some folks water skiing and towing tubes Sunday afternoon.

my fellas sitting on a  live oak

bald cypress on the Tchefuncte river

Jim spent Monday morning cleaning bugs off the front of the rig and the washing the truck.  No matter which road you travel it's springtime in Louisiana and that means bugs!

Tuesday we drove across Lake Pontchartrain and visited a couple of our favorite places.  We found diesel for $3.70 so we filled up the tank.  Then we headed to the Brick Oven for a pizza....but everyone else decided they wanted to eat there too.  So we headed to another favorite spot Deanie's in Bucktown.  We each had a schooner of Abita Amber (we should have split one!) and enjoyed the boiled potatoes they offer as a treat to get you started.  Jim ordered fried shrimp and catfish and I had a delicious bowl of seafood gumbo.  I was so full when we left that it hurt!  And we still had another stop....

As many people know Whole Foods Market is my favorite grocery store in the whole wide world!  That's where we headed next.  We picked up a few necessary items and some not so necessary but delicious items.  I was surprised by our restraint!  But perhaps that was due to the meal we just ate  :-)

Yesterday Jim cleaned up the trikes.  They get nasty riding on the back of the rig.  I've been informed that a weld or two on the rack is in need of fixing so the trikes will be riding on the bed until we can find a welder.

Today is our last day here, we would have liked to stay longer but this state park is a popular place and they stay booked up on the weekends.  So we'll head out in the morning and head east.