Good Morning! It's Mardi Gras/Carnival/Fat Tuesday - whatever you celebrate (or don't). I've had THESE BEANS soaking overnight and my Dutch oven is on the stove. I've chopped tons of celery, onion, peppers, garlic and parsley and soon everything will be simmering on the stove (also sweet and hot Italian sausage). YUM!! I cannot wait for dinner. We will have brown rice with it and probably broccoli.
Somewhere on line I came across pictures from Venice of folks dressed up for Carnival. Wow! What costumes. I was at Mardi Gras in NOLA in 1980 - just before I got married. At the time my brother Chris was living in NOLA, so a friend and I flew down to celebrate. I remember heating milk on the stove for Cafe du Monde coffee, wearing masks, going to parades, going to a party on someone's balcony, going into a bar to use the bathroom and getting kicked out (it was a gay bar and females were NOT allowed), and all the trash in the streets. I came home with a shoebox full of beads. My friend and I flew home on Ash Wednesday and when we got up that morning to go to the airport, it was as if Mardi Gras had never happened - the city was CLEAN! All the trash had been picked up or swept away, streets had been hosed down, etc. It was pretty amazing.
Today will be all about having fun! Yesterday I did manage to wash the kitchen floor and also wash sheets. I am so tired of flannel sheets, but they went back on the bed because our nights are still going to be a little chilly for some time.
Let's move on to the stitching. I managed to get quite a bit stitched on the Kindness Sampler.
Click to enlarge so you can see the colors better.
It might not look like ALL that much, but the solid stitching takes some time - especially because of having to change colors and using 40 count linen. Also, using hand dyed threads means completing each stitch fully before going to the next. Anyway, it is roughly 5" across and I still have a bunch to stitch. It is moving along faster than I expected though.No more raccoon sightings and I mentioned to Fletch that I have not seen the possum since Christmas Eve! Mabel, thankfully, is still staying inside at night and not fussing to go out. I'm wondering if that behavior will continue as the nicer, Spring weather moves in.
Well, time for another cup of coffee and time to get started sautéing all the things for red beans - they will cook pretty much all day! Have a wonderful Tuesday.
I'm sure the city of New Orleans has Mardi Gras clean-up down to a science! And I have to admit that with your story, I was primed to look at your stitching and read that second word not as "begets" but "beignets"! Hope your beans are delicious.
ReplyDeleteI am most excited for Fish Season to begin in all the area churches tomorrow! (Yes, we have our Ash Wednesday Fish order in already! Haha!) New Orleans in a fantastic city but I have never been for Mardi Gras... sigh. And a big yes to Cafe Du Monde coffee! Your stitching is gorgeous, I love how those hand-dyed threads look!
ReplyDeleteI watched a documentary on the team that cleans up after Mardi Gras. They are pretty amazing!
ReplyDeleteExcellent progress on the stitches!
I read a story yesterday that some Mardi Gras parades were prohibiting plastic beads because they were so environmentally unfriendly. They've replaced them by throwing bags of jambalaya ingredients. Enjoy your beans. "Kindness begets K" is lovely!
ReplyDeleteI considered ending flannel sheet season, too, but decided it was too early. They felt pretty good last night. It’s snowing this morning.
ReplyDeleteLoving the new stitching!
ReplyDeleteBeans simmering sounds delicious. Kindness begets is off to a lovely start. My hat is off to you as you stitch on or across those tiny linen threads.
ReplyDeletelovely new stitching! We should try the fish fry churches around here but we never do.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good dish of beans! The stitching is pretty! I'm pretty sure Mabel will get Spring weather when it gets nice outside again!
ReplyDelete