At present I am happily “way down yonder in New Orleans, in the land of those dreamy dreams” and boy is it dreamy!  Fluffy little white clouds breeze through the blue sky and smile down on us in the form of temperatures in the low 70’s.  An occassional rain shower “forces” me to my sister’s tin roofed porch where I cross my feet over the rail and languidly rock to the symphony of quarter-sized drops while the humidity offers me a free facial.

The French Quarter is full of smiling faces and savory smells while all over the city the parades are rolling by in increasing numbers.  I visited the Rouquette Mansion on Royal Street, MaMere’s maternal family home, and saw the original beams where her uncles hung wine barrels from the ceilings.  For those of you who have been to MaMere’s in Monmouth, you’ll remember the pictures of Dominique and Adrien Rouquette in the third floor Louisiana Lair.  These two along with their brothers Felix and Terrence (thus Terri :)), when they were home from their schooling in France, wrote poetry, hunted, fished and roamed the bayous and woods of St.Tammany Parish where I’ll be on Sunday unearthing more details and pictures to bring home to Monmouth in dedication to them.