Happy St. Patrick's Day

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I'm posting a photo of our favorite Irish establishment:  Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans.  Michael and I LOVE to visit Pat O's and sit on the patio soaking up the atmosphere and a hurricane.  This photo was taken on our last visit to NOLA.

May the Lord keep you in His hand and never close His fist too tight.
:-)

(Irish blessing)

Happy Day!

Reading Jane

I have just finished rereading every Jane Austen novel. This was a goal I had set for myself during the summer of 2009, and I just finished with the last of the group, Northanger Abbey. I always save Northanger for last. It is not that I do not love it as I do the others, for I do love it, but I find that the characters of her other novels better suit my personality. The Heroine of Northanger is just a little more passive (I will refuse to say "wimpy") than I could ever imagine, so it is much more difficult for me to identify with her. I once took a test online that told me which of the Austen characters I was most like. The result: Elizabeth Bennett. I have to agree wholeheartedly. I have always admired her spunk and straightforwardness!



Above: Portrait of Jane Austen

At any rate, I adore all of Austen's novels and could read and reread them over and over again. Most recently, I joined the Jane Austen Society of North America (or JASNA), as I am hoping to learn even more about Jane Austen and her works. So far, I have been rather disappointed, but I will reserve my opinion until the end of my first, fledgling year with the group. I just cannot get enough of Jane, and I am excited about this new path upon which I hope to gain even more knowledge and insight!

I am hoping within the next couple of years for an anniversary trip to England. My Dear Husband is not as keen on Jane as I am, you see. In fact, when I rent one of the many movies, perhaps a version I have never seen, and beg him to give it a chance to "speak to his heart," he simply smiles and says he will leave it to speak to my own heart, which I may share with him afterward. He prefers ESPN, Fox News or a good spy mystery to any of Jane's works. He did make it through one hour of Sense and Sensibility, once. I was quite thrilled with his progress. Anyway, back to the hope of a trip to England -- my dream is to visit Jane Country. I would love nothing more than to see where stood Steventon Rectory, where Jane was born and spent 25 years of her life. It was also here that she wrote Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. Although the rectory is no longer standing, the 12th century Steventon Church, where Jane worshipped, stands almost unchanged from those days. One can find inside the church memorial tablets to James Austen, Jane's eldest brother, who took over the parish from her father. His grave is in the churchyard. There is also a bronze plaque dedicated to Jane Austen inside the church. In January 1995, members of JASNA paid for the refurbishment of the church bells.

Above: A depiction of Steventon Rectory, birthplace of Jane Austen, as it appeared in the early 1800s

Below: Steventon Church as it appears today

While in England, I would also like to visit some of the countryside and villages mentioned in Jane's novels. I have a feeling that this will be a venture which will take much convincing with DH, but he is very good about that sort of thing. In fact, he even went with me to visit the House of Seven Gables and the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne in Massachusetts, so I do have hope that he will also indulge me this. I will keep you posted!

I am listing below links to some of my favorite Austen sites. Take some time to browse and enjoy yourself! I visit each of these often!

The Republic of Pemberley

If you're interested, please let me know, and I will send you a coupon for $5 off any of the items in the gift shop.

The Jane Austen Society of North America

Jane Austen.Org

Austen.Com

The blessing of peace in all families,

Happy Fat Tuesday!!

I LOVE NEW ORLEANS, Fat Tuesday and all the Mardi Gras celebrations! What other time can one wear purple, green and gold, don extravagant masks, prance around in flamboyant shoes and beads every color of the rainbow...and get by with it?!?!?! This year, my favorite artist, New Orleans native Harry Connick, Jr., is going home for Mardi Gras, and OH HOW I WISH I could be there! My husband and I love to visit New Orleans, listen to the jazz in the French Quarter clubs, eat the delicious foods, and catch beads from the surprise "pop up" street parades that can happen anytime, day or night. It's one of our favorite places!!

Photo and Mask Design by

Coleen Perilloux Landry

pbase.com

Weekend in Atlanta

Michael and I were lucky enough to get a much-needed weekend away from the B&B and our other responsibilities, and we took the opportunity to visit Atlanta. What a relief it was to be away for a couple of days...no animals, no phone, no responsibilities!

We visited the Shakespeare Tavern on Friday evening and watched the play "Twelfth Night." If ever in Atlanta, we highly recommend this playhouse! They did a fantastic job, and we laughed through the entire play.

We stayed at the beautiful Georgian Terrace Hotel, just down Peachtree Street, in a great King Suite, complete with a kitchen, livingroom, and office in addition to our bedroom. We felt like we were getting the royal treatment! This beautiful old hotel is right across the street from the famous Fox Theatre, and was host to the premiere party of "Gone with the Wind" in 1939. It's been visited by presidents and famous actors over the years and can boast quite a guest list! In recent years, it's been bought and managed by Camberly, a hotel management company for historic inns, and one that we feel could do a much better job. Still, the hotel itself is lovely and quite a piece of history!

On Saturday, we went to see comedian Sinbad. We love him because he's funny without being offensive. That's difficult to find in a comedian these days! We also at at the Cheesecake Factory and saw the movie, Atonement, which I enjoyed and Michael hated. He called it an "Artsy-Fartsy" film.

Our plans were to go to the High Museum of Art, but since there was at least a half inch of snow on the ground in Atlanta (yes, I'm being sarcastic), the town literally shut down! There wasn't a lot of traffic on the roads, which is completely unusual for Atlanta. We'll have to get there next time we're in town. We also ate at the famous Varsity restaurant, an Atlanta icon. I'd never been, so Michael had to teach me the fine art of ordering a chili dog. What fun!

We hated that our weekend ended so quickly, but we loved it so much, that we're already planning our next weekend trip to Atlanta. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is on stage in April....

The lobby of the Georgian Terrace Hotel on Peachtree Street, Downtown Atlanta

The Grand Ballroom, the location of the premier party of Gone With the Wind in 1939.

The draperies and other embellishments are quite elegant.

The moulding is original to the hotel, built in 1911.

The chandelliers in the ballroom and lobby are outstanding pieces of art.

Good-bye, Atlanta...

Weekend in Cinci

Michael and I recently took a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, to visit relatives, my Aunt Vivian and her husband, Jerry. We started our journey on Friday night, but got delayed when two of our new tires went flat and we had to switch cars for the journey. After a delay of about three to four hours, we finally made it to our destination at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. We got up later that morning and went to the Ohio Renaissance Festival, which was a fun experience.

On Sunday, we attended a Cincinnati Reds baseball game and were lucky enough to sit six rows behind the dugout. The Reds played the Chicago Cubs and won 8 to 4. Now that I've attended one major league baseball game, all I can think about is attending another. I'm hooked!!

Michael at Reds Game

We had great seats!!

We're all smiles as we're enjoying the game!Vivian cheers for the Reds!Michael and Jerry are thinking it's time for a hotdog.
Homerun!

Now THIS guy was having a great time!

Mr. Red...

New Orleans Bound!

I've just discovered that I'll be going to New Orleans to attend a conference for my work in the Spring. I've always wanted to go to New Orleans, and I almost made it there in September of 2005, but Katrina interfered with those plans. Michael and I had planned to spend our honeymoon in NOLA, and we were so looking forward to it. Since both of us are great lovers of jazz, it seemed like the perfect destination and a great location to begin our marriage. Little did we know at the time we made those arrangements what horrific circumstances would keep us from journeying there.

But now, we have a second chance. Since I'll be attending a conference for three days right in the middle of the French Quarter, I'll be able to spend time visiting the jazz clubs and places I've always dreamed of seeing in person. But Michael and I have a bigger goal in mind. We will be taking a few extra days off of work to stay in New Orleans and will be volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to work on the Musicians' Village located in the Upper Ninth Ward. Like so many others, we fear that Katrina has scattered the musical greats of the jazz world to the winds. With the unknown fate of so many, the chances of that culture being diluted and so much knowledge lost is frightening. We feel that there's no option here...that culture MUST be preserved, and that is why the Musicians' Village is so important. It will bring back the geniuses of the jazz genre into a setting so that the culture, the music, may be taught, preserved and studied for decades to come. It gives that hope a leg on which to stand. Our hope is that it will do more than that.

So, for part of our visit, we will be working as much as possible on this crucial project. In reality, we know that we can only be there for a few days, and that in the grand scheme of things, our contribution is such a small one. But a lot of steps eventually build to a mile, to two, to ten. Perhaps if all of us contributed one or two or three days, we would reach our ultimate goal.

If you would like more information on volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans or other locations, please visit their website at www.habitat.org.

If you'd like information about specifically helping with the Musicians' Village in New Orleans, you'll find information at http://www.habitat-nola.org/projects/musicians_village.php.

Top Ten Moments of 2006

(Posted by Paula)

As we begin a new year full of new possibilities and adventures, we looked back at 2006 fondly, our first year of marriage, and chose some of the most special and memorable moments. We promised each other not to choose any political moments (so that means I couldn't add the Democrats winning majority) and Michael couldn't mention any "W" moments. So, here, in true Letterman fashion, is our Top Ten List.

Top Ten Moments of 2006...

10. Our Weekend in Franklin, Tennessee - (okay, this is more than a moment, but bear with us), seeing old friends, attending a play and cooking class, seeing the spectacular historic homes and staying at the Old Marshall House Bed & Breakfast.

9. Taylor Hicks Wins American Idol - Let me just say before I type any further that this is definitely a Michael and Suzanne moment...not a Paula moment. I was pulling for Chris Daughtry!

8. The End of Saddam - Okay, perhaps only one political moment that we both can agree on! 'Nuff Said.

7. Auburn Beats Florida in Football - This was a Michael and Ricky moment, as they were at the game. Michael called me from the stadium at the end of the game so I could experience the roar of the crowd. I'm sure I didn't get the same effect as Michael and Ricky and the other Auburn fans, but it was still pretty impressive over the cell phone!

6. Kentucky wins the Music City Bowl - Okay, this is higher on the list than the Auburn game only because I'm the one who is typing the entry tonight! :-) UK really stuck it to Clemson, and it was especially nice for me, as I was able to see one of my former Robinson Scholars, Durrell White, play in his last college football game. Michael and I were fortunate to get to spend the day with my brother, Todd, my dad Jay, and Michael's college buddy Darrin. GO CATS! (Ask Michael about getting kicked out of the VIP seats...and spending the second half of the game with the Clemson band!)

5. First Anniversary at Falls Creek Falls State Park - It was hard to believe that a year had gone by, but we celebrated our first year anniversary in September. We stayed at a B&B in Falls Creek Falls (and THAT was the worst part of our trip...but gave us a lot of stories to tell), but the views were spectacular, and we were able to spend a lot of quality time together over the long weekend.

4. Trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - What spectacular things we saw! And, yes, again, this encompasses more than a moment in time...actually a week, but it's our list, so we get to do it our way!! :-)~ We had a fabulous time exploring the downtown area of Vancouver, spending time at the city park, taking a dinner cruise around Vancouver Island, eating at some amazing restaurants, and seeing Cabaret on stage at a great little theatre. What fun!

3. Our Adoption of Molly - Our frolicking little puppy joined our family, and it's not been the same since!!

2. Spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with our Families - For Thanksgiving, Michael's family, the Wagars, joined us at our home in Fayetteville for quite a feast! We had a full house with Michael's mother Suzanne, his aunt and uncle Cheryl and Paul Wagar, the Wagar cousins (Wynn and his wife, Bethany; Emily and her husband Steve; and Bryan), and our friend, Connie. For Christmas, Michael and I traveled to Kentucky to spend time with the Whitaker family: My grandmother Aretta, my mom and dad Alene and Jay, and my aunt Vivian and her husband, Jerry). We were a small, but happy, bunch.

and our top moment(s) of 2006:

Spending Time Together in our Hammock in our Back Yard - This was something that we did every chance we got. Usually, Murphy, one of the cats, and later on, Molly, would join us as we enjoyed the warm weather and the serenity of our back yard from our gigantic hammock my mother bought Michael for his birthday. It's a fabulous place to talk, look at the house we've made for ourselves, and discuss all the important things and people whom we are blessed to have in our lives. It's definitely one of our favorite places and has provided us with some of our very best moments!