Day 53 – Rex, King of Mardi Gras!

This year was my first time attending the Rex Parade. Usually, by Mardi Gras day I am wiped out. Well, I was pretty wiped out, but I dragged my butt out of bed, camera in-tow and made it there. I was in good company as I made my mom and two brothers come too. We were driven there, at 9am, by the ever energized neighbor of my mom, Susan. She had Mardi Gras music playing in the car on the way to the parade, the perfect parking spot within 2 blocks of our parade spot and gave us a large amount of Mardi Gras trivia. It was a very educational experience!

The King arrives…

 

The new float this year… The Butterfly King

Lovely Ladies – About half of all the parade-goers were in costume.

Day 52 – Orpheus!

Orpheus follows Proteus on Lundi Gras and is my favorite parade of New Orleans Mardi Gras (so far). I haven’t attended ALL of the parades that roll during Mardi Gras, just a handful. Maybe once my kids are older I will try to attend them all, including the Mystic Krewe of Barkus – Parade of Dogs.

(Disclaimer: These photos are taken at night without a flash with maxed out ISO, thus the grain.)

I love this shot of the Flambeau…

Parade-goer, aka – Susan, with a homemade mask.

Day 51 – Proteus on Lundi Gras

I finally brought my camera with me to a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. It kills the fun a bit, but I love that I have these photos. Proteus is the Second oldest Mardi Gras Parade in New Orleans. It was founded in 1882. “Lundi Gras” (Fat Monday) is the day before Mardi Gras. It is my favorite day to catch parades and celebrate the season.

Flambeau light the way…

Opening ceremonies…

The Identity of the King of Proteus is never revealed to the public…

One of the King’s Pages…

The Krewe of Proteus and the Krewe of Rex are the only two krewes that use old wooden wagons with wood-spoked wheels to carry their floats.

Day 50 – Endymion

My first parade this year was Endymion. The weather was not looking good so I didn’t bring my camera out. My brother-in-law cooked a jambalaya for everyone and we ended up watching the parade in the rain with cold wind. It was fun though…got to spend time with my guy.

Day 49 – School Parade

Hudson catching some loot at our first parade of the season.

Day 48 – Beads? Czech.

I recently purchased these old Mardi Gras beads on Etsy. They are really cool. Originally, the beads that were thrown at Mardi Gras parades were glass beads, mostly from Czechoslovakia. Today some are still thrown I found out! My friend caught some this year. They were much smaller and only one strand, but beautiful.

Day 47 – Roman Invasion

Right now in South Louisiana, Mardi Gras is in full swing. The weather last weekend for parades was unusually cold, damp and very windy. We didn’t go out to any parades. This weekend it’s supposed to be raining non-stop. We had plans to see a few parades in New Orleans and it is not looking good. My 6th grader gets to “ride” in the school parade this year and I’m wondering if it’s the only parade I will get to attend? It just might be. Evan and a group of friends will host the parade tomorrow throwing beads, candy and toys to Pre-K thru 8th graders. Their theme is “Julius Caesar”. I whipped up this costume today and I think it turned out pretty awesome. And a special thanks goes out to Ted who built the roman ship float onto a wagon! I think it looks spectacular!

Day 46 – Lovely Tulips

My sweet husband gave me these beautiful red tulips for St. Valentine’s Day. They make me smile.

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Day 45 – Meatball L<3ve

Let me start by saying I find this both disgusting and fascinating at the same time. I don’t always have the stomach for preparing meat to cook but today I was in a really good mood and I guess nothing was going to get me down? Ha Anyway, I was preparing beef/turkey meatballs for meatball subs tonight and when I put the meatball down, it had a heart made of [insert gag] something “white in the meat”. This is the 2nd time recently I have had a heart show up in my food! (see 2nd photo) The last time it was honey so it was all good. This time I’m just not sure what the message is. So enjoy…or gag, whichever comes first. lol

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Day 44 – Sugah

This is my unusually sweet chihuahua named Sugar (pronounced around these parts by many as “Sugah”). I love how dramatic she looks when I photograph her. She rarely barks, is friendly with everyone…and in fact spends the night at a house a few doors down frequently, but when she gets in front of the camera she looks like a Soap Opera actress.