Potpourri

Sometimes the well is dry, and sometimes it overflows. Today, it's overflowing. I have three different post topics for today. If I were smart, I'd spread it out over three days, but when have I ever been smart?

The first is the obvious, ubiquitous thanks. It is Thanksgiving, afterall. I am thankful for many things: my loving husband, my family, my newly born niece who's doing so well that she was back up to birth weight in a week, the lovely rumor that the next batch of rumors should make us happy, the knowledge that finally we really at our last childless Thanksgiving, my job, my students (even the PITAs), my co-workers (even the PITAs), my dog, our home, our health, and our friends. I'd say we're pretty rich looking at that list.

Anyone who has read my blog for more than a minute has probably picked up on my New Orleans roots. Katrina was so devastating and the city is still reeling from its effects. The "public" side of New Orleans is very deceptive. Visitors can now go back and never even see the parts of the city that are still devastated. New Orleans still needs help, and there's an easy way you can do this. Jackson Square is the heart of the city. It's the home of St. Louis Cathedral. It's the image that many people think of when they think of New Orleans. It also holds special memories for me.

I was 18 when I moved back to New Orleans the first time. I was living on my own and feeling like an adult for the first time. I had a job in an office and everything. My job was at The Royal Orleans Hotel in the Sales Department. At lunch, I mainly ate in the employee cafeteria 'cause it was good and cheap. At least once a week though, I would go out to eat with the rest of the office "girls." Most of them were in their late 20's, but they took me under their wing. We had an endless list of restaurants to choose from for lunch. This was the French Quarter in New Orleans. An area known world-wide for its cuisine and deservedly so. One of my favorite lunch spots was Jackson Square. Somedays I would sneak away on my own. I'd go to Central Grocery (home of the famous muffalotta) and buy some cheese and bread. I'd then head to the park, sit on a bench, snacking on my lunch and watching the people. Jackson Square teems with life. There are artists set up to paint your portrait, jugglers juggling, musicians playing, fortune tellers fortune telling, and visitors gawking. I would share my leftovers with the pigeons that walked everywhere and head back to work. I miss those lunches.

Rather than paraphrase what they're doing, here's an excerpt from their press release:

"Beginning November 13, consumers nationwide are invited to visit www.tidecoldwater.com and pledge to do a load of laundry in cold water. This act will save enough energy to light twenty 100-watt light bulbs for one hour1. The goal is to have 100,000 people make this pledge, saving enough energy to provide a beautiful energy-efficient holiday lights display for the people of New Orleans in historic Jackson Square. The lights, which will be donated by GE Consumer and Industrial, will not only rejuvenate the French Quarter area, but will also serve as a continuous reminder of how a simple act like cold water washing can save loads of energy that can be used in other significant ways. "

This isn't a hardship for me, since I already do all but linens and whites in cold water and even use Tide Coldwater. The bonus is they have a couple of good prizes, and you can enter for those daily.

Now I did have one more thing, but I think this post has gone on long enough. I'll save that topic for later.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you're not with the ones you love, love the ones you're with. (bonus points for anyone who can name that song!)