Chicago!!! The City of Broad Shoulders

Corn on the Cob Buildings, Chicago

In November 2009, Virginia and I trekked to Chicago. It was our first time visiting. And that is when I fell in love with both the city and the people.

 

The shrimp risotto was an epiphany at Quartino's. Volare's was yummy. Lunch at the Drake Hotel was elegant and so tasty, with a view of the Beach on Lake Michigan.

 

Virginia and I walked everywhere, and visited Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile, window shopping in fabulous stores, buying Frette linens, walking in the lovely area where a Frank Lloyd Wright miracle-of-futuristic-thinking sits cheek and jowl with a turn-of-the-century typical brownstone in the tony part of Astor St. Also on Astor St. are billionaires' residences and the previous den of iniquity known as the Playboy Mansion. Hef since has moved on, but his roots are in Chicago.

 

We elbowed our way thru the American Doll Store, uncertain if we would ever reemerge. It has a fetishist quality.

 

One highlight of our trip was our Architectural boat tour, 90 minutes of breathtaking architecture, as seen from the Chicago River. Wow, the views were awesome! The breeze was chilly, but worth every minute of icicle feet.

Virginia at Millennium Park, reflected in the Bean

 

Another highlight was the Art Institute. Where else could you see "Van Gogh's Bedroom," "La Grand Jatte," "American Gothic,"

"Nighthawks", etc., etc., all under one roof? Nowhere else.

 

Amazing fact: the Chicago residents are some of the friendliest people I have ever met. They are just as friendly as Southerners, maybe more so. It led us to ask, why? And how soon can we persuade them all to move here? As soon as we landed in DC, it all reverted back. Everybody rushing home. I miss Chicago...

 

Love,

 

patsie >^..^<

Mr. Genuario

Dear Imaginary Readers,

Mr. Genuario's friend commissioned me to draw him in front of his office, which as you can see, I did. He is a well-known local builder. I can relate to builders, because they leave behind a real legacy of objects, much like artists leave behind their art. Builders make their mark upon the cityscape, and we artists make our mark in homes, galleries and museums for posterity to either enjoy or not.

Here's to Mr. G and his artistic homes!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's Lace, Oil, by Patricia Uchello

Leaving Phoenix: Some Reasons to Go Home

Desert Museum in Tuscon, AZ

Today we are heading home from Phoenix. Yesterday, we saw Wolf Blitzer at the Arizona Biltmore having lunch, as were we. He is a short little dude, made more noticeable by all the NBA guys in town, towering over us. The All Stars game is tonight.
I also saw Kobe Bryant in town at the pizzeria place. He came too late. No pizza for you!

I have never felt this short in my life~~~

Yesterday, we went to the desert museum in Tucson, saw the mountain lions (Nice kitty!), scorpions, tarantulas, etc., all convincing arguments to stay the heck out of the desert.
We saw more saguaro cacti than we could ever imagine.  

And we never did catch a glimpse of Wiley Coyote or the roadrunner.

See you,

 

patsie >^..^<

Phoenix Revisited, Days Three and Four

Coffeepot Rock, Oil, 5 x 7", 2009, by Patricia Uchello, for sale

 Days Three and Four, Last day in Sedona, then trip to Phoenix

Hey, Clint, got a cup of sugar?

We made a quick trip to the Chapel of Our Lady in the hills, which has the most gorgeous cliff-side setting, but noticed a garish mansion across the street. It was not the rectory. It is a 12 million dollar house with 24 carat gold plated iron gates, a waterfall,  the works. It even has its own observatory! That was a new feature I had never seen before...perfect for stargazers.  The neighbors got so mad at the builder, a dot com profiteer, that he decided not to move in, and it is on the market, never lived-in, ripe for the taking. I bet if Clint Eastwood bought it, they would get over their anger!

The Drowned cat award for perseverance and tenacity
Then we headed back into downtown Sedona to the lovely Tlaquepaque -a Mexican village of shops-to have lunch at Rene's French Restaurant. Yum! Checked out the local glass gallery, dodging heavy rain between the shops. It was time to head out for the short trek south to the grand view of Cathedral Rock and Oak Creek. Well, we had been told by dear friends that just 100 yards from the street, one could walk to see the view so often featured on AAA road maps for the US, Cathedral Rock looming large and grand over the creek, which held its reflection. Uh, we had one half-broken umbrella, dress shoes, no raincoats. It was raining very heavily, with snow and a low hanging cloudcover atop all the mountains. But how often do you have this kind of opportunity? Besides, our friend said it was a 100 yd. hike.
We found a very slippery, red muddy trail, so naturally we followed it, blind trust all the way, even though we were going down steep ravines, and going way farther than we thought we would be.

Well, we looked like wet cats with muddy red paws, soaked thru to the skin, when we ran into a vortex guide. He was official. I know that cuz he was carrying a stick. The ladies with him told me, "Nice shoes." I described the view we were talking about. He said, oh, you need to take this path, not that path. Turn around and go a zillion miles back.
We ended up hiking several miles, 1 /1/2 hours in heavy rain, freezing in 34 degrees, but we finally found it, walking across streams to get there. The shoes? Not in the best condition. Were they new? Of course! Have you ever been so drenched that even your underwear was wet? We were that wet and that cold. But we saw the durn mountain in front of the stream. Never say die.

Sunshine State
The night before, we had missed out on staying at the South rim of the grand canyon, because of a winter storm that dumped 29 inches of snow over 2 days, which were of course the two days we were scheduled to be there. C'est la vie. We will have to return. And it will not be in February. There were 200 car accidents in Flagstone in the last 2 days: slide-off-the-roads, and collisions. Luckily, we did not go there. Drowned cat award, or not.

The trek in the car back to Phoenix was very rainy, and sleety. Isn't Arizona supposed to be the sunshine state?
Today, Tuesday, Phoenix is redeeming itself with bright sunshine. My coat is even drying out!

We are staying in a Sheraton that Frommer gave The Ugliest Bedspread Award to for six consecutive years. Or if they didn't, they should have.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Phoenix Revisited, Day Two, 2009

Red Rocks, Oil , 2009, Patricia Uchello

Day Two, exploring Sedona.

PLAN B

We woke up to find snow on the mountain tops. Gray clouds hung low over the red rocks, and rain began to fall. We had to cancel our Grand Canyon trip today, because it was a tad suicidal. The South Rim had six inches of snow falling all day long, with no visibility.
The good traveler always has a plan b. And our plan b involves our b and b. Luckily, the b and b where we are staying, Casa Sedona, had availability for an extra night. Wow, what a cute room we have. It has a whirlpool bath, a fireplace, a balcony, and an armoire.

Last night, we dined at Reds, a really cool place at a local hotel.

All the employees at our various destinations have professed belief in the whole vortex phenom. I am open to it, but have not felt a whole lot of anything.

ENCHANTING

This morning, we went to a stunning resort of new age charms -- Enchantment. What a gorgeous setting! It is in the Boynton Canyon, surrounded by red rock formations and a vortex. The hotel itself is beautifully designed with a great spa and meditation room replete with crystals.

DEATHWISH 2009

Our next stop was the little town of Jerome. We used our GPS system to find this ghost town, only to find that our GPS is a little devil. We went up Mingus Mountain (don't you love that name??) about 7000 feet, and the GPS sent us up a one lane dirt road that twisted and turned up a steep mountainside, with a sheer cliff on one side, and a mountain wall on the other. Sheesh! Did I mention that the mountain was enshrouded in heavy fog? Yeah! If I made a movie of this experience, I would name it "Deathwish 2009" or the "GPS Possessed." By the time we got to Jerome, I was about to faint, and we drove like a bat out of hell past the Bordello Pizzeria, et al. Get me the heck out of this mountain fog!

Maybe I now know why it is a ghost town! The fog ate everyone. Scary. It made me glad we did not try for the Grand Canyon today. Fog looms heavy over the high altitudes. Like driving through  bowl of soup. On the way down, Carlo and I avoided the deathtrap alley, even though our evil GPS again tried to send us that way, and we took the highway home. Phew!

LUNCH WITH A WARTHOG

We next lunched at Javelina Cantina. It had great views of the red rocks, and yummy salsa. Javelinas are animals that resemble (a) warthogs (b) hippos and (c) pigs. The hostess told us that although they are related to hippos they are actually smelly musk hogs, and are also rodents. Huh?? I question her grades in biology. Not that I excelled there either.
The real issue is why would a restaruant want to be named after smelly rodent hippos? One for the ages.

SHOP

Next we hit the local shops, many with turquoise, and really enjoyed the beauty of the Spanish colonial architecture at Tlaquepaque. Hard to say, hard to spell. But very cute.

GO TO BED ALREADY

What is weird about this town is that the streets roll up at 6! It is recommended that you make dinner reservations before 7, as places sometimes close at 8! All the stores close at 5. I asked why and the answer was that the beauty of the stars is valued, and that means no street lights. Or maybe the residents are all 80 and up. Not sure.

FEED BAG
Tonight we are dining at Dahl and Deluca. This is not a town for foodies. If eating or drinking is what you truly crave, go to New Orleans instead.


Tomorrow, more Sedona at Oak Creek, the chapel, and heading back to Phoenix, where it is also raining today.

Your Imaginary Friend,

 Patsie >^..^<

Phoenix Revisited

Dear Imaginary Friends, 

A year and a half ago, my husband and I traveled to Phoenix and Sedona, Arizona in January. Brr, it was chilly. Here is what happened:

Day One,  fly to Phoenix. It was a five hour flight, and our pilot was an aspiring stand up comedian. Hey, just cuz Sully is our new hero, don't let it go to your head, Captain. All  pilots are not the same.

Phoenix has a reputation for being the capital of bad haircuts and hair dos, and when we landed at  the airport, I was dying to find out if that were true. Sadly, it most definitely is! It's a hair don't.

We drove straight to Sedona, a beautiful if stark drive, with lots of saguaro cacti, red rocks,  impressive mountain formations, and a slew of new age goings on. There are about four vortices here, supposedly, where currents of electrical or magnetic force are said to run.

We went to one after dinner and I experienced a feeling of pressure in my head.

Which leads to the next phenom: a plethora of spas! I guess they help get rid of your pressure headache.

There are jeep tours, with views from above. The Grand Canyon is our destination for tomorrow, but the news warns of a bunch of snow falling and little visibility.

Perfect scenario: we struggle up the high country through the snow in our little rental car, only to miss the road and drive into the canyon, Thelma and Louise style. Well, if we are stuck here another night, I would really not complain...it is gorgeous. So much here has landscape painting potential.

Need any crystals?

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Uniworld, Part Three

Dear Imaginary Travelers,

To thank Uniworld for their devotion to us last April, and attending to our needs in a time of volcanic desperation, we booked another river cruise through them. This time, the trip was to Egypt. Romantic notion, sailing down the Nile River munching on grapes and seeing the Pyramids, etc., right?

Well, a revolution stepped in our path a month before our trip in February, and voila, our trip was canceled due to safety reasons. I am glad, after what transpired. Safety first, people. I would love to reschedule this trip, but am unsure if the Middle East is safe again yet.

Instead, I will be traveling to Washington, DC this summer, a 20 minute trip away. No planes, air strikes, revolutions, cruise boats, or trains will be involved. I will not need an array of injections to ready my poor old bod to face the ravages of disease. I will dine on falaffels at New Amsterdam in Adams-Morgan and take my life in my hands by crossing streets without crosswalks. And I will come home the same night, 3 hours later!

I think!

One can hardly travel around the block without stumbling upon new adventures. Life is such a journey.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Last April, We Took a One Week Cruise That Lasted 2 Weeks.

Pont d'Avignon, Oil, 2010, for sale by Patricia Uchello

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Carlo and I  returned last May from a river boat tour abroad. Uniworld was our home away from home, and they treated us like family. Not just any family, but family that they really liked! The staff was all Hungarian, French, and Dutch. There was one jerk whom everyone learned to avoid. He was, of course, the one waiter from Bulgaria. It figures.

The ship was really pretty! And the service was quite perfect. The joys of travel!

Wow, what an exciting adventure we had. It was most excellent.

Here are the bullet points:

Landed in Lyon. Toured Lyon 3 times, 3 different days. Thanks, Volcano.
Enjoyed the fabulous restaurant owned by Paul Bocuse, Le Sud, in Lyon.
Boarded the River Royale on the River Rhone in Lyon, headed north on the River Saone.
Landed in Chalons sur Saone. Took a bus trip to Beaune. Saw buildings from 12th century.
Visited vineyards everywhere we went. Ooh la la! Visited a chocolate factory store. MMM.
Got a French coiffure.
Ate delicious meals on the boat, three times a day. Free wine, all you can drink; thank you, Uniworld!
Had 3 massages on the boat. Thanks again, Uniworld!
Our boat, the River Royale, had a hair salon, fitness room, jacuzzi on top deck, massage suite, exercycles, bicycles on which a lady tore her knee ligament when she wiped out, and an internet cafe. They held afternoon teas, and had evening bar entertainment. Some of the enetertainment consisted of a silk painting demo, lectures on Van Gogh, Serge Gainsbourgh, French people. "We are French; we are complicated! We do not hug, but we do kiss twice or more on the cheeks. WE never smile."
We learned to use the pesky VOX boxes.

We toured Chateneuf de Papes, a truffles farm where a terrier named Lady was our heroine, Tournons, Viviers, Tains L'Hermitage, Lyon of course, Avignon, and the Pope's palace there, and Arles, where Van Gogh's every step was felt. We saw the Pont d'Avignon and the Pont du Gard. We toured the beautiful breathtakingly steep Les Baux. Home of fractured ankles.

I learned a few more words in French, (ie, bougie means candle) and tasted frog's legs, escargot, truffle foam, quail, and a few other oddities, all on our ship. Carlo was pleased with his vegetarian choices. The food on the ship was wonderful.
When it was over, the airports in Europe were all closed. Thanks, Icelandic Volcano. We were dropped off at Marseilles Airport, at a Hotel Etap. It was a Motel One equivalent, as it was five levels below a Motel 6.

I cannot say enough about how much I loathed dealing with Air France at the Marseilles Airport. Their desk was usually closed. When it was open, they still would not help you. That about sums it up. Crazy people were wandering around the airport muttering bitter things in foreign languages, but I could pick out the words "Air France."

The next morning, after having survived the bugs in our hotel room, the Uniworld lady rep showed up like an angel, offering to take us back to our boat for a free re-cruise, while we waited for our return flights a week hence. We fled gladly, and ended up repeating our trip, backwards, with extra wine. It was grand. Most grand of all was getting home.

Toujours, Uniworld! I will sing your praises forever for taking such good care of your charges. Thank you!

Patsie

Carlo and Parker

Carlo Encourages His Grandson to Eat a Box

Dear Imaginary Friend,

The risk- taking behavior begins early, before they (males) hit one year old. Boys will be boys. Roughhousing, drinking while driving and eating boxes: All your basic boy stuff.

Sincerely,

Patsie
PS I am a lady, and never eat boxes

Double Cute

Parker and Virginia on Father's Day 2011

Booyah! I Am Getting Vertigo

Dear Imaginary Friends,

The Warden holding the Guilty Party

Now that my computer is fixed, I can once again concentrate on what really matters in life: Changing diapers.

Picture this, if you will: A nine-month old baby boy, spinning like the spin cycle of one's washing machine, in overdrive. If your washing machine smokes crack, then that would truly give you a better idea of the difficulty.

Picture a naked butt twisting against you as you lamely try to hold down the torso, while keeping the offending material from your direct contact, and then trying to attach a diaper, which truly takes two hands.

It is a whirling dervish of body products. And it is not pretty!

Not for the weak, the squeamish, or the easily dizzied.

Vertiginously yours,

Patsie

Drat Those Computer Viruses

Dear Imaginary Friends,

I hope that none of you out there are secret viruses, worming your way into my computer. If so, cut it out, you.
Alas, my computer is so messed up this month, that I cannot open my pictures archive to send you something cute.
So, please shut your eyes, think of something really great, give me credit, and then I will have done my job.
I guess this will serve as my vacation from blogging!
What were you expecting anyway, "Girls Gone Wild"?

Your Virus-ridden Bloggette,
Patsie

Me and Toni

Toni Hadad, owner of Toni in Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Dear Imaginary Friends,

If you were really lucky, you would have Toni for your friend. She is adorable, chic, friendly and a great mom and wife. Toni owns a fabulous fashion boutique called "Toni" in the upscale suburb of Cleveland named Chagrin Falls.

Great style is born, not made. Some got it, and some don't! I am hoping that some of hers will rub off on me.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

More Cute Stuffings, Part 5

me rocking the grandbaby

Dear Imaginary Friend,

What is more "granny" than sitting in a rocker? Well, maybe rocking away, having a big glass of lemonade on the front porch, and yelling at the neighbor kids, "Get off my lawn!!!"

I am getting older, but am not quite there yet. Yet is the operative word.

Luckily for me, I am not the one wearing a diaper in this picture!! He he.

Parker has almost outgrown sitting in the rocker, slurping down his bottle. He is so easily distracted by everything going on. He squirms like a little monkey and likes to climb all over the place. He even attempted climbing out of his stroller last week. Escapee on aisle five!

I am relishing this time.

Soon, I will once again be a granny, off her rocker.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

How Cute is this Stuff?

Parker and Cookie

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Look who is walking!! No, it's not me, silly, it's the baby. What a precocious tot, standing at 9 months. I do declare. Must be from my side of the family.

Just kidding. 

But he sure is cute stuffings, anyway.

Must be from my side of the family.

Just kidding, again!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Rob Liberace Demo

Rob Liberace Paints a Portrait in the Style of the Old Masters

Dear Imaginary Readers,

Here is another beautiful painting done in the style of Velasquez, by Rob Liberace.

SO if you would like to paint this well, perhaps you should join the Art League, and sign up for a class with one of their fabulous teachers, like Rob!

Let your inner artist flag fly. :)

Or just stay home and be boring. Your choice!

Your Imaginary Nag,

Patsie

Pears, 8 x 10", Oil, 2011

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Yup, I was productive today. I painted a new oil painting of three pears. They inspired me to start thinking, what if pears could be criminals, in a line up?

 Here is my backstory on these three suspicious characters. They are being held for questioning as to their participation in a con man scheme. One of them was caught dressed up as an sweet potato.

The prosecution rests.

Your witness!
Patsie

The Tree of Life, Starring Brad Pitt

Dear Imaginary Cinephile,

Wow, what a weird movie my husband and I saw today. Yowsa. If you would like to see the Palme d'Or film  winner at Cannes this year, like Terrence Malick, and like movies that combine:

a. Evoution

b. dinosaurs

c. National Geographic -type film of the solar system

e. church music

f.  another story about one's brother dying (see, "Prince of Tides")

g. Brad Pitt being a mean dad

h. Sean Penn pouting about having a mean dad

i.  no plot

j. were once a philopsophy major, astrophysicist, creationist, evolution aficionado or cinematography lover

k. creation/Genesis chapter of the Bible

l.  picture heaven as a beach

Then this is the movie for you! Go for it.

Your Imaginary Film endurance tester,

Patsie

O.M.G.!!!

Dear Imaginary Reader,

To date, I have had 3,000 page views. Wowsers! That's A LOT OF FRIENDS, STALKERS, AND ENEMIES TEAMING UP! HOLY SMOKES.

Shown above are my husband Carlo and me celebrating my 3,000 hits. Booyah!

Your Imaginary Bloggette,

Patsie

A Typical Reaction to Vegetables

Dear Imaginary Friend,

Why do babies hate vegetables? Because they are good for us! Parker makes a face here as I try to feed him. My step father called it a "funcha", which means sour face in Italian.
I wonder if Italian babies hate their vegetables too?

Your Imaginary Grandmother,
Patsie

I Saw Alan Richman on Treme on HBO this weekend! I have dined with him!.

Dear Girls and boys,
A strange but true tale of pizza...and a brush with Mafia and fame.
Today was my quest for the best pizza known to mankind. One thing Phoenix is famous for is having the best pizzeria in the world, hard to believe, but yes, Oprah and the Washington Post say so. It is named Pizzeria Bianco, and it is only open for dinner from 5-10. Unfortunately, I did not know that, and showed up for lunch after parking in a $12 parking lot.
It only has about ten tables, and when I knocked on the door, seeing the closed sign, the owner let me in to see the place and told me to come back at 4. The wait is minimum one hour, and if you show up at 7, it's up to 3 hrs. wait, that is how big their reputation is.
So I killed a bunch of time in downtown Phx, hanging out at the next door Science Museum, and rolled on over at 4. There were 25 people there ahead of me! The guy before me in line was a strange bird with a man purse, aka, murse, and bulgy big eyes. Ahead of him were three goomba guys from Jersey, who spoke Italian. One of them said to me, when he thought I was breaking into the line,  "I got my eye on you!" I knew a warning when I heard it. Right out of central casting for the Sopranos.
The guy with the murse said, will you watch my seat while I go buy a glass of wine? I gladly did, and when he returned I told him my story, about how I was hoping Carlo would show up soon, and be there to savor with me the holiest of pizza experiences. Well, he told me that he would treat me and Carlo to everything and buy several pizzas, and all we had to do was sit with him. He said he was there on business.
When we got inside, still no Carlo, but luckily, we got a table ( after waiting since 4, I would hope so.) He had flown in a hour before from NYC just to taste the pizza there cuz he is a food writer for GQ< among other publications. Can you believe... We ordered seven pizzas, he asked the people around us if he could taste theirs, and taste their bread, et al. He was kinda nervy, but very nice.He tired to order 2 more pizzas, but the owner cut him off and said he could only have them to go! Cuz others had been waiting for our table since forever.
All in all, it was a very tasty experience. I liked the margarita and the margarita with prosciutto parma, if you want to know. I got to weigh in with all my fave restaurants in New Orleans and Old Town, and he said he disliked Bayona. His name is Alan Richman.
Carlo worked late, but I brought  him 3 partial veggie pizzas, and he was happy as a clam.  Light thin crust with the freshest tasting sauce and cheese. MMM. And 100% free, thanks to GQ's expense account.
 ah!

 Patsie >^..^<

Matt Rocks It at the Swamp Party

Matt in front of swamp

Dear Imaginary Tourist,

Here we are again in the swamp exhibit in New Orleans' zoo with Matt, who is rocking his cool hat. In the swamps with the gators again!
Your Imaginary Tour Guide,

Patsie

Ruddy, Kathy and Susan, Ready for the Big Wedding

Anticipation

Dear Imaginary Friend,

Ruddy, Kathy and Susan show their happy faces before  Kathy's wedding later that morning to the handsome artist Matt.

Look how they are rocking their style! Looking good, people!
It was a fabulous wedding, and one that I will never forget, with a whole weekend chock full of beautiful, fun events. Best of all was hanging out with our extended families.

Your Imaginary Auntie,

Patsie

You Are Too Late, Cher! I Sold It

Strawberries, Oil, 8 x 10", 2010, Sold yesterday

Dear Imaginary Art Client,

Well, you are a day late and a dollar short, cher, cuz I sold this painting on Sunday! You snooze, you lose!

Love,

Your Imaginary Artist,

Patsie

How I Spent Last Wednesday

Van Gogh's Other Chair, Oil, 16x 16", 2011

 

 

by Patricia Uchello

Memorial Day, Part 2

Danny and Parker Poolside

Dear Imaginary Party Guest,

Here father and son celebrate the official start of summer!

Your Imaginary Friend,
Patsie

OMG! It Is a Gator! In New Orleans, where else?

"Gator Ate Your Granny"

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Here we have a denizen of the Audubon Zoo Swamp Exhibit, hanging out, looking for stupid people falling off the boardwalk above. Notice that he is decked out in the camouflage of algae! Sneaky.

He is eight feet long. What a magnificent, malevolent critter!
Scared stiff,

Patsie

Kathy's Wedding

Love! Weddings! Romance! Youth!

Git On Board the Swamp Train, Y'all!

The fam

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Here we are at the fabulous Audubon Zoo, aboard the swamp train, in New Orleans! Was it hot? Well, yeah. Was it fun? More than I can describe!!!!

There used to be a jingle:

"Come on Down

To the Audubon Zoo

Where dey all asked -  for - you

The monkeys - and

the lions - and

the elephants asked for you."

Well, they still "ask for you!" More than that, there are nutria, cheetahs, raccoons, black bears, and big old gators, that would love to bite you!! Chomp, chomp.

Your New Orleans fan and native,

Patsie

Critters

Sleepy time

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Have you ever wondered where raccoons sleep? Well, would you please start pondering, so that I can answer this pressing question?? They sleep in trees, draped from the limbs. They looked like stuffed animals that children had thrown up in the air, tangled in the limbs.

When we went to Kathy and Matt's charming rehearsal party at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, my home town, we rode a choo choo thru the swamp exhibit, ending on a boardwalk festooned with various Louisiana critters, including raccoons, gators, black bears and cheetahs.

Cheetahs, gators and bears, oh my!

Your Imaginary Swamp rat,

Patsie

Fun with Beignets at Cafe du Monde

Baby loves his beignets-- the puffy, lighter than air doughnuts found in Jackson Square at the Cafe du Monde. MMM, cher, they are so tasty and light, and covered with powdered sugar. Virginia likes them, too, but does not wear powdered sugar like Baby Parker. 

It is a rite of initiation that all who pass through this lovely city partake of the heavenly delights drenched in powdery sugar. Even if it means acquiring a mustache before your time.

Also worth checking out is Central Grocery in the Quarter. Tasty muffaletta and other Italian specialties abound.

Your Imaginary Tour Guide,

Patsie

The Most Wonderful Artist That I Have Ever Met

Kathy Rodriguez, Blushing Bride

Is Kathy Rodriguez. Look at her rocking this vintage inspired gown from Yvonne La Fleur in New Orleans, y'all! Kathy and Matt were married on Saturday, amidst the sound of 25 kazoos playing "Here Comes The Bride"! Cuz that's how they roll, brother. Kathy eschewed the traditional white bridal gown for emerald green, the color of her eyes. With a gardenia in her hair, she and Matt evoked the 1930's.

This is how the story ends: "And they lived happily ever after..."

Love, your imaginary Godmother,

Patsie