Spring is the season for weather changes.  In Georgia we can go through many seasons in a week especially this March.  While listening to the weather on the news on Thursday I heard the meterologist announce a flood warning through Saturday night.  We need rain in the area, we've been going through a drought, but it's hard to imagine days and days of rain.  The weather report was correct!

Friday I braved the rain to go cut my haircut.  Pretty much nothing gets in the way of a haircut.  While I was out I went to the bank and then home to do some work.  I was meeting my WCR co-coordinator for lunch at a tea house she read about.  I left in the rain again and thought tea was a good idea for all the rain.

We had a very nice lunch at The Roswell Teahouse and will be planning a Tea Basics Workshop there for the end of April.  If anyone is interested, let me know.  It will be for WCR members and open to non-members.  The owner is very gracious, loves tea and loves to cook using fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. 

Saturday it was still raining, a lot, and I decided I had been to Jazzercise enough that week.  My husband had not though and off he went in the rain.  I thought about breakfast and decided on a scramble with eggs, sharp cheddar, grape tomatoes, bacon and fresh chives.  We also had cornbread left from Friday night.  I did not eat while he was exercising, I waited and we had breakfast together.

We discussed plans for the day - go to the mall?, get groceries? and we decided we needed to stay in the house where it was dry.   I spent a good portion of the day working on an essay that I needed so I could apply for a scholarship to a cooking program in Italy.  I sent off all necessary pieces today and now have to wait and see what happens.  I would love to go and learn with the mammas. 

Sunday we left the house, not raining but much cooler.  We went to church, to get groceries, home for breakfast, read the paper and then headed out for our fun time.  I belong to a group called The Culinary Historians of Atlanta and we had planned a field trip to the Soul Food Museum with lunch at Thelma's.  Yes, pretty much everything I do relates to food. 

We had a great time, about 15 of us, first to Thelma's.  As you walk up to the restaurant you smell the wonderful aroma of smoke for barbecue.  It is not a fancy place, but very good.  I had a vegetable plate with sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese and collard greens.  Delicious, especially the sweet potatoes.  My husband had excellent fried chicken, some had ribs, dressing, black eyed peas, everyone was happy.  They are now open on Sunday.

After our fun field trip we even made it to the mall for some necessary shopping.  Not as much fun as the field trip but needed. 

Today I have some office work.  I have been invited to teach a class on Thursday night at Campbell High School and want to get ready for that.  Hopefully I will have pictures of the class in the wonderful culinary center they have. 

As I've mentioned, I do love my job.  In addition to cooking, I do all the things a person does in business - meetings, phone calls, emails, marketing, accounting, the list goes on.  Today I had a networking lunch on the calendar.

I belong the The United States Personal Chef Association and also to Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.  Each group is a national organization with local groups and  I am currently a coordinator for the WCR local exchange. 

Today was a social networking lunch for whoever could attend and lunch was at Lumiere, the restaurant at Le Cordon Bleu school in Tucker, Georgia.  Several of our WCR members teach at Le Cordon Bleu and today Chef Jae Gruber made our reservations and joined several of us for a delicious lunch.  Go eat at the restaurant for lunch or dinner, excellent!

I tried to get pictures, had the camera, remembered I had it, got the group together for a shot, the camera said "change the batteries'.  I was ready, I had thrown new batteries in the purse! HA! I changed them, the group smiled, the camera insisted I needed new batteries, I insisted they were new, the camera refused to work, no pictures.  I just put in more new batteries and the camera is fine.  Maybe I'll get pictures tomorrow at class.  Or I could take a picture of my desk, but not of lunch.

The food was excellent.  Several of us had the She-Crab soup and it was delicious.  We also had some try the Butternut Squash soup and apparently it too was excellent. 

I decided on soup and an appetizer and went with Slow Cooked BBQ Pork in Cornmeal Crepes with Apple Slaw.  Excellent!  There are many choices, today there were 3 soups, 4 appetizers, 2 salads, 6 entrees, and 3 desserts.  I was too full for dessert but some at our table tried the Dark Chocolate Tart and the Creme Brulee to rave reviews.  I also sampled one of the salmon entrees, and the roasted chicken looked great. 

The menu is a la carte with soup/salad/appetizers in the $3.95 to $7.95 range and entrees from $9.95 to $12.95, dessert $4.95.  Since the restaurant is a working classroom for the students at school, tips cannot go to the students but are donated to a scholarship fund.  So go, let the students practice on you, leave a generous tip and enjoy a wonderful meal.  You could even have a business meeting there and network like I did, all while helping students learn!

I'm going to relax now, my business networking was fun.  Tomorrow and Sunday I will be teaching cooking classes with 3 to 5 year olds and while that will be fun too, it will be a different fun from today's. 

I made it through the week.  Well, almost, I have a class tomorrow with 10 to 17 year olds and we'll be learning some new ideas for lunch.  That will be fun.  I do have all my copies made, my grocery list done and my invoice ready  so most of the work is complete.

Lunch at Buckhead Beef was superb.  We had a speaker from Strauss free raised veal who explained how they produced veal and several Atlanta chefs cooked different cuts of veal for lunch.  I haven't eaten veal in years because of all the horror stories of the raising of veal, but I will eat Strauss after listening to the presentation.  We had 4 different meals for lunch.

After lunch I zipped home, threw in a load of clothes, got directions to the Culinary History meeting and was on my way.  I wasn't home long but did get my laundry done.  I love my new washer and dryer. 

I headed off to Emory where I have never been and hoped to not get lost.  I pretty much thought I had no chance of not getting lost since I found Buckhead Beef AND got home without getting lost.  I made it though, found parking and headed to the building.  It was very cold and it was a little bit of a walk, but once there the catering group had snacks for our meeting so all was well.

We heard about the Orca that Emory is using to change vegetable waste from their food prep into water.  It can be used for all proteins also but they're just trying it out and it seems to be very beneficial.  They are currently trying to get approval to use the water to water plants on campus.  We went to see the machine and found that there is no garbage smell to it and it was grinding away.  It uses friction and enzymes.  Of course I have a picture but keep in mind it was dark, on a loading dock and really cold.

I got home again without getting lost and was very surprised.  I frequently don't make it home in one try.

Wednesday was my first day of quilting class and that went well.  We are making a sampler quilt and I got 3 squares done in class.  I have homework of 5 more squares so I think that will be Sunday.  I like the teacher, we didn't make her cry and the other students seem nice.  I love looking at all the fabric. 

Wednesday night we went the the Art Institute for dinner for my husband's birthday.  If you've never been you should go, good food and reasonable prices considering it is a white tablecloth, candle light dinner.  I remembered to take pictures of almost all of the dishes.  My entree of pork was fabulous, my favorite. 

We got home in time to watch Top Chef which is not as exciting this season as past.  I don't really have anyone I am hoping will win.  Maybe next week more will become clear. 

I had a customer yesterday and today and all went well with the cooking.  My customer yesterday worked on her menu for next time while I was cooking.  Usually I send a menu for her to approve, but she was ready with her cravings for next time.

Today was my new client who has a 1 year old who is allergic to dairy and a 5 year old.  I think all went well.  I'll call and check on them in a couple of days. 

I need to go make dinner now and move laundry from washer to dryer.  We're having sausage quiche with the extra ingredients from yesterday's cook day. 

The weekend was not crazy.  Saturday we went to the library, picked up a gift card and went for drinks and dinner with my friends Matthew and Lynda who are also personal chefs.  It was a big birthday for Lynda and Matthew had planned a big day for her with surprises.  He arranged for a spa day for her and then we surprised her at The Grape at Atlantic Station for wine and appetizers.  The wine was good and there was lots to choose from.  The appetizers were good, even great, but the service was very poor.  We were afraid we would have to leave for dinner before appetizers!

We walked over to Dolce Enoteca for dinner.  We had a good dinner, a small wait for our table even with reservations but not long and we had a great time.  We decided that we needed to go out together more often.  We see each other at chapter meetings and sometimes work with each other but rarely have pure social time. 

Sunday was a day of not doing much.  We grocery shopped but spent only $30 since I'm using the pantry and freezer.  Yay!  Monday was a day off for my husband and we just kind of relaxed at home.  I did do some work on menus for classes and customers and then was a little bored.

What could I do?  We had already done the FlyLady mission of the day and a bonus closet decluttering so now what?  I could bake!  I had purchased some fun chips and toffees and other cookie add in things at Christmas and hadn't used them.  I gave my husband a choice, after all he did closet decluttering too, and he chose the Peppermint Brownies.  The tiny peppermint patties are so cute and delicious. 

Perfectly Peppermint Brownies from Hershey's

We had a quiet as usual New Year's Eve.  We are not party people and I don't think I was awake at midnight.  I was awake sometime in the middle of the night because of cats rampaging through the house growling and hissing, but not awake enough to see what time that was!  The cat introductions need to continue, pictures could be a while in coming.

Yesterday we did not party but we did go to the Center for Puppetry Arts to see a puppet show.  We saw Sam the Lovesick Snowman and it was wonderful!  We will go back to see more shows.  If you haven't been I recommend going.  No, we did not even take kids with us, it's great for adults. 

After the show we stopped by H&F Bread Company for a little lunch.  I have read about it but haven't been so needed to try a new place.  It is owned by Chef Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene so I knew it would be good.  We picked up some cheese straws and apple quiche and yes, all were great!  The website is still under construction so no link, but look for it and stop by. 

We snacked on the cheese straws as we made our way back home and once home decided to make dinner early since we're grownups and can do whatever we want.  I like to have appetizer type food for New Year's so I made a recipe by Giada from the new cookbook she has.  It was very good, very easy and went well with my wine.  I wanted easy so I could drink wine while cooking.

Venetian Rolled Pizza courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis, 2008

We are poised on the edge of the busy season and while I don't get too crazy with the holidays, things do seem to move more quickly.  Wednesday night a bunch of personal chefs had a great dinner together.  We meet every other month for a social/business meeting but traditionally our November meeting is social and includes food.  We've had some potlucks and they've been fun and delicious but a few years ago we decided we liked going out to eat and being served.  For a change. 

We ate at Creations at The Art Institute of Atlanta.  My friend Monique is in charge of the dining room, is a personal chef and a member of the chapter.  She worked it out that we could have dinner there as a group.  We didn't have the whole restaurant, there were only about 30 of us, so there were a few tables with others, and the meal was wonderful.

Appetizer (choice of one)

• Duck Confit Crepes with caramelized pear, gorgonzola flan, spiced pecans and pomegranate cherry compote
• Antipasto Plate of olive oil poached fennel and caramelized endive with balsamic syrup and parmesan, rosemary flatbread with artichoke aioli and roasted vegetable caponata with pine nut bruschetta

Soup (choice of one)

• Creations Gumbo with chicken andouille sausage, blue crab and smoked mussels
• Wild Mushroom with white truffle oil, smoked gouda cream and crisped leeks

Salad

• Butternut Squash and Arugula maple raosted butternut squash and baby arugula with smoked bacon lardons, blue cheese-port dressing and onion rye croutons

Intermezzo of Seasonal Fruit Sorbet

Entrees (choice of one)

• Grilled Tuna Steak served over toasted almond couscous with grilled eggplant-caper relish, smoked paprika aioli and zucchini ribbons
• Lemon Sage Coq au Vin braised, fall off the bone, crisp skin chicken thighs served over celery root mashed potatoes, jus naturale and broccolini
• Azucar Chili Venison pan seared medallions of venison rubbed with brown sugar, coffee and chilis and served with cranberry-pepito mole, sweet corn arepas and a roasted poblano-yellow squash salsa

Dessert (choice of one)

• Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Tart with cherry vanilla ice cream and berry coulis
• Gingered Spice Cake with pumpkin ice cream, cranberry compote and candied pecans

 The meal is reasonable priced, they do have wine and cocktails available and you do need to make reservations.  Check it out for lunch too.

Last night for dinner I tried a new recipe from the new Giada cookbook and it was good.  I am generally happy with her recipes.

Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce by Giada De Laurentiis

• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, and deveined
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup clam juice
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the shrimp turn pink and are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.

Add the tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, 1/4 cup parsley, and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine, clam juice, and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the cooked shrimp, the cooked pasta, and the remaining herbs. Toss together until all ingredients are coated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve immediately.  Serves 4 to 6.

Yesterday I cooked for a client and made her 2 pie shells for Thanksgiving.  I did that for her last year too.  I started getting ready for my Thanksgiving and bought my turkey at Trader Joe's.  I got a kosher one and they don't have many left.  Now I need to decide on my menu and get the rest of the shopping done this weekend.  No Wednesday at the store for me!

October is almost over and it has gone by quickly.  I can't believe that it's been so many days since my last post!  I try, but things - work, Jazzercise, reading, knitting, dinner, get in the way! 

Since I last posted I've been to Macy's twice demoing the wonderful pasta attachment for the stand mixer.  I talked to many people, assured them it was as easy as they saw and sent a few people home with new pasta makers.  They will love them!  Today I am going to Macy's again with the stand mixer and the food grinder attachment.

Seriously now is a great time to purchase a stand mixer if you're thinking about it for a gift for yourself or others.  With the purchase of the mixer, you can get a free attachment (food grinder or ice cream) with many of the stand mixer models.  It's a great offer and good only until October 31. 

On Sunday we went to the Fox to see Wicked.  It was wonderful.  I think my husband was a little concerned that I wanted to see a show about how the WIcked Witch got to be wicked, but we both loved the production. 

Monday I had my usual work in the morning to get ready for the week and then I went to lunch with my friend Scott.  He's also a personal chef and we just don't see each other much.  We made plans and they worked!  He suggested Pappadeaux's.  I had never been but I know Scott likes good food so I agreed.  It was very good.  We had the lunch buffet and it had many things.  It started with a beautiful green salad and a fruit salad, boiled shrimp, catfish nuggets, chicken nuggets, shrimp ettoufee, gumbo, chicken and catfish with shrimp topping.  Yum! 

Yes I went to Jazzercise and have been going 3 to 4 times a week.  Several months ago in response to a request from our teacher, I started taking tried and true recipes to the class each week.  People seem to like them and like trying new things for dinner.  This week I made a slight change.  I had had several inquiries about good recipes to give as gifts so I decided to give food gift recipes until the end of the year.  This is the one I chose this week:

NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Pie

• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell *
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup (6 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• Sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (optional)

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 325° F.
BEAT eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.
BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with whipped cream, if desired.

When I gave these to customers as gifts, I bought some ceramic holiday pie plates, put the baked pie (in the foil pan) in the ceramic plate, wrapped it in cellophane with ribbon.  It looked nice and the pie pan can be used later.  It's a tasty gift.  Try the Nestle's site for more good recipes. 

I had customers on Tuesday and Wednesday and am going to Macy's today.  I am planning on nothing tomorrow.  It is Halloween and things get crazy here with traffic.  I think it will be a perfect knitting day.  I also might make muffins since I have some fresh cranberries and orange juice left from cooking this week. 

We're back.  The drive is really not far and we'd return to Charleston for a visit in the future. 

In addition to our walking tour of Charleston on Monday we went to the Charleston Museum.  That was a good visit too.  Just didn't want to forget anything we did.  I got to see clothes, silver and quilts there and enjoyed the visit. 

Wednesday we headed out to Cypress Gardens and Mepkin Abbey.  We started at the gardens and were able to get on the list for the 12:00 guided boat ride in the swamp.  Yes, they have boats that you can take by yourself, I thought we should wait for the tour since the guide would have more information.  While waiting we went in the butterfly house and walked a little. 

The tour was excellent.  We had 8 in our boat and the tour took about 45 minutes.  Our guide gave us historical information and showed us turtles and even a couple alligators.  Very exciting!  And beautiful.  The water is black because of the cypress oil and has good reflections.  Of course after the boat tour we had to walk the grounds for a couple of hours and saw several turtles and our own alligator. 

We headed off to the abbey but got there just as a bus was pulling in so we could not take the church tour.  It was overbooked with the bus.  We did walk the grounds and enjoyed the beauty.  There were some carvings from trees that had fallen and this is the burial place of Clare Booth Luce and Henry Luce. 

After that we were pretty hungry and decided to go for very casual food in Monck's Corner at Gilligan's Seafood.  Good fried shrimp, okra and iced tea.  A perfect meal right on the water. 

Thursday we had scheduled a Culinary Walking Tour.  This was a great tour and would be good at the beginning of a trip to Charleston.  Susan was our guide and once we met at the tour place we headed out.  There were 6 of us on the tour so it was a nice small group.  We started at the Dixie Restaurant where we sampled grits and pumpkin cornbread.  Very good.

We moved on to several places - Belgian chocolates, several restaurants, Charleston Cooks store.  Susan told us about the restaurants, the menus, we tasted chocolate and we walked.  Pretty fast, but there was lots to learn.

We headed to River Street Sweets where we watched the peanut brittle making and sampled many things - peanut brittle, pralines, pumpkin fudge, glazed nuts, sugared nuts.  Again good.  We each got a huge praline for later.  I snapped a couple pictures of the peanut brittle process.

We also went to Teavanna and learned about teas, and ended with barbecue and collard greens.  Excellent.  The tour was about 3 hours, we went over some I believe.  It is a little pricy but worth it. 

The tour finished about 12:30 so we still had a good part of the day to be tourists. We were not hungry and wanted to try and see the tea plantation so off we went.  Not too far and very interesting. 

We got there just in time for a trolley tour so off we went.  Our guide explained the process and the plants.  The plants are related to camellias and some were beginning to bloom.  The fields look like fields of shrubs.  Every 18 or so days the new growth is sheared to be used to make tea.  The plants are evergreen and will be going dormant soon. 

Old growth fields                                                            New plants

Ready to be trimmed                                                   

After the tea plantation we snapped a few pictures of the Angel tree and headed to a winery for tastings.  They make wine with muscadine grapes and they also make a Sweet Tea Vodka.  I'll get back to you on that.  I've heard it is wonderful but powerful.   

Thursday night we ate at the Hominy Grill and it was excellent.  I had cornmeal crusted grouper, turnip greens and macaroni and cheese.  For dessert a cranberry upside down cake with orange sauce.  Perfect!  We went back for breakfast Friday morning.

Friday the plan was to visit the aquarium and we purchased the optional sea turtle hospital tour.  We arrived in time for the river otter breakfast feeding and then toured the aquarium.  Out turtle tour was at 1:00 and if you ever go to Charleston, go to the hospital.  The director told us about the program, about the turtles, what they do and what we would see before we went in.  Once in we could see all the turtle patients, ask questions, watch some feeding and learn all about everyone.  Very casual, very unrushed, very good. 

The hospital was full with 8 turtles ranging from 70 pounds to over 300 pounds.  They had various problems - run ins with boats, pnuemonia, fish hook injuries, etc.  They are beautiful.  The aquarium is non profit and relies on donations for the turtle program.  Check out the website and blog.  One woman on the tour had rescued one of the turtles a year ago.  She was there visiting her.  Since they have such slow metabolisms they are slow to heal.  Here are a few pictures, but you have to go.

We ended our day with dinner at Cru Cafe and again an excellent meal.  Now we're home and I'll be serving chicken noodle soup!  

We made it safe and sound to Charleston.  Not a bad drive especially since I read magazines and got a row of knitting done.  We got here about 3:00, checked into the hotel and went for a walk down to the water.  We were having a nice stroll when a huge rain cloud came through with torrents of rain.  We cowered for a while and then headed back to the hotel.  We're staying at Charleston Place and it is very nice.

Sunday night we had dinner at Blossom and had a very good dinner.  Our waiter was okay, he started out strong and then faded, but the food was good.  We were tired after the drive so we headed back to get rested for Monday.

Since I've been back from New Orleans, I've been very busy so my vacation planning was not as done as I would have liked.  I had made time to get a AAA tourbook so we reviewed that Monday morning and made some plans.  Monday was casual touring day.  There were two walking tours described in the AAA book so we took those pages and set out.  We saw churches, houses, water, trees, and had a wonderful time.  We tend to walk lots while vactioning so we put in about 5 hours before we went back to the hotel to rest.

As you can see the rain was gone and we had sunny, breezy weather.  Perfect for all the walking we did.  Monday night we asked the concierge for a restaurant suggestion and he suggested Hanks.  I had heard good things about it so that was the plan.  It was excellent.  I thought Sunday's dinner was good but this was better.  I remembered the camera, I had forgotten it Sunday.

We had early reservations, about 7, because we had scheduled a ghost/graveyard walking tour for 9:30.  After walking all day that might not have been the best plan, but we had tickets so off we went.  The guide did a good job but since I don't believe in ghosts I was too logical minded to be scared or expect to get pictures.  It was a nice evening, we learned some history and we got back to get some sleep about 11:30.  A long day.  But good.

Tuesday we planned to take a little drive and look at plantations.  There were three in the AAA tourbook and we decided on 2, we try and stay reasonable.  It doesn't always work.  We decided on Drayton Hall first and had a wonderful time.  The house has not been renovated, has no furnishings and was beautiful to see.  Our tour guide Leslie did a wonderful job and after the house tour we took a self guided marsh tour.  We decided that we could skip the river walk since we had another place to visit. 

Again, wonderful sunny weather.  We left Drayton Hall to go a couple miles to Middleton Place.  We took a house tour which was furnished, I love to see period furnishing, and then did a self guided walk of the grounds.  As I said we walk a lot on vacation and this took us about 3 hours.  There are formal gardens, informal gardens, a cypress lake, huge live oaks, a rose garden, bamboo groves, benches for resting, and markers to follow.  We had a great time.  I highly recommend the garden tour.  We also saw various displays of what was needed to be done for everyday - the potter, the spinning, the carriages, the animals and the blacksmith.  He was probably my favorite.  He does things the old fashioned way and talked us through the process and loved his job.  We headed to the hotel tired but happy.

We had reservations Tuesday night at the hotel at the Charleston Grill.  Oh my.  The food and service are excellent.  Not inexpensive but perfect.  We had a relaxing, almost 2 hour dinner with perfect food and wine.  I highly suggest trying this if you are in Charleston.  Plan for it and enjoy the experience.

Today we are headed to the swamp and hopefully the abbey.  I excect there will be more walking but that helps with the eating.  We are having a wonderful time.  I've taken many, many pictures but try to be sensible working on the laptop. 

I thought that I'd get some pictures posted before now, but I was overly optimistic.  Not unusual for me. 

I left New Orleans at 6:30 central time.  I am usually up early and when I'm finished with something I am ready to go.  It was very easy to get on the road and on my way and it's a pretty easy drive.  I got home about 4 pm.  I am not one to stop much when driving but I did stop for some lunch and got gas a couple times. 

Once home I spent a couple hours getting organized - unpacking, getting a load of laundry in, making eggs for dinner (it was "whatever" Tuesday).  I then relaxed with some tv and was pretty wide awake.  I knew I was tired, but didn't fall asleep quickly.  I loaded the car with my cheffing equipment about 11:30 pm. 

I had customers on Wednesday and Thursday and was wondering why I thought it was a good idea to schedule someone for Wednesday but the day went well and I did nothing stupid.  I also got to spend time with the dogs - Becky Sue and Charlie Brown.  I'll have to get pictures of them.  Thursday also went well but I was very tired, finally I got caught by exhaustion. 

I went to Jazzercise last night for the first time in a week and it was great to be back there.  Today I have knitting class and a meal to make for Loving Meals.  Saturday I am teaching in Decatur for the 3 to 5 year olds and Sunday I have a KitchenAid demo at Bed, Bath and Beyond. 

I'm pretty busy but that is excellent! 

Pictures from New Orleans:

My breakfast restaurant, seafood omelette was delicious!

Courtyard at visitor center.

Saint Louis Cathedral - always look up, the ceiling is beautiful.  The cathedral was founded in 1718.

Central Grocery home of the muffuletta.  Lots of spices, hot sauces and stuff!

A view from the park - typical building and Cafe du Monde.

Yes, there are many types of tours and these guys lead the carriages.

Finally I did not just just eat and look for food.  I must admit that there was a lot of that, but I also visited some shops while on the food search.  I purchased a cookbook at Crescent City Books which is a huge used book store, worth a look. 

I also visited Louisiana Loom Works on Chartres Street and had to purchase a rug.  It came yesterday and looks great.  I like to support crafts people.  The woman who owned the store was wonderful to talk with and explain her methods.

Now I have to stop and get ready.  Last knitting class I was almost late because I try to do "just one more thing".  And it's never one!