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I've decided to turn the blog over for this entry to my niece.  She's very good on this subject.  I hope you think so too. The Four Seasons of Houston When you think of Houston, you don’t really think of this city as having seasons. Most people think we have a hot season and a really hot season. Although it gets extremely hot here, we do actually have 4 seasons. Our seasons are a little different than the “traditional” ones (spring, summer, fall, winter). Houston is in a zone 9 season. I wanted to give you a little lesson in zone 9 seasons and the type of vegetables you can grow here. Let’s start off by discussing the 4 seasons. The first season is called “Warm Season 1” from March until May. Most of the time March is when you see Home Depot or Lowes stocking up on gardening supplies and plants. This time of year is a great time to ready your growing beds. People do this many different ways. Some plant straight into the ground and others plant in a raised garden bed, like I

Carnival is the accurate, though old, name for the Mardi Gras season.  Contrary to popular use, the last day of the Mardi Gras season isn’t Mardi Gras Day, it’s Mardi Gras (which literally translates to Fat Tuesday).  And the holiday season which starts with the Krewe of Twelfth Night on January 6 and ends on Mardi Gras some time in February or March, is called Carnival.    Also known as “the greatest free show on earth”, Carnival lasts several weeks.   For a few weekends before Mardi Gras, parades happen all over the greater New Orleans area, and then the last 2 weeks, there are night parades on the weeknights as well as the weekend.   The excitement grows til Mardi Gras, when the King of Carnival, Rex, parades.   And with the truck floats (which are exactly what they are called) following, parading goes on all day.   When I grew up, Mardi Gras was a day off from school for us and from work for my dad.   The whole city, including the U.S. Post Office, is closed for Mardi Gras.

This post is dedicated to my 6 nephews and nieces.  I’m not in touch with the younger set (two nieces, one nephew, who are in their early 20s) but I will alert them as best i can about this blog post.  I am in touch with the older set (also two nieces, one nephew, who are in their mid 30s).  I’m writing this post to them and all the young people I know (for purposes of this blog post, i am including anyone under 40).   When I was in 9 th grade, we had a subject called Civics.   I don’t know when things changed in the world of school subjects, but I’m fairly sure Civics isn’t taught anymore, which I think is a real shame.   I’ve always been grateful for an education about how the political system works.   We learned that there were 3 branches of government at the federal level.   You’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t know that.   We were taught that voting matters.     Right now it matters A LOT.   We have the worst president in history.   The country is reelin

If you are from the South, this entry may make sense to you.   If you are from the North or West or Midwest, you may wind up scratching your head.   Nonetheless: I was born in 1952 in New Orleans, Louisiana.   I don’t remember playing with any black kids.   In 1957 we moved to Metaire, a suburb of New Orleans.   Sociologists would say we were part of “white flight”, white families moving out of the city to live in all-white neighborhoods (and to be away from Negroes).   I am 67 now, so none of my early memories seem crystal clear. My exposure to black people, for many years, was limited to our maids, a succession of black ladies who came once a week.   We were strictly middle class, but most families on our block had a maid.   They were usually paid $5 a day, plus car fare (they took the bus that dropped them off at Veterans Highway and the entrance to our subdivision, called Bissonet Plaza).   They worked from about 8 to 5.   I remember the maids did the ironing.   I th

With all the bad news about Coronavirus, and the stay-at-home rules for many of us, I thought I would share some "funny" videos.  These are from my personal "Favorites" on YouTube.  Now I know "funny" means different things to different people.  So if you don't think they're funny, that's OK with me.  Note:  many of these are from SNL, and may have commercials before the skit.  And, as always, Please comment, share and subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve1kmdHTY24&list=FLbNJuO_FYZUeRA_Ijt4SKtg&index=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVTgNgjHCp8&list=FLbNJuO_FYZUeRA_Ijt4SKtg&index=2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ClME3oCTs&list=FLbNJuO_FYZUeRA_Ijt4SKtg&index=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsymdxG6Wig&list=FLbNJuO_FYZUeRA_Ijt4SKtg&index=6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO9Fk2mjhbw&list=FLbNJuO_FYZUeRA_Ijt4SKtg&index=7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVVg2HBSvt0&list=FLbNJu

Some thoughts on the subject, which I hope will help you. Be careful where you get your information .   Don’t listen to Pence or Trump; they have a political agenda of minimizing what is going on.   Trump has been spewing nonsense.   His only goal is to make the stock market stabilize, so he can say the economy is good, so he can get re-elected. The only 100% reliable source is the Centers for Disease Control .   Their website is cdc.gov .   Please check this out now.   It has all the information you need to know. Don’t read tabloids .   Their goal is to boost readership, and they do this by ginning up the worst gossip about the virus. Gossip or Nihilism :   When your friends talk gossip or scenarios where everyone dies, either ignore them and don’t discuss the virus with them again, or tell them about the CDC website. Once per day :   Promise yourself you will only read about the epidemic once per day.   Go to the CDC website and see what’s new.   When you’re do

I liked Meghan from the beginning.  She was sweet, smart, pretty and I assumed (like many) she would be a good addition to the Royal Family.  Supposedly, she didn’t really know who Harry was until their first date.  That she was biracial and divorced seemed like a sign the Royal Family was moving into the 21 st century. Their royal wedding was gorgeous.   But after a while (as it will), reality set in.   Meghan (now Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Sussex) wore clothes that were a bit daring. Her dresses bared her shoulders, considered a no-no by the Royal Family.   The tabloid press (much bigger in Britain than in the U.S.) started snarking at her.   She was accused of being demanding and pushy, dubbed “Duchess Difficult” and “ME-gain”.   Her half-sister, Samantha, was reportedly writing a book, “The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister”.   Meghan’s personal assistant quit after six months. The tabloids’ comment sections were/are full of vitriol towards Meghan and