Lasagna with homemade pasta

Snow's falling. Dinner's almost ready.

Need a giant wrench?

Ned found one in Pontotoc. In case you can't see him, look carefully at the illusion of trees - it's really him in camouflage.

On the menu

Acorn squash ravioli with prosciutto.

Mardi Gras Supper Club

Thanks to all our friends who celebrated Mardi Gras with us at our edition of the Vicksburg Supper Club. And special thanks to Kirk, who remembered to take the photo! On the menu: boudin 4 ways (thanks to Mary Beth's recent travels); chicken and andouille gumbo, red beans and rice, and Leah Chase's bread pudding with whiskey sauce from A Gracious Plenty. Hope Ned liked it, because we have leftovers!

Ned had a good time at Little Gym

On Saturday morning, we took our niece (cousin, technically, but we
prefer niece) to a morning play group. If you think she looks talented
on the hanging bars, you should have seen Ned!

Mary Beth's parents are famous...

Click here to read about their interview on StoryCorps. They did an interview in Savannah with the traveling bus.

Hotel Shawhan

The candy wasn't exactly on the pillow, but George left Mike and Ike's
on the bed. Yum!

FRIDAY AT G&M MEAT MARKET

I spent my morning with this guy: George Stevens of G&M Meat Market in Jeanerette, LA. He's a great talker (important for someone who is being interviewed), and the boudin he makes is really good. Family in Baton Rouge will have a taste this evening, in fact. When he's not making boudin, he's driving a school bus for the area parochial schools. For those of you keeping count, this is my 8th stop on the boudin trail this week, and 9th interview. And, yes, I eat boudin every time I go to an interview. Perhaps I should jog back to Vicksburg? To see the folks I met yesterday, visit here (my work blog).

Two years ago today...

Ned toasted his good decision to propose to me. Best decision he ever made! I was pretty pleased with it, too. Happy-two-year-proposal-anniversary, Ned. (No gifts required. I still have the ring.)

We recommend

Paul's Deli in Williamsburg. Yum.

I know I'm in Louisiana when

There's an aisle full of liquor in the grocery store and only the
Crown is under lock and key.

Coleman's Sausage Company

Today's favorite interview was Mr. Lynn Dale Coleman, of Coleman's Sausage Company in Iota, Louisiana. A few things to note: it takes a LONG time to get to Iota from Breaux Bridge, and there are lots of turns involved. Mr. Coleman is wearing shorts behind the apron, he wanted everyone to know. He claims not to be Cajun, but to have a French mother and he thinks he's a bit Irish. I knew I liked him! It didn't hurt that he invited me to lunch and I got a souvenir apron!

We wondered who they played...

and then we happened upon a schedule outside the William & Mary football stadium. Fact: Mike Tomlin played here.

Catholic Quiz

One of these doesn't look like the other...find the (illegal) Friday item on the Lenten menu. Photo taken at the Eunice Superette & Slaughterhouse, Eunice, LA.

Momentary Williamsburg Insanity

Check out #1. How could I not order it? (Forget the fact that the speech happened in a Richmond church. This place is all about patriotic history and the marketing thereof.)

Norfolk photo

We wondered whether it was the "pancakes" or the "things" that made this place so popular. There are a lot of things to choose from.

The home brew is ready!

Ned's first batch of home brew. Drinkable. And even tasty.

A romantic photo for Valentine's Day

Okay. You can gag now. Right after you finish laughing at how ridiculous our shadows look with all the winter gear we had to wear. It was 28 degrees out there!

Friday 13 in the 'burg

My hairdresser is missing (today's visit was with an empty shop), downtown is for sale, and Trustmark had a heist. Evidence above. Thanks to L and O for the tip.

A Visit to William & Mary

This past weekend, while in Williamsburg, we walked around William & Mary. Thoughts: Beautiful. Amazing. Smart kids on campus. Public school (in-state tuition is $10K). Factoid--they produce the most Peace Corps volunteers per capita of any university. Photo caption: statues of impressive looking guys whose names we don't know.

In an emergency, have a good memory!

We recommend the milkshake

The 'cue was suspicious, since we neither saw nor smelled smoke. But the milkshake was amazing.

Coolest thing in Williamsburg

It's the speaker's chair. It's moved around from capital to capital, and all the major guys sat here. It witnessed the first days of self-government in the Virginia colony. It was in the room when they drafted the Declaration of Independence. It witnessed the signing of the Constitution. And we were five feet away. I can't believe that they let the public get that close!

Norman Rockwell rocks

On our first day in Norfolk, we visited the Chrysler Museum. As luck would have it, admission was free on Sunday and it was the last day of the Norman Rockwell exhibit, which was terrific. The exhibit closed with the Mississippi work Rockwell did during the Civil Rights Movement. A quick check revealed that neither of us were wearing Mississippi/Ole Miss apparel, so we were able to move through the exhibit as two anonymous white people without folks glaring at us. To see the Mississippi piece on the Philadelphia murders, click here.

CBBT

We know, we've been slacking on the blog after our blitz of boring updates this past weekend. We'll do a few catch-up posts today so you can see even more of our travels. Excited, aren't you?
First, here's the CBBT. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Ned was really excited about it.
Mary Beth was stressed beyond belief by the idea of driving under the water. Really stressed.But there was happiness to be had on the other side of the tunnel, when we got to see the beach. The relief was short-lived, however, as we had to turn around and drive back the way we drove in--but no worries...we turned around in a U-turn spot to avoid the $5 return fee (the first trip cost $12--too much to pay for all that stress! )

Birthday dinner in ATL

Just ate at One Flew South in Concourse E of the ATL airport. Pear salad with Sweet Grass Dairy goat cheese and Allan Benton bacon.  I recommend it to all my flying friends.

Here we are in Colonial Williamsburg

Look at our goofy nametags. We were the youngest people there,
excluding families with little kids.

One last photo Opp

At age 31. Checking out the bird sculpture at our hotel.

Name him

I just saw this guy in a Williamsburg bar. Anybody watch Ed?

Lunch at Paul's Deli

Ned humors Mary Beth

For the sake of the blog. Here he is in the Williamsburg stockades.

On the Hatteras National Seashore

Where it's a balmy 28 degrees.

Happy birthday, Sarah!

Sarah, the four year old on the right, is 29 today. Happy B-day!

We have Springsteen tickets

83 days and counting until we see him in the ATL.

At the mouth of Chesapeake Bay

Ned beats Joseph in the oldest cell phone contest

Superbowl cont'd

Superbowl with the Morgans

Morning in the Atlanta Airport

Every bit as exciting as it looks...