Rhinoceri

ready for Hollydays!

Best of Mannheim Steamroller=so ready for Christmas!

Off to Natchez!

In Vidalia, LA at the Flea Market...

"Vidalia, Vidalia..."-listen to Sammy Kershaw

Back in Natchez!

We actually only saw one balloon in the sky-the Curves balloon-but it was still fun!

Leon Russell=mix of an ex ZZ Top member, Charlie Daniels, and maybe a little Willie Nelson

We had to go back to Vidalia to get a picture!

Yay for the little pink grill!

Our fall cookies...Johnny apparently was too hungry to wait until after the picture to test his!

Getting ready to carve the pumpkins!

Mine had a stem on it, but it broke off when I tried to pick it up in Wal Mart...it's now somewhere in the Dish aisle of the store...

the back of Johnny's pumpkin :)

When we were planning for this past weekend, our one goal was to find a somewhat cheap concert to attend. Johnny had an assignment for his English class requiring him to go see a concert. Our first plan was to go to House of Blues in New Orleans to see Gary Allen. When we were trying to buy the tickets, we found out that the concert was sold out. Plan two was to find anything else that was somewhat close to Baton Rouge. Johnny looked at the casinos, the little clubs in town...everywhere. It wasn't looking very promising, but then Johnny told me he had "topped New Orleans." The Great Mississippi River Balloon Race and Music Festival was this past weekend in Natchez. We started out Saturday at the River Center in Baton Rouge for Hollydays.It was a lot of fun and made us ready for Christmas! Then, we headed for Natchez, which we were pleasantly surprised to find is only 80-90miles from Baton Rouge! The drive was really pretty--loved St. Francisville! While we were driving, we saw this little place on the side of the road that specialized in large, silver lawn (?) decorations....I'm really not sure what else they could be used for! There was a big Rooster (like scary big) and a very large rhinoceros, which led to a conversation about what the plural of rhinoceros is. I like rhinoceri. Anyway, when we got to Natchez, we drove around downtown and then went to the visitor center. We were late leaving Baton Rouge, so by the time we got there it was too late for a tour or carriage ride. There was also a flea market across the river in Vidalia, so we headed over! We ended up going to the Leon Russell concert (please Wikipedia him) before dinner at Cock of the Walk. It was really cold-low 40s-and I was so glad I brought my coat and gloves! Sunday evening we grilled burgers, decorated fall cookies (they didn't have orange anything at wal mart to make pumpkin cookies!), and carved pumpkins! All-in-all, it was a really good weekend! And the really good news is that as of right now, we still have cool weather!

The "Back Room"

the "pantry"

So far, we love the "back room!" The table painting/putting together was a success. Everything is unpacked and put away...it's the one room that actually stays clean! Up to this point, we've stuck to the rotating menu and haven't repeated a meal yet! We've had the classic favorites like spaghetti, tacos, bacon chicken, jambalaya pasta, gumbo, and baked chicken. We've tried a few new meals, too! The new meals include grilled chicken, pepper steak, pork chops, fried chicken/stir-fry, and hamburgers. The only one that might be taken out was the Hamburger Helper. Johnny liked it, but it wasn't my favorite! We just got a TV to add back there, but I'm not sure where it will go yet! We also love our little, pink grill! We've used it twice and have really enjoyed it! For the most part, the fridge and freezer, or our shelf of the freezer, are untouched. As long as we get the air going back there before it's time to eat, it's comfortable and a nice little get away!