[The Romanov Sisters]

I'm reading The Romanov Sisters. It's a very interesting book giving info about the four daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra. They are largely neglected, the focus on most books focused on the one son, Alexei. (In this book his name is spelled "Alexey." I think that's how Alexandra transliterated his name. )
When I was a kid, looking at photos of this royal family, I was drawn to Anastasia. The other sisters looked rather matronly, but she looked like a regular girl. So far she's being a little imp, playing practical jokes etc. Will see if she grows out of it. There were persistent rumors that she had somehow survived the slaughter in July 1918, but remains found fairly recently, accounting for all of the royal family, put that to rest.

New ear buds
nice patchwork mini-blanket to the cat, with puppy mugs alternating with mouse mugs printed in each patch
nail polish (really like its fragrance, alongside fresh paint, chlorox tablets to clean floor, naphthalene)
tea in pyramids (it's cooler than bags)
"Nesquik" chocolate drink

Good ear buds can be hard to find here.
Don't say that Kitty isn't spoiled! But he's worth it.
Back in the dark ages (70s), I was a student worker in one of the university departments. I remember the Secretary typing on some special paper. If she made a mistake, she would correct it using a dark blue ink. When she opened the bottle the smell was overpowering. You would have loved that strong chemical smell.
I don't see the pyramid shape that often. Saw it when I bought my Mother some oolong tea a while back.
I used Nesquik when I was a kid. It was okay but it never seemed to completely dissolve. Maybe their formula has changed since 50 years ago. Used chocolate syrup instead.

That sounds like an interesting book, something I'd love to read!
Unfortunately it is looking like I won't be able to unless it's at a library somewhere. It's out of print and the prices I saw for used copies ranged from 285 to over 400 dollars! Can't afford that.

The random speech generator is a joke , poking fun at those speeches we all hear that have all those familiar phrases combined with other flowery language , and the whole doesn't always make sense if you read a copy of the speech later.

I rarely see dancers in the street. They would be found in parades. If I'm there, I expect dancing and don't mind it as long as it doesn't get raunchy.

I try to avoid drunks as much as possible. Have had bad experiences with drunks, and how friends of mine become incredibly obnoxious (none of my friends seem to handle their liquor well; my best friend, thankfully , finally swore off the stuff)

I rarely have to deal with people giving out brochures as long as I stay away from tourist areas.
 Your phone plan is like mine used to be. My plan now allows unlimited talking. I don't like talking on the phone so use very little time. If someone dials a couple of rings then hangs up, I don't bother calling them back ( the only exception is if a family member keeps doing it, indicating that they are having some problem).

I made the mistake of commenting on a post a cousin of mine forwarded. It was an absolutely awful picture of supposedly Michelle Obama, with the caption, Aren't you glad she is no longer First Lady?

I had to comment. I said, why the hate for Ms Obama? Why the name calling? (There are those who love to refer to her as a man, or worse , as an animal.)
Got a response - don't you know that she's a Socialist and a Communist, and the two of them did all sorts of evil things ( they were named) etc.
I replied that they are not Communists . Didn't bother with the other things.
Answer came back that I was misguided. The lady's brother told her that the Obamas were both socialists and communists, they are the same thing. So it must be so.
Of course I don't consider them either socialists or communists.
It went more downhill from there . I got it all off my chest, waited 5 minutes, then deleted my original comment, which resulted in all comments being deleted.

Oh, my country. Don t know the difference between socialism and communism. And as the hit song from a while back proudly proclaimed, we don't know the difference between Iraq and Iran. Yikes.

I saw the random speech generator on Facebook. Now I can't find it, although I did find a random Trump speech generator. It takes random sentences from Trump speeches and creates a new speech - the speech doesn't make much sense but don't think his supporters care.

Big pet peeve now. I can't answer my phone anymore. Over 90 percent of calls are from various  scam artists. They disguise the phone numbers so you think they are local calls.
So if the number isn't on my phone list, I don't answer it. And they almost never leave messages . Grrrr...

Embellished speeches/ intros with zero substance. Stuff you hear in TV/ various media, in ritzy evenings you visit. Say, "Today we gathered to celebrate this day. I see beautiful people around, it makes me happy to bring the news that we will be destined with few precious hours of gratifying joy that transcends all generations, the essence of spectacular evening will build gracious memories in our intelligent minds for many happy years to look brightly into the great future". Zzz. Yet many, interestingly, enjoy such speeches.

If you are called on at the last minute to give a speech, I believe there is a random speech generator available , giving all the buzzwords while not actually saying anything.
Yes, most people don't care about most run of the mill speeches. They are impatiently waiting for it to end so that they can enjoy the food/music whatever.

Got an announcement in my email today

Beach Boys - Now and Then

January 22 - Shreveport LA, Municipal Memorial Auditorium, 7:00

January 23- Lafayette, LA, Heymann Performing Arts Center, 7:30 (This is a show that was originally to be on Oct 3)

I had already left when you wrote the post. When I got home I posted quickly about Graceland but didn't feel well and went to bed early.
There are of course French immigrants living here. Some of them teach at French immersion schools, where courses are taught in French . However the natives who are fluent in French from birth are dying out.
French immigrants are also teaching students in Cajun country west of New Orleans. Although they have the distinctive accent many can no longer speak French . For many years teachers punished students who spoke Cajun French instead of English in school. The powers that be realize, perhaps too late, that they were wrong to do that.

Homeland is funny here. Somebody could have been here 30 years or more, coming over as a young child , and still would not be considered to be a New Orleanian.

Don't know why people write titles in cursive. Didn't know you could do that on this board, but I never really checked all the features available. Maybe they are writing in cursive as a protest to all the schools where cursive is no longer taught. Have no idea.
Can't go anymore. Am totally wasted. Need a good nights sleep

Good you were able to get some of those disposable slippers. They could come in handy when cleaning things up and you don't want to mess up your shoes or regular slippers.
After I got back from Graceland last evening I was very tired, and started having a toothache. This morning I woke up with a severe toothache (and can't see the dentist until Friday), stopped up sinuses, a sore throat, and really irritated eyes. I looked in the mirror and saw big "bags" under my eyes. I looked like Bert Lahr (cowardly lion) in The Wizard of Oz lol.
Drove straight home , canceling any side trips. My sister wanted to continue listening to Elvis; I wanted more variety but it is what it is. One good thing - around noontime was an announcement - "This is Al Jardine, and you're listening to The Elvis Channel."
 I stumbled in to a stinky house, cats mad at me for leaving them . Will take something to knock me out for the night and will commence getting the house looking and smelling presentable tomorrow...

Well, we went to Graceland today.
I somehow thought the house would be bigger. But maybe I thought that because only the basement and first floor are open to tours. The second floor, which includes Elvis' bedroom, is off limits.
His parents' bedroom was decorated by Gladys. I liked the little poodles on the wallpaper in the bathroom - don't know how Vernon felt about them lol.
With all the talk about the Jungle Room, I thought it would be huge, but that wasn't the case.
The television room had three televisions lined up next to each other. Thus he could monitor what was on the three networks back in the day. The TVs were playing clips from movies or TV. I didn't recognize the one on the left. In the middle was a classic by young George Carlin as the Hippy Dippy Weatherman on the Johnny Carson Show.  On the right was a scene from Dr Strangelove featuring Colonel Mandrake and General Jack D Ripper.
Toured the rest of the grounds, and really enjoyed the Meditation Garden. It was truly peaceful.
All in all, it was a great experience. And best of all, my Elvis obsessed sister was "over the moon."
 Will drive back home tomorrow. Will listen to some Elvis gospel music, along with recordings by the Million Dollar Quartet.

To add: it's a self guiding tour using an iPad and earphones . Commentary by our good buddy John Stamos.

Back to accents.
Native New Orleanians don't speak with a French accent. I've noticed 2 different accents here. The uptown crowd has an almost Southern accent. They pronounce our city "Noo Oryeeanz".
We downtowners have variations on what is close to "Brooklynese", a New York accent. They pronounce the city "Noo Awlins". In the extreme, words with "oi" are pronounced "er." Thus, erl , terlet, etc instead of oil or toilet. Or "wrench your hands in the zink" - rinse your hands in the sink.
The theory about our accent is that it's due to the large number of Irish and Italian immigrants who came here.

There are other accents in Louisiana. In North and South (rural areas) there are different types of Southern accents. In South central and southwest Louisiana one can hear the Cajun accent.

To answer some questions:
There aren't the restrictions in the US concerning turning on the heat as there are in some other countries. If I wanted to I could put it on in the summer. And I can set it to whatever temperature I want. Of course, since you are using more power, you will have a higher bill to pay.

Don't think I've had mushroom truffles. Have had chocolate truffles and they were good.

Creative writing classes are available. I know people who are into writing fiction or poetry. They meet up with other writers to show their work and receive (hopefully) constructive criticism and encouragement.

I love the sea but wouldn't like to live by there . Too many hurricanes :-(

I'll come back later about accents. Let's just say that we New Orleanians cringe when we watch TV shows or movies set in our city.

One was a tabby, the other a pretty tortoise shell

Trying to figure out what "ants' spirit" is.

 Today we drove to Memphis, Tennessee. On the way we stopped at the Mississippi Petrified Forest, the only such forest in the Eastern United States. Trees from way up north died millions of years ago and their remains moved south, petrifying in the process. The hike to see them was very informative. There were two friendly cats "guarding" the place. Their names were Jasper and Magma lol.
On to Memphis, had dinner, now getting ready for bed. Going to Graceland tomorrow.

When I'm at our country place in the woods during winter, provided that I'm wearing suitable clothes, brisk walks can indeed be invigorating.But I hate being cold indoors.
I love snow but don't like it if it snows down here. A few snowflakes put the locals in "panic mode" even though most times the air temperature is above freezing so the snow doesn't stick.
Today I had to dodge a little turtle trying to cross an interstate (four lane highway). I also had to make sure not to hit a squirrel. They have a habit of running almost completely across the street, stopping, then turning around and going back where it came from. So I had to stop while it decided where to go. I only started driving again when it was completely off the road.

As you are not a native English speaker it’s harsh for someone to call you “despicable” for calling someone with Down Syndrome “cute.”
Cute is not a word I use as an adult to describe good looking or nice guys. I did use that word as a teenager. When I use that word now it’s usually when discussing babies or animal behavior - “oh look at that little kitty playing with the ball. That’s so cute.”
Cute is not a “wrong” word per se, But I think the guy thought that by calling Surfer “cute” you were belittling him, being condescending towards him. I know that wasn’t your intention.
I’m answering on my phone as there isn’t any WiFi where I am tonight so it’s too difficult to read your entire post. I can read it tomorrow when the hotel we’re at will have WiFi so I can read on my tablet,

Liz, you said parents conceived 5 kids, "all girls". I read people who've got same-gender siblings, there's rivalry & envy with each, esp. if the age gap is really little. Would you say it's the case in your fam too? Or did parents brought you such that you, girls, shouldn't envy if, say, some sister is the prettiest, the cleverest & the other typical labels?

We were born in a 10 year period - 1949, 1950, 1953, 1957 (me) and 1959. I would say that there is a lot less sibling rivalry than normal. Of course there are some minor bits of envy on occasion, but when there is a family emergency we all unite and put any differences aside.

We all share a love of nature and music. We have all adopted stray dogs and cats. We have somewhat different tastes in music but find common ground with 60s-70s music.

The only place we diverge is politics. My two oldest sisters are very conservative, the middle child very liberal, and my younger sister and I more "middle of the road." I do everything possible not to discuss politics with my second oldest sister. If I don't agree with her 100 percent she goes into a rage (I'm not exaggerating). I'm going on a whirlwind trip with her to Memphis in a couple of days. I'll pack some Elvis cds and make sure the radio stays on the Elvis channel. No news allowed!

[Brown vs Board of Education]

There was a ruling by our Supreme Court, Brown vs Board of Education that said in 1954 that the public schools needed to be desegregated, because Black students were not receiving the same level of education as White students. Back in the late 1800s there had been an earlier ruling by the Court that "separate but equal" was okay - have separate schools, say, but they had to be of equal quality . Didn't turn out that way.

There started to be desegregation in the South n 1957, with high school students. There was a lot of turmoil, and governors decided to close all public high schools for a while, until they were  ordered to reopen.

In New Orleans, things were done differently. They started with first graders. After testing, some Black children were selected to integrate a couple of schools in 1960. One child, Ruby Bridges, integrated one school. The other three were at another school. (I worked with one of them -Tessie Prevost W.) Ruby Bridges is the girl you probably saw. It's sinful how these children were treated, and there were repercussions with their families. Bridges' father lost his job, and her Grandfather in Mississippi lost his. There were a few white children who went to the school, but they received so many threats that they could no longer attend.

I started first grade in 1963. My class was integrated and I don't recall any problems. My older sister's class didn't become integrated until she was in sixth grade, when one Black girl attended. When this girl became ill in class, the teacher asked if anyone could accompany her to the nurse's office. My sister volunteered, and as they left the teacher whispered to my sister, God bless you. My sister thought that strange - all she was doing was going with the girl to the first aid office. Well, by doing that my sister was branded a n----- lover and ostracized. To her credit, my sister didn't give in to them and became friends with the girl. My family rallied around her, as she would get heckling phone calls. It was crazy.

As for racism in my class, I didn't notice any at first. It started to creep in during the later grades, sixth grade and up. That's when I first started hearing that "n word" among white classmates. This would have been in 1968 with the presidential election. One of the candidates was George Wallace, a segregationist from Alabama.
Racism continued through high school, with some of the white students, not all by any means. I avoided those students. I didn't notice any racism among the Black students.

I'm treating my Elvis obsessed sister to a whirlwind trip to Memphis and Graceland  next week, with a stop in Tupelo on the way. Drive up Monday, see what we can Tuesday, and drive back on Wednesday.
Any tips from those who have gone there in recent years would be appreciated.

Is there such thing as good "soap opera"? I see many ridicule it, actors playing in it, its fans, anything to do with it. Is it justified rep? Yes? No? Curious what's the deal, what you can say about it.

I'll use the most.popular soap opera, The Young and the Restless.This one has been on TV over 40 years. There were some interesting storylines in the early years. But the writers have become very lazy. Amnesia is very popular. Blood tests are mixed up. Newborn babies are switched. People go through extensive plastic surgery to change appearsnce. A child is an adult all of a sudden. People get married and divorced insane numbers of times -  someone determined that one of the women characters has been married at least 11 times lol. And last but not least, people come back from the dead...

Ha ha, no that was the hand me down trike. I was not quite 6 years old. That picture was taken during our Kindergarten Mardi Gras Parade. Shortly after that I started having the problem with the handlebars coming off.
It might have been that next Christmas (1963) when I got my new bike.

You have a great memory. I only had that avatar up for a short time.

Giving gifts is hard - want the gift to be “perfect. I’m listening all the time for clues. I had the perfect gift picked out for one of my sisters - a new Elvis book. Just found out she had just bought it! Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Favorite gift received? As a child it was my own bicycle. Being the fourth of five children (all girls) I usually got hand me downs. I had been riding an old tricycle. The handlebars kept coming off lol. I also had an old pair of roller skates - used a key to adjust it.
My shiny new blue bicycle had training wheels in the back. At some point my Father took them off and helped me get the balance right to ride the bicycle. I loved riding it.
As I grew up I got a larger bike but can’t remember if that might have been another hand me down. I rode that bike all over the place.

That’s cool.
I like being alone as well. But realize that there are times when I really want to be around family. Certain holidays are the only times I see some of my family who live out of town. We’ll have dinner and chat, but then I will go off for a while by myself.

I'm sorry that you are unable to enjoy holidays.
I know that they can be stressful if the Family members don't get along. And it's really a drag if you are not particularly happy when you are "supposed" to be. That happens to me at Christmastime. Don't know why...