More More Mojitos please...

It's been nice and in the 70's-80's for the past couple of days. Here in the South we are enjoying every second of it because it won't be long until the heat of the summer and the humidity kicks in. You know what they say, "It's not the heat it's the humidity". With this lovely weather a nice cool Mojito quenches our thirst. Our mint has come back from last Spring and Mojitos are being made by the pitcher at the Hodge pad.

Before:

After!

Check this out. I spotted that Orbit has a new exotic flavor which is Mojito. Cocktail flavored gum, now that's my kind of gum! Or course it doesn't have the rum flavor but I give this a 5 star rating!

B & B

No, not Bed and Breakfast...Buddy and Bruneaux Hodge (our other Boys). I've mentioned them here. Here's their arrival story...

June 25, 2005


R's friend who lives in our neighborhood had lost his Black Lab and sent his girls out to find him. They found their dog which they thought they did but their Dad said, "That's great but that's not him. So the next day they found another Black Lab and their Dad confirmed it was theirs. So, here they were with two Black Labs. They posted "LOST DOG FOUND" posters and contacted Veterinarians in the surrounding area and had no luck. Mind you R's friend already has four dogs and two cats so they weren't in any position to take another dog. He called R and said, "I have a great dog who needs a good home and a loving family!" So the rest is history... Buddy is absolutely the best dog I've ever had. He's extremely docile and is very loyal. I mean what other Labrador will wear Mardi Gras beads and pose for a picture?!

October 22, 2005


Since we've had Buddy for a couple of months I felt guilty leaving him alone all day when I'd leave for work, the market, the gym, OK I was torn every time we'd leave the house and weren't able to take him with us. That's when I mentioned to R, "Buddy needs a Buddie!". He was hesitant at first and eventually gave in. R and I agreed that we wanted to adopt a dog from our local animal shelter. Now, what kind of dog would be a great playmate for Buddy? If we were adopting a dog you can't be picky. After all, their mission is to provide care, shelter and medical attention for stray, abandoned, and unwanted animals. The breed of dog didn't make a difference anyway because Buddy is very social and gets along with everyone! (that was quoted by our Vet) And, so this is where we found Bruneaux (Bru-no - it's spelled the Cajun French way!) We rescued Bruneaux from here. When people meet our dogs they always have a peculiar look on their faces and question how they can't possibly live in the same household. Yes a 85 lb. Lab and a 5 lb. Chihuahua are a great match! Let me tell you they are the best brothers and enjoy each others company. Bruneaux at times thinks he's as big as Buddy (little man syndrome!). When we rescued him his name was Scrappy. Bruneaux definitely fits his personality. He's my "Little Man".

"Everythings Coming Up Roses"

Well I'm back in Cajun Country and getting ready for our Festival International deLouisiane. Festival International de Louisiane is a community-based, non-profit arts organization formed in 1986 to produce an annual visual and performing arts festival celebrating the French cultural heritage of southern Louisiana – primarily a combination of French, African, Caribbean and Hispanic influences. The largest outdoor, FREE Francophone event in the U.S., the Festival places special emphasis on highlighting the connections between Acadiana and the Francophone world. Each year performing, visual and culinary artists from Europe, Africa, Canada, the Caribbean and the Americas are invited to share their talents with Louisiana artists, residents and visitors.

The Hodge Crop is doing quite well. We had a couple of storms come through last night and the sun will be shining for a couple of days. In addition to the Hodge Crop we have other plants to show. We planted these Antique Roses in the Spring of 2006. The red one is called the All Ablaze Climbing Rose. Not quite sure what the pink ones are. I'm certainly not the "green thumb" of the family and lucky that R is. He nutures our plants/yard like they were his own babies!

Everything’s Coming Up Roses is a song from the Broadway musical Gypsy: a musical Fable famously sung by Ethel Mermen. It was composed with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and music by Jule Styne.

Live Large Think Big

That's Dallas' new slogan. I'll be there for a week-long Sports Conference. I will also get to spend time with my highschool friend N which I'm excited about. I'm still exhausted from Cycle Zydeco this past week and getting over a cold or it could be allergies. It's that time of year. I found this article. That's just great, hopefully I won't feel miserable again...

Our "VeggieTales" begins

Take a look at the Hodge-Crop! It's so exciting to go out in our garden and see what's popped up. Remember in grade school planting that seed in dixie cups? The cups would all be lined up on the window sill. Yes, that's the same excitement I get when I see that little sprout busting out of the soil. R gets all the credit. He has the "green-thumb" in the family and B and M are taking after him as well. The boys' rows of their veggies are doing quite well. They are responsible for maintaining their rows; pulling weeds, trimming, etc. My job is to cook and prepare dishes with the veggies...not a bad deal since I enjoy my time in the kitchen. The last picture is a diagram of what we planted...ahem what R, B and M has planted...

If you have a hard time viewing the diagram here's a detailed listing starting from the top row:

• Grape Tomatoes; Cherry Tomatoes; Roma Tomatoes: Creole Tomatoes: Hybird 444 Tomatoes (no clue what kind of tomatoes these are); Sweet Corn


• Sugar Snap Peas; more Sweet Corn


• Crowder Peas; Green Beans


• Cucumbers; Purple Hull Peas; Mint; Cilantro; Green Onions; Parsley


• Zucchini; Jalepeno Peppers; Serrano Peppers; Basil; Carrots; Bell Peppers; more Creole Tomatoes


• B's row: Sugar Baby Watermelon; Cantelope; Mint


• M's row: Peanuts (yes peanuts!) Cantelope (he's NOT copying his brother B!); Black Diamond Watermelon

...Hipity Hopity Easter's on it's way....

Back from Houston and back to the "grind" here at work. It's that busy time of the year and we are already spear-heading our big event next week...Cycle Zydeco which is our annual Cajun/Creole Food and Cycling Festival.

Happy Easter everyone!