This House Is Clean

We spent Ash Wednesday in the usual fashion; namely, ridding the floors, the carpets, the clothes, the dishes, ourselves and everything around us of the mess and grime and other signs of the preceding two weeks' abuses. It was a gorgeous Fat Tuesday. It is an impenetrable cosmic mystery that the weather so consistently cooperates with the Carnival calendar. This is particularly so when it comes to the final day.

I'm still a bit groggy, a result of the chemicals I imbibed yesterday combined with those I've inhaled today. But here, anyway, is an illustrated if somewhat inadequate list of what I remember being (mostly) present for.

• Got up around 6:30 and immediately started putting the red beans together. I posted the recipe for this Mardi Gras tradition of mine back in 2005. It hasn't changed. Although I should note that this year I actually served them a bit too early. The beans hadn't quite simmered down to the creamy consistency I like by the time most of the guests sampled them. I did manage to fix this by cranking up the heat on them for about ten minutes or so later on. But the only people who got to enjoy these results were... well... me because I felt like I just had to, and... again... me because I get to eat the left overs. Pictured below is the bowl I made for myself of the fixed beans.
  
  



• After I put the beans on to simmer, I walked outside to have the obligatory cup of coffee with Pete Fountain's Half-Fast marching club. Pete has been an iffy participant these past few years. Who knows how many more marches (or rides) he has left in him.
  
  



• From there it was back over to the corner of Oretha Castle Haley and Jackson to catch the lead units of Zulu. It's where you will see the Zulu King in my version of the song. Said Zulu King is pictured below. A second pic from the beginning of this parade will be reserved for an upcoming caption contest. (I wouldn't ordinarily steal such a successful Adrastos running item ... particularly since he stopped by later to sample the red beans... but this will be worth it.)
  
  



• After that, it was off to Dryades Street in search of Indians. We found this group singing on the corner of Washington Avenue somewhere around 9:00 AM.
  
  
  
  Heck yes, there is video
  
  



• But there was more Indian spotting to be done. About an hour and half, a goodly number of RLBs*, and a very large Turkey leg later, we made it over to Handa Wanda's to catch the Wild Magnolias singing Indian Red before they headed out on their route. A few pictures from that scene.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  That last one is, of course, Bo Dollis. Notice the scooter he's making the rounds on these days. Bo, like Pete Fountain, is a Carnival icon with more Carnivals behind than in front of him. So... if you happen catch him singing Indian Red on Mardi Gras morning, it's probably best to take some crappy video of it and slap it up on You Tube.
  
  
  



• The neat thing about Mardi Gras day at Yellow Blogging World Headquarters is that if you run a bit late watching the Indians, Rex will actually stop at your parade viewing spot on St. Charles and wait for you to get back. Long time readers will no doubt understand by this point that Yellow Blogging World Headquarters is situated very near the Downman House on the corner of Third Street which the King of Carnival approaches each year from the wrong side of the street (catching the uninitiated among the crowd unawares) and stops there for a toast... and, of course, the all important Royal Pee Break. Here is Rex enjoying his champagne on the Royal throne... just before getting down to bestow the Royal blessing upon another more mundane one.
  
  



• Once I've seen Rex I know the task management and hectic scheduling of Mardi Gras Day is over and done with. From that point on, the standard playbook goes into effect which generally means:
  
  
  Viewing the parade
  
  
  Managing the Pink Thing
  
  
  Chasing the truck floats
  
  
  Hanging on the corner, doing what you wanna... that sort of thing
  

From there, it was off to the Quarter and... well... more drinking but less photography because it gets in the way of the more drinking part. I'm not exactly sure how, but I woke up this morning back in my own bed, in my own spectacular wreck of an apartment which I am happy to say has been thoroughly restored to near working order... until next year.

And now the caption contest. The photograph below was taken on Jackson Avenue as the lead units of Zulu approached our position. It features two of our fairly well-known local political celebrities costumed in a sort of "Cowboys and Indians" theme and flanked by representatives of local law enforcement on horseback. The possibilities would appear to be limitless. Enjoy.



*RLB explained (sort of) somewhere within Leigh's wrap up post