Year of the Ox

No, I'm not Asian, but I do like to celebrate the Chinese New Year. By "celebrate" I mean go to Chinatown, enjoy some dim sum, watch the parade and see some street performances. (One year I was invited to a  Chinese New Year dinner celebration, by my friend Joanne, complete with red envelopes. I never knew there was so much money given for this holiday!) So many people come to Chinatown around this time of year that it really brings an added excitement to an already bustling area of New York. 

All Because It's Carnival Time...

Turning my mind to new thoughts as we are in the midst of Carnival season  in New Orleans. I've been receiving parade and weather updates I can't help but remember when  I was little how exciting it was to have my grandpa break out the hand crafted latter seat for my sister and I. We'd have to eat dinner a little earlier on the night of a parade so we could stake out a spot on the parade route. The most exciting two evenings were the Saturday and Sunday before  Mardi Gras day. Endymion, the parade known for the longest floats, would roll Saturday night. Then, Sunday night was Bacchus and my mom would make lasagna and garlic bread-(not sure why that was the meal of choice) and we'd walk about 4 blocks to the parade route to see my dad. He would pelt us with beads. I often would wish that he wouldn't see us because it was so painful to be hit in the face with beads when your face and hands are already cold, but you felt obligated to catch them because if you didn't someone very close to you would snag the precious loot! You have to understand, during Mardi Gras, plastic beads and cups are the most treasured items around-better than gold and silver! Our evening of bead-catching and running down St. Charles Avenue after floats would end with  king cake. Everyone would fight over what color sugar (purple, green or gold) they wanted on their piece. Sometimes you had to just suck it up and have a piece with two different colors on it. If you were not so lucky you'd get stuck with the piece with the baby and that meant you'd be providing the next cake!