Two weekends now, I've been painting and caulking and scrubbing the kitchen.

Great post, Cross.

*hugs*

My wife and I went to a taco shop. We saw a trio of fire fighters called away. They had ordered and paid for their meal, had just sat down to some chips and salsa. Then their alert sounded before they got their tacos, and had to leave without eating.

I hope the taco shop will comp their meal if they come back, but I wonder if that's a common occurrence--pay for food, don't get to eat food.

2 hours ago, LilyElizabeth said:

Warders can play, too.

Okay, then.

Were I to choose the Aes Sedai path, it would immediately be winnowed down to White (logical, enjoys puzzles, etc.), Brown (book fanatic, learning for learning's sake), and  Green (ever battle-ready. "Come on, if you think you're hard enough.")

I go back and forth among those three depending on my mood and the day of the week.

But I'm happy as a Warder.

I don't enjoy veggies enough to justify the time and expense of gardening.

I gave the Square-Foot Gardening concept a shot a few years ago and I have to say it worked. I grew radishes, some lettuce, and peas. Something about the geometric nature of the idea appealed to me.

I can wait a bit before becoming a grandparent. I have a hunch I'm going to end up being a long-distance grandparent who gets to see the grandkids once every five or ten years. That sounds like it would be worse than not being a grandparent at all.

Yeah, I don't know where my adorable three-year-old boy went, the one who would run and bear-hug me at the back door when I came home from work.

I'm here.

Agreed. Warmer weather. Not having to lug a heavy coat around everywhere I go for the one percent of the day I'm outdoors.

I also like more sunshine in the evenings.

Sorry, Ryrin. I'll have to owe you some beads for a time when I can post images again. But thanks for your participation.

Agreed. Since I can't post images anymore, I won't be able to present any more King's Cake for guessing. So I suppose we'll call that a wrap.

Thanks everyone.

And how. No more cold. No more worrying about always having a warm enough coat handy even though I'm indoors most (but not all) of the time. No more slipping into a cold car. No more scraping ice off the windshield. No more curling up in a ball in my bed, and if I move an inch my bare leg hits a cold spot and wakes me up.

No more cold!

That's better!

Ah man, I can't post images again. I'll keep trying...

This parade just keeps on coming!

Look at the colors! The lights! The pageantry!

But hey! I've still got a bunch of beads and candy and fun surprises. I'm not feeling any love here!

Who wants goodies!

I'm glad you shared, haycraftd. This has been great.

Oh, Ryrin. You're gonna have to do better than that! C'mon!

2 hours ago, Cross said:

3

You found it, Cross!

Congratulations! Feel free to enjoy your--

Uhh, Cross? Can I offer you a napkin?

Sorry to both of you, Lily and Cross. But one of you is sooooooooo close. ? 

Feel free to guess again, but I'll let someone else take a stab before I consider your next guess.

That will do nicely, haycraftd. LOVE that enthusiasm. Here--catch!

Anyone else want some goodies? You gotta WANT it!

All right! Let's try it again with a new King's Cake.

Pick a number, any number. Who's gonna win? Who's gonna find the baby?

4 hours ago, Elgee said:

Purple 2?

You got it, Mother!

You are the . . . erm, "Queen of the Feast!"

One tradition that goes along with the Mardi Gras parade is the liberal throwing of beads, candy, trinkets, even fruit and . . . shoes?

(See haycraftd's post about the history of Mardi Gras.)

Revelers line the streets to catch the goodies. Of course, part of the fun is the things that people do to encourage the people on the float to throw more swag their way.

Beaming smiles, blowing kisses, shouts and cheers, broad winks. Even some (ahem) more risque methods to catch the eye of the men with the bucket o' beads.

For this parade, if you're watching, then I'm throwing. What will you do to catch my eye and urge me to toss some beads your way?

(Please do remember this is a family site.)

Fantastic post! I had no idea about most of that.

Now I want to be in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

Nope and Nope, Lily and DJ. But enjoy your cake!

Any other guessers?

It wouldn't be Mardi Gras without King Cake.

King Cake (or King's Cake) comes in a wide variety depending on the country where Mardi Gras, Epiphany, or Lent is celebrated.

Traditionally King Cake is made with French-bread dough with sugar on top in the Mardi Gras colors of Purple, Green, and Gold.

In times past, a little bean was hidden inside the cake. Whoever stumbled on the bean was declared "King of the Feast." Over time, the bean has been replaced with a figurine of a baby.

So with that, we're going to have a simple game for this feast. I've hidden a baby inside the King Cake marked below. All you have to do is pick a piece of the cake (numbered 1 through 6). If you pick the right piece, you win!