Dry Cleaner Doppelgänger

There was a moment today where I thought Jozy had found her doppelgänger at our dry cleaner. Jozy is a little taller and in a little better shape but this little guy has a lot of Jozy genes somewhere in there. Close to a doppelgänger, or possibly just a link in the evolutionary chain to Jozy-ness.

Jozy:

Dry cleaner doppelgänger:

Portrait of a sad dog staring at the rain

On rainy days and nights Jozy will ask to go out and then just stare at the rain wishing it would stop. Sad dog.

Jozy's Vision...

Last weekend was the unveiling of the LCG Comprehensive Plan Vision Statement, held at the Horse Farm here in Lafayette. The Horse Farm is a 125 acre piece of land smack dab on the middle of our city that is completely undeveloped. There is no doubt that it will be one of the centerpieces of the future vision for Lafayette, so it was a great setting to have the vision statement unveiled. Attendees at the event were able to give feedback on the vision statement as well as provide comments about the future of the Horse Farm itself. Jozy is voting for a massive 100 acre dog park but I am not sure she will get her way. Go read the vision statement here. And congratulations to my wife, intimately involved in this effort, working tirelessly day and night to make it a success!

The upper photo is a picture of Jozy at the Horse Farm, her first ever visit. This is at the front of the 100+ acres and you can see the wide open space behind her. The photo immediately above is of the city parish president on a police horse at the event. 

While there, jozy explored an old house on the property and found this wheel barrow. She was quite excited about this particular antique. Go read about the effort to save the Horse Farm here.

Independence Day Ribs

At this point, baby back ribs are an annual tradition for us on the 4th of July, this being the third year running. I'll never be able to recreate these for sure, simply because I combined the remains of three different dry rubs from our pantry in order to season the rack. That sort of made it a crap shoot but it turned out good in the end.

The dry rub was applied a couple of hours before throwing these guys on a grill for about 4 hours at 275 degrees. Hickory wood chips thrown on the coals twice in the first hour. Some killer sides with a Carolina sweet cole slaw, grilled corn on the cob, a couple cold ones by the pit and some Riesling to cap off the meal. Happy 4th!

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

The back cover of this book would have had to have been a disaster for me to not pick it up and give it a try. As an adopted native of the bayou, the front cover alone was just too good to pass up. Yes, yes, judging a book by its front (or back cover) is probably not something I should admit to but in the end...what can I say. There is a reason that cliche is so popular.


In general, I feel like I have had a lucky year when it comes to reading thus far. Almost every book I have picked up this year has been one that I enjoyed. This one was another good read for sure. Swamplandia! tells the story of a family living in Ten Thousand Islands off the coast of Florida whose alligator wrestling theme/adventure park becomes threatened by change, both personal and economic. The story has a mythical feel to it, told through the eyes of several Bigtree family characters who literally wrestle with growing up in a secluded environment. The primary perspective is that of the Bigtree daughter, Ava,  13 years old and at times both resourceful yet naive. Overall, I would recommend this book to others for sure, although I had a slight issue with the ending. Without ruining the details, I guess I would say that I thought the conclusion came too quick and that I am a fan of a bit more redemption in my fiction. That said, this is another good one to pick up and get lost in for sure.


Here is a quick glimpse of what this one is about (from the Amazon page/Booklist review):

Swamplandia! is a shabby tourist attraction deep in the Everglades, owned by the Bigtree clan of alligator wrestlers. When Hilola, their star performer, dies, her husband and children lose their moorings, and Swamplandia! itself is endangered as audiences dwindle. The Chief leaves. Brother Kiwi, 17, sneaks off to work at the World of Darkness, a new mainland amusement park featuring the “rings of hell.” Otherworldly sister Osceola, 16, vanishes after falling in love with the ghost of a young man who died while working for the ill-fated Dredge and Fill Campaign in the 1930s. 

Who's that in my yard...

Lazy morning today except for our faithful guard dog keeping watch. Haven't posted much to this space recently; travel for 5 out of 7 weeks wore me out. Just now getting back into the swing of things. Happy 4th of July!

Green Thumb

Tell me I do not have a green thumb. I've propped this satsuma tree that cannot hold up its own limbs up like it was Frankenstein. This was my chore last weekend, in response to which my wife declared "It's cute when you try to be handy." True that.