Brunch in Arnaudville -- and pictures from the passenger side

Somehow I managed to turn this post into a draft or I never published it. Either is a possibility. So I'm publishing it (again?) just so it's recorded. Wish I knew what I did....
Last Sunday we drove down to Arnaudville, Louisiana, to meet Rory and Meggan for brunch at a cafe called "Little Big Cup." The food is amazing! If you're ever in the Lafayette area along I10, it is THE place to eat. It's my second time eating here, and I've been impressed both times. 

Really, make reservations and go! In addition to the food, the atmosphere is fantastic and the restaurant is right on Bayou Teche. There's an outdoor eating area where diners can clamor down the patio steps and eat right on the water's edge. I recommend spring or late fall for alfresco dining. Ask for the etoufee: it is the official festival of Arnaudville.

The rest of this post is about the town. It's relatively typical of South Louisiana towns, but pretty in it's own way. I put my window down and grabbed a few pictures from the air conditioned passenger side. It's too hot to go out-of-doors. It's almost too hot to put the window down! 

Bayou Teche and Bayou Fusilier intersect giving one many places for photo opportunities. And, speaking of opportunities, this is a great place for a swamp or bayou tour. Eavesdrop on the locals and you'll likely hear some Cajun French. It's also a great place to hear zydeco music.

Enjoy Arnaudville, Louisiana.    

The front (top) and back (bottom)
of the old gin still in use.

Pin It Weekly #280

I just discovered that I have 34,000 pins! Wow! Even I am surprised. These are some of the last ones: a few abandoned churches for "forsaken, heritage"... 

and some quilts added to "heart, quilts."

A Christmas Wedding

My niece and her fiance were married on Sunday in a small town south of Houston. It's the one that I wrote about when I altered her wedding dress only two weeks before. We decided to drive in early to lend a hand where needed, and then to drive home after the reception. It made for a long day as Alvin is almost five hours' drive, but it gave us a chance to chat without interruption. Always a good thing! 

On the way to Alvin, we stopped in Lake Charles to attend Mass at St. Margaret of Ireland Catholic Church. It's easy to get to and the church is beautiful. 

Check out that organ! The organist knows her instrument and the choir knows how to sing together. They were flawless to my ears. It was a bit difficult paying attention to mass when there were so many distractions. 

Those stained glass windows, for example, are stunning. The glow on the top of the windows? Oh, that's the noonday sun shining through. Yes, they are that brilliant! There was also the multilevel altar. I've never seen one, so I was curious how things were done. I kept my eyes on every movement of the altar servers and eucharistic ministers and, of course, the priest and deacon.

Amanda and James

But the stop in Lake Charles was part of a bigger event: my niece's wedding. It was beautifully decorated in wine and white with touches of gold and many Christmas lights in the park were the venue is. The venue itself is an old train depot that's been transformed into a visitor's center and small wedding venue.

One thing is certain, my family knows how to do weddings. Even a small one (45ish people) is a big family thing. This is the bride whose dress I altered a couple of weeks ago. She was beautiful and poised and comfortable enough to close the evening still in the dress and heels. 

a toast to the bride and groom

Doug and Lee (mother of the bride)

Like all weddings in our family it was a family affair. Four of us eight girls were present and each of us had a chore. Angie served as official and as general mistress of ceremonies. Lee is the mother of the bride, so she was in everything. Laura is an accomplished photographer. 

Half of the sisters: Angie, Lee, Laura and moi

I was kitchen help, sort of. I just hung around the venue letting people in, putting out food, and whatever needed doing. I have experience with several weddings and proms and anniversary parties, so I know what needs doing. (Besides I do like to be bossy.) And there you go. 

A new romper and an old monkey

Last week I made a little romper for Milly that turned out much too big. So I went back to the worktable and created a new pattern from the old. This one fits much better; however, I didn't adjust the armseye opening which is still too deep, but Milly seems quite happy.  

I am over it, though. I have too many other things going on, especially this week. Our church is celebrating it's 90th Anniversary and we are planning several events to mark the occasion. One of those events is to create a directory with photographs of the parishioners. 

I'm the gal in charge, so to speak, and this week LifeTouch
photographers are in house. I've scheduled people for three days of portraits. That's all well and good, until the day arrives.  But no more complaining. Tomorrow is the last day of photographers. 

Besides there's good news in the house: the kids have moved to their own (new) house and we have spent a night in our own home. The last night we slept in the camper, Cotton found Milly's stuffed monkey. It's quite old and beginning to shed and leave crumbles.

But apparently Cotton finds it just right for napping. Now that we're back in the house, Milly has access to most of her toys, so Cotton has gained a hand-me-down monkey. He's quite protective of it. Just getting a couple of pictures of him was a little difficult: I was not allowed to touch his new toy. 

Of guilds and churches and crazy

I've been quite busy since our return from Houston. It seems that I can't catch up enough to remember what I want to write about. I am, after all, attempting to document some of my quilting life and a little of my life outside of quilting. In other words, quilting is not my only thing! It will, however, be more of my thing. 


Let me explain. The day after we returned from Houston (and one of the reasons we drove home on Sunday) the Cotton Quilters' Guild held its November meeting. It was rather important, since the agenda included finding out how much revenue the quilt show earned, how we'd spend that money, and voting for new officers. 


I had a show and share (the tee shirt quilt I wrote about here), but so did the other Mary in our club. Look how pretty her quilt top is. 

I don't remember exactly how much the show earned but probably shouldn't give that info anyway. We did vote to use some of the money to attend the Gulf States Guild Show in Slidell on April 14. I'm considering perhaps submitting a quilt or two for that show.

Then, of course, it was time to choose new officers. I think know I was railroaded. Nominated, seconded, voted, unanimous! And in the snap of the fingers, I was to become the new president. My reign presidency begins in January. Now, I will admit, I expected to be nominated. After all, the current president had warned me mentioned it in passing. 

What I did not expect was that no one else nominated anyone else. I was poorly prepared. I am ill prepared and likely will not get better. If the Cotton Quilters' Guild goes to heck in a handbasket, it certainly is no fault of Mary Marcotte. That's my excuse story and I'm sticking to it. It occurred to me that I don't even know the names of all the members. That thought came along well after I'd left the meeting, mind you. I have this uncanny penchant for sicking thoughts while I can fix do something any time it's too late. So I take use Scarlett O'Hara's plan, "I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow." (from Gone with the Wind) I suppose I'll think about the guild tomorrow.

Different Story (to avoid thinking)
Something of interest occurred in Houston. My friends and sisters and nieces and I were planning to meet up at the quilt show. We didn't. But we had to meet up because we were sharing the same hotel. This church steeple is so tall it can be seen from several areas around the convention center. We decided (while talking on the phone) to meet in front of the church since we could all see it. I pause here to say that my family is Catholic, but I had no idea what my friend's religion is. 

While parked in front of the church, I read a sign aloud because I do that some oftentimes. Angie (my sister) actually listened to me and heard 1) we were sitting in front of a Catholic church and 2) mass would begin in five minutes. "Wait! We need to attend mass! We can do that now." 

 

In three minutes we were parked, paid the meter, and were walking inside while calling Lee (the other sister) and her girls to tell them to come to mass to find us. Yes, Pam (oh, my poor friend) got caught in the fray and attended mass with five members of my crazy family. 

Pam was a trooper. It turns out she grew up in the Catholic church, so she was able to follow along and didn't mind being imposed upon. At least she said she didn't mind. Everyone even waited patiently after mass while I took pictures because I love churches. Patient but hungry so I got only a few pictures but some pretty good ones.

I suppose the moral of this post is that you never know what might happen when you're a Bourque girl. (Bourque is my maiden name.) And when you're with any of the Bourque family members, you are just along for the ride.

The church is absolutely beautiful, so thankfully, this particular ride ended a bit closer to heaven! 

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Chapels and Churches

How about some pretty little churches and chapels for a nice change of pace? These are on my "church, building" board.

So a few church quilts or blocks or church motifs...enjoy!

Have a wonderful, quilty week!