Making Memories

I just spent 3 wonderful days with my aunt (but it feels like she is my mom) and my cousin (but she feels like my sis). We left on Tuesday and headed to the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). We saw 2 really fascinating shows. The first was of Thorton Dial. He is a black man who expresses his feelings through art. The majority of his work deals with the injustices against blacks and women, but he also had pieces that dealt with 911, Princess Diana, etc. Most of his pieces are huge! He uses scraps and trash to create his art. It is like a sculpture and paintings in one. His descriptions are a must read. Only Mr. Dial could explain a huge paints with gold and silver Barbie dolls all over it! It truly was amazing. Over the years, Mr. Dial has been heavily criticized for his work, but to see it is definitely ....WOW. Another artist had a show, don't remember the name of the artist (HA), but I remember the subject of his work....Leah Chase. Mrs. Leah Chase is a self taught New Orleans chef who has transformed the Dooky Chase restaurant in the Treme in NOLA into some of the most sought after food in the USA. President Obama has eaten there on several occasions when he has come to NOLA. The artist did several paintings of her in the kitchen at the restaurant. They were stunning, but you couldn't help by Mrs. Chase. The had a video playing where she discusses her cooking, the restaurant, and life in NOLA. At 90, she still go to the restaurant and cooks. A true testament to her profession. After we toured both shows, we had lunch at NOMA's Brennan Cafe. I had some tomato soup, which is my favorite! After we ate, we left for the Palace Casino Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. By the time we got there, we were exhausted, and all 3 of us took a nap. We woke up around 8, and went to eat at the Palace Buffet. It was ok, but I wouldn't eat there again. It took us quite a while to eat. We took dessert back to the room, so my buddy and aunt could bathe and relax, and I went play some Blackjack. On Wednesday, we slept late. Once I got up, I went down to get us breakfast to go, and brought it back to the room. We ate and lounged around the room, then we finally got dressed and went to the Ohr-O'Keeffe Museum of Art. This museum had some beautiful pottery by one of Mississippi's famous potter's...he was called "The Mad Potter." I love pottery. The museum is still under massive construction from it's demise during Katrina. Stunning building. We were also able to tour their African American Portrait Gallery, which also housed some of George Ohr's pieces of pottery. The Docent was quite informative and talked my head off. Afterwards, we went to the gift shop where I decided to buy a coffee cup handmade by a Mississippi Artist who graduated from Southern Miss. My buddy bought a rain stick....had to laugh, out of all things in that store, she wanted the thing that made noise! Afterwards, we went for a ride along Hwy 90, which is along the beach. We drove all the way into Gulfport, and the scenes were eerily familiar....wide open land with for sale signs. Thanks to Katrina, the Gulf Coast is still struggling to come back. Slowly, it will....as time moves along. It is sad. We stopped along our ride, and I took my buddy for a walk on the beach. We only walked  in water up to our ankles. It was really cold and the wind was definitely blowing cooler air. Afterwards, we went back to the Palace to clean up, eat, bathe, and while my aunt and my buddy rested, I went down to the casino to play some more Blackjack. This morning, we had to wake up early to check out. We ate breakfast and cancelled our trip to Lakeside Mall in NOLA. I think we all had had enough. When we got home, my buddy clicked her heals together and said, "There's no place like home." Ha, could you tell she watched the Wizard of Oz  several times on our trip there and back...HA! Now, I'm back home and I have homework galore, so I need to get off of here and get to work. Test tomorrow!