A weekend of Carnival parades

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

SLIDELL, La. (Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009, 6:15 p.m.) – Covered plates of steaming hot beef tenderloin, steamed green beans and roasted potatoes tumbled from the waiter's tray and fell on top of a woman sitting at my table.

The plate hit her head and hot gravy fell on her husband's arm. While their formal clothes prevented serious injury, it still cast a strange feeling over the early part of the Krewe of Endymion's Coronation Ball on Saturday in New Orleans.

The food was good; the entertainment also was good. The Nobles and the Top Cats were great, but the Bag of Donuts – a strange looking band – was unmistakably bad.

These guys were horrible. They couldn't sing. Their humor was infantile.

The night was capped by a midnight parade through the Hilton ballroom, featuring the St. Augustine Marching 100, St. Mary's band and mini floats with maskers. It was a nice touch to whet our appetite for the Feb. 21 Endymion parade.

On Sunday, our attention shifted to the Krewe of Slidellians parade. The parade allowed Pam and I a chance to try out our parade ladder for Camryn and Matthew. It was a success.

Below, you'll find a photo-gallery slide show from the weekend.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Preparing for the Endymion Coronation Ball

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Friday, Jan. 30, 2009, 1:57 p.m.) – After a long week at work in Jackson, much of it tying up loose ends as I leave the Mississippi Democratic Party, I'm ready for as weekend in New Orleans celebrating the Carnival season.

And guess what?

That's exactly what my family and I plan to do. Pam, Camryn, Matthew and I will pack up our car later today and head to Slidell for the weekend. Pam and I will then attend the Krewe of Endymion Coronation Ball on Saturday.

We'll stick around for Sunday and another cheesy, cheap parade in Slidell – but, hey, Matthew should enjoy it since it's his first – catch the Super Bowl and then return home Monday morning.

Finally, I'll kick off my new business enterprise on Tuesday morning. I'm still putting together the final touches, but I'll post my news release on this blog for everyone to read.

As for now, gotta go. I'll file a blog update with photos and a story later this weekend.

Copyright 2009, Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Enjoying a Carnival weekend in metro New Orleans

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

SLIDELL, La. (Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009, 3 p.m.) – A relaxing weekend in Slidell and New Orleans, highlighted by a trip to the Endymion den for my krewe throws, ended far too soon today.

As you may know from earlier posts, I ride in the Krewe of Endymion, the largest Carnival parading organization in New Orleans. I had to stop by the krewe den on Saturday to pick up about $500 worth of krewe-emblem throws I bought for the parade.

Among the items: Krewe cups, krewe beads, stuffed animals, Endymion footballs and Endymion Frisbees. My mom's house in Slidell is overflowing with junk for me to throw on the six-mile route Saturday, Feb. 21.

Camryn, my 3-year-old daughter, had a great time. She waited at the krewe den with me and my mom and then had a rare treat of a peek through the large doors of the den at floats still under construction.

Today, Camryn, my mother and I joined my sister and her family for the Krewe of Claude parade in Slidell. As expected, it was awful: Cheesy floats, two bands and not much else.

How bad was the parade? Well, they used rental floats from Barry Barth – floats that were small, narrow and just plain hideous. It also didn't look good when the third float was numbered 10 and the fourth was numbered 22.

But my daughter didn't care. She just wanted to see floats, see marching bands and catch beads.

Next up: A trip to Slidell on Saturday, Jan. 31, for the Krewe of Endymion coronation ball that night at the Hilton in New Orleans and another cheap Slidell parade on Sunday, Feb. 1.

The real stuff kicks in the weekend of Feb . 14.

Below is a photo gallery slide show from the weekend. If you see a photo you like, click it and you'll open a larger version. And use the button o the left corner of the slide show to toggle captions.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Matthew makes it through the night with his foot brace

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Friday, Jan. 23, 2009, 7 a.m.) – Matthew made it through his first night wearing the foot brace required to correct his right club foot.

I'll try to take a photo of the brace and post it later. But essentially the brace is one long bar with two open toed shows o n both ends; we tie the shoes tightly on Matthew, his feet become immobile and he sleeps with them all night.

It's rather sad and I felt bad putting them on. But Matthew didn't fight. He didn't protest. He allowed me to put the shoes on his feet. And as awkward as they were, he slept through much of the night.

One month down

As I write this, it's been a little more than a month since Pam, Matthew and I have been back from China.

Catholic Charities, which is our social agency in charge of our home study, visited the house this week for the required one month report. We have a six-month and then one-year report before we are totally on our own.

Catholic Charities completes the report, forwards a copy to Holt International Children's Services and then, I believe, Holt sends a copy to the China Center for Adoption Affairs.

Mardi Gras approaches

Camryn, our daughter, and I will head down to New Orleans early Saturday for a quick trip in which I'll pick up my Krewe of Endymion throws for our parade on Saturday, Feb. 21, in New Orleans.

I'll visit my mother and family, Camryn will get to spend some time her aunt, uncle and cousins. And I'll also have time to get excited about Carnival season.

Few times of the year rouse my interest like Carnival and Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I don't know what it is about it – probably the feeling of carefree escapism it creates – but I love this time of the year.

Pam and I plan to head down for weekend parades in February, as well as, of course, the Endymion weekend celebration.

I'll chronicle our visit to Mardi Gras this year with stories photos I post on this blog. So, don't forget to check back often.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Enjoy new Cassreino photo gallery

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009, 7:52 p.m.) - As I prepare to drive south to New Orleans this weekend for Mardi Gras business - I will pick up my Endymion krewe throws on Saturday - I thought I'd post a quick photo gallery slide show.

This isn't anything too spectacular, just a few slice-of-life shots. I'll try to throw together some Carnival photos from the upcoming weekend and post them Sunday or Monday. Keep watching this blog. Until then, enjoy the slide show below.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

DIRECTIONS: Click photo to enlarge. Toggle photo captions with button in left-hand corner of photo gallery slide show.