Mardi Gras Memories

-
When Julia posted a video of the Carnival revelry in Cologne, Germany she brought back memories of my one and only celebration of same, way back when. Being from the west coast USA, the Mardi Gras celebration was something I'd heard of but never participated in. So, I was in for quite an education in how to beat the winter blues, German style! The guy on the horse above just about sums up the general tone. He always makes me laugh and remember the day.

I lived just outside of Cologne during the Reagan administration, and the subject of Reagan's foreign affairs, especially with the USSR, was always hot topic in Europe. These photos are of floats and "costumes" that went walking by on stilts in 'downtown' Cologne's Carnival parade.

I remember barhopping all over the city on Weiberfastnacht all alone, because my then-beau, a Cologne native, was a butcher and his parent's shop was very busy due to all the activity in town and he couldn't get away. He had promised to meet me at the bar by his shop as soon as he could; by the time he arrived, I had consumed enough of the skinny little glasses of beer called Koelsch to be sharing a pickle with a woman I'd just met. (It really wasn't as weird as it sounds.)

Here's a cool photo of the huge Cologne Dom cathedral that I took standing below it:

I spent so much time walking the streets of Cologne when I lived there; I can still close my eyes and feel, and smell, and hear being there.

So there you have it: my one and only Mardi Gras celebration, and it wasn't even in America! And now, living in Colorado, we don't recognize it, either. So, for all of you reading who are celebrating this week, have one for me!

Comments

barb cabot said…
What a fun memory! Living in Germany for that time must have been a wonderful experience for you. You were lucky to have done that and this specific memory is such a fun one. Thanks for posting.
February 23, 2009 at 7:43 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baby Jesus Candy Cane Christmas Ornament How-To

-
Image
Here's a tutorial to make sweet baby Jesus ornaments: Materials: 3/4" round wooden balls blue felt like-sized small wooden stars flesh-colored acrylic paint yellow acrylic paint black permanent marker small button as star decor raffia natural excelsior "moss" silver thread or coordinating yarn candy cane You'll also need glue or a hot glue gun, paint brush and scissors Begin by painting the wooden balls with flesh-colored paint and the stars with yellow paint. When dry, draw two sleeping eyes on the ball. Meanwhile, cut small pieces of felt and make little rolls to represent the baby's body; tie with a tiny piece of raffia. Next, glue the wooden ball onto the top of the body roll of felt; if you wish, you can also cut a small wedge of felt to glue over like a little swaddled hood on the baby's head, but I think it looks cute without it as well. Glue the l...
Read more

Flagler College in St. Augustine: the Tiffany connection

-
Image
We visited this wonderful building that began its life in 1888 as a lavish hotel built by Henry Flagler, one of the founders of Standard Oil, and now houses Flagler College . It is such a beautiful old building and in it we saw: these fabulous Tiffany chandeliers... on a spectacular painted and embossed ceiling in one of the hotel's drawing rooms.   I apologize for the quality of the indoor photos -- it was quite dark in the building. I had to laugh at these painted cherubs on the ceiling... and the way their ribbony robes encircle the chandelier mount! This large clock over the mantle is special because it's a Thomas Edison clock and because it is made from one piece of rare onyx.  We were told that Edison's "signature" on his clocks is the use of the incorrect Roman numeral "4". But the most spectacular feature of the building is that Louis Comfort Tiffany himself made the stained glass windows. Most of Tiffany's windows a...
Read more

O Christmas tree, jeweled Christmas tree...

-
Image
Earlier in the season Rebecca and I went to a craft fair at a local high school, and there was one booth with the CUTEST little jeweled, framed Christmas trees! The gal was nice enough to let me photograph them.  Sorry it's kind of blurry, but it was dark in that high school gym! I know it's an older kind of craft (from the '60s and '70s) but she made them sweet -- not gaudy at all.  We were both SO inspired. So, last week we made it happen.  I brought a bunch of my old, broken vintage jewelry, some velvet, glue,  old frames, and we sat in her dining room and made a forest of little trees! It was so simple: first, we took a vintage frame and covered the backing with velvet.  We just glued it on. Then, we took our time arranging bits and pieces of jewels into a Christmas tree shape. When we were happy with the arrangement, we committed and glued the jewels down!  I love this avocado green velvet! And then we did it again.  We h...
Read more