Camp Effie Art Studio

Young Nutmeg

https://www.facebook.com/campeffieartstudio/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Everything Bagel on red - acrylic

 

Goat selfies

Okay, let's get it out in the open - I love goats.  

They are expressive, intelligent pets and provide us hours of entertainment with their antics.

We take lots of pictures of our goats - as many of you may take pictures of your dog, cat or grandchild.

My goats got a selfie stick!!!!

Goat selfies happened!

Yellow goat - acrylic

Whitey goat on blue - acylic

And I started painting goat selfies recently and it turned into an obsession with those goofy faces, innocent smiles and horizontal eyes. 

Follow me and my goats on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/buffchic/ 

 

Buttercup

I love pictures of goats and enjoy hearing about goats who are loved and pampered.  Please feel free to share your goat pictures.

Whitey Goat reaching for a tree - acrylic

Angola Prison Rodeo

50th anniversary Angola Prison Rodeo

My visit to the 18,000 acre prison farm and the spectacle of the Angola Prison Rodeo billed as the "wildest show in the South" where inmates get airborne.

The oldest operating prison rodeo in America runs every Sunday in October and one Sunday in April and features the Angola Rough Riders, corny rodeo clown jokes and the raw energy of bull riders, trick riders, inmate pinball and chariot racing.

This is classic showmanship, raw theater in a unique art form.  But politically correct it is NOT and many of those rodeo clown jokes are not respectful to women!  So BEWARE!

Angola Prison Rodeo and inmates competing in bull dogging, wild cow milking, bust out and bareback riding.  The rodeo wraps up with their version of "guts & glory" where inmates struggle to grab a red chip from the forehead of a Brahmin bull to earn themselves a $500 prize.  The day we went - two inmates shared the final prize after a group of ten inmates tackled the bull and held him down while they grabbed the "chip" proving rodeo is a team event.

The Angola Rough Riders.

Rodeo wrangler prepares to rope a steer

   The history here is deep and sometimes dark - this recent article references the watch tower at Angola at the new African American museum.

Though we did not get to visit the Angola museum this time we hope to in the future.

Event:  Wild Horse Race

My husband getting his hog fix.

Did I mention the food?!  Inmate groups sell all manner of fair type food to raise money for their organizations - prices are reasonable and lines are short.

There's cracklins, boudin, barbecued shrimp, sweet tea and ice cream.  And if that's not enough for you, and it wasn't for my husband, try the TRIPLE HOG SANDWICH featuring ham, barbeque pulled pork, bacon and grilled onions on an onion roll.  You only live once!

We enjoyed the (free) ferry ride across the Mississippi river in our car - neat experience the movement of the river in such a quiet format and seeing what prison employees experience daily as they commute to work from the north side of the penitentiary.

View from the ferry boat ride across Mississippi River

 There's also plants for sale here- yes, plants grown at the prison's greenhouse - a big selection, too!

Many come for the arts and crafts. (A $10 ticket if you are not attending the rodeo.) Paintings, leather belts, etched wood, wood crafts, and inmate crafted furniture are popular choices.  You will see many families arriving in their pick up trucks pulling trailers who are clearly ready to shop!

Angola Prison Rodeo LSU fan selfie.

Window Boxes without Really Trying

Window Boxes that aren't Window Boxes

I want flowers everywhere!  And since this isn't always possible--
I've found ways to have window box flowers without the expense and difficulty of making window boxes.

Impatiens and ivy in wooly pocket.

These wooly pockets make quick & easy window boxes.

They are easy to hang and plant which I like because I'm all about instant gratification in the yard.

The pockets come in various colors & sizes - I like a contrasting color to show off the foliage and flowers.

I plant this one year round.  And the picture above shows some mushrooms popping up in the impatiens.

How to Prepare for a Hurricane Cajun Style.

Cajun Rain Gauge

My do list for hurricane preparation

made simple: 

(even Cajuns can do it!)

 

So...when it look like this outside

FOLLOW THESE STEPS

Step 1.  Get a frozen drink of choice at a drive thru daiquiri shop.

Here's mine - a strawberry daiquiri

This will fortify you and improve your attitude for step 2.

Step 2.  Go to Walmart (along with everyone else)

Stock up on water, batteries, bread and granola bars.  You will need these items for when the power goes out.

Oh and get ingredients for brownies, you will need these to make brownies the night before the storm hits.

Step 3.  Get out of Walmart

This is a very important and time consuming step, hence the need for the fortification of step 1.

Step 4. Take the letters down off of Tiger Stadium

 

-this is IF you live in Baton Rouge

 

Step 5. Get your generator fired up and ready to run.

 

 

Step 6. Put on your Cajun Reeboks aka Cajun rain gauge boots.

Make your brownies and sit back and relax.

Step 7. Get a frozen drink of choice at a drive thru daiquiri shop.

Make this one an EXTRA LARGE you will need it to deal with all the extra family members that are cooped up in your home. 

 

NOTE:  This is more than just a simple "rinse and repeat" of Step #1.  This is an essential component to your success and survival of the clean up process.

I repeat, obtain an extra large frozen daiquiri for optimal survival of all parties involved.

Wendy's Son of Baconator & Wake n' Bacon

The Baconator and Son of Baconator

Wendy's Baconator and the Love of all things Pig

This post is a tribute to my husband, Dave.  Dave loves him some bacon or pig in any form.

Dave loves him some bacon.

My son and I witnessed this fact on our recent cruise, as Dave made frequent visits to the bacon trough on the ship's breakfast buffet for bacon re-stocking.  Yes, Carnival Cruise's Conquest has a well-stocked bacon trough.

Fortunately, for all of us it is not a posthumous tribute.  Though quite possibly Dave risks shortening his life for his conspicuous and frequent consumption of pig.

A risk he readily admits is worth the price.

Pig Good!

Dave's motto is "PIG GOOD." 

Would Tony Bourdain endorse this?  I think yes.

Dave thinks that the pork industry missed the boat when they passed on "Pig Good" as their marketing slogan.

Though I tend to agree on this.  I drew the line at sampling the Baconator at our recent Wendy's visit.

I limit my consumption of processed foods for several reasons.

• One because there are usually much better things to eat.  
• I'm concerned about the longterm health effects that the inflammation of veins and arteries from eating fried and processed foods causes.  

• And because the calorie count is sky high and you are left with that yucky taste in your mouth afterward.

Nough said.

Wendy's Single with Cheese

I have been known, when facing a desperate moment of hunger in a restaurant desert (think Sahara desert of poor choices not rich, yummy dessert) to chomp a Wendy's Single with cheese.

And as fast food burgers go, it is not the worst you can do.  But if I read the nutrition report at the Wendy's counter, which I frequently do, I will change my order to water with lemon and run screaming out of the restaurant.

But David will stay behind and order the SON OF BACONATOR.

It's a good thing David isn't Jewish.  He could never keep kosher!

Wake n' Bacon

Check out this awesome bacon alarm clock called the Wake n' Bacon!  Life is sweet.

I plan to get Dave a Wake n' Bacon for Christmas this year.  Don't tell him, it's a surprise.

DeAngelo's Pizzeria in Baton Rouge

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette salad at DeAngelo's

DeAngelo's offers a consistently good meal.

And, yes, their specialty is pizza but I ordered one of my favorite salads!

I remember when Louis DeAngelo started his pizzeria in the Hammondaire shopping center on Airline Hwy in Baton Rouge.  He started with a New York style pizza concept and you could get "a slice" like you can in "the city."

Then he got big.  Then he got bigger.  Now he has so many restaurants in different areas that I have lost track.

Somewhere in all that his wife, Kristen, was my customer at my maternity and breastfeeding store, Mother's Best.  I helped her with several pregnancies and babies.

Recently while waiting out a huge traffic snarl in Baton Rouge from a wrecked butane tanker truck on I10, I stopped at DeAngelo's on Jefferson Highway for lunch.  My lunch date couldn't get through the traffic, so I dined alone.  This may explain the delay my server had in approaching my table, she probably thought I was waiting on another diner.

I ordered one of my favorite salads that they serve.  Notice that I said ONE of my favorite salads.  Yes, their salads are a well dressed complete meal.  And they are happy to bring me extra lemons.

Yes, DeAngelo's still offers a consistently good meal.

What to do in New Orleans between gumbo and beignets?

Thin fried catfish at Walk On's in New Orleans

What to do in New Orleans between gumbo and beignets?

Answer:  Eat bar food. 

Walk-On or Walk Off in New Orleans

Walk On's in New Orleans offers basic bar food choices and table side beer taps (though I didn't try one on this visit), and it's a good stop when you are fatigued from the French Quarter and tourist food (or just got off a Carnival Cruise like we did).

Buffalo chicken sandwich at Walk On's

The Buffalo chicken sandwich was the best of what we ordered.  It comes with waffle fries which were pretty tempting but no pickle!  Boohoo!  No pickle, a heartbreaker.  My son liked it and I sneaked a bite (or two).  It got a thumbs up rating.

Fried Catfish

I wanted some catfish and decided to try the fried catfish platter.  The waitress explained that it was their "new and improved" thin cut.  The thin fried catfish was too thin.  It was square bits that you could read a newspaper through--really!  It seemed like a dollar and cents management choice for some really cheap catfish as opposed to something to please the palate.

Walk On's, GO BACK TO REGULAR FRIED CATFISH!

Fat Boy's Mystery Debunked

Fat Boy's Lounge in Alexandria

I had always marveled at Fat Boy's Lounge in Alexandria, LA from the road.  It's an old gas station made over into a bar that can best be called a dive.  The outside still looks like an old gas station with the service bays.

Finally, today we decided to go in and see what Fat Boy's was like once and for all.  We finally dispelled the mystique.

As you can see here, they went all out on their signage.  You can see why I was attracted to Fat Boy's.

As I approached the door, I nearly chickened out.  But I forged ahead, determined to see the interior of Fat Boy's.  After all I ran the Fat Boy 5K Race in Baton Rouge a couple of years ago, I should be able to stand the bar.

The inside is pure class.  The vibe here is akin to an after work stop off for construction workers looking for a quick infusion of alcohol.

I especially liked the drive up window stocked with pints of bourbon and vodka that are sold at the drive up window to customers in their vehicles.  Nice touch.

A sign on the door said "NO SMOKING INSIDE THE BUILDING."  But the patrons inside smoke away.

Fat Boy's is too skankalicious for me!  I've seen it now and won't be going back.

Pita Pit at LSU Northgate: $1 Beer

The Northgate area at LSU is rich with junk food choices and fast eating emporiums.  There's Louies, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cane's, Wendy's and of course CVS drugstore.  My son dines regularly at all of the above.

A BUCK FOR A BREW

But I stopped into the Pita Pit recently for the first time.  First thing that caught my eye was $1 BEER. 
Yes, a buck for a brew!

This probably explains why it was ALL YOUNG GUYS in the restaurant when we visited.  Their beer menu included $1 and $2 beer selection--pretty sweet!

Gyros and Falafel

Gyros salad

We had the Gyros Salad and Falafel Salad to avoid the carbs in the wrap.  They were served in styrofoam boxes even though we were dining in.  College kid style.

The salad was very basic-nothing to write home about.  The falafel was reheated on the flat top grill and had a bitter re-fried unpleasant taste.  I will not try this again here.  The Tzatziki sauce was too thick almost like a dollop of sour cream with a couple of herbs thrown in.  Thumbs down on this one.

Update and correction on the GYROS:
The gyros was good - as reported to my by my husband and son.  But steer clear of the falafel.

Falafel salad

Bottom Line Cliff Notes:

LOCATION:  Good
BEER:  Cheap
FOOD:  Meh

Go for the CHEAP BEER, skip the falafel and gyros.

Hooray for Bouray Pizza at Red Zepplin Pizza

Thin crust pizza cooked well at Red Zepplin

Fun bar decor at Red Zepplin's

New Bouray Pizza with Boudin

I'm a frequent flyer at Red Zepplin's on Perkins Road.  I started eating there shortly after they opened right in front of my gym, at the time Spectrum Fitness.

We tried their new Bouray Pizza yesterday.  The Bouray is topped with boudin, jalapenos, andouille sausage, red onion and mozzarella.  It was a tasty cajun style pizza with just the right amount of spice.

It was so good, we forgot to take a picture until we were down to the last slice!

Last piece of Bouray pizza

Summer is too hot to sit outside on the patio

The patio is pleasant at Red Zepplins (when no one is smoking out there).  But August is too hot in Baton Rouge for outdoor seating at lunch time.

Red Zepplins has only a few tables inside and can get noisy with all the hard surfaces for noise to echo off of when a table of small children is present.  

They had only one waitress on staff at lunch time yesterday and service was a bit slow.  Maybe someone called in sick.  But with pizza this good, they should staff for more customers.