HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

Happy Mardi Gras, everyone!
When we were resident New Orleanians, we always found Mardi Gras an excellent opportunity to run away and go on vacation. We stayed through Muses, of course, but then it was, "Hello, airport! Bye-bye, tourists!" This year, we have a different perspective, of course. Jennifer actually rode in her favorite Mardi Gras parade, and she had the extreme good fortune of riding on the BEST float with the BEST ladies in the entire krewe! The float lieutenants were so dedicated and on top of things that I felt part of it all from across the pond. We had a truly interactive email group set up, so I felt a part of all the conversations and decisions from afar. By the time last week rolled around, I felt so connected to my fellow float 12-ers and I was ready to roll!
Every year, Muses holds a headdress competition between floats. The idea is to design a headdress and skit in theme with the float design (Muses floats are fairly satirical). First prize is the lead float in next year's parade. The krewe's theme this year was SuperMuses, and our particular float poked fun at The Mighty Gore (take off on Thor) for his global warming movie.

The witty and clever women of Float 12's headdress committee came up with something fabulous, and WE WON! The idea was Gore is wrong, because global warming isn't caused by man...rather it's WO-man! The Muses have been carving up the icecaps to get more ice for our drinks. One of our ladies wrote some hilarious new lyrics to the tune of Margaritaville, and we had the whole room singing at the parade pre-party! Technically, the judges declared a three-way tie (how lame), but we know who the real winners are! Just to prove it, the next morning, Float 12 was the cover photo for the Times Picayune (New Orleans' newspaper), although there were 24 floats in Muses alone and two other parades that night. Float 12 is the best! What else can I say? Must be time for pictures...

getting into the mood



off we go!



yes, that's me, folks! the deliriously happy woman handing out comic books

In previous posts, I had mentioned decorating shoes for the parade. Muses is known for generous helpings of fabulous throws, but the prize object for any Muses parade-goer is a one-of-a-kind decorated shoe. With Markus's help, I managed to complete about a dozen shoes. Here are a few of my favorites:






Last but not least, a glimpse of some of those fabulous throws on my favorite model...


Riding in the parade was the most joyful affair I've participated in in a long time! The people on the streets are SOOOO excited to see us, sooooo excited to receive the (cheap plastic) beads we throw, even more thrilled when one is singled out to receive a specialty light-up throw or a stuffed animal...and you wouldn't believe the look of sheer joy and almost disbelief at their luck when they receive a shoe. This must be what it feels like to be Santa Claus. For a brief, shining moment, you have made someone's day so completely over something so simple as a plastic trinket. Yes, riding in Mardi Gras is expensive, but I understand now why people do it year after year after year.