Here we are, in our full costumed regalia. D wanted to walk in comfort and warmth while ripping on the NFL and I was going for a Saint / winged-football-goddess sort of look. Not many notice that the mask represents a football field with yard lines. Yes, I am a dork.
It doesn’t look too shabby in the picture above, but I wasn’t pleased with the quality of my costume this year for a number of reasons:
a) Notice severe lack of headdress. Thanks to bad weather all across America over the weekend and the classic incompetence of Delta Airlines gate agents, I didn’t reach New Orleans halfway into Sunday. Therefore and alas, between abuse taken during repeated trips to the airport and the fact that the sealant fumes still coming off it would have rendered our entire airplane unconscious, my headdress had to be left behind. An almost-seizure-inducing hour on the phone yesterday with Delta corporate customer service got me a $100 voucher good towards the purchase of a future flight. Woo to the hoo.
b) Too tired on Tuesday morning to do anything more glam with hair. Boo!
c) The wings didn’t make it past the car. Yes, I forgot to put them on once we reached our destination, leaving me prey to an endless string of tourists asking, “What are you supposed to be? An Indian?” D and I wanted to say, “Yeah, Mardi Gras Indian!” But, we didn’t think they would understand.
d) Costume 2010 would have been decidedly more spectacular had I not been forced to wear a whole sweatsuit under it. Damned cold. Actually, damned fluctuating temperatures, which made poor Loki so ill he had to go to the doctor on Mardi Gras Day instead of leading the annual Krewe of Chartreuse walk. Ick.
We caught some of the Zulu parade, walked into the Quarter, ate chili cheese tots at the Three Legged Dog and ended up at home away from home, i.e. Fahy’s. As usual, our evening ended early. To quote Editor B: “Mardi Gras is primarily an early morning holiday, at least to me. It’s kind of like Christmas in that way. This is contrary to the image many casual tourists might have in mind, due to the common association linking revelry with late nights. But I rarely stay out late on Mardi Gras, and for me the best part of the day is generally before noon.”
The rest of the pictures are in the Mardi Gras 2010 photo gallery. Happy Lent!
Next year, y’all come warm up at chez Liprap with some cornmeal, buckwheat, and regular buttery pancakes and some mimosas. I agree that Mardi Gras day is best before noon. 8-)
And I thought the green mask was a salute to the Krewe of Chartreuse…
What is it about Fahy’s and Mardi Gras? Odd.
As I constantly tell my friends who own Fahy’s, it is the nexus of the universe. If you stand there long enough, everyone you know will pass through. It is coincidentally neighborhood pub for many NOLA folks whom I know from very different affiliations. More surprisingly, out of town folks of D’s and my acquaintance have ended up there. Very weird, very vortex-y (or black-holey after a few cocktails). I am sure Fahy’s is mentioned in an as-yet-unearthed Douglas Adams book.
Yes, it felt very much like it didn’t belong in the French Quarter; two blocks off drunk-tourist-central and suddenly I was in Cheers. It was nice. I’m sure I’ll go back.