Destrehan Plantation

Last weekend, my husband and I took a short trip to Louisiana.  On the way home, I asked him to stop at a plantation.  I have always wanted to visit one.  I love history, and I love taking photos, and there was one on the way home.  I found it to be quite interesting and the landscape was beautiful.

1. Jean Baptiste Honore Destrehan, whose father was a councilor to Louis XIV, became the treasurer of the new French colony which is now known as Louisiana.

2.  The home that bears the Destrehan name now was built from 1787-1790 by Charles Paquet, a master builder and designer who was also a "free man of color."

Back of the home

3.  Robert DeLogny was the original owner of the home, but he only lived two years after it was completed.

4.  The home is located on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish.  The river is separated from the home by a 2 lane road and several levees.

Dining Table

5.  When DeLogny purchased the land for the home, he also received ten enslaved men and women and two children.

6.  His daughter Celeste and her husband, Jean Noel Destrehan, a direct descendent of Jean Baptite Honore Destrehan, purchased the home in 1792.

Mother's bedroom

7.  At this time it was a successful indigo plantation. By 1806, the plantation was producing sugar cane instead of indigo.

8.  Louise Odelle Destrehan married a judge, Pierre Adolphe Rost, and they owned the house until well after the Civil War.

Slave Cabin for two families

9.  Judge Rost was determine to have the largest, most modern sugar can plantation.

10.  By 1866, over 700 freed slaves called Destrehan Plantation home, in former slaver quarters, in temporary housing, and even in the main house.

Bell "tower"

11. In 1910, the Mexican Oil Company, now known as Amoco, built a refinery on the property. In 1958, the defunct refinery was torn down, and the plantation was frequently vandalized due to rumors of treasure left there by Jean LaFitte.

12. In 1969, after years of neglect, the home and about 4 acres were deeded to the River Road Historical Society who set about restoring the property.

You can see the Amoco sign on the property here

13.  Destrehan Plantation is open for tours and also serves as an event venue.

All photos above are copyright of Forgetfulone.

• Fun Facts:  An episode of NCIS New Orleans was filmed on the front lawn of the plantation and in the dining room. Season 2, Episode 4 
  
• Scenes from Interview with a Vampire were filmed in several rooms of the home.
  
• The plantation barn was used to film scenes in the movie Twelve Years a Slave. It was called Epp's Barn in the movie (Complete side note - 12 Years is a fantastic movie!)

  

  Movie Photos reprinted from Destrehan Plantation.

I hope you enjoyed this little history lesson.
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Beautiful Live Oak Tree

This incredible Live Oak tree is located on Destrehan Plantation, 30 minutes from New Orleans along the Mississippi River.  The levees are just beyond the tree with the river on the other side.  Destrehan was first an indigo plantation then a sugar cane plantation.  The tree is between 200-250 years old according to the Native Tree Society.  I took this photo on Sunday, July 24, 2016.

Link up with Image-in-ing  , WW on T, and WW to see more amazing photos.

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A Little Random

I'm linking up with Stacy today.

I know I'm not the only one who is sick of all the debate, divisiveness, and back-and-forth political bickering we've got going on in the US right now.  I think maybe we could solve it like our parents did long ago when we fought with our brothers and sisters.  If you shared a room with a sibling, and you couldn't get along, your parents would just put a line down the middle of the room, and you both had to stay on your own side.  You could do whatever you wanted as long as you stayed on your side of the room and didn't argue.

"Their solution was to lay a jump rope on the floor to divide their bedroom in half." (This Room is Mine, by Betty Ren Wright.)

 How about we just divide the country in half and let each of the two sides take half the country and do things their way?  Each side could make their own rules.  Perhaps it could solve it.  Nah, just kidding... sort of.

I finally watched the women's gymnastics Olympic trials from July 8 and 10.  It's by far my favorite Olympic event, and I can't wait for competition to start August 5.  I think the chosen team is going to be phenomenal!


Aly Raisman's first tumbling pass earned her gold last time and will hopefully do the same this year.

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I've also been watching Scandal and loving it, until the fifth season.  Now it just seems like a mirror of real life.  Planned Parenthood as the focus of a bill, a President's wife running for President, gun violence issues, entitlement, free college, gay marriage, and education bills.  I liked the first four seasons so much because it was an escape!  Now it's just... preachy, regardless of your position on any issue.

Before I go, I want to share a video I saw on Facebook that made me smile.  There was an abandoned puppy, soooo cute, that was nursed to health by a momma cat.  Watch!  Betcha smile!



And that's a wrap!

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Thursday Thirteen

13 Random Things I Can See from Where I am Now

1.  My laptop, of course, is right in front of me.
2.  The TV.  I'm watching an episode of Scandal on Netflix.

3.  My cell phone.
4.  My NOOK.  I've just had to have it replaced for the second time in one year, both times due to defects.
5.  An uneaten Quaker Chewy Dipp.  These are good!

6.  My water bottle.
7.  My Scentsy warmer.  I love that stuff!  If you have no idea what that is, follow my link!

8.  The coffee table.  We've always had a rectangular one until we bought this oval table about four years ago.  I like it!
9.  My little trash pile that I have to throw away when I get up in a few minutes. 
10. A purple journal I write in when I am listening to the message at church.  It has, "Be still and know that I am God" on the cover.
11.  Postcards my daughter brought me from her trip to study abroad.

12. A soft, tan blanket that the cat loves to sleep on. And she's sleeping on it right now!
13. The fireplace.  I'm ready to use it.  Tired of this darn Texas heat! 

See?  I told you it was random! But maybe you learned a little about me!

Visit more Thursday Thirteen.

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The World

One of my Facebook friends asked, "Has the world gone bat-shit crazy?"  Well, yes, I think it has.

My heart is sick, and I am scared, not just for myself, but for all of us.

First - To address officer's use of excessive force:  We rarely see anything but the aftermath, yet we judge these officers who I believe, in 99.9% of cases, are truly trying to do the right thing.  Case in point:  A video taken by a bystander went viral. He thought the police were being too violent with a suspect,  Turns out, the activity prior to the recording that wasn't on the video gave more than justifiable cause for the way the officers acted, and guess what?  The proof is on their dashcam and bodycams, but are the news outlets showing those videos?  One did.  The media is feeding the frenzy.



Second - Worldwide we've seen bombings and shootings, and even a man using a truck as a weapon as well as an attempted military coup.  There has been so much bloodshed across the world.

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Third - We have police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge being shot for no other reason than that they are police officers.  It's crazy!  Why would you want to harm the people who are there to Serve and Protect us?  Even if a handful are bad, why take things out on the rest?  I think this man, the Dallas Police Chief, should be our next President!

Last - There is so much controversy surrounding both major party candidates for President, I think we should just scratch it all and start over.  No, that can't happen, but I don't feel confident about either candidate.

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So I'm heartsick and scared, and the only thing I can really do at this point is pray.  Would you please pray with me?

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Pray for Nice

14/7, French holiday, Bastille Day, fireworks, live music, parties, family holidays.

I am sick with grief.
I would be so happy if I didn't have to hear the word "horrific" again, but is there any other way to describe it?
At least 80 dead, 18 more injured, including at least two Americans.
And it is still unclear who the perpetrator was at the time I am writing this.

I do not understand how anyone could want to kill someone else.  I just can't fathom it.  What is happening to our world?  It's become a very scary, uncertain place.
And France just keeps taking a beating, so to speak.

Oh, pray for Nice, and please pray for peace.

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What can I do?

I've often wondered what I can do to help race relations, and relations with protestors, police, media, etc.  What is my part?  My role?  I have always heard, "If you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem."  I searched and found some reasonable ideas for Thursday Thirteen.

1.  Avoid stereotypical language.  Don't generalize.  All __________ people are bad drivers.  All ___________ people are on welfare.  All _____________________ people like ______________ .  I know I don't want people to think that I am like all the teachers they see on the news, so why should I assume that all people of one color, religion, career, are the same.

2.  Speak up when someone is telling a racist joke.  It is not okay.

3.  Demonstrating good citizenship. Know the issues and vote.  Don't just vote for a person based on their name or party.

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4.  Don't allow what I see, read, hear, or watch to manipulate me to think a certain way that conflicts with my own ideals.

5.  As a teacher, I can lead by example.  I can demonstrate within my classroom  what a multi-cultural world should look like.

Ideas paraphrased and adapted from "Ten Simple Things You Can Do to Improve Race Relations" by Charles A. Gallagher

6.  Make a commitment to learn more about other races, religions, and cultures either by conversing with others or reading about them.  Visit other areas in my region where members of other races, religions, and cultures live to see what it is like.

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7.  Support businesses and institutions that promote racial inclusion.

8.  Encourage schools to recognize in positive ways the various cultures that make up our country.

Source

9.  Encourage young people in my circle of influence (my own children and my students) to get to know people of other races.

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10. Join a volunteer group that supports amicable race relations

11.  Create a program in the community you live that bring together young people from diverse backgrounds.  Local libraries and inter-faith caring ministries may be able to accomplish this.

12. Research what other communities are doing to address racial equality.

13.  Pray.

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Random Tuesday

(Linking up with Stacy for some randomness)

So much sadness this week.  So much senseless violence.

Being from Texas, the incident in Dallas has hurt my heart because it is so close to home. I do not understand why a man would want to kill the very people who were protecting the Black Lives Matter protesters.  The police were not there to arrest them, or to tell them they couldn't participate in their peaceful protest, or to in any way direct their protest.  They were present to protect.  That is what they do. And it was a peaceful protest.  Until a lone terrorist with a gun and a grudge decided to start shooting.

I resent that Mr. Obama stated that it would be hard to untangle the shooter's motives.  The shooter's motives were clearly spelled out.  He wanted to kill white people, especially cops.  I believe the President should not speak up until he knows the facts, about this or any other incident, and the fact-getting is the responsibility of local officials.

I have the utmost respect for Dallas Police Chief David Brown.  His professionalism is unimpeachable.  He exhibits courage, bravery, and intelligence. He has dealt with so much in his personal life, and he overcame every obstacle to get where he is, and now he is facing one of the most difficult things he will ever deal with in his career.  He is most definitely in my prayers.

My heart and prayers also go out to the twelve police officers and their families who have been touched by this tragedy. I know of two specific organizations that are on the level if you're led to donate.  The officers who died likely had insurance, but we all know how long that takes.  In the meantime, their families have to pay bills, mortgages or rent, utilities, and keep their families fed. Here are two organizations that are on the up-and-up.
Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation
The Line of Duty Fund of the Dallas Foundation
I'm sure there are GoFundMe pages set up for the officers and their families.  And if you're interested in funeral arrangements, you can find that information here.

My take on some other things... There have been tragedies recently where police officers have used unnecessary force.  People have died.  But not all police officers are bad!  The majority are serving us and putting themselves on the line for us.  Are there some bad cops out there?  Of course.  Just like there are bad doctors or bad teachers.  It doesn't make all of them bad.  The majority of the human race as a whole wants to do what is right. I believe that with all my heart.

Here's a video by Candace Payne soulfully singing "Heal the World." She also lives near Dallas.

And on a lighter note, my daughter and I have been watching the Bachelorette this season.  I don't know what got us started on this because I don't usually like "reality TV," and I'm sure some of it is scripted, but we have had the best time watching JoJo this season.  I guess this is actually related to the rest of my post in a way because she is from the Dallas area.  We've had fun "escaping" from real life for a couple of hours each week.  Anyone else out there watching JoJo?  We were so sad to see James go last night.

And on a happy note... Today is Amazon Prime Day!  I'll be checking it out for sure!
Have a good week!

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Happy 4th of July!

My high school friend's daughter is part of this darling group of girls.  They have sung God Bless America and the National Anthem at various events, both college and pro.

God Bless America, my friends!