12-4-09 Performing at B&N Citiplace Baton Rouge, LA

Friends:

On Friday, I had a 7:00pm book signing scheduled in Baton Rouge at the Barnes & Noble Citiplace. Snow and sleet was in the weather forecast so I left New Orleans early, at 4:30pm. Nevertheless, with the weather and the traffic, I didn’t arrive at the bookstore until 7:05pm and I hate being late! By the time I arrived in Baton Rouge, it began to sleet and when I parked my car, you could see the accumulation of ice on the cars in the lot.

Because of the weather, the store was not very busy. My contact, Irina, greeted me and showed me to my signing table. I signed books for a little while while the staff gathered a group for my story time performance. I performed The Cajun Cornbread Boy and had a great time. I actually sold a nice amount of books for the amount of people in the store. People were in the mood to holiday shop.

12-4-09 Dianne with daughter, Eliana, and my little fan, Jonas

Near the end of my book signing, it began to snow outside. Little flurries fell and began accumulating on the ground and on the cars. My 9 year old daughter, Eliana, dashed outside yelling, “It’s snowing!” Snow just doesn’t happen very often in South Louisiana. We grabbed a snack in the cafe while it was open, thinking restaurants might close because of the weather. We Southerners just don’t know how to handle the snow! After picking up my college daughter, Soleil, we headed to Zachary, Louisiana, to stay with my friend, Holly, and her family. Holly is the illustrator for my next book, Mama’s Bayou.

12-4-09 Dirty the Snowman

The snow fall didn’t last long but Holly lives on a golf course and the snow had accumulated in their yard. The kids, Soleil and Eliana, and Holly’s children, Stephen and Ella, played in the snow and created a surprise for us – Dirty the Snowman! I can’t believe they were able to gather enough snow to create a snowman as tall as my 4 ft. 3 inch daughter! Wow!

12-4-09 Eliana with Dirty the Snowman

It was a team effort and the kids had a blast. We ended the night with hot cocoa topped with marshmallows and cookies. The kids truly made it a magical Winter Wonderland!

12-4-09 All the kids with Dirty the Snowman

Maybe we’ll get lucky and see more snow in South Louisiana! Here’s hoping…

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Eliana in the snow when it first started falling - 12-12-08

Friends:

This is my first blog post since before my surgery. I had my hysterectomy on Monday, December 8, 2008 and it was successful. I came home Wednesday evening. On Thursday, my first full day home from the hospital, we woke up to quite a surprise. Snowfall was predicted in Southern Louisiana. We found out it was snowing in Baton Rouge and called my oldest daughter, Soleil, at LSU to wake her up. She took pictures of the white blanket on the campus.

Because it was such a special day and because it was my first day home from the hospital, I kept Eliana home from school. I wasn’t sure how the weather would affect the schools and knew I wouldn’t be able to pick her up from school if they called. So Eliana and I watched the snow fall.

The blanket of white snow in front of our house - 12-12-08

At first, the snow was just melting before it hit the ground. But we could actually see individual snow flakes. The last time it snowed was on Christmas Day 2004. Snow is such an anomaly in Southern Louisiana. It snowed steadily until it began to stick. Eliana wanted to make a snow angel but the snow was so slushy, I didn’t want her to get sick. So I let her collect and “save” the snow. We still have it in the freezer. LOL

Eliana scoops the snow to put in the freezer - 12-12-08

A plastic cup full of ice. But don’t tell Eliana that. She loves that she was able to save a whole cup of Cajun snow. It was a marvelous, magical day – seeing snow fall in New Orleans. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to see it twice in one season…

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne