I just can’t keep this to myself!

We saw this thing parked at the Winn Dixie on Tchoupitoulas the night of the Muses Ball.  What the hell is it?!  The entire car was covered in light blue carpeting.  The top of the car and hood were adorned with cattle skulls and aluminum bowls turned upside down.  The trunk was cut away and filled in with ....well, a bigger trunk.  Carpeted, of course.  I keep thinking that I’m missing something, and it’s just too clever for me. 

I nearly burst with pride when I saw the Texas plates.

As I was looking at it and taking photos, a Winn Dixie customer drove up and got out of her car.  There I was, dressed in my Priscilla costume, standing next to this thing with another Priscilla and a guy in an Elvis costume, and she said “what’s wrong?  Is it closed?”  Only in New Orleans is that not a weird scene, I guess.

I have so many questions:

Q1. What happens when it rains?  Wouldn’t it start smelling badly?

Q2. How do you clean it?  With a vacuum and Woolite rug shampoo?

Uptown Parades

Sunday afternoon saw rapid-fire parades Uptown, starting with Okeanos, then Mid City and, finally, Thoth, the longest of the Uptown parades.  The first two lined up a block from Elvi Tom’s house, and the 3rd at Tchoupitoulas by Audubon Park.  The net result was to transform his neighborhood into some strange Mardi Gras nexus as it was completely barricaded in, making it close to impossible for me to get out and get to the airport.  One option was to drag my bags across Magazine while dodging floats and horse hockey then call a cab from some random address above Magazine.  Fortunately, I was able to change my reservation to a later flight.

There was nothing left to do but enjoy the parades and collect some more beads.  It was a beautiful day for photography:

Click here first to set the slideshow to music (assuming it’s still operational after 2/24): Nola.com Mardi Gras Radio

Click on album and select slideshow for best viewing:

Endymion, Schmendymion

Having spent 4 consecutive Mardi Gras weekends in New Orleans, I decided it was high time I caught the Endymion Parade.  We decided to meet up with one of Elvi Tom’s friends at Deutches-Haus a block below Canal on S. Galvez.  It’s apparently an old landmark that has been overrun by a very seedy neighborhood.

We got a late enough start that parking proved a bit problematic, but we finally found a cozy spot underneath a street lamp near what could have passed as crack houses.  At this juncture, it was decided that the Canon SLR with zoom lens would remain hidden inside my little backpack for the duration.  No sense in holding a “please rob me at gunpoint” sign with a view-finder up to my face.

The good:  for $5 we had access to warm rooms, patio, tables, chairs and, most importantly, INDOOR PLUMBING!  Deutches-Haus also had a cheap buffet line set up for parade-goers.

The bad:  I was pretty disappointed in Endymion.  Although the floats were bigger and flashier, with some name-brand musical entertainers (Kid Rock and REO Speedwagon), it lacked a cohesive theme.  The throws were less than impressive as well.  A huge gap in the parade (~1 mile?) developed early on which seriously detracted from the overall effect.

I have concluded that Krewe of Muses and Krewe d’Etat are by far the best parades.  They each have a very well-developed “brand” and generous signature throws.  Both are fun, funny, and irreverent.  What more could you ask for?!  To use everyone’s favorite SAT format:

Muses and d’Etat : Endymion as

Musee d’Orsay : The Louvre (the world’s most overrated museum)

I have yet to catch Zulu or Rex.  Another time..

KRE After Party - Avenue Pub

For the third year in a row, the KRE after-party was held at the Avenue Pub on St. Charles.  It was a great excuse to dress up again and enjoy ourselves, this time as spectators on the balcony.  The parade lineup for Friday evening:  Hermes, Krewe d’Etat, and Morpheus.

Before heading down to the Avenue Pub, we walked over to Jefferson/Magazine to preview the Krewe d’Etat floats as they were lining up.  Krewe d’Etat is Lauren’s favorite (after Muses).  It is very well “branded” with the skeleton motif, satirical floats, and generous signature throws.  Lauren went armed with KRE trinkets to trade with the riders and scored us 3 jelly-blinky griffin necklaces.  Very nice!

Lauren could pass for a New Orleanian.  She was concerned that her bead-catching location on the balcony was too far away to get much more than cups and generic beads, and she is all about “good” throws.  During D’Etat, she insisted on venturing out into the crowd on the street, so she could beg for beads, up close and personal.  She caught a really cool banana necklace with a Krewe d’Etat medallion and a couple of jelly-blinky-skull-thingies.  

Krewe d’Etat was fun and funny, as always.  The lighting made still photography a little difficult, but we did manage to get a couple of good videos.  The highlight was the “Papal Police” group, poking fun at a recent problem: the closing of a local church, St. Henry.  The group included dancing bishops and nuns:

Thursday’s parade prep was a series of near disasters, not all of the KRE’s making.  In fact, we were the Krewe of the Resourceful Elvi for much of the afternoon.

Truck #2 Priscillas (that’s us) showed up on time to load the royal throne and bedazzle the truck with the prepared side panels and strings of lights only to discover we had no truck!  Penske was ostensibly sending one down from Baton Rouge or Lafayette!  We were some perturbed Priscillas!

We then learned that, due to the extended parade route and its correspondingly earlier start time, we had to be lined up on Jefferson at 3 pm instead 5 pm.

When the truck finally arrived, it was missing some of the side-rail panels that are necessary to (a) mount the 2x4’s containing all the bead hooks and (b) keep Priscillas from becoming parade road-kill!  The side-rail panels that did arrive with the truck were pretty anemic and loose!  We were some pissed off Priscillas at this point!

What to do?!  What to do?!  After surveying what we had, we were able to swap some panels around and wed the proper mates to latch some of the panels together. Several others required splints and shims, but we did manage to stabilize both sides of the truck, no thanks to Penske.  We were able to get the truck decorated, beads and beverages loaded, and pull away by 3 pm - a Priscilla record, no doubt!

We pulled up behind the truck #1 on Jefferson to heckling and foul name-calling.  Truck #1 was in even worse shape -- they barely had enough side-rails for one side of the truck, and Priscillas, decorations and beads were littering the sidewalk next to the New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club.  Tee-hee!  The Memphis Mafioso (our walking security crew) were on the job and had managed to hire someone to run over and build the other side rails on the spot.  Truck #1 was decorated, dressed, and ready to roll before the parade start.

Elvi Tom, the King of Propulsion, was thrilled with the new parade start just 1 block from his house, since he didn’t have to haul 8 big gas cans of fuel mixture in his car.    The Elvi were able to carry them over to the small truck/trailer intended for music and refueling.  Well, that was the idea, but it doesn’t work very well if the truck doesn’t line up in time and gets caught behind traffic barricades!  Nothing left to do but start the parade with the gas cans loaded on the Priscilla trucks.  It was either that or become the Strolling Elvi in the middle of the parade!

The ride was a good one, and our wayward music and gas truck was able to join us at first opportunity on Napoleon.  We were “all systems go” by the time we hit St. Charles.  Woohoo!  I think there were ~85 Elvi this year!  Truly a sight to behold!

2009 Bling

Behold the shoe!  Priscilla Lauren received her very own beglittered and bedazzled “double-oh-nine” Muses shoe and met the creator at the Muses Ball.  We think it is righteous!

In addition to generic beads and blinky guitar necklaces, the KRE also has some fabulous signature throws this year.  Back by popular demand are the satin scarf, traditional koozie, large medallion necklace, cups and doubloons.  We’ve added “WWED” bracelets, frisbees, dogtags, garters with attached doubloon, jumpsuit koozie, “licensed to pill” pill case keychains, and understatedly elegant, pearl beads with small KRE medallions.  We are stocked this year!

Time to get moving.  We have truck decorating duties to tend to this morning.

Getting in touch with my inner trailer trash

Our position in the parade has been announced!  The Krewe of the Rolling Elvi will appear between Muses’ floats 20 and 21.  You can’t miss us!  Look for the mushrooming cloud of scooter exhaust and what will sound like a swarm of weed-eaters.

It seems we now have a sponsor of sorts, the donor of these lovely, leopard-print leggings!  I am actually thinking they look better with the blue Grinch boots.  The leopard-print trim on the other pair is lost and forgotten against the leggings.

Alas, we have but one pair, so Lauren and I will have to fight over them.

As you can see, the packaging very clearly states H.O.T in bright red letters, but after careful inspection, I have to question the heat-retention properties of these leggings.

There is a story behind these:  Years ago, our sponsor spotted a skinny, sun-damaged, elderly woman in Salt Lake City, clad in leopard-print leggings, a big sweatshirt, and cats-eye glasses.  He claims she was a dead-ringer for me 30 years down the road, and has been patiently awaiting my metamorphosis.  Our sponsor, being a very practical kind of guy, has obviously decided to cut his losses on such an outrageous prediction and take advantage of the opportunity our annual parade presents.

And now a word from our generous sponsor, Mark Wilkinson:

“I have long since embraced my inner, trailer-trash redneck. If this garment can likewise assist Marie on her path to trailer-trash enlightenment, well, sho’ ‘nuff, that'd be fine.”

  

Priscilla Paraphernalia

Being a Priscilla is not just about all things fabulous, furry, and funky.  It’s also about HSE (Health, Safety and Electricity).  Pictured here are some essential Priscilla paraphernalia:

• BodiHeat adhesive patches are crucial accoutrements in cold weather.  They are good for 12 hours of warmth and can be plastered all over oneself underneath the costume without causing unsightly bulges.

• Under Armor for cold weather...at least that’s what the tag said.  Add BodiHeat patches liberally!

• 750 Watt inverter which can be hooked up to a trolling motor battery for powering decorative lighting on the sides of the truck.  At least that is the plan.  All the better to see us with!

• Dog leash or some other method of tethering oneself to the truck is a NOLA safety requirement.*  With all the stops and starts, the ride can be a bit jerky, and the last thing we need to be doing is landing beehive first on St. Charles and getting run over by some clown dressed up as Elvis speeding by on a scooter.  The dog leash ensures that, should we fall out of the truck, we can just dangle gracefully, smile, wave, and perhaps even twirl if we feel so inclined.

• Priscilla protective eyewear is de rigueur!  Fortunately for us, there are many fashionable choices like the ones depicted here.

• And finally, Naproxin Sodium and an ice pack come in handy to treat the bicep or rotator cuff tendinitis that can result from throwing beads at people non-stop for what seems like a thousand blocks!

* I really shouldn’t make light of this.  Mardi Gras is supposed to be fun, not dangerous.  This is a good safety requirement, and my wig’s off to NOPD and the city of New Orleans for the fantastic job they do managing crowds, traffic, and general tomfoolery to make sure it stays fun.

Latest hourly forecast from NWS:  Balmy Wednesday.  Definitely NOT balmy Thursday.

Still TCB - Exterior and Posterior Decor

Almost forgot to hang the new KRE flag!  Won’t all the neighbors and the home-owners’ association be impressed?!  This is sure to draw notice from the deed-restriction Nazi assigned to keep aesthetic order in our neighborhood.  I look forward to the litigious nastigram, faulting us for our yard decor, that is probably wending its way to our mailbox as I type.  Admittedly, this is not something “tasteful” like a giant, painted, plywood leprechaun, Easter Egg, crucifix or turkey, nor is it an aesthetically-pleasing, giant, inflatable carousel or polar bear.   What was I thinking?!  I will be sure to share the nastigram, should one arrive. 

The hemline of my costume is now 2” lower, thanks to my stash of fuzzy, aqua and black, leopard-print fabric (above) left over from the capes of our now-retired costumes.  It is a lovely, eye-catching addition to the outfit and will serve nicely to mitigate the risk of having an eye-catching backside in front of the ParadeCam at Fat Harry’s on St. Charles.

Lauren has decided to risk it.

Now to tackle the wigs...

TCB (Takin’ care of business)

 Parade day is this coming Thursday, so we’ve been finalizing the details of this year’s costume which include some bedazzled boots.  We think they turned out quite fabulous, and we are ALL about looking fabulous, and we are ALL about fabulous shoes!  I have heard them likened to blue Grinch boots and cheesy lamp shades, but there is just no accounting for taste!

Tomorrow we need to do wig checks.  They may need a little primping and hair spray to restore them to their full hot pink and blonde glory.

We’re keeping an eye on the weather and hoping for a dry and balmy evening on the 19th.  Nothing like standing up in a truck for 5 hours in freezing temperatures!  And strong winds are not Priscilla-friendly - we don’t want to look like bedazzled Wookies (in fabulous boots, of course) by the time we hit Canal St!