I’ve just returned from a four day visit with my oldest daughter and her family in Pensacola.

On the way I picked up my oldest granddaughter and her boyfriend at the NOLA airport, and we all enjoyed a few days together. A get together with neighborhood friends, good food, stayed up much too late, got very tired, but it was nice.

Now it’s back home for the rest of the holidays. School is out, so I have no students. I will enjoy getting back to my daily walks. As I write the north wind is blowing and whistling outside and Belle River has whitecaps. It’s time for some cool weather.

Actually, late last night the granddaughter and boyfriend called to tell me they were stranded in Atlanta and Chicago Midway airports – (one in each place) because of bad weather. I’d dropped them off in NOLA and from there everything was fine. But once a storm in the north delays things everything goes off schedule, as I’m sure many of you may have experienced.

I guess the Virtual School program has been approved and I, for one, am curious to see what it entails and how it works. I attend the Assumption Parish School Board meetings and at the most recent, at least one board member expressed concern about the composition of the BESE board since elections and about the qualifications of the possible future state superintendent.

I read Helen Boudreaux’s last column in which she mentioned having a lizard in her bathroom. It made me chuckle a bit because it brought back lots of memories of my early days in the south. Chameleons or the little green lizards are not found in the north where I was raised so I found them cute and curious when I moved here.

Knowing they could change colors – green and brown – we tried them on a piece of plaid cloth to see what would happen. I believe the little guy turned brown, but definitely not plaid!

My youngest daughter is very fearful of these creatures from her baby days when I unthinkingly, unknowingly allowed her to hold one. She tried to kiss it and the critter clamped on her tender little lips drawing blood and eliciting a horrible scream. I felt so terrible. I had no idea the lizards had such serrated mouth parts.

On the morning of the day I was to drive to Florida, I got a call asking me to come just around the corner to take some pictures of a video being filmed at a local bar. I think the song was “It takes a woman like me, for a man like you,” or something to that effect. The woman was a very large man in drag – blond wig, sagging hose, baggy dress, gobs of makeup. Not sure why this was being done here, but I guess someone knew someone.

I think it’s kind of nice to have cold weather for Christmas. We just need some snow. My sister in Michigan said they have none either. Rain had melted whatever snow they’d had and now it was at most moderately cold. It’s kind of ridiculous to see that I need to mow my grass!

My wonderful son-in-law gave me a homemade bird feeder for Christmas and sent me home with a nice Purple Martin house for my dock. I believe it has 16 apartments so I should be able to enjoy my favorite birds more than ever.

To the gentleman in St. Martinville who also has Purple Martins, let’s keep in touch with the first arrivals. I’m hoping for late January.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be e-mailed at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.