Krewe of Kids!

The Krewe of Kids had their own parade at Casino Beach this morning. Queen Julia wore her most beautiful Mardi Gras boa!


In this life, kings and rulers are very blessed indeed when they have a best friend to keep them down to earth.


Princess Victoria is her beautiful shimmering dress!

Adorable Prince Dylan!

The new royal court takes a bow!

Sweet polka dots.

A special moment with Grandpa.

Krewe of Nereids Mystical Ball

Some of my blog followers may not know how the big the Mardi Gras celebrations are in our area. Every week the local papers are full of schedules for formal and/or costume Balls, breakfasts, and parades, especially as we near the height of the season. This past weekend I attended the Krewe of Nereids Mystical Ball to take photos and thought I'd share a few with you.


It's not unusual for people to belong to multiple krewes, or attend parties of other island krewes since they all come under the umbrella of the Krewe of Wrecks. Actually, most of the Mardi Gras events are open to the public, even some of the Balls, if you would like to buy a ticket. It's pretty much one big happy family at this time of year. I especially enjoy seeing the feathered masks and beautiful embroidered jackets.


In Greek mythology Nereus and Doris gave birth to 50 daughters (usually considered mermaids), the Nereides, for which this krewe is named. Hence the Krewe of Nereids' have a King Nereus and Queen Doris as their royalty. You may read more about the story of Nereus, Doris, and the Nereides by clicking HERE.


Peggy Henshall dances with her husband, George, who was the Krewe of Nereids' King last year.

The Nereids Mystical Ball is a bit different in that a mask is required for the first hour. At 9:00 p.m. guests may unmask and enjoy the return of their peripheral sight! A midnight buffet is served if you're night-owlish enough to last that long.

Beautiful Caroline...

Charming ladies...

And dapper gentlemen. It was a beautiful evening!

Act of kindness

I have the best blog readers/followers ever! I frequently get e-mails from folks, in addition to the comments you see posted on this site, but yesterday I received a small card in the mail which was address to both me and my mother.


I opened it up and discovered....


that one of my readers had made a donation to the Humane Society of Pensacola in memory of Mysti the kitty who graced our lives for such a short time. You can see photos of Mysti and read a bit about her by clicking HERE and HERE.

My mother and I would like to sincerely thank the anonymous donor for their kind and generous contribution to the Humane Society of Pensacola!

The Humane Society of Pensacola is a no-kill shelter and adoption center which operates on donations such as the one in memory of Mysti and fundraising events like the Nauga Champagne Breakfast last weekend. They receive no city, state or federal funding.

If you are considering a pet for your home, please consider checking out the Humane Society's facility at 5 N. Q Street in Pensacola. You may see their pets who need 'forever-homes' by clicking HERE.

Peaceful paradise

What peace I feel when looking out at this incredible paradise we live in. Wisps of clouds in a bright blue sky, sunlight sparkling like diamonds on a calm, jewel-colored Gulf of Mexico, and sand as white as snow.

Peace.

Nauga Champagne Breakfast

The party everyone looks forward to on Pensacola Beach is the Nauga Champagne Breakfast, hosted by the Krewe of Nauga. You know Mardi Gras is in full swing when you see people walking around the core area in their pajamas.


"And you just have to keep an eye out for those little Naugas cause they'll steal a can of hairspray right out from under you."

To read the story behind the Krewe of Naugas, click HERE.


Karina Foster is a former Nauga Queen! She's generally right beside Danah Gibson, founder of the Krewe of Naugas, greeting party-goers. This year's theme was 2010: A Space Naugassey


Two alien bakers.


It's a pinstripe alien. Yikes!

You'll see every type of costume and pajamas at the Nauga Champagne Breakfast. It's the most comfortable party in town!

A great time for friends to get together and lip-read because the music and laughter are raising the roof! ;-)

Oohhh, Mary Jo, I love your purple hair!

Masked man in caftan.

Now here is a mindboggler: The 2009 King of the Krewe of Wrecks...

Wait! It's the 2009 Queen of Naugas.

Actually, Tommy Grice held both positions and did double duty this year! No one can top Tommy in creativity...scary creativity.

Jayne Drees Redmond in Naugaflauge!

Sweet smiling faces, Natalie Bass and Danah Gibson, welcome one and all.

Betsy Philips is my favorite martian!

Slipper attire is always fun to check. This year we had frogs...

and lovely white kitties, but I missed Tweety Bird and the Flamingo slippers which we enjoyed so much last year!

Baskets lined the stage on either side. Some were to be raffled off, others went to winners of the Nauga Dawga and the Purrrfect Kitty contests.

Morrie Drees wore Naugaflage also, but he walked away with one of the great baskets raffled off!

The applause meter verified 'Hal9000' was the winner of the costume contest.

For those of you who may not know, proceeds from this fun event go to the Humane Association.

A group of former Nauga Queens wait for the annoucement to be made to the crowd - who will be the new Queen.

And it is Judy L'Oignon! The new Queen of the Krewe of Naugas!

Long live Queen Judy!

Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier

We had one more pretty morning before the clouds came rolling in. Winds out of the southeast kicked up the waves, but oh how I love those patches of blue sky!

Beautiful!

What a fabulous day! It made it into the 60's today and it feels fantastic to have clear, sunny skies.

Don't forget that you can check out the Island Empress webcam to see a great view of the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier and beach. There is a link in the left hand column.