Chats on a Farmhouse Porch # 3

1.  What kinds of seafood have you tried and liked?  What is the most unique seafood you've ever eaten?

Kari:  Wow, I've always liked seafood.  When I was three, I ate steamed crabs as fast as my parents would dip them in vinegar and melted butter.  For years scallops and shrimp were probably my favorites,  Now, I don't touch shellfish at all.  When I was pregnant with my daughter, I ate shrimp at a very nice restaurant and woke up in the emergency room.   I'm not interested in trying shellfish again after that experience!  The most unique seafood I've ever eaten?  Probably gefilte fish...and I loved it.

Boo:  What's not to like about fish?  Of course, growing up in Louisiana I ate lots of fish.  Crawdads are my favorite and I love a good craw fish boil.  Octopus was the most unique seafood I've ever tried.  It was too chewy for me.  We caught it on an oil rig.  Cajuns will try anything though.  Alligator's not so bad.  I realize alligator isn't a seafood, but Boo thought it was close enough.

2.  An unforgettable holiday/vacation moment is...

Kari:  I remember going to Stowe, Vermont as a child and seeing the Trapp Family Lodge.  I was enthralled.  We bought The Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp in the gift shop and I read it on the long definitely unair conditioned car trip back to North Carolina. 

Boo:  Going to Rome is my most unforgettable vacation memory.

3.  When was the last time you tried something new?

Kari:  Trying new things keeps my brain working.  OK, sort of working...working as well as it's going to work anyway.  My goal is to try at least two new things each week.  This week I tried a new bread recipe.  That's all so far.  I'm busy packing like a maniac so that'll likely be all this week.

Boo:  Just about ten minutes ago.  I had strange holey biscuits that Kari made.  He had toasted English muffins...which he's had fairly often and likes.  One of the joys (and sorrows) of dementia is that each day is new and full of untried things.  Yesterday, his favorite red jacket was new to him. 

4.  Who or what inspires you?

Kari:  Boo's courage in facing the unknown daily is truly an inspiration.  Early this morning, he called to me from the bathroom.  He couldn't remember where the bedroom was.  It's about six to eight feet from the bathroom.  He followed my directions to the bedroom pleased that he'd done it by himself. 

Boo:  Mary...She's always looking after me.

5.  How did you choose the names of your children?

Kari:  We chose a combination of family names and saint names.  My daughter is Mary for one of my grandmothers and, of course, the Virgin Mary and Teresa for St. Teresa and just because we liked it.  My son is Joseph for St. Joseph and Lee because it was a family name of both sides of the family.

Boo:  My son was named for me and for Michael the Archangel.  I can't remember how we decided on the girls' names. 

How do you name your pets?

Kari:  For some reason, I always wanted to name my pets for other pets (or people) that I loved.  When Mr. Sandy, our first Siamese cat died, I was a very heartbroken first grader.  This was the big tom cat that I'd dressed in doll clothes and pushed in a doll carriage.  My father bought a sweet little female Siamese whom I promptly named Miss Sandy.  Missy lived for sixteen years.  Years later I adopted a beautiful white kitten that I named after one of my Grandmother's cats, Buffy.  Shortly after that, a abandoned male kitten came to live with us.  I named him Leo (after a grandfather) Ebenizer Shoebutton. 

Boo:  When I saw Boudreaux as a tiny kitten with unopened eyes, I knew he was a Boudreaux and that he was mine.  He's Cajun so he had to have four names:  Francis (because you need a Saint's name) Clawed (because he clawed Kari when he played with her) Boudreaux (because that's just who he is) Guidry (because he's part of the family.)

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