Category Archives: Louisiana

My Big, F*t Redneck Life

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

Life imitates art they say. The following is a story my mom sent me: Now, I’m not advocating folk remedies such as Windex or Ban deodorant*, but you know mama’s always right if you find yourself with some fire ant … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, family, Louisiana, Recipes, skin care products, Writing | Tagged Ban deodorant, fire ants, folk remedies, Louisiana, Mama's always right, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Redneck Life, Sabine Parish, Windex | Leave a comment

The InterNOT

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

Internet connectivity is essential for working at home. Where are my files? Dropbox (hint: it’s online, and I need the internet). What about co-author meetings? Zoom (hint: it’s online, and I need the internet). How about the latest version of … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Continuouse Improvement, Louisiana, technology, Texarkana, Texas, Writing | Tagged 2 out of 3 ain't bad, California, Carolyn Sills Combo, co-author, DropBox, economic utility, electricity, Elon Musk, email, I am disappoint, indifference curves, internet, interNOT, LA, Meatloaf, meeting, my neighbor burns trash, Natchitoches, neighbors, preferences, Queen Elizabeth, Queen's jubille, StarLink, Texarkana, Texas, That Doughnut song, Western Swing, wireless, work from home, Zoom | Leave a comment

Neon Noon

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

Spring is here! This past weekend was probably the most beautiful weekend we’ll have in South LA for a while (maybe mid-October). Highs in the 70s, low humidity. Perfection…if you’re not allergic to pollen. I followed the allergist’s recommendation to … Continue reading →

Posted in Louisiana, television, Writing | Tagged Baton Rouge, Bob Hope, bodice rippers, Bridgerton, brighter, Brooks & Dunn, comedy, Kacey Musgraves, lighter, neon moon, neon noon, oak pollen, romance genre, Romance Writers of America, RWA, South Louisiana, The Lost City, the pollening, USO Tour | Leave a comment

Antidisestablishmentarianism

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

One of the longest “words” in the English language, antidisestablishmentarianism means, more or less, that back in the day some of the British political factions didn’t want to break up with the Establishment, aka the Church of England. Oddly enough, … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, California, Catholocism, Goal setting, grammar, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, Sports, Writing | Tagged 3D pritinting, accounting, additive manufacturing, antidisestablishemntarianism, astronauts, British politics, BS (butyl stearate), Catholic Church, chemistry, Church of England, comfortable shoes, heated lumbar support, how do it know, longest word in the English dictionary, Mary Chapin Carpenter, materials science, Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Postraduate School, PAN (polyacrlyonitrile), pants with pockets, Passionate Kisses, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), phase change materials, physicists, textiles | Leave a comment

Merry, Merry

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

My department chair jinxed me during finals week. He didn’t mean to. I’m sure if he was cognizant of his superpowers, he’d have magicked up a big-time scholarship donor or a higher departmental CPA exam passage rate. He wouldn’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, Navy, Writing | Tagged amazon web services, Calgon take me away, California, cpa exam, exams, flooding, highland road, hurricane Ida, internet outage, Louisiana, LSU, magick, Monterey, Naval Postgraduate School, no good deed goes unpunished, NPS, wall street journal | Leave a comment

A to the Z

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

AZ. Arizona. Apart from traversing I-40 during the Great Western Migration and Employment Drive of 2019 and the subsequent 2021 Budget Cut Induced Retreat to Familiar Ground, I’d never really been to Arizona. My pre-conceived notion of AZ is that … Continue reading →

Posted in Louisiana, Writing | Tagged allergies, arid, Arizona, blast furnace, breathing, desert power, Dune Arrakis, Flagstaff, Frank Hebert, hot, I-40, Phoenix, rebirth, Scottsdale, Thor's hammer, travel, tribgers, triggers | Leave a comment

Take Five

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

This song by Dave Brubeck is on my Chillin’ playlist. It’s a jazz instrumental and at first I didn’t recognize it. When I looked at the name, I was transported back to a stuffy Unity Church sanctuary in Pacific Grove. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, gumbo, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, music, Navy, parks & recreation, weather, Writing | Tagged algae, biking, call sign, cool front, Dave Brubeck, gumbo season, heat, hiking, humidity, LSU Lakes, Monterey, naval aviator, Pacific Grove, Take Five, traffic | Leave a comment

Churn Butter on Me: An Ode to US 167 S

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

Some roads could jar loose fillings right out of one’s teeth with a single, well-placed, deceptive pothole. Lanes near an intersection are susceptible to excessive wear and tear– the physics of oversized loads grinding to a halt warps the pavement, … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Chicken truck, football, Louisiana, music | Tagged 2000 miles, airbags, asphalt, burn rubber on me, cars, Debit & Credit, flagrant foul, grateful, homeade hair cut, infernal, inspiration, invitation, leery, lockdown, mindfulness, namaste, ohm, pass interference, patch job, PERSPECTIVE, physics, Pine Prairie, rain, risen, Robert Sacre, self-driving auto, shuffle, summer showers, support bra, The Gap Band, Turkey Creek, undergarment, unecessary roughness, US 167 South | Leave a comment

Me, Myself, & Monterey

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

Hermits are crotchety for a reason. Their interactions are limited to watering silent orchids, thwarting random ant invasions, and forcibly, but humanely, removing unwanted spiders from the lavatory. Are hermits lonely? Absolutely. Do they want company? Absolutely NOT! Imagine if … Continue reading →

Posted in California, family, Louisiana, Monterey, weather, Writing | Tagged ants, evacuees, family, fortunate, hedgehog, hurricane Ida, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, orchids, spiders | Leave a comment

The Oregon Trail

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

I bribed the kids with promises of gumbo and movie marathons in place of a trip to a certain National Park with terrifying cliffs and curves. They extracted the additional promise of game night, which is how I ended up … Continue reading →

Posted in California, camping, Children, cooking, family, Generation Gap, gumbo, karma, Louisiana, parks & recreation, Writing | Tagged bribery, Cattle Call, dysentery, Eddy Arnold, El Paso, game night, gumbo, Huey P. Long, jeffrey epstein, King of the Road, Marty Robbins, National Parks, oregon trail, Sequoia, you have died of dysentery | Leave a comment