Square 13: Louisiana

I am a Texas girl -- a native.  I love this place, its various folks, its particular culture of individuality, its vastness.  As silly as it may sound, this place is home, and is deep into my bones, a part of me.  So naturally, I expected to do a square about Texas at some point.  But this week my mind has really been on Louisiana, my other home, and so this square had to come first.

My entire extended family is from Louisiana.  My mother's side of the family is French Cajun in origin; my great-grandmother lived in the country in a tiny house surrounded by sugar cane fields.  She and her friends spoke French (though it was nothing like the French I learned in school).  They had huge Catholic families, who in turn had huge Catholic families.  My parents met when my mom was still in high school and my dad was at LSU.  They graduated from LSU and married, and promptly moved to Houston -- away from virtually all of their friends and family.   I was born shortly thereafter. 

Many, many hours of my childhood were spent on Interstate 10making the 5 hour trek between Houston and Baton Rouge.  Since all of our family was there we spent a lot of time there, and it seemed to me like a second home, with an incredibly rich culture of its own. 

Lately, Louisiana just can't catch a break, what with hurricane after hurricane, and now this massive oil spill.  I worry about the fragile ecosystem there, about the future of the barrier wetlands and marshes, and about how it will all impact the economy of a state that was already on the ropes.  I hope and pray that it will not be as devastating as people are predicting.

So, Louisiana has been on my mind, and hopefully Texas will understand.

For this square, I attempted a padded stitch.  Hmmmm....  is about all I can say about that.  I think it turned out okay, but not nearly as neat looking as the examples in my stitching book.  I guess that's usually the case, though.  :)  I'm glad I tried something new, though I couldn't resist adding a few French knots on top! 

Happy stitching!