Congratulations, Chantal Sutherland!

We had tons of fun yesterday! Rosie and Remy came over and visited and played with Finn, and we had a ball climbing onto and leaping off rocks, bouncing around the myriad steps up to the koi pond, and just running like loonies. I made myself some spaghetti and meat sauce and ate like a pig for supper. I looked up Ted's Montana Grill on the internet and was surprised to find that it's a chain that was started by Ted Turner in Atlanta. All I can say is that the food is stupendous. Skippy kept me warm in bed last night. My kits were happy to see me this morning, and both are currently outside. The sun is shining, but we're expecting more clouds and a possible rain or snow shower this evening and tonight. Supposedly, we'll get a large snowfall Monday night through Tuesday - but I won't hold my breath.
The Santa Anita Handicap was extremely interesting yesterday evening... a female jockey was aboard the winner for the first time: Chantal Sutherland brought Game On Dude (at 14 to 1 odds) a nose in front of Setsuko. There was a Steward's inquiry that lasted for 12 minutes before the results were official... Twirling Candy, the favorite, clipped heels with and bumped several other horses on the turn before finishing fifth. Spurrier? My pick? He finished eighth... So I don't always pick the winner... It's horse racing! - And Eibar Coa had a special guest visit his hospital room recently. Eibar was the regular jockey on Mucho Macho Man, who ran in the Risen Star Stakes at Louisiana Downs two days after Eibar's accident. The colt won the Risen Star, and is now being pointed at the Louisiana Derby. The owner of Mucho Macho Man presented Coa with a check in the amount that the winning jockey earned, saying that Eibar had brought the colt along to that point and was still considered a part of that colt's team. (I'll certainly continue to root for Mucho Macho Man in the future!)
Mardi Gras and the Carnivals are getting into full swing this weekend. Fat Tuesday is March 8th, almost 3 weeks later than it occurred last year. A lot of college students are making their way to the Big Easy for their Spring Break. Along with the celebrated merrymaking, flesh-flashing and bead-catching comes the traditional pomp and ceremony of gala balls where debutantes take their bow to society. On Fat Tuesday, the city will be thrown open to the wildly popular Zulu krewe, marching clubs including one led by clarinetist Pete Fountain and the time-honored parade of Rex, King of Carnival. In the bayou country, masked Mardi Gras riders on horseback will saddle up for the traditional rides through Cajun communities. The parades in Mobile, Alabama, draw smaller crowds than New Orleans, but the city's family-friendly Mardi Gras celebration bills itself as the nation's oldest. That's a point of friendly dispute with Louisiana, but it's all in good cheer.