White Linen Night

Another not-too-hot summer evening meant we could head to White Linen Night on Julia Street without fear of heatstroke!

Be glad you can't see the back of this shirt.

We planned on biking down, so I chose a bike-friendly shorts and blouse outfit instead of a cute white dress. Before heading down St. Charles, we took a coffee break at PJ's. I had some work-related articles that I wanted to read, so we settled into a table with our coffees.
Little did I know that I was about to be the victim of a clumsy assault! Without warning, I was showered with scalding coffee all over my back! Somehow the guy at the table behind me knocked his cup over in such a violent manner that it sprayed out, covering the back of my nice WHITE LINEN in coffee. I jumped up and starting mopping coffee out of my open purse, off my burned skin, and off my magazine. David and I rushed home to pretreat my shirt in hopes of saving it, but we had ample time while helping clean up to receive an apology.
We didn't get one. Not an "I'm sorry", not an "Are you ok," not a "Let me pay for your shirt to be laundered." Not even an acknowledgment. I was stunned. That was so rude. I know it was an accident, but have some manners!

I bleached the shirt twice when we got home, and succeeded in removing not only most of the coffee, but some of the integral fibers, as well. I ended up wearing a slightly yellowed shirt with some tiny bleach holes in it. Grrr.

And we ended up driving, because my bike had a flat.

Despite this inauspicious start, we had fun wandering Julia street, trying to look at art, eating street food and running into friends and family. The Advocate ("New Orleans' only daily paper") provided sunglasses at their table - brilliant marketing, since many people weren't prepared for the blinding sun at 7pm.

Everyone had the noticeable red glasses on - and on the side is a noticeable Advocate logo. Very smart of them: the whole crowd was asking where to find the Advocate table, how to get Advocate glasses, or wearing the glasses. I'm sure it was more cost-effective than billboards and benches!

I was a little worried about being out and about for so long - we parked over half a mile from the event, and it's a walking event, but I survived and didn't have too much pain in my hip. I was stiff Sunday morning, though. I was so miserable a few days ago that this is a big improvement. Little by little!