Category: Weekly Updates

Week in Review – May 22, 2022

“Birthday Week Begins”

I made a quick trip to Queretaro, Mexico from Monday through Wednesday.  It’s an easy flight – just two and a half hours from Dallas, and a small airport.  No COVID test needed to enter and they have a doctor who comes to the office to do a test for return to the United States.  Work wasn’t a lot of fun as I dealt with some employee issues, but I did enjoy a couple of nice dinners.  Argentinian steakhouse with Francisco on Monday, and then a great Italian place, Il Duomo, with Manuel and Juan Pablo on Tuesday.  I was surprised to find a solid selection of French wines and steak tartare (prepared tableside) on the menu.

The queen clams were a delicious appetizer, and the service outstanding throughout.  The ash goat cheese on my salad was a real treat.  Highly recommended if you ever find yourself in the area.

When I returned home, Diana had been busy preparing for my “birthday week.”  Tulips, a card,  drinks, and lots of my favourites in the fridge.  Thanks, my D!

She even brought me my favourite crunchwrap combo lunch from Taco Bell on Friday – delivered to my office.  I am seriously being spoiled this week.

Earlier on Wednesday, Diana drove Finn to pick up his car from Tony.  Will had arranged for a ceramic coating on the new paint job.  It does look amazing.

Janelle came over to visit with Diana on Thursday.  They got a kick out of some of the pictures that I was gathering up for a presentation that I’m giving next week – younger and much younger K.

Out for our walk on Saturday morning, we came across the monthly Cars and Coffee gathering.  I had to take pictures of the original Toyota Supra model – the first car that Will learned to drive in – stick shift and all.

The weather wasn’t good on Saturday afternoon, so no pool time for McD.  I suggested she try a jigsaw puzzle.  She can’t stop after she starts – straight back to it when she got up this morning.  It’s a puzzle of “Where the Crawdads Sing” – just the right degree of difficulty so that she wasn’t at it for several days.

I found some new puzzles this week – Phrasle, works like Wheel of Fortune with allowance for up to 4 wrong letter choices, and then Phrazle, which works like Wordle, with up to 6 chances to guess the entire phrase.

At sushi lunch on Saturday, Finn was telling us a story about Clorinda educating him on how to eat arancini (Italian rice balls).  Apparently it’s important to tear them in two before adding sauce.  Neither D or I have received this advice.  And then what shows up in the crossword this morning?

I enjoyed a nice long swim this morning, and now I’m relaxing and watching the PGA golf tournament as I write this.  Diana is out working in the garden where everything is blooming and perking up – even C-boy the cactus.

My book this week was “The Candy House” by Jennifer Egan.  The story includes several of the characters from her Pulitzer Prize winning “A Visit from the Goon Squad”, a book that I really enjoyed.  The first few chapters were engaging and funny and had me looking forward to the rest of the book.  But things went downhill for me – too many characters that it seemed were supposed to be related, but I couldn’t keep up with the connections.  Then changing into different formats – a chapter of email/twitter exchanges that didn’t work for me at all.  The concept of being able to store the history of one’s consciousness is quite interesting though.  Overall an enjoyable read, just didn’t live up to my expectations.

The critics seem to love the book, so maybe you’ll like it more than I did.   Here’s the synopsis:

“It’s 2010. Staggeringly successful and brilliant tech entrepreneur Bix  Bouton is desperate for a new idea. He’s forty, with four kids, and restless when he stumbles into a conversation with mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or “externalizing” memory. Within a decade, Bix’s new technology, Own Your Unconscious—that allows you access to every memory you’ve ever had, and to share every memory in exchange for access to the memories of others—has seduced multitudes. But not everyone.

In spellbinding linked narratives, Egan spins out the consequences of Own Your Unconscious through the lives of multiple characters whose paths intersect over several decades. Egan introduces these characters in an astonishing array of styles—from omniscient to first person plural to a duet of voices, an epistolary chapter, and a chapter of tweets. In the world of Egan’s spectacular imagination, there are “counters” who track and exploit desires and there are “eluders,” those who understand the price of taking a bite of the Candy House.

Intellectually dazzling and extraordinarily moving, The Candy House is a bold, brilliant imagining of a world that is moments away. With a focus on social media, gaming, and alternate worlds, you can almost experience moving among dimensions in a role-playing game.​ Egan delivers a fierce and exhilarating testament to the tenacity and transcendence of human longing for real connection, love, family, privacy and redemption.”

The gentleman next to me on my flight to Queretaro was wearing a hat that said “Camel”, with a guitar logo.  I asked him if that was the band Camel that recorded the Snow Goose album.  It was, and a fun conversation ensued about his trip to the Albert Hall to see the band perform that album recently.  He is also a big Wishbone Ash fan, and was excited to meet someone who knew about the music he loves.

This one from Ray LaMontagne really caught my ear – lovely song:

Here’s an INXS cover from fellow Australians, The Teskey Brothers:

And finally, something from Amy Helm, Levon’s daughter:

Stay safe, compassionate and kind to everyone!

Week in Review – May 15, 2022

“Bastion is still just as good”

We had raved about Bastion, a tiny restaurant in Nashville, to Denny and Anne several times.  They were attending a carwash convention there this week, and suggested we join them for dinner.  I made the reservation exactly one month in advance, as necessary to get in, and we have been looking forward to revisiting for a while now.  More on that experience shortly.

The latest car wash in the Ogan empire opened Monday in Gentilly.  Then Denny and Anne flew to Nashville to celebrate.  They had been concerned that city approvals were going to cause delays and impact our trip.  Here’s a local councilman reading a grand opening proclamation.

 

 

Hotels were exorbitantly expensive this week, and so I booked a “Nashville Riverfront Loft”.  This worked out very well, with lots of extra space and a great location – half a block of Broadway.

Interestingly, there is a unique Taco Bell across the street – apparently has a special food and drink menu.  Didn’t have a chance to check it out.

 

After check-in, we met up with Denny and Anne for a tapas lunch and to sample some music at the honky-tonk bars on Broadway.

The Ogans were busy on Tuesday night with carwash stuff, and so Diana and I had dinner at an old favourite – the Butcher and Bee in East Nashville.  The whipped feta with honey is so delicious.  Not sure if Diana thought her champagne was more delicious?  We couldn’t resist the strawberry pavlova – a pretty faithful rendition with a creative twist.

 

After dinner, the carwash festivities were still underway at the Wild Horse Saloon (conveniently right next to our loft), and so we joined Denny and Anne for some shuffleboard games and were able to meet the carwash partners.

 

 

 

After some work on Wednesday morning, McD and I went for a walk across the bridge over the Cumberland river to check out the football stadium.  It was certainly starting to warm up as we took in the sites and enjoyed the riverside stroll.

It really is impressive to have the football stadium right next to downtown, and easily accessible with the pedestrian bridge.

I even learned a little history of Nashville on the walk.

While we were walking, the Ogans were touring the Glen Campbell museum – Anne really enjoyed it, with Denny commenting on having to read every little sign.  They shared pictures of Campbell’s Scottish outfit.

We enjoyed a casual Taco Deli lunch and discussed what to do next.  Denny found the Nashville Museum of African American Music (NMAAM), right under where we were enjoying lunch.  This was an outstanding museum – one of the best that I can remember visiting.  The use of technology, the variety of exhibits,  and the interactive opportunities were all excellent.  We were issued wrist bands on entry that were used to record many of our activities.  An email later shared all the songs you had listened to, beats you had created and more.

Here are some more of the interesting things in the museum – including a Louis Armstrong trumpet, and pictures of the first brass bands:

And here’s one of the most interesting sights I saw, Diana and Anne following along to dance moves through the years:

After the museum, we visited a rooftop bar and then freshened up and changed for dinner.

Anne had been given the action item to find the secret code to gain entry to the “Red Phone Booth” speakeasy bar.  She completed that with the concierge at the hotel with the rooftop.  So we needed to make that stop before dinner.

I think the code was a complete ruse, as there was no dialtone on the phone – suspect they just look on the camera and decide if they want to let you in.  It is clever how the backside of the phone booth opens for entry.  The place was lovely inside – lots of wood, comfy leather sofas, and a great cigar and drink selection.

Now it was finally time for the main reason for the trip.  Dinner at Bastion.

Here’s the menu for the evening:

Six courses with wine pairings – although several courses had multiple items involved – I think it was really thirteen separate dishes.  The first course was four appetizers – all great, and I think the group consensus was with the oyster.

So many things to love about this restaurant – wonderful food, creative presentation, the pride which accompanies the description of the food as the chefs deliver it, and the detailed explanations of the wonderful wine pairings.

The raw course was a delight – everyone raving about the scallops.

The pasta dish in the veggie course was Denny’s favourite.  It was an explosion of flavours in your mouth.

The salmon was beautifully cooked, with a yummy pumpkin seed sauce.

The duck might have been my favourite – perfectly cooked with another great sauce.

Dessert and the excellent wine pairing were a terrific end to a wonderful meal.

Chef was playing one of our favourite albums as we finished, and so we retired to the little bar to listen some more.

Whew – that was a busy day!

We had a relaxing, long lunch at Etch on Thursday as we killed time before our flight home.  Another very good Nashville restaurant.

Back home the magnolias are blooming nicely.  Can you see my red bird friend in the middle.  I whistle his song to him every morning.

I followed Finn to Tony’s car detail place on Saturday morning.  Tony is going to finish up protective coating that Will wants on the paint – ran out of time to finish before the car was shipped here.  We enjoyed a nice coffee in downtown Plano after drop off.

We had an early walk on Sunday morning – our later start on Saturday was a bit too hot for both of us.  After the walk I enjoyed a swim and picked up some new books from the library for my travels next week.

Some other interesting things from the week – Ollie earned his therapy dog certificate:

And my job made it into the puzzle as “data head”:

I had a good day on the puzzle yesterday, breaking five minutes, but lost to D by 5 seconds today.

My book this week was “Memphis” by Tara M. Stringfellow.  I enjoyed the last part of the jacket biography:

“Poet, former attorney, and Northwestern University MFA graduate Tara M. Stringfellow has written for…  After having lived in Okinawa, Ghana, Chicago, Cuba, Spain, Italy, and Washington, DC, she moved back home to Memphis, where she sits on her porch swing every evening with her hound, Huckleberry, listening to records and chatting with neighbors.”

Here’s a summary of the book – there’s a lot going on in every chapter, bouncing through generations and incorporating reactions to historical events like the MLK assassination and September 11th:

“Summer 1995: Ten-year-old Joan, her mother, and her younger sister flee her father’s explosive temper and seek refuge at her mother’s ancestral home in Memphis. This is not the first time violence has altered the course of the family’s trajectory. Half a century earlier, Joan’s grandfather built this majestic house in the historic Black neighborhood of Douglass—only to be lynched days after becoming the first Black detective in the city. Joan tries to settle into her new life, but family secrets cast a longer shadow than any of them expected.

As she grows up, Joan finds relief in her artwork, painting portraits of the community in Memphis. One of her subjects is their enigmatic neighbor Miss Dawn, who claims to know something about curses, and whose stories about the past help Joan see how her passion, imagination, and relentless hope are, in fact, the continuation of a long matrilineal tradition. Joan begins to understand that her mother, her mother’s mother, and the mothers before them persevered, made impossible choices, and put their dreams on hold so that her life would not have to be defined by loss and anger—that the sole instrument she needs for healing is her paintbrush.

Unfolding over seventy years through a chorus of unforgettable voices that move back and forth in time, Memphis paints an indelible portrait of inheritance, celebrating the full complexity of what we pass down, in a family and as a country: brutality and justice, faith and forgiveness, sacrifice and love.”

An example of some of the descriptive narrative, capturing Memphis and the South:

“The beginning of fall in the South was something to behold.  The summer heat – a slow moving tornado – had finally left the area.  Nights were a pleasant cool.  We could sit on the front porch unbothered because there were fewer bees, fewer birds, fewer cats even.  Magnolias in Memphis, including the big one in the backyard, had blossomed their last flowers.  The plum tree alongside the house had dropped its last fruit some time ago, but the area around the tree base was still stained indigo.  The dogwoods and maples and cherry trees lining Poplar Avenue had a slight touch of corn husk yellow as if God had placed dabs of butter on each leaf, so that when a breeze caught, the trees ignited in soft flame.  Fall in the South meant Midas came down and touched everything.  The trees seemed to be made of gold itself.  Leaves became copper coins catching in the wind.”

A key theme of the novel, is Joan’s love of art and her desire to do only that as a career.  Here she receives support from her Aunt August:

“”I can sing,” she said, exhaling a plume of cigarette smoke, then taking another puff.  “You’ve heard me before.  Don’t do it that often.  Folk pass out.  Once, years back, at your mama’s wedding, man fainted in a back pew.  Had to be carried out.  Hadn’t even noticed.  Just went on singing Aretha in a way I do doubt Aretha could do it.  But I never did anything with it.  My voice.  Not sure I wanted to, how folk went on and on whenever I let out a note.  Any well, I knew Who gave me this voice.  But I did love piano.  Wanted to play jazz.  Loved Gershwin.”

She sat smoking in silence for a few moments before she continued.

“I will help you, niece.  And I’ll work on your mama.  Win her over.  Guess I must.  Because you have a gift.  I think it’s high time somebody in this damn family with a gift use it.””

A very good read overall.

I read an old article by Chris Rose (ex-husband of Kelly) that I think sums up New Orleans and why it’s so wonderful, in a perfect way:

 

Chris Rose on New Orleans Culture: “Life-Changing, Spirit-Avenging”

I heard this at Bastion and really enjoyed the mix of jazz, rock, and funk:

Here’s a deeper cut from Elvis Costello, showcasing the wonderful piano of Steve Nieve:

Stay safe, compassionate, and kind to everyone!

Week in Review – May 8th, 2022

“Happy Mother’s Day”

We made the drive down to Austin on Monday morning so that I could attend a Board Audit Committee meeting in the afternoon.  Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?  Those meetings are just as tedious as they sound.  It was uneventful and the Board members were happy with the story we told.

Much more exciting was meeting up with Brad and Jocelyn for dinner at their house and then a Lonelyland concert at the Saxon Pub.  Those two have been busy with a very cool metal building they’ve put up in the back yard of their new house.  The plan is to finish it out (Brad doing a lot of the work), and then have Brad’s Dad move into the existing house.  All I saw was a ton of work in the Austin summer weather, with no cooling inside that metal house.  Better you than me, Brad!  The 16 foot high, cantilevered garage door was very impressive.

On to the concert.  Lonelyland is Bob Schneider and a group of fabulous local musicians.  They play a regular Monday gig at the Saxon Pub when they are in town.  It’s always a very unique shows as Schneider writes all kinds of songs – melancholy ballads, to rapping and everything in between.  His story telling is always hilarious and unpredictable – a very interesting brain, that I don’t think ever shuts off.  Here’s my favourite song from the evening, “Tumbleweed”:

I love the piano player on cello:

Another one of the slow ballads that I enjoy so much:

And finally, an example of the variety of styles, ending with a Beastie Boys song:

What a great evening.  It was nice to introduce our friends to some new music that they really enjoyed.

Board meetings continued on Tuesday.  Diana enjoyed some pool time at the hotel with Lisa (our COO’s wife that she met in Miami Beach).   The executive committee and our majority shareholder (Phil – more on him soon) enjoyed a lovely dinner at Swift’s Attic in downtown Austin.  This is an old favourite of ours – it closed after a fire and Diana and I were very excited when it reopened.  The beauty of going there with a large group is that you get to sample so many of the dishes – lamb meatballs and mushroom risotto were the standouts for me.  It was our CFO’s birthday and I got him a special mug and a “Buck Buck Moose” cookbook – he loves cooking exotic meats.

We got back to the hotel around 10pm, and Phil wasn’t ready for bed yet.  He had just flown from Australia and was on who knows what time zone.  I asked Diana to come down to the bar and help me entertain him. I’m not sure what he said to get the big D eyes.  He is often described as “eccentric” and I appreciate Diana hanging out with him for so long.  She definitely earned her girl time by the pool in the afternoon.

Wednesday was a relatively quiet day at the office, and D had a quiet day at the hotel pool.  We enjoyed an early dinner at the Odd Duck – one of our two favourite restaurants in Austin – it was awarded best restaurant in Austin in 2021.  The menu changes monthly or so, based on what’s in season, and is always so creative and unique.  The valet parking our car recommended a couple of appetizers and we tried them both – the root vegetable medley was right up my alley with delicious fresh veggies and a terrific sauce, the crawfish queso fundido was excellent.  The sourdough bread served with the queso fundido was the best we’ve had in a very long time.

I really miss having this place nearby.  And right across the street from the Saxon Pub.

We drove back to Dallas on Thursday afternoon.  Severe thunderstorms were forecast on our drive – and they weren’t lying.  For about an hour around Waco the driving was hard going – very low visibility due to torrential rain and light hail.  Everyone had their hazard flashers on and driving speeds were way down.  Things cleared up just north of Waco and we actually made it home in reasonable time – just around 4 hours of driving.

We had a nice long walk on Saturday, with a break for a coffee and snack along the way.  We ran into a “Shakespeare in the Park” festival at Adriatica – apparently an all day event with four plays performed.  There were lots of booths set up, including a petting zoo with a llama.  Such an entertaining animal.  It took Diana way back to the Dr. Doolittle move with the two headed “push me pull me” llama.

 

The New Orleans crew were teasing us with reports and pictures from Jazzfest.  It’s the first time in ages that we haven’t attended.  That’s Derek Huston on the large saxophone.

I tried a new recipe on Saturday night.  Our CFO had given me some homemade Thai green curry paste a while ago, and I used that to make a Thai chicken curry for dinner.  Thanks to D for shopping for all the unusual ingredients.  I think it turned out really well – my first experiment with cooking in a wok.

I’ve been enjoying a couple of new games to supplement my crosswords in the mornings.  Wordle is a word guessing game.  You get 6 attempts to guess the word of the day.  It typically takes me 3 guesses if I’m lucky, and 4 or 5 if not.  A good game of logic and language.  Here are the Saturday and Sunday attempts:

My other new game is Heardle.  Similar concept – you get 6 tries to guess a song and artist by hearing 1 second of the song at a time.  I’ve found that I either know it immediately or don’t.

Sunday featured another long walk – and it’s starting to get pretty hot.  We’re going to have to venture out earlier in the day.  It’s currently 93 degrees and Diana is enjoying her first dip in the pool this year.

After our walk, we picked up Finn and drove to downtown McKinney for Mother’s Day brunch at C.T. Provisions.  We all chose the voodoo shrimp Benedict.  I always feel like I should choose something else on the menu, but it’s just so good – a perfect brunch item.  Finn even brought a pretty card for Diana.

We tried to get Diana her preferred dessert after C.T.’s – a chocolate dipped cone at Dairy Queen.  The line was way too long, so we dropped Finn off and then tried Sonic – nothing on the menu there that worked.  Third time’s a charm – a waffle cone from Braum’s.

No books this week.  I did read a small amount of Obama’s “Promised Land” – not any more than 50 pages though.  Too busy.

I enjoyed this new video from Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs, featuring New Orleans marching krewes and high school bands:

I discovered a new band this week on Austin City Limits.  The War and Treaty have a great sound:

Stay safe, compassionate and kind!

Week in Review – May 1, 2022

“Argus turns 50”

I got my D back on Tuesday – picked her up at the airport just before 9pm on Tuesday.  She seemed happy with my house cleaning and her welcome home flowers.

We caught up on several weeks of “This is Us” episodes with popcorn on Wednesday night.  We’re going to miss this show – I think there are only four episodes left in the final season.  I can sense that eye-roll Brent!

Finn came over for dinner on Thursday.  He was in good spirits as he told us about his work as acting produce manager – he submitted the order for all the produce to be delivered, taking into account what was on special in the mail flyers.  I hope he didn’t order too much or too little of anything – but he seemed confident.  We enjoyed the regular ready made dishes that Finn likes from Market Street – salmon, parmesan crusted chicken, stuffed mushrooms and green beans.  Diana put together a belated Easter bag for him and we made sure he didn’t eat it all before he left – such a sweet tooth.

We signed up for memberships at the local fitness center, Apex on Friday afternoon.  It’s just around the corner and has a very large pool, as well as indoor running track and machines.  I took advantage of this on Sunday morning with my first swim in many months.  I’m sure I’ll be a bit achy in my shoulders tomorrow.

On a long walk earlier in the week, I saw Wishbone Ash advertised on the sign at the Guitar Sanctuary in Adriatica.  This is a band that I first enjoyed in University, 40 years ago.  I still play their Argus album on a regular basis.  Could they really be playing within walking distance of our home?  Some research indicated they were indeed – on Friday, and tickets were still available.  Done!

We walked to the concert, and enjoyed chatting with the folks in line – the majority of whom had seen the band many times – they have a very loyal following.  The couple next to us were from Motherwell, Scotland and have lived in Austin for 30 years – it was nice to hear a Scottish accent in McKinney.   Bo and Jim from the local radio morning show introduced the band.  It’s been a while since I heard radio personalities introducing a band – used to happen pretty regularly.  Those two have been doing the same morning show, with all the crazy characters, since before I moved to Dallas in 1986.

Andy Powell and the band served up a treat – the first part of the show was Argus from start to finish, a celebration of the album turning fifty years old the day before.  Here are my three favourites:

What a great evening of twin lead guitars and nostalgia.  Thanks to Diana for putting up with the guitar noodling and music that she didn’t know at all.  It was so nice to have a quick walk home rather than a long drive home from downtown Dallas.

Rachel joined us for dinner on Saturday night and regaled us with stories of her work and dating lives.

At some point during the week, Clorinda made a visit to Costco and got to drive a buggy around, chasing Caroline down.  She really loves these outings:

I just left Diana outside, watching Season 1, Episode 5 of “Somebody Feed Phil” on Netflix – an excellent tour of New Orleans restaurants.  She’s going to be ready to go back again when she finishes the episode, featuring Shaya several times.

I enjoyed three relatively short books this week.

The first was “Pops” be Michael Chabon, one of my very favourite authors.  This is a collection of short stories, published in various magazines, and all on the topic of raising his children.  I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read.

 

 

I enjoyed the introductory quote:

“I’ve been there and back

And I know how far it is”

Ronnie Lane

From “Introduction: The Opposite of Writing”:

“At a literary party the summer before my first novel was published, I found myself alone with a writer I admired, on the deck of our hosts’ house along the Truckee River.  People came and went with blue Mexican wineglasses and bottles of beer, but I sensed that, for whatever reason, I had the man’s attention.

“I’m going to give you some advice,” he told me, a warning edge in his voice.

I said I would appreciate that.  I was curious to hear what he had to say, not because I felt in need of advice but as a clue to the mystery of the great man himself.  He presented a smooth surface without chinks or toeholds, the studied amiability of someone unaccustomed to giving himself away.  Advice might be the only clue I was going to get.

The great man said that his advice was going to be painful – or maybe that was just his tone – but he knew what he was talking about, and if I wanted to make a go of it as a novelist, I would do well to pay attention.  The guy was nearly twice my age, but he was not old.  He was young enough, for example, to wear black Chuck Taylors.  He was young enough to smile ironically at himself, laying the Polonius routine on some raw hurler of metaphors our of UC Irvine.

“Don’t have children,” he said.  “That’s it.  Do not.”  The smile faded, but its ghost lingered a moment in his blue eyes.  “That is the whole of the law.”

From “Little Man”:

In a story about accompanying his son to Paris fashion week (in a bout of synchronicity – I was listening to Rush while reading this – D doesn’t care for them, and I overdose on the complex, progressive time changes and the like while I’m alone):

“It takes a profound love of clothes, and some fairly decent luck, to stumble on somebody who wants to converse about cutting-edge men’s fashion at a Rush concert, and yet a year before his trip to Paris, in the aftermath of the Canadian band’s last show at Madison Square Garden, Abe had managed to stumble on John Varvatos.”

From “Be Cool or be Cast Out”:

“In seventh grade, at Hanukkah, my son asked for, and received a peacoat.  It was a classic number, navy blue, double-breasted wool, great big plastic buttons stamped – oh, the coolness! – with little anchors.  We got it from an online army-navy store.  It had a quilted lining, and when he wore it on a gray East Bay afternoon, with an extra-long scarf striped in muted colors wrapped around his neck, and his hair cut in a late-’65, early -’66 Small Faces shag, he looked terrific.  Stylish and lanky and handsome; and warm.  over Christmas break he wore it constantly, and to everything he said and did, with that scarf blowing out behind him, there was a whiff of oracular Blonde on Blonde cool.  He did not so much walk around in it as lope.”

My second read was “Let me tell you what I mean” by Joan Didion, another big favourite of mine.  This is a collection of twelve essays from 1968 to 2000, that showcase her unique reporting style.

From “A Trip to Xanadu”, reminding me of visiting with Mum and Dad years ago:

“It has been for almost half a century a peculiar and affecting image in the California mind.  San Simeon, “La Cuesta Encantada,” the phantasmagoric barony that William Randolph Hearst made for himself on the sunburned hills above the San Luis Obispo County coast.  California children used to hear about San Simeon when they were very small (I know because I was one of them), used to be told to watch for it from Highway 1, quite far in the distance, crested on the hill, the great Moorish towers and battlements shimmering in the sun or floating fantastically just above the coastal fog; San Simeon was a place which, once seen from the highway, was ever in the mind, a material fact which existed in proof of certain abstract principles.”

From “On Being Unchosen by the College of One’s Choice”:

“The Committee on Admissions asks me to inform you that it is unable to take favorable action upon your application for admission to Stanford University.  While you have met the minimum requirements, we regret that because of the severity of the competition, the Committee cannot include you in the group to be admitted.  The Committee joins me in extending you every good wish for the successful continuation of your education.  Sincerely yours, Rixford K. Snyder, Director of Admissions.”

I wonder how Rixford feels about that decision in the years after.  Here Didion gets her own back:

“The next year a friend at Stanford asked me to write him a paper on Conrad’s “Nostromo”, and I did, and he got an A on it.  I got a B- on the same paper at Berkeley, and the specter of Rixford K. Snyder was exorcised.”

From “Pretty Nancy”, the essay that I enjoyed most, for its somewhat scathing and sarcastic portrait of the former First Lady:

“Pretty Nancy Reagan, the wife of the governor of California, was standing in the dining room of her rented house on Forty-fifth Street in Sacramento listening to a television newsman explain what he wanted to do.  She was listening attentively.  Nancy Reagan is a very attentive listener.”

And my last book is quite a bit different.  “Whereabouts” by Jhumpa Lahiri was originally written in Italian and translated to English by the author.  Here’s an online summary:

“Exuberance and dread, attachment and estrangement: in this novel, Jhumpa Lahiri stretches her themes to the limit. In the arc of one year, an unnamed narrator in an unnamed city, in the middle of her life’s journey, realizes that she’s lost her way. The city she calls home acts as a companion and interlocutor: traversing the streets around her house, and in parks, piazzas, museums, stores, and coffee bars, she feels less alone.

We follow her to the pool she frequents, and to the train station that leads to her mother, who is mired in her own solitude after her husband’s untimely death. Among those who appear on this woman’s path are colleagues with whom she feels ill at ease, casual acquaintances, and “him,” a shadow who both consoles and unsettles her. Until one day at the sea, both overwhelmed and replenished by the sun’s vital heat, her perspective will abruptly change.”

In a typically grumpy mood, from the chapter “In Spring”:

“In spring I suffer.  The season doesn’t invigorate me.  I find it depleting.  The new light disorients, the fulminating nature overwhelms, and the air, dense with pollen, bothers my eyes.  to calm my allergies I take a pill in the morning that makes me sleep.  It knocks me out.  I can’t focus, and by lunchtime I’m tired enough to go to bed.  I sweat all day and at night I’m freezing.  No shoe seems right for this temperamental time of year.”

From the chapter “On the Couch”:

“She was an attractive woman with dary eyes and a space between her front teeth.  Behind a set of doors was he life she led with the rest of her family:  the pantry full of food, dirty dishes to wash, the laundry drying on the rack.  All I knew was the space dedicated to curing her patients: an individual sanatorium that hosted one anguished soul at a time.  

She always started by saying the same thing: Please begin.  As if each session were the first and only time we met.  Every session was like the start of a novel abandoned after the first chapter.”

And finally, from “In the Pool”:

” I swim for about forty minutes, maybe fifty, before I get tired.  I’m not a strong swimmer, I can’t do a flip turn, I never learned how.  The idea of being on my back underwater scares me a little.  I typically do the crawl, with a weak but decent stroke.

In the pool I lose myself.  My thoughts merge and flow.”

I loved this article about the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans that I came across in Relix magazine, “Preservation Hall @ 60, Culture is a Verb.”

https://relix.com/articles/detail/preservation-hall-at-60-culture-is-a-verb/

Keeping with the New Orleans theme, there’s a new Trombone Shorty album out (I’m awaiting delivery from Tipitina’s record club) and here’s the title track:

We hadn’t heard this song from an episode of “This is Us” that we watched.  Turns out it’s an original composed by Mandy Moore’s husband, singer in the band Dawes:

Lastly, a great outtake from Bob Dylan’s Infidels recordings – featuring the world’s best rhythm section (Sly and Robbie) and Mark Knopfler on guitar:

Stay safe, kind and patient!

Fortnight in Review – April 24th, 2022

“Happy Easter”

Diana flew to San Francisco for Easter on Monday, and I joined on Thursday afternoon.  Julie celebrated her 50th birthday a few days earlier, and I was put to work on Clorinda’s “labor of love” – rolling up 50 dollar bills and bow tying them on to a necklace.  What a finnicky project.  It did look good when completed.

The weather was mostly very nice, and we were able to get out for some walks on Gypsy Hill.  Somebody has entirely too much energy on those walks:

 

 

Clorinda and I got to enjoy the sun on the deck, and enjoy the view for a while in the afternoon.

John and Maddie’s 5 year old son, Ben, was out showcasing his amazing swing on the golf course – he might be even better at golf than he is at baseball.  College scouts pay attention!

Andy and Jude (best neighbours ever) came over on Friday afternoon.  It’s always so much fun to hang out with them.  Alicia and her friend Yenni put together an impressive appetizer display – particularly Yenni’s fruit arrangement.

Easter Sunday dinner was quite the feast – lobsters from Adamo’s recent diving expedition, and our gorgonzola lamb chop lollipops – been way too long since we made those.

 

 

 

And Julie got to wear the “labor of love” necklace.

Diana and Alicia posed for some pictures – D looking like a teenager with Alicia’s funny hat.

Caroline recommended a “new” walk for us – along the levee by Sharp Park golf course.  Diana had never been there in all her Pacifica years.  This was a pleasant, well maintained trail by the beach and up into the hills.

I flew back to Dallas on Tuesday – the first day of masks not being required for air travel.  It was interesting to observe about 70% of folks with masks in San Francisco airport and maybe 10% at best in Dallas.

I enjoyed a long walk to Duino for coffee on Thursday afternoon.  Ended up being more than 6 miles – a bit more than I had bargained on.

I dropped the VW Atlas off at Discount Tire to get the wheels balanced on Thursday, and Finn picked me up there and took me to lunch at Mexican Cactus – those tacos are so good.  The tire guys called me at lunch to say they couldn’t find the wheel nut locking adapter anywhere.  Nothing’s easy.  I ended up having to pick up a new one at the dealership – must not have replaced it when they powder coated the wheel rims.  The wheels did get balanced ultimately on Friday, and I found an interesting sub-woofer mounted on top of the spare tire when replacing the tool.  I had no idea it was in there.

Diana and Alicia spent Saturday down in San Jose and McD enjoyed one of her staples – steak tartare at the Left Bank at Santana Row.

My first book was “Whiteout” by Ken Follett.  I don’t remember reading Follett before, other than the “On Wings of Eagles” EDS Iran hostage rescue story, and really enjoyed this tale.  Set in a castle in northern Scotland that has been converted into a medical research facility, the story revolves around a plot to steal a deadly virus from the lab during a blizzard.

There is a lot of family drama involved as the owner of the laboratory gathers with this extended family to celebrate Christmas.  I’ll have to try some other Follett books.

My next book was “Mother, May I” by Joshilyn Jackson.  Here’s the online summary:

“Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat’s single mother warned her that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Marrying into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree has all a woman could ever dream: a loving lawyer husband, two talented young teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world – until the day Bree awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window, an old gray-haired woman all dressed in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears.”

The witch ends up being the mother of a woman who was badly wronged by Bree’s lawyer husband many years ago.  As she is terminal with cancer, she decides to exact revenge by kidnapping their baby.  A decent, quick read, but nothing to rave about.

I enjoy reading the “5 Albums I Can’t Live Without” article in Spin magazine – similar to Desert Island Disks.  This week included a rave about this album by Larry Goldings – hadn’t ever heard his music, but really like this stuff.  The organ creeping in part way through is excellent:

Spotify took me on a trip through similar music as I enjoyed some quiet reading time.  This was a highlight of the mix – Mehldau is so creative with such an excellent touch on the piano:

And finally, a classic I heard on the soundtrack to an HBO series that I was watching last night:

Stay safe, patient and kind to everyone!

 

Week in Review – April 10, 2022

“Two Majestic Nights”

After our two misfires on getting our fourth booster shot, Diana called Walgreens on Monday to see if they had anyone available to give us shots.  “Come on in and we’ll get you taken care of right away,” said the pharmacist.  We did – and are now fully boosted again – quick and easy.  After that I took care of several catch up activities from being gone for two months – a haircut at the Boardroom, and car registration and wash.

I enjoyed the NCAA “March Madness” final game on Monday night – that was until the tornado sirens started going off.  No tornados, but we did have some very heavy rain, with flooding in McKinney making the national news.

Diana had a sore arm and shoulder, and was very tired from the shot on Tuesday.  Fortunately I didn’t have any side effects this time around.  I cheered her up with a couple of episodes of the new series of Bridgerton on Netflix.  She did make it out to get her hair coloured and cut after two months.

Bryce, the piano tuner, made his annual visit on Wednesday and that was pretty much the highlight for the day.  I was busy consuming all my potions to prepare for my colonoscopy screening on Thursday.  Nothing to eat all day made me hungry and grumpy by the time evening came.

The colonoscopy was quick and easy on Thursday morning.  I did not appreciate having to awaken at 2:30am to take the last of the options.  D was surprised when I didn’t want to go for tacos when she picked me up after the procedure.  I was tired and didn’t feel hungry – just wanted to go home and relax.

Kenny and Kara drove to Dallas from New Orleans early on Friday morning.  They had invited us to join them for the Lyle Lovett concert on Friday and Saturday evenings.  The concerts this weekend were celebrating the 100th anniversary of the gorgeous Majestic theater in downtown Dallas.  This wonderful Renaissance revival style concert venue is located amongst all the modern high rise buildings.

I enjoyed seeing Thanksgiving Tower nearby – this is where I worked when I first started with EDS in 1989.  That was back in the days when I had to wear a dark suit, white shirt, tie, and wingtip shoes to work every day.  Things have changed so much in the almost 35 years since those days.

 

 

We checked into the Indigo hotel, a few hundred yards from the Majestic, and met up with Kenny and Kara.  I suggested walking over to Deep Ellum, a funky neighbourhood of bars, restaurants, and shops just on the other side of Interstate 75.  We walked over and enjoyed a drink on the lovely patio at the Twilite lounge, and a light dinner at Postino.  I highly recommend Postino for a quick and tasty bite in the Deep Ellum area.

We walked back to the Majestic to watch Hayes Carll open the Friday night show for Lyle Lovett.  He came on right on the nose of 7:30pm and gave us an excellent opening set – all quiet and thoughtful songs – none of the usual rockers that we are used to from his livestream shows.  Here’s my favourite – “Beaumont”:

Lyle Lovett and band followed that up with an excellent two and a half hour set.  Here’s a write up on the band members:

Viktor Krauss had to attend a funeral and so a substitute bass player was arranged at the last minute – Lovett mentioning that he had just met him that morning – he did an excellent job.  The other band members were equally exceptional – I loved Josh Swift on the Dobro.  Here are some samples from the first night:

I think that last one, North Dakota, was my favourite of the evening.  A close second was this cover of Guy Clark’s “LA Freeway” with Hayes Carll joining in:

We’re not used to being out and about after 11pm, and so were quickly asleep after the short walk to the hotel.

I was looking for a nice cup of coffee on Saturday morning, and found this great place a short walk from the hotel.  I chuckled at the Tucan card I was given so that they could find me with my coffee.  The shop is designed to feel like a tropical rainforest – very unique.

Kara and Kenny joined us for brunch at the Standard Pour on McKinney Avenue – what a great spot to relax on the patio and enjoy some good conversation.  Here are Kara and Diana posing by the Margaret Hunt bridge mural on the wall of the restaurant.

From the Standard Pour, I drove over to the Wild Detectives book store in the Bishop Arts district of Oak Cliff.  We perused the books and enjoyed a drink on the back patio – it was such a lovely day.  We walked down Bishop Street after that, browsing through some stores before happening upon the Revelers Hall Band playing at their namesake bar.  What a nice langiappe:

That’s as close as we come to New Orleans in Dallas.  After a coffee, we drove back over to Deep Ellum to check out some stores that the group had liked the day before.  Nothing much doing and a lot busier on Saturday afternoon, so we drove to the Velvet Taco for a snack prior to the second night of Lyle Lovett.

We arrived early to check out the 100th anniversary exhibit.  The most interesting thing I read was that the owner of the theater contributed $5 million to help Walt Disney get started, when nobody else would give him any funding.

We were seated on the Mezzanine this night, rather than the orchestra section from Friday night.  This gave even better views of the beauty of  the theater, and I think provided for better sound.  The sound on both nights was amazingly pristine, with every instrument and voice heard perfectly.

The Old 97s, a famous local Dallas rock band, opened on Saturday.  In contrast to Hayes Carll, they did not quieten down their set much – full on rock ‘n roll.  Kara is a big fan of the lead singer, Rhett Miller, and was happy to see him hamming it up.  She had a big smile on her face during the entire set.

The Lyle Lovett set was pretty much the same as the previous evening, and I enjoyed it even more, able to really focus in on the instrumental pieces that I had enjoyed the night before.  The quality of the band really can’t be over-stated.  Rhett Miller joined the band to sing a cover of “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.”  Made me think of Mum in Rothesay, dancing down the street and singing that song.  Apparently a Dallas local, B.J. Thomas, recorded the song in 1969 for the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.  That version reached number 1 in 1970 and he performed it at the Academy Awards.

Miller joined the band again for the final encore, a Townes Van Zandt cover:

We met Kenny and Kara for coffee on Sunday morning, and then drove back home via Taco Deli.  I tried their migas royale platter – so yummy, and I still have some in the fridge for later.

I’m enjoying watching the final round of the Masters golf tournament while finishing up this post.  Scheffler is still in the lead by 4 shots, with Smith and McIlroy trying to catch him.

I loved my book this week – “The Storyteller” by Dave Grohl.  He was the drummer with Nirvana when they changed music forever with the “Nevermind” album, and then went on to found the Foo Fighters band.  This a wonderful collection of varied stories from Grohl’s youth discovering music, almost to the present day.  It’s sad to hear him write about the depth of his friendship with Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who passed away in the last few weeks, causing them to cancel their tour, including a New Orleans jazzfest appearance.

How Grohl’s Mom encouraged his early love of music:

“A tiny old club on Pennsylvania Avenue just outside of Georgetown, One Step Down not only was a hotspot for established touring acts but also hosted a jazz workshop every weekend where the house band (led by DC jazz legend Lawrence Wheatley) would perform a few sets to the dark, crowded room and then invite up-and-coming musicians up to jam with them onstage.  When I was a teenager in the eighties, those workshops became a Sunday ritual for my mother and me.  We would sit at a small table ordering drinks and appetizers while watching these musical masters play for hours, reeling in the gorgeous, improvisational freedom of traditional jazz.”

On getting the call to join Nirvana:

“And then I read the five words that changed my life forever: “Have You Ever Heard of Nirvana?”

On a phone call with an old friend who had grown up with the guys from Nirvana in the tiny town of Aberdeen, Washington, I was informed that they were in between drummers at the time and had seen Scream perform just weeks before on our ill-fated tour.  Apparently, they were impressed with my playing, and I was given their phone numbers to call.”

“I packed up my duffel bag, my sleeping bag, and my drum set into a cardboard moving box and headed up to Seattle, a town I had only visited once and where I knew virtually no one, leaving one life behind to start another one.  I felt a loss that I had never experienced before.  I missed my home.  I missed my friends.  I missed my family.  I was now truly on my own, back to square  one, starting over.”

Writing about a particularly rowdy show as Nirvana was just blowing up in popularity.  Trees nightclub is directly opposite the Twilite lounge that we visited on Friday afternoon, and there was a tour bus parked in front:

“Welcome to the fall of 1991.

Trees nightclub in the Deep Ellum district of downtown Dallas, Texas, was just another stop on the North American leg of our “Nevermind” tour, which boasted a streamlined itinerary of thirty exhausting shows in a short forty days.  With a max capacity of around six hundred people, this relatively new club was similar to most of the other venues that were booked for that tour: cramped, a low stage, limited PA and lights, and a small dressing room in the back to prepare for (and recover from) another cathartic performance.”

On the genesis of the band name, “Foo Fighters”:

“In a chapter about unidentified craft over Europe and the Pacific during World War II, I found a term that the military used as a nickname for these unexplained glowing balls of light and thought it was just mysterious enough for me.  Not only did it sound like a group of people, it almost sounded like a gang:  Foo Fighters.”

One of my favourite stories – about a dinner after the Grammy awards:

“We reserved a table at a restaurant called Faith and Flower just a few blocks from the venue and planned to meet for dinner and drinks away from the hubbub after the show.  Paul McCartney was in town as well and inquired what we were planning on doing afterward, so we gladly invited him and his wife Nancy along, adding two more chairs to our growing table.  Take it from me, any night with Paul is a good night, so this was shaping up to be an epic evening.  Apparently, Paul bumped into AC/DC at the hotel, and when asked what was going on afterward, he said he was having dinner with us, with led to my life’s most surreal test.

Pause.  Reflect.

A few days before the show, I received another text, from my good friend Ben Jaffe of New Orleans’s legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band, notifying me that he was also in town form the Grammys and looking for a party.

While filming our documentary series “Sonic Highways” in 2014, Foo Fighters had the honor of spending a week filming in Preservation Hall itself, a tavern that dates back to 1803.  We all became fast friends.  By the end of that week, I had decided that New Orleans is an American treasure, and that we all indeed need to preserve its rich culture steeped in European, Caribbean, and Cajun history.  There is nowhere on earth filled with the pure magic that New Orleans has to offer.  It is, without doubt, my favorite city in the world.

“Dude…we’re having dinner with Paul McCartney AND AC/DC!” I exclaimed to Ben.  “You wanna come along?”  I knew Ben would most definitely appreciate the enormity of such an incredible chance encounter.  “Can I bring all the guys with me?”  he asked.  I paused and did the math.  The band consisted of seven musicians, which realistically meant at least ten more people.  “Uh, let me check,” afraid that the restaurant would decline our request for another ten chairs.  But then Ben sealed the deal:

“How about we all come marching down the street playing in a second line, into the restaurant, straight to the table, and perform a set for you right there?”

There was absolutely no refusing this incredibly generous offer.”

I loved this book and highly recommend it to any music fans.

Here’s the original studio version of “North Dakota”, my favourite from the shows this weekend.  The performances and production on this are just excellent:

Something from the Old 97s:

And my favourite from the Old 97s set:

Finally, a great Foo Fighters song from the Sonic Highways album:

Stay safe, patient and kind with everyone!

 

 

 

Week in Review – April 3, 2022

“Residency Week 9 – Time to Go Home”

The final week of the residency started with a Magazine Street ramble for Diana and Alicia.  They began with a beignet and grits at The Vintage, before wandering around the shops.

They worked up an appetite with all that walking and rambling, and stopped into Mahony’s Po-Boy shop for lunch – fried pickles and a shrimp and oyster Po-boy – that’s just half of it in the picture.  They had plenty of leftovers for me to snack on later.

The Ogans had us over for dinner on Monday evening, before Alicia left town.  It’s always fun to watch Denny with multiple pots cooking, and the ease with which he brings it all together.  Scallops on a purple sweet potato puree, shrimp risotto, and asparagus.  All delicious.  Thanks Chef Denny.  We even had a special guest appearance from Jack.

Alicia took these pictures of us on our balcony before packing up.

We dropped her at the airport on Tuesday morning – we’re both pretty confident that she really enjoyed her visit.  Then Diana met Debra (Tuesdays are her day off from Jacques-Imo’s) for lunch at Del Fuego taco shop.  Apparently they filled up on guacamole and tostadas – so no left over tacos for K.

We made it to The Franklin on Tuesday evening for dinner – you’ll remember that we canceled last week with the inclement weather.  The duck liver mousse appetizer was just excellent – satsuma marmalade on the bottom and herbs and nuts on top , with excellent bread – each bite was a treat.  I followed that with the burger and Diana enjoyed some wagyu beef.  Well worth the drive across town to the Bywater area.  Then there was a little langiappe, as so often happens in New Orleans – the local middle school band was practicing close to where we parked.

We met the Ogans and Kirschs for lunch at Gris Gris on far East Magazine for Wednesday lunch.  We sat at the kitchen counter, which provided great entertainment and a good preview of what we should order.  I watched a few plates of shrimp ‘n grits being put together and decided that was what I wanted – very good.

Thom had missed our Happy Hour at Monkey Hill last week, and so we had a reprise on Wednesday evening – the majority of the krewe made it out.

 

 

 

 

Torrential rain, high winds and possible tornados were forecast for later in the evening, so we left the boys at Reginelli’s pizza and ubered home just before the heavens completely opened.

Thursday was a pretty quiet last day of the residency.  Diana spent most of the day packing us up – she did get a break to meet Kara and Kenny for oysters at Superior Seafood.

We left right on schedule on Friday morning – just after 9:30am.  The extra few minutes were because Diana packed up all of her shoes and realized as we were walking out that she hadn’t left out a pair to wear.  We stopped at Athena Greek and Lebanese restaurant in Shreveport – this has become our regular stop for lunch when making the drive to or from New Orleans.  We arrived home around 7:30pm.

I had a treat waiting in the stack of mail.  A $75 fine for apparently driving 26mph in a 20mph zone on Napoleon Avenue – my parting gift from the city of New Orleans.  I haven’t had a speeding ticket in at least 25 years.

The house seems to have survived just fine – with the freezer repaired before we got back.  Thanks for helping with that Finn.  Penelope decided to show her displeasure at being left behind by turning on her check engine light – drives just fine, so I’m sure it’s just some overly persnickety German sensor that needs to be reset.

On a walk after lunch, our neighbor called us over to show us a hole that squirrels have gnawed through into our eaves.  He had watched them going in and out.  Time to call a “critter guy.”

We met Finn for a Mexican lunch on Saturday and listened to him grumbling about how hard he’s having to work these days.  We had made appointments to have our second booster shots before lunch but got a call from Walgreens that they didn’t have anybody to administer the shots.  I enjoyed watching Duke play North Carolina in the NCAA basketball final four in the evening – what an entertaining game for Coach K’s final appearance.

Sunday began with an all time record for me on the crossword – finally beat 5 minutes:

The morning featured another failed attempt to get booster shots.  No call to cancel this time – just a note on the pharmacy window saying no shots today.  We’ll try again during the week.

My book this week was “The Magnolia Palace” by Fiona Davis.  This is another of the books that Diana picked up at Octavia books in New Orleans.  Here’s the Amazon plot summary:

“Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21-year-old Lillian Carter’s life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists’ models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate – the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion – a building that, ironically, bears her own visage – Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family – pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.

Nearly 50 years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career – and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home – within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City’s most impressive museums. But when she – along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua – is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica’s financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.”

I enjoyed this book quite a bit – learning about the art and history of the Frick mansion in New York, while bouncing back and forth between two historical periods.  Davis did a cunning job of bringing the two periods together as the mystery is revealed in the concluding paragraphs.

I watched the wonderful movie CODA this week.  I really enjoyed it and was reminded a lot of Mr. Holland’s Opus – one of my very favourite films.  This song was featured in the movie and I like both versions equally.

I heard this song somewhere in New Orleans this week – another great funky Meters song:

This song isn’t really my typical kind of thing – but it caught my ear while having dinner at The Franklin:

And finally, something from Eric Clapton that was on the house CDs in the condo – an excellent Stevie Wonder cover:

 

Stay safe, kind and patient with everyone!

 

Week in Review – March 27, 2020

“Residency Week 8 -Francais Semaine”

Week 8 started with a very pleasant run/walk in Audubon park on Monday.

We planned dinner at the Franklin on Tuesday evening, but canceled when we saw very heavy rain and winds forecast.  Instead we walked down to La Petite Grocery and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the bar.  The turtle Bolognese had changed to alligator, so I had to try that – even better than the turtle version.  Diana had their amazing burger.

We made a good choice in not venturing far from home as the storm was very severe, including significant tornado damage a few miles away in St Bernard parish.  Thanks to all of you who texted to check on us after the storm.

Diana went to an exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) on Wednesday afternoon.  Anne, Kenny and Kara accompanied her.  Queen Nefertari’s Egypt was the name of the show, and all seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.  Here’s the description from the NOMA website:

“Queen Nefertari’s Egypt brings to life the role of Nefertari and other powerful women in ancient Egypt through 230 exceptional objects, including statues, jewelry, vases, papyrus, steles, wooden coffins, and stone sarcophagi, as well as tools and various items of daily life from the artisan village of Deir-el-Medina, home to those who created the royal tombs.”

Stela of Nakhi, “Servant in the Place of Truth”, Offering to Osiris and Anubis.  New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty (c. 1300 BCE)

 

 

 

 

The group stopped at Café Degas for a nice French snack before returning Diana and Anne to the condo.  Then Denny picked us up for dinner at N7 in the Bywater area.  This wonderful French restaurant is hidden away behind a fence with just a small stencil to indicate the location (as seen in this Denny does Hitchcock picture.)  We had chosen to sit in the covered patio area rather than the garden or inside – great choice – the setting was beautiful.  I think this was my favourite meal in New Orleans so far.  The tarte flambee with caramelized onions and lardons was a wonderful appetizer, and the steak au poivre was so perfect and flavourful.  Bon Appetit magazine calls this the most romantic French restaurant in the world.

Almost forgot dessert – I’m always wary of pavlova – expecting it to be nowhere near as good as the ones that Mum and Diana make.  The N7 version was yummy.

 

 

 

 

Kara suggested the Booker Sessions at the Maple Leaf Bar for our Thursday evening entertainment.  A nice early show at 6pm featuring John Paxson playing piano in the back bar in the style of James Booker.  I was able to sit close enough to watch his fingers fly across the keyboard – a real treat.  That’s a Frenchy painting of Booker atop the piano.

We enjoyed a slice of alligator cheesecake and a drink at Jacque-imo’s before the show.  I love that cheesecake!  And as a special langiappe, the wristbands for the Booker show were penguins.

 

 

 

We collected Alicia at the airport on Friday and made our way to meet the krewe for Happy Hour at Monkey Hill.  Alicia had asked for as much live music as possible – and it started with Johnny Sansone playing outside Monkey Hill.

The group was getting hungry and we ultimately decided on Cooter Brown’s for a casual dinner and March Madness basketball watching.   Sadly, the meat pies are no longer on the menu.  They do have fresh oysters though.

I almost forgot – Diana got a love letter when she parked the car in the neighborhood on Friday morning.  She’s making friends with the locals.  It was written on the back of a fax confirmation sheet – so at least one person still uses a fax machine.

 

 

I was impressed when Diana and Alicia were up and ready to go to yoga with Kara and Kenny at 7:30 on Saturday morning.  They attended a class in the sculpture garden in City Park – what a lovely setting.  Then they enjoyed iced coffee and beignets at the City Park outpost of Café du Monde – even saved one for me.

The French school down the street, Ecole Bilingue de Nouvelle Orleans, hosted Fete Francaise on Saturday afternoon.  They had food tents from a number of French and other local restaurants – including N7.  Some really wonderful food and drink options to choose from.  Live music was also available all afternoon – adding to Alicia’s requested intake.  I really enjoyed the whole afternoon – and so close and easy.

New Orleanians never miss a chance to dress up:

The music started with the Young Fellaz Brass Band – music that always makes me smile.  That was followed by Sunpie, Preservation Brass, and Sweet Crude.

The Preservation Brass were excellent, featuring Grammy award winning Craig Klein on trombone.  Sweet Crude were a Creole rock band – very energetic and creative and a favourite of Greg and Colleen.

 

 

I enjoyed watching the dancer that was part of the band:

Alicia seemed to enjoy all the music as well.

As if we hadn’t had enough excellent music already, we decided to make the walk to the Kingpin where Derek Huston and friends were performing outside.  We stayed until folks started feeling chilly, then ordered Theo’s pizza to pick up on the walk back.  What a full day of music.

 

Diana and Alicia walked to the Chloe for Sunday brunch, and enjoyed even more live music – this time from Andrew Duhon.  I think he has a really good voice – reminds me of Anderson East.

 

 

Greg and Colleen hosted a crawfish boil on Sunday afternoon.  I had never peeled a crawfish before, but do love the taste.  I had a lesson and gave it a shot.  It was great to see a few folks I hadn’t run into in a few years – Chris Pete and Randy Bush – along with the rest of the krewe.  Greg did a great job remodeling (pretty much completely rebuilding) their new house on State street.

 

I enjoyed watching the guys pour out the entire feast on to the long table.

I read another one of Diana’s books this week – “The Paris Apartment” by Lucy Foley.  This was not the light, airy tour around Paris that I was expecting, rather a very dark mystery where every member of a bad family had a different and dark secret.  It passed the time, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it unless you enjoy dark mysteries.

Lots of music already this week, so stay safe and kind to everyone!

 

 

Week in Review – March 20, 2022

“Residency Week 7 – Happy Saint Patrick’s Day”

As the residency winds down, we’re trying to make it to some of the places we’ve wanted to try but haven’t been to yet.  We walked down Magazine to Empanola for Monday lunch.  You guessed it – they specialize in empanadas with all kinds of fillings.  We shared an Argentine beef and a shrimp etouffee.  Delicious!

Damon came in for a few days on Tuesday.  We took him to Que Rico – the Cuban place next door for lunch after he got settled in.  Then we joined Fred and Denny at Monkey Hill for Happy Hour and a few games of pool.  Damon has never been to New Orleans and it was fun to see him enjoying discovering the architecture and charm of the city.  We attempted to have some good oysters and seafood for dinner at Basin Street Seafood  but they were fully booked and very busy.  Plan B was Tito’s Pisco and Ceviche, where we sat outside and enjoyed a very tasty dinner.  They had the scallop special that I had enjoyed a few weeks ago – had to get that again.

Wednesday started with a run in Audubon park where I tried out my new water and phone belt – worked out really well – much better than my phone and water bottle banging around in the pockets of my shorts.  It’s the little things that make a difference.  I was surprised to see that the thousands of ducks are all gone.  I wonder where they migrated to and if they all went in one massive flock (is that the right term for thousands of ducks?)

Denny and I took Damon for a ramble around the French Quarter and Bourbon Street in the afternoon.  Of course he got hungry and had to have a slice of pizza.

The much awaited Dads Steak Night was on Wednesday evening.  We all convened on Kenny’s porch for cocktail hour – it was very sweet to see Denny and Greg chatting away on the porch swing.  To minimize the number of vehicles going to Charlie’s, several of the guys decided to pile into the bed of Denny’s truck.  Not something that you would get away with anywhere else.  There was no way I was getting in there with all the potholes in the roads here.

Charlie’s is a very old school, neighborhood steak house.  There are no menus, the waiter tells you to start with onion rings, followed by a wedge salad, and then describes the different steaks available.  Mason was quite happy with his T-bone and I enjoyed my filet – large enough to have left overs for two brunch omelets.

 

 

The Moms had to have their night out as well.  They tried to go for oyster Happy Hour at Pascal’s Manale but they had a sign on the door saying that they had temporarily suspended the oysters due to supply chain issues.  Plan B was Superior Seafood, which had plenty of oysters and a very nice brasserie type set up.  They followed that with some snacks at the lovely Chloe restaurant.   Seems like they had a very nice evening.

On Thursday, we walked down to Tracey’s in the Irish Channel area to see what Saint Patrick’s day looks like in New Orleans.  As expected it was quite the party, with a block party between Tracey’s and Parasols bars.

 

We enjoyed people watching for a while and then walked through the Garden District for a snack at the Columns.  Damon (has the largest appetite of anyone we know – and is tiny) was starting to get quite hungry and wanted some oysters, so we walked down to Superior Seafood for their oyster happy hour – a great deal.  On arrival home we had covered a solid four miles on foot.

Damon flew back to Philly on Friday morning, and Diana and I revisited the Columns for our regular Friday late lunch date.  We tried the burger this time and it was excellent – bacon and marmalade really making for a yummy treat.  I love the tree in the Columns garden and the view from the porch.

Saturday began with the usual walk/run in Audubon park.  Then we enjoyed another porch concert.  This one on Laurel street next to Patois restaurant – one of the first places we ate in New Orleans.  The folks on Laurel have put together a whole organization that regularly hosts musicians on their porches – a way to keep things going for struggling musicians during the pandemic.  It was quite a professional operation and we had a lovely afternoon.  Sporty’s Brass Band (Sporty is on the trombone) kicked things off and were very good.

Sunpie and the Sunspots played after Sporty’s and made everyone smile with their happy Zydeco style music.  Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes is quite an interesting character, hailing from Arkansas, played in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs, is a park ranger and naturalist who gives moonlight swamp tours, and taught himself the Creole dialect so common in Zydeco music.

Diana and I enjoyed a very good Italian dinner at Red Gravy after the concerts.  This is the last of the restaurants on our block that we hadn’t tried yet – surprisingly good appetizers and pasta.  There was a very pleasant jazz trio playing to set the mood.

We’re looking forward to dinner outside at the Chloe tonight with music by Jon Cleary and his band – more about that next week.

Not much time for reading this week with Damon in town – I’ve just made a bit of a start on the Paris Apartment by Lucy Barton – a lot of interesting hints at the mystery of the apartment, but I have no idea what’s going on yet.

Here are three songs that were played between bands at the Laurel Street porch party – I liked them all sufficiently to Shazam them and find out the artist.  I would like to chat with whoever put the music selection together.

Weren’t those all really good songs?

Stay safe and kind to everyone!

 

Week in Review – March 13th, 2022

“Residency Week 6 – Live Music Week”

Monday started with Anne going with Diana over to Metairie (where the big box stores are nearest to New Orleans) to shop for a new oven for her Mom’s house.  Everything was on a long back order and so she didn’t have a successful trip.  But she did learn where all the huge stores like Best Buy and Home Depot are located – they don’t have them within the normal New Orleans city limits – which I think is a nice feature.

We walked to Dos Jefes for the regular Monday night Jon Fohl show, and were pleasantly surprised to find Papa Mali subbing for him.  Mali had a nicely varied set, playing a number of songs he had written with Robert Hunter (Grateful Dead lyricist), and telling some great stories.  Here he is playing “Deal.”

I also enjoyed his version of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.”

We had a nice chat with Papa during his break.  Diana asked him about the song below that he had written about his wife (married for 40 years with 6 kids and 2 grandkids).  The struggling musician actually offered to buy us drinks – silly man – but such a sweet guy.  He noticed a friend at the bar – Dale Spalding, harmonica player for Canned Heat, and went off to coax him into playing in the second set.

Here’s the song for his wife, “Not so hard to understand.”

And then a real treat, Dale Spalding playing the Boz Scaggs classic, “Lend me a Dime.”

An excellent start to “Live Music Week.”

Diana met Debra and Anne for a ladies lunch at Shaya on Tuesday.  They did bring me some leftovers and hung out at the condo for a while after lunch.

“Pogeutry” provided our music on Wednesday at Tipitinas.  This is a band made up of the Lost Bayou Ramblers with Spider Stacy and Cait O’Riordan of the original Pogues from the 1980s.  I loved this show – so much energy and a good lead in to St. Patrick’s celebrations.  Here’s “Dirty Old Town.”  Kenny and Kara were able to join us and both enjoyed the show very much.

 

Spider Stacy is quite the tin whistle expert:

We enjoyed Happy Hour on the Columns porch again on Friday afternoon.  The beet salad may be the best that I’ve ever had – the food has really come a long way under the new ownership.  We laughed at Tim’s patron saint on our walk home:

And the number of beads still in the trees:

It was back to Tipitinas (thankfully a 5 minute walk around the corner) on Friday for a free show by the Soul Brass Band.  Another excellent evening, that ended with McD getting a big hug from the surly bouncer that she befriended over the course of the evening.  Here’s the band performing the Rolling Stones “All Over Now”:

Saturday brought…another parade!  This time the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s parade.  Not nearly as crowded as the Mardi Gras parades, but just as much fun.  I wasn’t expecting cabbages, leeks, and carrots to be typical throws from the floats – you really needed to pay attention.  We all had fun collecting “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” stuff for Anne’s dad, Grandpa Jack.

The krewe came back to the condo to relax after all the fun of the parade.  We ordered Theo’s pizza and the boys enjoyed a cigar on the front balcony.

And then…Diana convinced me to walk around to another free show at Tipitinas – this time Papa Mali, the guy we enjoyed so much at Dos Jefes on Monday night.  Unfortunately, this one was not our favourite – too much noodling around on the guitar and keyboards and not enough song structure.  Oh well – we had an amazing week of music overall.

Sunday was a mostly lazy day and then we joined Denny and Anne for dinner at Jamila’s.  This is a Tunisian restaurant with excellent lamb tagine.  I had been talking to my mum about the place, and she encouraged me to get the tagine and report back about it.  It was thoroughly delicious – so tender and so much flavour.  The place is run by a husband and wife – he manages the front and she runs the kitchen.  So welcoming and funny – we will be back for sure.

We had a drink at Chaise Delachaise before Jamilas.  I didn’t recognize the name, but realized on arrival that we had enjoyed a lovely New Year’s Eve dinner there a few years ago.  So many great places close by in this town.

Enough music already, so I’ll dive right into the book section.

My first book this week was “The Violin Conspiracy” by Brendan Slocumb.  The plot revolves around a Stradivarius violin that is stolen from a black violinist.  It turns out it was given to his great great grandfather by his slave owner.  The story of the violin theft is interesting, but less so than the story of Ray and his journey through racism to become runner up at the Tchaikovsky competition.  I found the first 70 or 80 pages a bit superficial, but really got sucked in when the story flipped back in time to Ray initially being obsessed with playing.

Slocumb holds a degree in music education (with concentrations in violin and viola) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  For more than twenty years he has been a public and private school music teacher and has performed with many orchestras in the region.  All of this makes for some detailed descriptions of violin technique and repertoire that I enjoyed a lot.  I learned what double and triple stops are all about.

I recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in classical music.

Having run out of books on hand – time for a visit to Octavia books down the street – I read one of Diana’s stack.  “One Italian Summer” was a very quick and easy read.  Pretty girly but set in Positano with pleasant descriptions of the food and the area.

Here’s the Amazon summary:

“When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers, and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone. 

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life. “

I liked the way that Katy discovers her mom as a real person in Positano.  The construct of time travel seems a bit hokey, but actually works out well in the end.

Stay safe and kind to everyone!