Category: Books

“Alejandro!”

I was really trying to stick to weekly updates, but it’s just been a very busy time – exactly what we were hoping for when moving to New Orleans.

When I left you a couple of weeks ago, we were getting ready to drive to Baton Rouge (about an hour and fifteen minutes) to see Alejandro Escovedo at the Red Dragon listening room.  Kenny drove over, we enjoyed our Francolini’s sandwiches that I had picked up earlier in the day, and then took our places on a comfy couch for the show.  What a fantastic way to see a show.  The only downside – I had to drive over a hour back home.  Next time, we need to stay the night.  Here’s my favourite song from the evening, “Down in the Bowery.”

During the week, we joined the New Orleans library.  This is housed in a beautiful mansion on St Charles Avenue.  The family that owned the house donated it to the library.  It’s starting to feel like we’re locals.

 

 

 

I made another stab at a pizza in the smoker.  It turned out reasonably well and Jack seemed to enjoy it.

On Thursday, the Bush girls had a book signing at the Garden District Bookstore, just across the street.  Kenny came over to observe the scene.  There was a long line of mothers and daughters when we first visited, and I was able to convince McD to go back over when the line died down, and pick up a signed book for Francesca.

Friday was Boys’ Night Out.  We had dinner at Casa Borrega – a really good Mexican restaurant, which happened to be across the street from the boxing gym where “Friday Night Fights” was housed.  Denny’s carwashes sponsor the event and so we had four ringside seats.  The event was poorly managed, with way too many people, so we didn’t stay too long.  We’ll need to get Denny engaged for some improvements.

I suggested a road trip on Saturday and Diana was all in.  We drove over to the Mississippi Gulf coast and had lunch at Bay St. Louis.  The oysters were amazing – I ate three of them, so you know they had to be good.

 

 

We thought this carved “Angel Tree” on the boardwalk in Bay St. Louis was very clever.

The drive down the coast to Pass Christian was not what we expected.  Beautiful white and clean sandy beaches,  and huge mansions by the beach.  Apparently many affluent New Orleanians have second homes there.  It’s very pleasant to be able to reach the beach in just over an hour.  It would have been around eleven hours from McKinney.

I met Kenny and Thom at Cooter Brown’s to watch the Saints game on Sunday, leaving at half time to come home and watch the Cowboys with another blowout win.

We flew to Austin on Monday for my quarterly Board meeting.  Diana accompanied and we had a delicious dinner at Este on arrival.  The seafood is so fresh and delicious.  We started out with the rainbow trout ceviche with grapefruit sauce.

Through some kind of weird synchronicity, the painting in the elevator lobby on our floor at the hotel was of Alejandro Escavedo.

The Board meeting went very well, and so we celebrated with a snack at Clark’s oyster bar, and then dinner at Emmer and Rye.  I loved the tapas tasting menu, while some other members of the Executive Committee weren’t so excited.  The highlight for me was the wagyu tartare.

 

 

Thankfully, we left plenty of time to get to the Austin airport on Wednesday morning.  What should have been a twenty minute drive turned into a ninety minute drive due to an accident that closed the freeway.  We were much more fortunate than Damon who took almost six hours to make the same drive.

Denny and Anne met us for Happy Hour at Costera on Thursday – always such good food and drinks.  Andre Darlington was doing a book signing across the street after Happy Hour.  Denny joined us to hear him talk about his new Christmas Booze and Vinyl book.  I was able to get my Booze and Vinyl book signed.

I asked the gentleman standing next to me if he knew what the arrival cocktail at the signing was.  As he answered me, Denny realize he was an old boss from HP – Shelton.  He lives just one street over from us and invited us back for a drink.  What a beautiful house, and maybe Diana’s best shot at having a pool to use in the summer.

Saturday was another busy day.  We had a nice walk around the neighborhood and then attended a Laurel Street porch musical concert.  Mahmoud Chouki is a very talented musician from Morocco, now living in New Orleans.  His band was very, very good.  Here’s a sample:

Kenny, Kara and Lynn met us and I’m not sure anybody really enjoyed the music as much as I did.  I would describe it as Middle Eastern jazz – a bit of an acquired taste.  I’m not sure there’s anywhere else where you can just show up with a folding chair and listen to music on somebody’s porch.

That’s Patois restaurant on the right, one of the first places that Diana and I enjoyed dinner together in New Orleans.  I thought Mahmoud’s saxophone player was great:

As if we hadn’t had enough music, we splintered into a couple of groups – one (D’s mostly girls group) off to dinner at Café Degas, followed by Connor at the Old City Jail.  The other (Kenny, Denny, Tres and me) down to the House of Blues to see Zebra.  Never heard of them?  I hadn’t either.  Led by Randy Jackson on guitar and vocals, the trio has all the original members from 1975.  They sound a bit like Led Zeppelin might, if they were from the  southern United States.

Denny and I enjoyed a Tiki bar snack before the show and were fortunate to have VIP access as the show was completely sold out and very busy.  I chuckled at the guys around me who knew every word to every song.  All a matter of where you were when.

 

Diana’s group waited a while for their show to start and enjoyed the venue.  Their dinner at Cafe Degas was a success, with Diana really enjoying her soft shell crab.

 

 

 

 

Now I’m enjoying what I hope is yet another Cowboys blowout win over the Carolina Panthers – it’s off to a good start.

I finally finished “Be Mine” by Richard Ford.  This was one of the best books that I’ve read in a long time.  Frank Bascombe is such an excellent character, and this one alternated between laugh out loud funny and heartbreakingly poignant.

I have a ton of dog-eared pages in this book that I was going to share, but I should focus on the Cowboys game.  They’re off to a slower start than I was hoping for, but seem to be picking up speed.  Here’s the online review:

“Over the course of four celebrated works of fiction and almost forty years, Richard Ford has crafted an ambitious, incisive, and singular view of American life as lived. Unconstrained, astute, provocative, often laugh-out-loud funny, Frank Bascombe is once more our guide to the great American midway.

Now in the twilight of life, a man who has occupied many colorful lives—sportswriter, father, husband, ex-husband, friend, real estate agent—Bascombe finds himself in the most sorrowing role of all: caregiver to his son, Paul, diagnosed with ALS. On a shared winter odyssey to Mount Rushmore, Frank, in typical Bascombe fashion, faces down the mortality that is assured each of us, and in doing so confronts what happiness might signify at the end of days.

In this memorable novel, Richard Ford puts on displays the prose, wit, and intelligence that make him one of our most acclaimed living writers. Be Mine is a profound, funny, poignant love letter to our beleaguered world.”

The new Chris Stapleton album seems to be very good – I’ve only listened once.  Some new sounds, like 70s Soul or R&B.

How about this version of one of my favourite John Prine songs – very creative:

And here’s another creative cover:

I remember listening to this in Mad Hatter’s on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh during the Heriot Watt years.  They had a video screen for the songs and this one had Bruce pulling Courtney Cox up on stage.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all.

 

 

“Birthday Week”

The weather did not improve last Sunday for Adamo’s birthday party.  The Sam Chase band had to play in the garage.  Everybody seemed to have a good time, although it was a bit chaotic with so many people inside.  It was good to see Will, Christine and Ollie.

The next birthday was Clorinda’s 92nd on Tuesday.  The crowd was a bit more manageable, other than the two little monsters.  I enjoyed watching the baseball playoffs with Mike and Chris (Carolyn and Caroline’s boyfriends.)  The wontons that Carolyn brought were delicious.  Here are a few pictures of the birthday girl:

I had a circuitous flight home on Wednesday.  There was a thunderstorm over Dallas most of the day.  We circled around Kansas for a while and then diverted to Longview, Texas for fuel.  I was worried that the flight crew would time out there and was starting to plan on finding a hotel.  No worry needed – they didn’t have a set of stairs tall enough for anyone to get off the plane.  We did finally land in Dallas, then it was a waiting game for the flight to New Orleans – this picture was the last update and was nowhere near accurate.  A break in the thunderstorm did allow us to take off after midnight, and I made it home around 1:30am – a long day of flying.

Denny and Anne invited me to “the Rolling Stone” restaurant on Thursday night.  I had no idea what that was, but went along.  The place is about a mile from our house and is called “Beggar’s Banquet”, a famous Stones album.  Look at this amazing menu:

The scallops in the Coquilles St Jacques were perfectly cooked and delicious.  The mushrooms and ahi tuna were also excellent.  We finished up with the beef short rib.  I’m looking forward to returning as the food, presentation and service were all excellent.

Alex came over on Friday night and we enjoyed hanging out and listening to music for a few hours.

I walked to “Rabbit’s Foot” for breakfast on Saturday morning.  It’s about a half mile down Prytania from our home, and the food and coffee are excellent.  This could easily become a new weekend routine.

I took some pictures of Halloween decorations and other things on my walk:

McD had to scramble to make her flight on Saturday morning.  Her original flight was delayed and so they moved her to an earlier one.  She made it home around 5pm and has been busy cleaning up the house this morning.  Now she’s off with Anne to enjoy the tennis machine.

The Cowboys game isn’t being broadcast here, and of course they are playing very well.  33-3 just now, and it’s not quite halftime.

I’m still working my way through “Be Mine” by Richard Ford.  It’s one of those books that you really just like to savor.    I should be finished next week.

The Beggars Banquet restaurant had me playing my favourite song from that album, “No Expectations.”  There are a lot of interesting versions out there:

Let’s finish up with something from the late, great David Lindley:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

 

“Costera paella!”

I’m back to weekly posting again – I’m too old to try and remember things from multiple weeks ago.  When I left you last week, we were contemplating heading back to the Blues and BBQ festival in Lafayette square.  Denny picked us up and we saw Little Freddie King and Shemeika Copeland perform.  Both delivered great sets.

Here’s a sample of Shemeika:

And here’s Diana  dancing to “It’s 2am, do you know where your baby is?”:

We stopped at an amazing Halloween display on the way home.  Ghost Manor is on Magazine street and features animatronic skeletons, videos on the upstairs windows, and excellent music and lights.  Best Halloween display any of us have seen.

The Cowboys were able to eke out a close win against the Chargers on Monday night football.  Both the 49ers and Eagles lost – so we’re only one game behind in the standings.

We took a walk through our new neighborhood on Tuesday.  The weather was perfect and there are so many beautiful houses to see.  The actor John Goodman’s home is a couple of blocks away.  He bought it for $1.8 million in 2005 and I’m sure it’s worth at least three times that now.

A coffee and browse through the shops at the Rink, across from our new home, followed the walk.  I really enjoyed the Garden District bookstore and picked up a signed copy of the new Richard Ford book.  It’s the fourth installment in the Frank Bascombe series that I enjoy so much.

I treated McD to a late lunch at the Columns on Wednesday  – another perfect day.  It’s been a while since we visited, a weekly tradition when we were renting the condo.  Tatum was a great waitress, even though she was single handedly setting up for an evening event.

Kenny and Kara joined us at Chickie Wah Wah on Thursday night to see the band Deer Tick.  The start time was pushed back because of a Saints game, and the place was very crowded, but we hung around for a few songs and thought the band sounded very good.  They just needed a larger venue like Tipitinas.

Jeff and Merry Lee were in town for the Saints game, and so we met up for dinner on Friday at the wonderful Costera.  Our Uber ride over didn’t work out too well.  The driver was talking loudly on a hand held speaker phone.   After a few minutes, we asked him to be quiet and use both hands on the wheel.  He promptly pulled over and asked us to get out.  Good grief – so rude!  As you can imagine, Uber has my feedback on the incident.

The meal was amazing – such delicious Spanish tapas, culminating with the best paella I’ve ever had.

It takes most of the day to fly from New Orleans to San Francisco.  We were pretty tired by the time Adamo and the monsters picked us up on Saturday evening.

The weather has been beautiful in Pacifica all week, and now as the plans to celebrate Adamo’s 50th birthday are underway, it’s a cold and rainy day.  So much for the band playing outside.  Maybe it’ll clear up in the afternoon.

 

I finally completed “The Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah.  I read it on my iPad and was pretty frustrated when I found that all my highlights were lost.  I’m going to have to switch back to real books.  The book is not as compelling as a few others by Hannah, but still an enjoyable read.

“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

Here’s an online summary:

“Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa―like so many of her neighbors―must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it―the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.”

Rhonda, self proclaimed “best mail delivery person in the world”, dropped off my new Tipitina’s record club offering this week.  It’s always exciting to unwrap the package and I now have the Linn turntable properly set up to play vinyl.  The last album before Walter Wolfman Washington’s passing last year is very enjoyable, bringing back lots of fond memories of watching him in small New Orleans venues over the years.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

“A Busy Month”

Did you think I had given up on blogging?  I know, it’s been forever since I posted.  Moving into our new home, a wedding, music festivals, and several other events and activities have kept me busy.  As of today, I should be back into the weekly posting routine.

We’re settling into our new home very nicely.  All the major things are organized and functional.  There are a lot of boxes in the third floor still to be organized – all in good time.  I was just sitting on our front porch watching all the tourists go past.  It’s finally cool weather here and we’re entering into the busy tourist season.  They all come past our house as they meet up with Garden District walking tours, or walk from the streetcar to Commander’s Palace for lunch.

I’ll attempt to share some of the highlights from the last month in reverse chronological order.

Yesterday, Diana hosted a birthday lunch for Laura and Libby at Café Degas.  Kara joined also.  This is our favourite casual French bistro in town.  I played chauffeur and plotted a route to pick up all three girls and drop the group off.  I also returned to do all the drop offs.  They seem to have had a lovely time, and the crab and mushroom crepe leftovers were delicious.

We hung out with Kara, Kenny and Ian for a bit at their home, and then regrouped at home prior to the Blues and BBQ festival in Lafayette Square.  This is a free event hosted by the Jazzfest organization and it’s always a lot of fun.  Here’s Samantha Fish closing out the day:

Lurrie Bell treated us to some classic Chicago blues prior to Samantha:

The food options at this festival are always excellent.  Diana brought back a delicious shrimp pupusa – a corn cake stuffed with cheese and topped with shrimp.

We’re deciding whether we should make it out again tonight for Shemeika Copeland.

 

 

On Thursday, one of my partners who does our development in India, visited New Orleans and took us to Commander’s Palace for lunch.  What a great time!  Manish scored big points for showing up with flowers for Diana.  My quail stuffed with boudin was ridiculously good.

 

 

We visited Austin for a wedding from Sunday through Wednesday.  Our friends Neffie and Shaun were married in Dripping Springs (30 minutes outside Austin) on Monday afternoon in a gorgeous venue.

The rehearsal dinner was at Fixe in downtown Austin on Sunday night.  That allowed me to miss most of the beating that the San Francisco 49ers put on the Cowboys.  The food and company were excellent.

 

I had originally been drafted to walk Neffie down the aisle, but one of the groomsmen was sick and I walked her sister, Myra, instead.  Her pastor and her son ultimately escorted Neffie to the altar.

 

 

 

This is what Anne is calling our “prom picture”:

We took advantage of being back in Austin to visit some of our favourite locations.  We enjoyed a walk along the river trail followed by a lunch snack in the garden at Opa.  Dinner was at the Odd Duck – maybe my top restaurant in Austin.  Tristan, the valet parker, always has good recommendations.  The Thai melon salad and green chili pork shoulder were both amazing.

We have a ritual of lunch at June’s All Day prior to starting our drive or flight back home.  Diana always gets the wagyu steak tartare that she loves so much.

The Saturday before the wedding we enjoyed Gretna Fest.  This is a mini jazzfest across the Mississippi in Gretna.  With four stages and many food options, it’s a festival that we both enjoy very much.

We started out with the New Orleans Mystics at the Market Stage.  This was an excellent group that was similar to the Temptations – all decked out in matching outfits and with great voices.

Diana had fun trying to match their dance steps:

Next up was La Tran-k band on the Riverfront stage – a salsa band that brought a ton of energy and fun:

Then a highlight for me – JJ Grey on the main stage.  The version of Lochloosa was outstanding:

That was followed by a singalong of Glory Glory:

And a final highlight – Brighter Days:

After JJ Grey, Diana and I enjoyed a relaxing Mexican meal and then watched some of Lee Brice – a country star that Diana enjoys.  I was very impressed by the quality of the band and the performance.

We had planned to finish with Los Lobos, but they were almost an hour late in taking the stage and we caught the ferry back as they were starting.  A really great day of music and entertainment.

The Monday and Tuesday before Gretna Fest, I attended an annual meeting to recognize our top performing employees in Las Vegas.  This was a lovely event that went late into the evening.  Our executive committee enjoyed dinner at Cut by Wolfgang Puck on Monday night.  I’ve never seen such expensive steaks and sides on a menu.  The food and service were great, but I couldn’t help feeling guilty about the price.

 

Sunday, October 1st, was Colleen’s 50th birthday.  We celebrated at her home and Greg cooked redfish, boudin and other goodies.  Later in the evening, most of the party attendees went to Tipitinas to see John Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen perform.  This was the best I have heard them sound.  We were sitting on our porch prior to the party and saw our neighbors, Hugh and Sarah, leaving in their car.  We thought it would be funny if they were also going to Colleen’s party – Hugh is her brother.  Sure enough, they were there when we arrived, and we got to meet some more new neighbors.

Greg was very proud of his new grandchild:

The week prior to Las Vegas was move in week.  I dealt with wifi and security system installation early in the week, and then the trucks arrived on September 27th.  By the evening of September 28th, we were mostly moved in.  A lot of planning and organization had finally come to fruition.

As with any large project like this move, I’m deeply indebted to Diana for the massive amount of planning and work that she put into it, and continues to put into the unpacking and organizing tasks.  Anne, Merry Lee and Jeff also helped a lot with organizing and storage.

We met up with Merry Lee, Jeff, her cousin and boyfriend on Friday at Hungry Eyes – always so delicious and fun.  The group joined us as our first guests in the new home on Saturday to watch the LSU football game.  Denny, Anne and Jack also joined.  Theo’s pizza provided sustenance.

The week before move in Diana had a girls trip to California for a few days, and visited her Mom in Pacifica before and after the Monterey excursion.  I was on my own in New Orleans and met up with Kenny and Ian one day at the St Roch market.  I like this place because you can choose from many different food vendors and it has a great bar.

Sabine was much friendlier with Diana gone.  No hissing and fussing at all.

I kept myself busy with exercise in the park – I like to get out before sunrise and watch the sun light up the beautiful trees.

I got a kick out of the Barbie Halloween decorations on this house on my walk to the park.

Shortly after my last post, Diana and I treated ourselves to a welcome to New Orleans dinner at Mamou in the Quarter.  What excellent service and interesting food.  The fish Florentine was amazing.  This place made the 50 most interesting restaurants list in the New York Times and has received several other accolades.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/dining/best-restaurants-america.html#mamou

This has been a lengthy post and so I’m going to skip the book review and music sections until next week.  I promise to be back next Sunday.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all.

 

 

 

“Triangle Trip Part 2”

We drove from Corning to Albany on Monday.  Vince was kind enough to pick us up there for the drive to Indian Lake (about 90 minutes.)  That saved us quite a bit on rental car fees.  Our first evening in Indian Lake was very relaxing.  Sitting on the porch enjoying the sunset and getting to know the menagerie – Pete and Zeke the dogs, Archimedes the cat, and Jack the squawking bird.

And then there’s Morris the moose, quite a bit larger than Diana.

BP wanted to meet Jack the bird:

Chef Vince spoiled us with some perfectly cooked porterhouse steaks from the grill, served with broccoli and potatoes.

We settled into a wonderful wood fire.  And a strange thing occurred.  A cat decided that it liked McD.  That never happens.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday began with a pleasant hike up to Super Point, providing a great view of the lake.  We all managed well on the trek through the forest.

The views were certainly worth the hike:

Pete and Zeke were tired after the walk:

It was a beautiful sunny day and so we hung out down on the small beach, with McD sunbathing from the boat island.  Life is good!

Life is good, and then Vince shows up with a cheese tray to elevate the experience even more.

Chef Vince struck again with Asian style baby back ribs, an Asian salad and yummy mac ‘n cheese with ham.  We were so spoiled on this visit!

The Wednesday morning hike was on the forest roads rather than through the forest.  We walked about four and a half miles round trip to the dam at the end of the lake.

It was another gorgeous day, so Vince and Lori invited friends over so that the kids could swim from the beach.  Diana captured me talking to them with my hands:

Then I made a bad choice.  “Let’s take the kayaks out on the lake, Vince.”

The view down the lake from the kayaks was spectacular, but the position my healing leg was in didn’t work well at all.  After about ten minutes, it was time to head back to shore.  Then Vince had to help pull me out – quite a bit of work.

Chef Vince got a night off and we drove to a local tapas restaurant, Bar Vino.

The food was great, and there was a very talented duo playing music.  Here’s one of our favourites.  (That’s the lady singer’s Dad that D’s talking to.)

The square deviled eggs were a hit.

We skipped the hike on Thursday morning, having stayed up quite a bit past bed time on Wednesday night, sharing music videos and the like.

Vince worked in the kitchen most of the day, creating our New Orleans send off dinner.  Happy hour course:  raw oysters and Rockefeller oysters.  The Rockefeller being the best I have ever tasted – sorry Denny.  The smaller, briny Maine oysters are preferable to the giant gulf oysters in New Orleans.  Here’s Vince shucking the oysters:

And the end products:

After that was the best gumbo I’ve had.  Vince is going to make it very difficult for the New Orleans restaurants to impress us.  The jalapeno cornbread was equally delicious.

While I was supervising Vince in the kitchen, McD was working on a puzzle in the living area.  She finished it before the day was done.

This was such a relaxing stay.  Thanks to Vince and Lori for everything!

Vince was kind enough to drive us back down to Albany airport on Friday.  We caught a flight to Philadelphia and then another on to Dallas.  I had to say “Boo!” as we flew past the home of the Eagles, a big Cowboys division rival.

We spent the night at the Dallas airport hotel, and then drove down to New Orleans on Saturday, arriving around five o’clock.

Anne had invited the Krewe over to welcome us and made yummy crawfish Monica and jambalaya.  We were tired from all the traveling, but enjoyed catching up with everyone.

We did a lap of Audubon park on Sunday morning, before doing our final walk through of the new house.  The excessive heat sign was not kidding.

My book this week was “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing” by Matthew Perry.

Here he is talking about trying to be cast for “Friends”:

“”You have got to get on Friends Like Us,” I said.  “Not gonna happen,” my agents said.  “You’re attached to the baggage handlers show.  They’ve already measured you for the futuristic shirt and everything.”  I was devastated.  When I read the script for Friends Like Us it was as if someone had followed me around for a year, stealing my jokes, copying my mannerisms, photocopying my world-weary yet witty view of life.  One character in particular stood out to me:  it wasn’t that I thought I could play “Chandler,” I was Chandler.”

On his favourite day:

“Here’s the day I wish I could live over and over again (this is the Groundhog Day of my Groundhog Day).  In fact, I wish I could relive it every day for the rest of my life.  But I cannot.  So, the only way to get past it is to tell it like a story, see if that helps.  (This of course will not bring it back.)

It was New Year’s Eve 1995, Taos, New Mexico.  All afternoon we’d been playing football in the snow.  Me, and my girlfriend, Julia Roberts, and a bunch of our friends.  She was the biggest movie star in the world, and I was on the number one show on TV.  The courtship had initially been conducted via fax.  Somewhere in the world, there is a stack of faxes.”

Here’s the online review:

““Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening—as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for.”

Vince loves his Greatful Dead, and in particular this song.  And now it’s been stuck in my head for days:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

“Triangle Trip”

We caught a morning flight to Toronto on Monday and then drove a few hours to Port McNicoll on the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron to visit Randy and Janice for a few days.  This map shows our plan for the next couple of weeks.  Port McNicoll for a few days, then down to Corning, NY via Niagara Falls to see Patty and Brent, and then over to Indian Lake to visit Vince and Lori.

Randy and Janice have a great setup on Georgian Bay – a house with a lovely view of the lake, and a boat at the marina, less than a mile away.

Wednesday was our big boating day.  We spent most of the day on the lake, taking an hour or so to motor over to Beau Soleil, where we anchored and enjoyed some swimming and sun bathing time.  Captain’s Randy and Janice did a great job.

Diana always enjoys sunning herself up front on the bow of the boat:

And of course BP didn’t want to be left out:

Sunset from the dock was just gorgeous:

We enjoyed delicious pork chops for dinner back at the house.

On Thursday, we decided to have a walk in the nearby Kew Marsh.  This was really interesting and enjoyable until Randy decided to try and find a way to cut over to the Canada Trail – coast to coast walking trail.  We failed at that and retreated to our original route.

There was an active beehive exhibit on the trail:

We were thirsty after all that walking and so visited a very unique brewery in the middle of nowhere – Quayle’s.  The setting was amazing – I had never seen hop vines growing before.

I chuckled at the number two beer – a tribute to Anne Bauer:

Later, we treated to dinner at the Explorer’s Bistro in nearby Midland.  The restaurant had just opened again a couple of months ago.  The food was excellent all around, but some of the logistics still need some tweaking.  We started with a mixed mushroom sauté and arancini – both excellent.  Then I had a vegetable bake with a tomato béchamel sauce that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Randy was quite pleased that I had found this place open again.

Friday was a travel day – first side of the triangle to Corning, NY, with a stop at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.

We had an interesting time at immigration in Buffalo.  You’ll have to ask us if you would like the details.

We arrived in Corning in time for some amazing smoked pork, courtesy of Brent.  It was very nice to relax in Patty and Brent’s wonderful downtown apartment.  The smoked pork was fantastic.  I had it again in a Brent scramble creation early morning Sunday, following the women’s soccer World Cup.

Saturday began with a run around town for Diana and Brent, and a walk for Patty and me.  After that, we made a trip over to Watkins Glen on the Seneca finger lake (there are 11 of them nearby and they are all long and skinny.)

Watkins Glen has a racetrack and it was NASCAR weekend – leading to some fun shopping and people watching experiences.  Apparently some of the NASCAR purists don’t love Watkins as you can’t watch the entire circuit from one spot in the grandstands.

 

 

We enjoyed lunch and then walked through town to the State Park waterfalls.

Not quite Niagara, but much more accessible.  After that we drove to a local winery, Glenora, where we enjoyed white wines on the patio.  My Riesling was nice and refreshing.

And following that, Brent led an expedition to the local distillery.  That was a highlight for me.  The cocktails and samplers were very well done in a beautiful location.

The day was finished off at The Cellar in downtown Corning – a short walk from the apartment.  Another excellent meal – great starters like falafel salad and chicken liver mousse, and then a burger for me and paella for Diana.  The ladies picked out a wine that they enjoyed very much, so I’m recording that here for future reference.

 

 

Diana and Patty attended the local yoga studio on Sunday morning, while Brent and I watched soccer and ate.  Brunch was down the street at the Quincy.  A really good brunch – my shrimp ‘n grits were better than most I’ve had in New Orleans.  We had fun with the old bank vault as we left.

After brunch, we walked over to the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) and browsed through the gift shop.  McD successfully navigating the maze on the bridge over the river.

 

 

 

Lots of amazing items, including many pumpkins and some mermaids.

As I finish writing this, Patty and Brent are mixing up frozen French 75s and preparing this dish for dinner.  What great hosts!

As you can tell, there was a lot of driving and other activity this week and not much time for reading.  I did find a really interesting short book on my iPad – no room for real books on this trip.

Dickens and Prince by the wonderful Nick Hornby was thoroughly enjoyable.  What an amazing insight to put them together like this.  The online update:

Not a lot of time for new music this week.  I did find this new one that sounds remarkably like John Mayer.  I like it.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

 

 

 

“A Few Days in Austin”

After the long drive from New Orleans to Austin on Sunday, I decided to keep it simple and eat in the hotel restaurant, Caroline.  Lachie had the same idea and so we each had some unexpected company and covered a wide variety of topics.

I found the breakfasts at Caroline on Monday and Tuesday morning to be excellent.  It’s so nice when a hotel restaurant has fresh and creative offerings.  The corn cake benedict and the huevos rancheros were both delicious.  And the poached eggs were perfectly cooked.

I had the Board Audit committee meeting on Monday, and then met Damon and Neffie at the Firehouse lounge, a cool speakeasy around the corner from the hotel.  You slide the bookcase in the hostel lobby to the side to gain entry.  I had been there before with Denny, Anne, and Diana, and knew they make good cocktails.

We tried Lonesome Dove for dinner.  This is a well known place from Fort Worth, that opened a branch in Austin.  It’s famous for exotic game dishes, snake, elk and the like.  We all enjoyed dinner.  The elk and foie gras sliders were a highlight, and my scallops were very fresh and well cooked.

After a full day Board meeting on Tuesday, the executive committee enjoyed dinner at Dean’s Italian restaurant.  I enjoyed cooking the wagyu on a hot stone, and decided to have scallops again.  These were just as good as the night before.

A few of us stopped into the Elephant room after dinner to listen to jazz music.  The band wasn’t terrific, but pleasant for relaxing after a long day.

I made the final triangle of my drive on Wednesday, Austin to McKinney, stopping at DFW to pick up Diana on her return from San Francisco.  I broke the drive up by stopping for lunch with April in Round Rock.  We both enjoy the Salt Traders restaurant and it’s right off the main highway to Dallas.  The shrimp poblano enchiladas were great.

Here’s Clorinda anticipating the new book from Ann Patchett that Diana got for her.  I understand she put down her current book and dove right in.

I enjoyed the Beanie Baby movie over a couple of evenings.  I thought Jack Galifianakas was very good as the guy who created and ultimately destroyed the Ty toy company.  I’m sure there are still several hundred of these silly toys in storage units outside the house in Los Gatos.

All the inspections on the New Orleans house happened on Thursday:  General, termite, sewage and air conditioning.  We’re still awaiting all the details, but there doesn’t appear to be anything huge to deal with.

Patty and Brent were in town looking at potential places to build a retirement house.  I don’t think they saw anything they liked, and so Dallas might be coming off the list.  We met them at Harvest in downtown McKinney for Friday dinner.  A really nice visit with good food.  We’ll see them again in a week or so.

Rachel was over to sunbathe and enjoy the pool one last time on Saturday afternoon.  She didn’t know about the move until she saw the yard sign.  Oops.

Friends and family were having fun in other parts of the country.  The Ogans at altitude outside Boulder, CO:

Olivia celebrating her sixteenth birthday.  We don’t know who the guy next to her is.  Interesting hair.

Will and Christine in Reno, NV with G-Man, Caitlin, and crew:

And lastly, Campbell and Molly with Kris and Cat on a beach in San Diego to enjoy some music.

“All the Sinners Bleed” by S.A. Cosby was my book this week.  A fast paced thriller, and not for the feint of heart.  I enjoyed it a lot, maybe even better than his last two novels.  The main character, Titus Crown, a police chief in rural Virginia is excellently done.  Here’s the online summary:

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Fresh and exhilarating. . . Cosby keeps his eye on the story and the pedal to the metal.” ―Stephen King, TheNew York Times Book Review

A Black sheriff. A serial killer. A small town ready to combust.

The new novel from New York Times bestselling and Los Angeles Times Book Prize-winning author S. A. Cosby, “one of the most muscular, distinctive, grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction.” ―Washington Post.

“An atmospheric pressure cooker.” ―People

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface.

Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon.

With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus projects confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history.

Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning.

Powerful and unforgettable, All the Sinners Bleed confirms S. A. Cosby as “one of the most muscular, distinctive, grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction” (The Washington Post)

This article about how AI can determine the attributes of music you were just listening too is quite interesting:

https://www.livescience.com/health/neuroscience/googles-mind-reading-ai-can-tell-what-music-you-listened-to-based-on-your-brain-signals

I wonder what my brain looks like after listening to this?  Great beat and slide guitar sound.  I think it made me quite relaxed.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all.