Month: October 2023

“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.