New Orleans experienced the most snow since 1895, with almost ten inches falling on Tuesday into Wednesday. We spent the week in Pacifica and missed all the fun. Our friends and neighbors kept us updated with photos of the house, front steps and car.
Our neighbour, Auggie, had a great time in the snow:
He was kind enough to shovel our steps, so that “his friends won’t fall.”
Here are a couple of landmarks that haven’t seen snow in a while:
Auggie made a snowman with the snow that was left in our yard on Thursday morning:
This is all that was left of it this morning when Anne went by to empty our fridge:
It is amazing how much the city completely shuts down with snow and ice. They really don’t have any equipment at all to deal with it. I10, the main East/West Interstate that runs through New Orleans, was closed until Friday.
I enjoyed this note from Diana’s orthodontist – great sense of humour and writing style:
From Your Orthodontist
Greetings One and All!
Although most of you know that I consider Gottsegen Orthodontics to be the Waffle House of tooth shoppes, whereupon conditions must be essentially catastrophic for us to close down on a normal business day, we are forced to do so from time to time. Major hurricane? Check. Global pandemic? Sure. Unexplained, random, never-apologized-for Entergy outage? You betcha. But a blizzard? That actually might stick for a few days?? In New Orleans??? Come on, Man.
However bizarre these circumstances might be, the talking heads have assured us that, yes, this is going to happen, and it looks like mid-day Tuesday is showtime. What they can’t tell us with accuracy yet is how much snow to expect on the Southshore, when its actually going to start, and how long it’s going to be a problem for.
Here’s my current thought process: Tomorrow, Monday, will be business as usual. Cold but dry. So if you have an appointment with us in Metairie, please come as scheduled – we’ll be there from 1-5.
Tuesday will be closed. I’d love to be open in the morning, but there’s too much uncertainty around the timing of things and I don’t want to leave any of you nor our staff having to drive in precarious conditions. That said, I live near the Uptown office and will be available to handle any issues or emergencies any of you might be experiencing if you can get to me – I can walk there if needed. And my staff will start calling all of you with Tuesday appointments tomorrow to reschedule you. Please understand that our schedule is tight as usual and we’ll get you in as soon as we can but it’s going to require some flexibility on all of our parts – we’ll likely work through lunch some days to catch up but it might be a couple of weeks before we can fit you in somewhere convenient to you. Please be kind to our scheduling team – none of this is their fault.
The rest of the week is still up in the air. Depending on temperatures and how much snowfall we actually see, we’ll determine Wednesday morning about how we handle Wednesday afternoon – and I’ll email you all with updates as we get them, so please check your Inbox periodically. I’m operating on the assumption that Thursday will be fine and running at full steam but again, the situation is fluid.
If any of you need to speak to me directly or have a clinical issue that requires immediate attention, please send a text to either 504-895-4841 or 504-454-6272 – it’ll come right to my cellphone and I’ll respond to you as quickly as possible. This does not include questions about rescheduling – my front office staff will be handling all of that tomorrow and whenever we’re able to get back to the office, so please don’t ask me when we can move you to because I honestly don’t iknow!
So wrap dem pipes, bundle yourselves up, put sweaters on your dogs and let’s all make the most of what will certainly be a couple of rare, beautiful days in the Deep South! Thanks for understanding – I hate having to do this as much as you do!
Yours truly,
Brad Gottsegen
A big thanks to Kenny and Kara for making sure our house was prepped for the storm. Water shut off, pipes drained, and food delivery stowed in the freezer – thanks guys!
Clorinda came home from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, after a two week stay. She is very happy to be home to her normal surroundings and pretty views. A lot of work for Diana, with me providing “hoisting services” every few hours.
I snuck out for a while on Thursday and met Will and Ollie for lunch in Redwood City. Will chose Mazra, a Mediterranean and tapas restaurant. We started with yummy cauliflower:
And then Will ordered what Marco described as “dinner for four.” We had plenty of leftovers.
The rest of the week has been a consistent routine of making Clorinda as comfortable as possible. She always brightens up when the grandkids visit. Francesca thought it was fun to steal my phone and make a video that I didn’t see until the next morning. Always up to something.
With a bit of extra time on my hands, and no buddies to hang out with, I was able to watch a few movies that I really enjoyed.
“A Real Pain” was a very good story about two buddies (Jessie Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin) on a guided tour of Poland. I was trying to figure out who the lady on the tour was – looked very familiar. Had to look it up to find it was Jennifer Gray of “Dirty Dancing” fame.
“The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” was the next movie I enjoyed. It’s a quiet movie about a bookseller on a remote North Eastern island. Recommended.
The last movie that I’ll share was “The Fundamentals of Caring.” Paul Rudd is a caregiver for a disabled child. Highly recommended.
I finished “Martyr” by Kaveh Akbar this week. All these great reviews had me excited for the read:
“NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW’S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • ATIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR • A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original, Martyr! heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction.
“Kaveh Akbar is one of my favorite writers. Ever.” —Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of There There.”
I found the first 280 pages to be a real slog for me. The last 50 or so pages brought a lot of things together and made for an enjoyable conclusion. I would recommend skipping this one.
I came across these speakers this week and thought the design was very cool. Further research showed they cost $250K – what?
We’re always excited when the Jazzfest schedule is published.
Nobody earth shattering but several good options – particularly further down in the lineup.
King Crimson released a bunch of live shows this week. The setup with the three drummers up front is very enjoyable:
Garth Hudson of The Band died this week. He was the last living member, and the genius musician behind a lot of the arrangements. Robbie Robertson used to take music lessons from him when the band was first forming.
Here’s one of their songs that features his organ and keyboard skills:
Something from New Orleans pianist, Kyle Roussel:
Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!
Greetings One and All!
I snuck out for a while on Thursday and met Will and Ollie for lunch in Redwood City. Will chose Mazra, a Mediterranean and tapas restaurant. We started with yummy cauliflower:
I finished “Martyr” by Kaveh Akbar this week. All these great reviews had me excited for the read:
