Week in Review – September 6th, 2026

“Variety Week”

Monday was typical for McD – lot of pickling and a workout.

Tuesday was haircut day for me.  That was followed by a trip to Trader Joe’s.  I texted Finn this picture from the checkout line.

He replied that you feel less guilty consuming them because they are “Teeny Tiny.”

We did very well at trivia in the evening, albeit with a couple of disruptive team members – I won’t name names this time around.  I didn’t think we were confident enough on the last question – put four forts in order from furthest north to most southerly.  The group consensus was to wager the full 20 points.  A wise decision as we were the only team to have it correct, winning by a margin of over 40 points – maybe our strongest win yet.

Interestingly, we could have won by an even bigger margin.  I was relatively sure that the answer to, “Which artist has the most cumulative weeks on the Hot 100 music chart?”, was Mariah Carey.  I had heard it somewhere pretty recently.  The group was more comfortable with Michael Jackson.  Mariah was correct – I should have been more vocal, but wasn’t completely sure.

Similarly, Thom was sure of the answer to, “In what state of matter does 99% of the visible universe exist?”  He pushed for plasma, saying that’s what made all the stars glow.  Denny and I had not heard of a new entry to the “Solid, Liquid, Gas” family and so pushed for Gas.  Kenny did ask “Are we sure we want to ignore the answer from the only one of us with a PhD?”  We did and were wrong – sorry Thom.

My final trivia story – there’s a question type called a “mashup” that involves putting two things together in a single phrase.  Alex and Pepperoni have been good at that in the past and we commented that we were going to miss them both for that question.  Our scribe became a big indignant, sharing that he had successfully guessed several in the past also.  “The Legend of Zelda Fitzgerald” was a nice demonstration of the scribe pulling from a few team members to arrive at the correct “mashup.”

Diana started her Wednesday with yoga (inside for the first time in a while) and pickleball.  She then made a quick change before we joined the KKs for Happy Hour at Cafe Degas.  Kara had suggested that we meet there prior to a talk we planned to attend at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA).

We shared some of the usual favourites – escargots, meat and cheese platter, fries with aioli, and ravioli.  Then we added in a new twist – a dessert called “île flottante”, meaning floating island.  Have you had it before?  I believe this is my first introduction and it was quite delicious.

A floating island of soft meringue sits atop crème anglaise.  The meringue is quite different than the typical kind used in a pavlova, for example.  The pavlova is crispy on the outside and chewy inside.  The “island” type is soft and served at room temperature rather than hot.

Our talk at NOMA was part of the “Elders Sacred Talk Series” and featured Jackie Harris and Deacon John.  It was quite similar to the talk we attended at the Jazz and Heritage Center a few weeks ago – also featuring a celebration of Germaine Bazzle.  There was no music at the NOMA event – just conversation, and I think it would have benefited from a small band playing a few songs with Deacon John or at least some videos that he could react to.

Both participants answered the questions well and I thoroughly enjoyed the time.

We took advantage of another library culture pass on Thursday.  This time for the Pontchartrain Conservancy Lighthouse.  Established as a lighthouse in 1839, all but destroyed by Katrina, the building now stands tall and proud.

We were fortunate to get a private guided tour (the only two folks there) that gave us a whole new understanding and education about the history of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.

The old lighthouse lens was interesting – a Fresnel type.

There is a weather camera at the top of the lighthouse that often provides footage for the news – particularly if waves are crashing off the sea wall.

I surprised Diana with a visit to the nearby Desi Vega’s Steak Burgers.  Lindsey was a wonderful bartender/waitress.  Can you believe what was showing on the TV?  As if we didn’t have enough pickleball on our schedule.

We both enjoyed the burger that we shared and Diana particularly enjoyed the tater tots.

While Diana was getting her hair done on Friday, Kenny picked me up and drove me over to Rocky and Carlo’s restaurant in Chalmette.  This is as far as I have driven for a meal in a long time – the better part of 30 minutes after waiting on a train and the raising/lowering of the canal bridge.

Trey met us at the place which specializes in large portions of Italian classics (veal and eggplant parm, stuffed peppers and the like) and po’boys.  Trey was as unfiltered and entertaining as ever.   I had the eggplant parm – didn’t really care for it but did enjoy the “side” of mac ‘n cheese  that provided 3 or 4 left over meals.

The boys went to Bruno’s to watch football on Saturday afternoon and recruited our local food writer, Ian McNulty, to join their group.

Meanwhile, we headed to Nic and Sandi’s to celebrate her birthday.  Nic loves Italian cooking and had been at it all day.  All kinds of yummy meats had been bubbling away in his red sauce.  There were six couples at the dinner party, all with some pickleball connection:  Bill and Shanie, Ken and Rachel, John and Beth, and Laurie and Michael.  There were two couples I didn’t know and it was fun to chat with Ken and discover that he likes all the same music and food as I do and retired to New Orleans three years ago for all the same reasons that we did.

Nic sent us home with plenty of leftovers.  What a lovely evening.

We both had early starts on Sunday morning.  I was out the door at 7:25am for a pickup by Kenny and Diana had 8:30am tennis.  Kenny and I met Chris Peet at Stanley for breakfast.  This is a famous French Quarter breakfast place, right on Jackson Square,  that closes for good on Labor Day (Monday).

Diana and I had planned to meet Chris there a few weeks ago and then he had a conflict, and so he suggested that we go before it closed.  Kenny and I spotted him and the Love trike from down the street.

I’m glad we made the effort to visit Stanley one last time.  The food and company were very good.  Kenny even got to take a spin on the Love trike.

The rest of the day was spent watching US Open tennis and football.  I’m so glad to have football (college this week and NFL next week) back.

I finally finished up Villa Coco this week.  It really was a bit of a slog, interrupted occasionally by some very funny pieces.  I really wouldn’t recommend this one.

Here’s an example of some of the writing that made me smile:

“He removed his hat as one removes the lid from a pot, then smiled to all of us as if sure we were admiring the single blond lock that clung to his otherwise bald forehead like a price sticker to a melon.”

An interesting comparison of America and Italy:

“What Americans know of Italy is a confection of movies and food; for expedience’s sake, restaurants and filmmakers have grafted Naples to Sicily, Rome to Florence, creating a Frankenstein’s monster of pasta and accordions and Leonardo and cheese. In fact, the nation is much younger than America itself; unification was achieved only in the time of Dickens. It is the opposite of America: not a colonizer’s canvas cut into political states but ancient kingdoms brought together into one nation. And so the passage from Tuscany into Emilia-Romagna was not like that from South into North Carolina, which, no matter how Americans may squabble, is hardly to be noticed, but more like the passage from Spain to Morocco (one I made in my later travels). There was a change of landscape, of culture, of history, of language, and, of course, of cuisine.”

Clorinda loved to buy a raft of Christmas panettones to distribute amongst friends and family:

“A bakery displayed domes of Christmas panettone in dark blue paper and plain pandoro wrapped in clear plastic, ready to be shaken with powdered sugar, and some other cake labeled Focaccia Natale that looked nothing like what we had eaten in Recco.”

Funny but true:

“She took the cane in one hand. “You are still thinking of America?” “I have a ticket.” She was saying: “We both know what would become of you.” I snapped to attention. “And what is that?” “You would go back to old habits,” she told me, tapping one of my slippers with the tip of her cane. “Such as?” “You would start thinking again that literature began with Hemingway and art with Warhol. That the fate of the world depends upon your presidential election. That a proper dinner conversation is to discuss your favorite television shows. Like every American, you would lose—””

A new artist for me that I’ve been enjoying this week:

The new Jayhawks album continues to get a lot of play:

 

 

 

Week in Review – August 30th, 2026

“New Friends and Joe Krown”

We had the typical Monday early start for the 8am pickling session.  Shortly after that Daniel, our appliance repair guy, and his son showed up to look at our dishwasher, washer and dryer.  The dishwasher was deemed not worth messing with – too old and too difficult and costly to fix.  It’s fine – we use it rarely anyway and I’m going to try one more full reboot before giving up.  The washer needs a part that has been ordered and we need a chimney sweep for the dryer vent.  Such joy!

I got to sleep in on Tuesday as the pickling didn’t commence until 11am.  That was followed by lunch at Porgy’s on the way to run some errands in Metairie.  This was Diana’s first visit and she really enjoyed the food, service and vibe of the place.  We had ceviche, a Thai style gulf fish ceviche tostada, and a special shrimp burger – all delicious.  Even the rose prosecco was pleasing to McD.  I think she’ll be looking to return soon.

Well sated with incredibly fresh seafood, we headed over to Metairie to make some returns at Target and for me to shop for a couple of shirts for upcoming travels.

We were home in time for me to rehearse for trivia with an episode of Jeopardy.  The news of Dolly Parton’s passing broke and so I did a little trivia preparation for questions about her.  We didn’t get any but Tom, quiz master, told a story about his first day as a radio DJ and the first song he ever introduced – 9 to 5 by Dolly.  Here’s a cartoon from the paper of Dolly’s note at half mast.

Our friend, Debra, is in the Krewe of Dolly and we’re waiting to hear when they’ll have a second line celebration.

My Jeopardy prep paid off – there was a question about which movie poster contained the three words, “Why so serious?”  That was on the episode I watched and so I was able to state confidently that the answer was 100% surely “The Dark Knight.”  I knew a lot more of the answers than usual – just the luck of the draw.  I was most proud of “Which Shakespeare play has the phrase – something wicked this way comes?”  Obviously “Macbeth.”

The Enid – the Shakespeare clue brought them back to me.  A wonderful concert at the tiny theater above the Playhouse when I was at university in Edinburgh.

Apologies for that diversion.  Would you like to hear about the final trivia question?  I thought you most likely would.  It was one of those add up the numbers and come within 5 of the total.  The four numbers were:

How many countries border Nicaragua  (2)
We argued about 3 or 4 and went with 4
How many permanent members of the UN Security council  (5)
We knew 5 and didn’t need any debate
How many individual repeat Nobel prize winners  (5)
We thought 3 or 4 and went with 3
How many seasons was Babe Ruth home run leader (12)
We thought 10 to 12 – based on the scribes strong input or the group would likely have gone lower – 11 was our final guess
So…the correct total was 24 and we guessed 23 – nicely done!  Good leadership, Kenny.
That was good enough to cement a very strong first place win with 113 points – one of our stronger performances overall.  I think we only missed two questions all night.
No sleeping in on Wednesday morning as there was an 8am workout with Sandi.  That was followed by a quick change to attend the 10am classic movie at the Prytania movie theater.  They show a classic every week on Wednesday and Sunday.  The offering this week – “Some Like it Hot.”
The gentleman who did the introduction let us know that this would have been the original owner of the theater and founder of the classic cinema series, Rene Brunet’s, 105th birthday, and this was his favourite movie.  The audience sang “Happy Birthday” and the movie commenced.
I had forgotten just how funny the film is – Diana said I laughed through at least a half of the movie – and it was almost two hours long.  I really enjoy the morning classic movies – we need to pick out our next one.

Procida is a new restaurant that opened a week ago on Wednesday.  We read the review in the paper and decided it was perfect for Diana.  What do you think?

Here’s the review from the paper:

procida ian mcnulty review

We drove over to the Marigny and found the lovely new restaurant.  Open exactly a week total.  The green haired hostess did not give a good first impression – surly and pecking away on her iPad like an airline ticket agent.  Thankfully everything after her was much better.  It wasn’t just us – I watched her repeat the performance for every group that came in – maybe not the ideal job match?  Here’s the menu – so many good choices – what would you have gone with?

We opted to start with the Sicilian arancina and the smoked swordfish carpaccio.  Both great and the swordfish was just delicious.  Off to a great start.

Diana had the bucatini and I chose the anolini.  Again, both were delicious and very different.  The bucatini aglio e olio was finished with pangrattato, the tiny breadcrumbs fried in olive oil that make a crunchy contrast to the crab and the noodle.  I thought it was a great dish.  The anolini had fried zucchini, smoked scamorza cheese and lemon.  I had not heard of scamorza cheese – apparently the smoky, denser cousin of mozarella.  I just had some leftovers and the lemon flavour really came through.

Dessert time?  Diana had mentioned tiramisu for a few days and was ready to jump in.

This was a very traditional tiramisu and I loved it.  Procida will do very well after they get rid of the green haired hostess – the food, space and vibe are all very good.

I rewatched a few episodes of “Shrinking” on Wednesday evening.  Just as good the second time around.  I saw some framed record albums in Jimmy’s house and wondered what two of them were – I knew the Lou Reed one.  The beauty of AI – a 10 second search and I had the answer.  I’m a pretty big Pink Floyd album and have never seen that Syd Barret album.

Thursday was two pickling sessions for Diana and reading, music and admin for me.

We met a couple of Diana’s pickling girlfriends and husbands on Friday evening – Sandi, Nic, Shanie and Bill.  We started off at the Rusty Nail, migrated across the street to Plates for s dinner of Spanish tapas, and then retired to Bill and Shanie’s flat for stories.  I had a great time and enjoyed the new friends very much.

We had planned on sitting outside at the Kingpin to listen to this music on Saturday afternoon:

We ventured out to Martin to get a bottle of wine for our neighbor, Tony’s, birthday and decided that it was way too humid to sit outside.  Those that braved the heat reported that this was a great show.

Kenny and Kara joined us on the porch after dinner for a while and we had an enjoyable visit as Tony’s birthday party would down next door.

Denny and Anne stayed in NYC for an extra night and Kenny had a tennis match, so we invited the new pickling friends to join us to listen to Joe Krown at the Old Point in Algiers on Sunday afternoon.  Diana and I enjoyed brunch at Maya’s before picking up Sandi and Nic for the drive across the Mississippi.

I really enjoyed the scene at the Old Point – a good crowd with us for once finding ourselves on the younger end of the gene pool.  Joe Krown played as effortlessly as ever.

Kenny joined us on the porch to close out a very pleasant day.

I haven’t completely finished “Villa Coco” by Andrew Sean Greer yet.  It certainly doesn’t move at the pace of the wonderful “Less.”  Hopefully it will pick up in the later sections.

I was glad to see Cyril Neville awarded a “Guardian of the Groove” from our wonderful local radio station, WWOZ.

It’s a small list of honorees – Marcia Ball has one.  How about this song from Cyril and Joe:

I haven’t heard anything that good in a long time.

The excellent and underappreciated band, the Jayhawks, have a new album out – always a treat:

 

 

 

 

Week in Review – August 23rd, 2026

“Musical Elders”

Diana started Monday as usual with pickling.  Then a new feature, regular workouts with Sandi at Franco’s gym – seem to be going well.  That was followed by more pickling and then a quick shower/change before our evening activity.  We drove over to the Jazz and Heritage Center, straddling the boundary of the French Quarter and Treme.

Here’s the description from the Jazz and Heritage Foundation:

“Go on a musical journey with Herlin Riley and Lula Elzy as they talk with Ms. Germaine Bazzle and Lawrence Cotton about music & New Orleans.

Jazz Generations Initiative New Orleans, in partnership with Lula Elzy and co-sponsored by the Jazz and Heritage Foundation Wein Center invites you to Live Music in Conversation: An Oral History Program co-hosted by Lula Elzy and Herlin Riley, featuring the “First Lady of Jazz” vocalist Germaine Bazzle and American R&B and jazz pianist Lawrence Cotton.

Riley and Elzy will take audiences on musical journeys chronicling the lives, musical influences, joys and challenges of these legendary New Orleans jazz artists while they tell their stories in their own words. The program will also feature a live set with Derek Douget, Oscar Rossignoli, Peter Harris, and Herlin Riley.”

Herlin Riley is New Orleans musical royalty.  His resume is very long and very impressive, having helped Wynton Marsalis establish the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra, and playing with Ahmad Jamal for many years.

Some details on Riley’s accomplishments:

Herlin Riley bio

Riley interviewed the pianist, Lawrence Cotton (right), who was quick to let everyone know that he would be 100 in 6 months.  Wow.

The band played a couple of tunes before the interview with Germaine Bazzle took place.  Anytime that I can see Herlin Riley and Oscar Rossignoli playing together, I’m there.  Oscar seems to get more impressive every time.

The emcee’s didn’t have to work as hard in their conversation with Germaine Bazzle – she’s only 94.  And then they gave her a microphone – amazing.

I’m really glad we took the time to attend this show.

I heard quite a bit of chatter during the week about beeping from the dishwasher.  It’s frustrating because I can’t hear it.  It’s a Maytag and I assume they didn’t think old people would ever need to hear their alarm beeps and put them at a suitably high frequency to miss me.  Don’t worry – a repair guy is coming tomorrow.

We watched a movie called “Don’t Say Good Luck” on Monday evening – the benefit of a 5:30pm start on the Legends show.  Diana thanked me for picking another tear jerker – I really didn’t know, it was at the top of the Netflix new list.  Adam Sandler’s daughter stars as a theater-kid navigating performing in the big school play while also supporting her mother in fighting cancer.

It it’s Tuesday, there’s likely a pickling clinic to attend – and there was.

We had a visit to the NOAC for a workout on Wednesday afternoon and then I invited McD to Happy Hour at the Bower in the Lower Garden District.  They made an excellent special Manhattan with some kind of Amore.  We always love their cacio e pepe – enough for us to share and always such fresh pasta.  It’s almost as good a deal as Cafe Degas during Happy Hour and certainly a shorter drive (or walk when it’s not 115 heat index.)

We had a short visit from Kenny and Kara in the evening, just back from their trip to Colorado.

Thursday – more pickling with an open play recreational group.  Diana attended an event at Martin Wines about Italian wines and cheeses in the evening.  Neither of us know much about them and so it was good that she could gain a little knowledge – making good notes during the program.

Friday morning – pickling and another workout with Sandi.

I organized the gang for a Friday evening outing to Revel to check their “COOLinary” menu.  Many restaurants (well over a hundred this year) put together a special menu during August that is designed to entice locals out during the heat.  They offer 2 course lunches for $28 or less and 3 course dinners for around $55 or less.  The highlight of the Revel menu is their “award winning burger.”

Thom and I split the menu, more than enough that way.

We migrated from Revel to Twelve Mile Limit for pool and ultimately to Verret’s for karaoke.  There was a once in a lifetime performance of “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” from me with help from Kenny.

Sunday brought a visit to the NOAC, followed by a Trader Joe’s shopping spree.  I’m now scrolling through a little bit of the pre-season NFL games while finishing up the newspaper and this posting.

My quest for an enjoyable read that I could sink my teeth into continued this week.  “Mothers and Sons” by Adam Haslet showed moments of promise but became too much of what I call “kitchen sinky” – each situation needs to have one of every type of person suffering from all the usual current traumas and challenges.  That became too much and I stopped after 100 pages.  Here’s an online summary:

“Mothers and Sons is a 2025 novel by Adam Haslett. It explores the long estrangement between a 40-year-old New York City asylum lawyer named Peter and his mother, Ann, who runs a women’s retreat in Vermont. As Peter handles a compelling new asylum case, past trauma and a 20-year-old act of violence force both mother and son to confront the secrets that drove them apart.”

I think I might have found what I need with the latest from Andrew Sean Greer – I loved his “Less” several years ago.  It’s a little too early to confirm, but I think I will see this one all the way through.  Here’s a summary:
“Published on June 9, 2026, Villa Coco by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer is a sun-soaked, witty coming-of-age novel. Set in the Tuscan hills, it follows a buttoned-up young American archivist who takes a job cataloging a crumbling mansion, only to be swept up in the chaotic, eccentric world of a 92-year-old Baronessa named Coco. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Plot & Atmosphere
  • The Setup: The young narrator—nicknamed Giovedì—arrives expecting quiet archival work, but instead faces an anti-fragile household of constant motion, broken plumbing, and eccentric guests. [1, 2, 3]
  • The Mission: Amidst odd jobs and social chaos, he becomes an accomplice in Coco’s final, secret plan to reunite with the lost love of her life. [1, 2]
  • The Vibe: Part farcical romp and part tender meditation on aging, youth, and friendship, written in Greer’s signature luminous style. [1, 2]
Key Characters
  • Coco (Baronessa Lisabetta): A wealthy, flamboyant, and unpredictable 92-year-old aristocrat who upends the narrator’s rigidity.
  • The Narrator: A rigid, idealistic recent college graduate who has sworn off romance, only to stumble into a complicated affair.
  • The Ensemble: An eclectic mix of visiting princesses, bohemian painters, and local handlers populating the estate”

There is an EXCELLENT new album out from Jon Batiste –  “Black Mozart”.

The musical creativity is huge.  Batiste’s mind is a very busy place.  And the touch – like Glenn Gould adding some Dr. John syncopation and James Booker frills.  This is on heavy rotation on Washington Avenue.

 

Week in Review – August 16th, 2026

“Happy 60th Birthday, Greg”

The picklers had a successful outing to their clinic on Tuesday, Diana winning a second place medal, and Laurie coming in third.  I believe there were at least eight teams.

We had a less successful trivia outing on Tuesday evening.  Early in the game, I was able to encourage the team to choose “Quebec City” as the answer to a question about the city that was capital of the first French territory in Canada.  Some wanted Montreal and I said I hadn’t seen any evidence of that on our visit, and knew that nearby Quebec City was much older.

I forgot to mention that I assumed “scribe” and team captain duties from Kenny, who was off attending a King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (yes – that is really the band name) camping weekend festival in Buena Vista, Colorado.  Here’s a short video that Kenny sent if you would like a view into what the event looks like.  I’m pretty sure I aged out of that whole scene.

We were in contention going into the last question.  Put four events in chronological order.  We were confident that “I Dream of Jeanie” was earliest, followed by “Billy Jean King’s Battle of the Sexes.”  We were undecided on when “Little Janie” from Elton John was released and on when the “Diaper Genie” was launched.  I was confident that we had a “Diaper Genie” in 1988 with Will, and others were thinking that “Little Genie” was from the 90s.  Oops – my memory was incorrect and “Little Jeanie” was earlier than anticipated.  We bet all 20 points and so did not place.  Had we flipped those two questionable answers, we would have been in first place.  Maybe I wasn’t such a great scribe/team captain.  I will have an opportunity to try again or pass the torch next week.  We’ll see what the group thinks.

Launch of Diaper Genie (1993)

Bill Jean King battle of the sexes (1973)

Little Jeanie by Elton John (1980)

I Dream of Jeanie (1965)

On the trivia theme, I had been assigned to research Hemingway facts after we missed “Death in the Afternoon”, his novel about bull fighting, for the second time, instead picking “The Sun Also Rises.”  That one only has a bit of bull fighting late in the novel.  The Saturday New York Times puzzle shows exactly how this confusing info enters my brain.

Diana had a workout with Sandi at Franco’s on Wednesday morning – this is a new routine she’s contemplating adding to her busy schedule.   There were no competitions in pickling following the workout, hence no medals.

I braved the heat on Thursday morning for a walk to French Truck Coffee to read the paper.  After that I completed the three mile circuit down Magazine to Napoleon, up to Prytania and back home.  I was quite sweaty on arrival back.  This sight distressed me on my walk.  I keep seeing this ridiculous Tesla truck around town – and parked in front of a wonderful local tapas place (Baru) it just looks completely ridiculous.

Diana returned from pickleball to report that she and Laurie got first place in the open play tournament.  She was quick to point out that there were only four teams – still worth celebrating, I think.

 

 

 

Anne’s birthday was on Thursday and we celebrated on Friday with a group dinner at the Rum House – always an easy, casual and tasty choice.  Dinner was followed by a visit to NOLA Brewing where a live band was playing at 7pm.  I was taken by surprise when, entering via the back door by the stage, I was greeted by thirty little girls running around squealing and having a birthday party.  At a BREWERY, WHEN A BAND IS PLAYING???  This place needs to decide if it’s a pizza and beer place with live music FOR ADULTS, or a McDonalds play ground for kids’ birthday parties.  Geez!

We retired to the front bar and had a nice, kid-free visit albeit without any live music to enjoy.

Diana had early morning pickling on Saturday and I made a quick trip to Trader Joe’s for supplies to make a charcuterie board for Greg’s 60th birthday party in the afternoon.  I stopped into the wonderful Mojo on Freret for a coffee prior to my shopping expedition.

We made our way over to Greg and Colleen’s in the afternoon.  As I was storing my backpack behind the house, I caught sight of Valerie Sassyfras hiding in the corner.  Apparently Denny had taken the blame for hiring her, but it was all Colleen.  Regular readers may remember that she played our New Year’s Eve party two years ago.  Here is her Happy Birthday to 60 year old Greg:

Gifts were unveiled after Valerie with a very poignant moment.  Greg lost “by far my favourite ever dog”, Rufus, a few months ago.  Rufus was a stray that hung around Greg’s home on Baronne street and his girls ultimately convinced him to take the dog in.  Jeanne, Greg’s sister, had painted a special portrait of Rufus by the hot tub for the occasion.  Greg was very moved.

And we weren’t finished there.  Daughter Lilly had sewn a custom Rufus t-shirt for the event.  All this hidden talent!

Fun pool time ensued.  Oliver practiced his Buzz Lightyear pose, while 6 week old brother Ezra bounced around the family members.

Sunday is a quiet day so far.  Diana has been doing yard work and lolling in her pool.  I’ve been watching the Sunday morning news programs and getting frustrated at our inept politicians – all around.

I’ve almost finished “The Emperor of Gladness” by Ocean Vuong.  I did not love this book but kept with it, having rejected quite a few after a few chapters recently.  Oprah raved about this and I usually enjoy her recommendations.  This one is too plodding, mundane, and depressing.  Here’s the online summary:

“One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to transform Hai’s relationship to himself, his family, and a community on the brink.

Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong’s writing—formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness—are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance.”

Let’s start off with a playlist that I loved.  I’m sure everyone will have something on there that hey don’t like – but I love all of these songs – custom made based on what I listen to, so one would hope that’s the case:

I heard this Joan Armatrading classic on a TV show – so good:

I’ve been on a “God Only Knows” kick lately.  My favourite Beach Boys and maybe all time.  How can a song start with “I May Not Always Love You” and follow it up a few lines later with “God Only Knows What I’d Be Without You.”

There are over 100 cover versions.  A few interesting ones:

And finally, the sublime Hank Marvin and the Shadows:

Week in Review – August 9th, 2026

“Visit to Austin”

On Sunday, after my last post, we watched a couple of interesting things.  This YouTube video of “special places” is amazing – such crazy places where people survive.

Later, Diana had chosen “Project Hail Mary” for us to watch.  I thought this was a serious sci-fi movie, and was surprised at the humour in the first hour or so – Ryan Gosling has such a good comedic sense.  The 2nd and 3rd hours (yes – one of those films that could have used a real editor) got a bit sillier and more sci-fi.  A good movie overall but I would not have wanted to sit through it at the theater.

I’m sure you know by now what a typical Diana Monday looks like.  That’s right – two pickleball sessions.  And then again on Tuesday morning.

We did well at trivia on Tuesday evening, despite ignoring Jack E’s correct answer about the most predominant colour in countries flags – red, not white.

Our first place finish was cemented with a correct answer to the final question:

Add up the answers to these four questions, getting within 5 points of the correct total:

How many Raiders of the Lost Ark etc movies did Harrison Ford appear in?  (5)

How many wives of Henry VIII? (6)

How many 1,000 yard rushing seasons did Derek Henry complete? (7)

How many seasons did Henry Winkler star in Happy Days (11)

The correct answer was 29 and we guessed 30 for the win!  The only meaty debate we add was around the seasons of Happy Days – for some reason I thought it was less, say 5 to 7.  Denny persisted with over 10 and was correct.  Oh, there was a short debate about the wives of Henry VIII – Denny submitted when I shared all of their names.

Wednesday started with a walk/run in the park for both of us, then Diana had yoga and I splintered off to Tartine for coffee and the newspaper.  They had a stuffed baguette advertised that I couldn’t resist.  Stuffed with ham, bacon, onion, mushrooms, fontina and some spicy peppers.  Ridiculously yummy.  It doesn’t look exciting in the photo but I wanted to add it so that I remember to try it again.  This is certainly my favourite breakfast spot.

When I returned to pick up yoga D, this is the sight that greeted me – a bunch of bottoms up in the air.  Apparently that was their final stretch.

 

 

We were scheduled to fly to Austin on Thursday afternoon.  Diana managed to work in a morning pickle session before our 2pm airport departure.  Emerging from the Austin airport to hike over for an Uber, we commented on what a change the difference in the level of humidity made.  It was much more pleasant to move around than in New Orleans.

We checked into the lovely Carpenter hotel and made our way to the Odd Duck to meet Tim and Heidi for dinner.  Tim had been fielding investment analyst calls all day and so we were appreciative that he was able to meet.  The Odd Duck is my favourite Austin eatery and it’s particularly fun when you have four adventuresome diners to share dishes.  So many great choices:

We started with the redfish ceviche with the wonderful watermelon aguachile sauce:

and the antelope tataki:

and the pork belly chalupa:

The antelope was the tastiest of the first round for me.

Tim started the second round with orders of the pork chop and fried quail.  I added the seafood and pork sausage papperdelle:

It was harder to choose a round two winner, but I ultimately opted for the fried quail – so perfectly cooked.

Heidi suggested the olive cake for dessert – delicious.

This was a lovely evening – so nice to catch up over a casual and delicious meal.

Diana hit the river trail early on Friday morning and then we shared a breakfast sandwich before making our way to Blair and Lisa’s compound for a “lite lunch.”

 

 

I got kitted out in UT gear and we admired the amazing charcuterie platter that Lisa and her friend had assembled.  Have you ever seen one like this?

We passed a very pleasant afternoon in the backyard of the compound enjoying the pool, cornhole, and pickleball experiences.  The net for pickleball was set up for the first time and fancy paddles broken out of their packaging.  Diana enjoyed explaining the basics of the game to her new converts.

We picked up dinner from a local Italian hole in the wall – all very tasty.  Blair had been saving a bottle of Opus One that we gifted him for Christmas several years ago to drink together.  He clearly stored it well as it tasted even better than I was expecting.

Diana started Saturday with a walk through the new neighbourhood, commenting on the difference that hills made to a route.  We had some migas tacos (perfect – thanks Lisa) after that and then prepared for the “Trifecta” of a day.

  1.  Boating on Lake Travis
  2.  Dinner at Mexican Sugar
  3.  Concert with The Romantics/Christopher Cross/Toto

Over four hours on the lake was plenty for me, and I know Diana would have kept going all day.  We cruised around the lake:

Stopped to drop anchor and float around for a while:

and stopped into Stumpy’s for a snack:

The boat docked, we made a quick change at the resort and were picked up by Sami for our ride over to dinner and the concert.  Mexican Sugar was a very large and pretty restaurant and the food and drinks were fine.  The location was perfect to breakup our commute over to the concert.  The amphitheater was located by the Formula 1 racing track on the south side of town.

The concert was considered “Yacht Rock” – a genre that includes bands like Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and Christopher Cross.  That’s the reason for the yacht captains’ hats in some of the ensuing pictures.  The first band on the bill was The Romantics.  We only knew two of their songs.  Here’s an interesting version of one:

What’s up with Blair’s vintage Earl Campbell Oilers jersey, you ask?  Well…he saw several videos where Christopher Cross was wearing the same shirt, and was hoping to attract his attention.  Our seats were third row, center with perfect views – that’s how Blair rolls.  Christopher Cross sounds great and broke out his biggest hit early in the set:

The last song was the other huge hit:

And then an acoustic reprise of “Sailing” – even better:

After a relatively short stage change over, Toto were ready to go.  I captured their three biggest hits:

It was a treat to have Christopher Cross, his backup singers, and the guitarist from the Romantics join for the last number, Africa.

We found Sami easily and were back at the resort around midnight.  What a fun packed day, we checked all 3 boxes of the “Trifecta.”  A massive thanks to Blair and Lisa for all of their work coordinating, executing, feeding, and planning.

While we participated in all of that excitement on Saturday, the annual football Hall of Fame induction ceremony was taking place in Canton, Ohio.  A couple of very poignant sentences from Drew Brees, quarterback who took the New Orleans Saints to the Superbowl:

“New Orleans … You accepted me. You embraced me. You believed in me. But more importantly, you entrusted me with the soul of the city. And I would have died to protect that calling!”

And in even more poignant news for me, the EDS headquarters building in Plano, TX was imploded.  I worked there off an on for many years, starting shortly after it opened.  It’s hard to believe there wasn’t a continuing use for all that space.

EDS Plano HQ imploded

Sami, having proven himself very reliable on Saturday night, transported us in style back to the Austin airport for our flight home.  I chuckled at this album display in the airport from local artists – that’s Christopher Cross at the top left and that album has both hit songs that I shared earlier.

 

 

Jon Cleary, wonderful English born piano player who has resided in New Orleans for 40 years and is an expert on all things funky NOLA style piano, has an album coming soon.  This was recorded from a solo show at the Royal Albert Hall in London.  Hard to believe he sold that out and plays in small venues in his adopted home town.

“I’ve played music to crowds at the Hollywood Bowl, Sydney Opera House and Bertha’s Bon Ton Lounge on Basin Street – all sophisticated, high-class joints. But there’s nothing that gets the spine all atingle and the funk juices bubbling quite like the prospect of getting down at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Fortunately, someone had the good sense to roll tape on that special evening last year, and the result, for your delectation, is a new solo live album that’s coming out on October 2nd!“

A later post from Cleary as he responds to a “badge” from Facebook to congratulate him on being an “emerging” artist:

“It’s not without a degree of curiosity, and even some slight alarm, that I learn today that I’m ‘emerging’.

Just to set the record straight, the last thing you want to do in New Orleans right now – if you have an air-conditioning unit that works – is to ‘emerge’. It’s too bloody hot outside. I will only emerge from the cool comfort of the red room in my house if there’s a life threatening emergency or if my manager Reed calls and invites me to join him for a cold Guinness in the equally cool environs of Markey’s Bar on Royal Street.

Editor’s note: Reed will call.

So, you can imagine my surprise on discovering today that Mark Zuckerberg has announced to the world that:

1) I am apparently a ‘talent’. This is very flattering, Mark. Thank you for the kindly compliment.

2) That I am ‘emerging’. A blatant untruth.

All this, and the further bombshell that Mr Zuckerberg, in his infinite kindness, wisdom and good taste, is awarding me a special ‘badge’. A badge! I do hope that it’s an especially big and shiny one.

I started playing music when I was 5, started playing in public when was 11, started getting paid for gigs when I was 14 and now, at the age, of 63, apparently it’s official, I’m finally emerging.

Mark, I know you’re a clever chap, and I hate to disappoint you, especially after the nice badge and everything, but, honestly, trust me, I’m not emerging, I’m staying indoors as much as possible, here on the couch, where it’s nice and cool. I’m not going anywhere (except perhaps the afore-mentioned Markey’s. Reed?)”

And finally (we’re skipping the Reading portion this week as I have made light progress) Robert Glasper does Radiohead, “Everything in its right place.”

Week in Review – August 2nd, 2026

“Happy Hours and White Linen”
The week started with the typical Monday morning and afternoon pickleball sessions for Diana.  I forgot to tell you about a silly, funny movie, “The Dink”, that we watched the other night.  It’s about the way tennis players view pickleball, the “dink” being a shot where you tap the ball over the net where the opposing players can’t reach it quickly enough.
The movie had several all-star cameo appearances.  Here’s how AI describes a dink in pickleball:

“How a Dink Works

  • Location: Hit from near the kitchen line so the ball bounces inside the opposite kitchen.
  • Technique: Uses a short, gentle tap instead of a big swing.
  • Result: Forces the other player to hit the ball upward from below the net level. 
Strategy and Purpose
  • Neutralize: Keeps you safe when your opponent is waiting to smash a hard hit.
  • Control: Stops the other team from attacking.
  • Patience: Builds a soft rally until someone hits a high ball you can attack.”
I made a solo trip to Trader Joe’s while the pickling was in progress.  I amaze myself when I actually enjoy a quick trip to TJs.  Never would have believed it.

Later in the afternoon we made a trip to the bank to do some maintenance on our safety deposit box.  The manual, paper based process involved is a great thing to behold.  They guy who helped us was quite proud of the collection of massive binders that he accessed to get our box history.  “I organized all of this myself.”  The paper card was retrieved for us all to sign and then we did the dueling keys thing to open the box.  I love the old schoolness of it all.

The air conditioner at Merry Lee and Jeff’s condo broke and they came over to borrow a couple of fans.  That gave us a chance to enjoy their dogs, Jazz and Cali.  They were not shy about letting Jeff know when they were ready to go for a second walk.

Tuesday brough some morning pickling, and then I drove Diana over for pool time with Merry Lee.  They ended up hanging out all day, with Jeff joining the guys for trivia.

Jeff was the only person in the building that knew the answer to one of the questions.  He had gone off to get a beer and none of us knew which coach won basketball championships at both the college and NBA level.  I said that I thought Jeff might know.  Returning to the table, he said “I know this one – Larry Brown.”  Oh yeah – we should have remembered that.

The final question involved putting four “Barry” things in order from largest to smallest:

Number of senate terms served by Barry Goldwater

Number of seasons Barry Bonds played MLB

Number of Barry Manilow studio albums

Number of top 10 hits by Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees

We were in 7th place and so bet the maximum 20 points and stayed in 7th place – nobody got it correct.  The right answer is:

Barry Manilow

Barry Bonds

Barry Gibb

Barry Goldwater

Diana had a typical Wednesday morning – a run/walk with Kara followed by yoga in the park.  My excitement was going over to Aidan Gill for a haircut.

Diana’s haircut turn was on Thursday.  She followed that with an extended happy hour with her new pickling friend, Sandi.  They went to the Bower on Magazine for snacks and drinks.  I watched a new movie called “A Private Life”, starring Jodie Foster speaking mostly in French – apparently she is fully fluent.

The Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” was playing at the start of the movie and I heard these amazing bass lines from Tina Weymouth for the first time.  I paused to play the original and make sure they hadn’t enhanced the bass for the movie – they had not, I just hadn’t listened closely enough on the right system to hear.

We met Kenny and Richard at Hungry Eyes for dinner on Thursday.  This is an 80s themed restaurant, named after the Eric Carmen song, that I always enjoy.  Here’s the menu:

What do you think we had?  You could probably guess that McD couldn’t resist the steak tartare – yes, it was served with interesting crackers.  Then we shared the calamari curry with roti – that was a highlight – absolutely delicious.  One of those dishes that would make you go back to the same restaurant for the same dish the next day.  No – we resisted.  Kenny had the pork chop and Richard an Iberico ham skewer special.

Hungry Eyes also does a great job with their martinis.  Kenny and I both had the Vesper.

This was a very pleasant meal – we don’t get to visit with Richard like that very often.

We had our fourth Gentlemen Out at Lunch (GOAL) on Friday.  These were supposed to be once a quarter or so and we have only managed four in the last couple of years.  We need to work on that.  I had suggested Here Today Rotisserie.  This is from the chef who just closed Coquette to focus on chicken.  The menu is pretty simple:

We opted for the “Feed Me” approach.  This resulted in a lot of delicious food.  Iceberg wedge salad, pimento cheese with crackers and hot peppers, a mound of chicken wings, red beans and rice, stewed cabbage, rotisserie potatoes, half a rotisserie chicken, and half a fried chicken.  So much food.

The guys seemed please with my choice.  It me the GOAL criteria – somewhere most of the guys hadn’t been, not fancy, casual, and not too expensive.

Kenny brough a note from his Mom with a couple of books she recommended for me if I hadn’t read them.  One is one of my all time favourites (All The Light You Cannot See) and the other I’m putting on my list.

We retired to the Avenue Pub, where Kenny was talking about how to wrap a phone in tin foil and prevent it from receiving calls or being tracked.  We were skeptical and decided an experiment at Kenny’s house was in order.

Thom got us organized with a hypothesis, control group and step by step experimentation – very scientific.  Kenny was correct and he apparently constructed an effective Faraday cage.  Diana was not overly enthused about her role in the experiment.

Anne arrived at Kenny’s to give Denny and me a ride home.  We decided to stop at Verret’s (voted New Orleans number one dive bar and two blocks from our home.)  A guy was setting up for karaoke in there and had an interesting name for his business.

I sent the picture to Kara and she replied “That’s Me.”

Elspeth retired on Friday.  We’re hoping David might follow next year some time.

I delivered Diana to Merry Lee and Jeff for White Linen night.  What’s that you ask?  Well…it’s an art walk along a few blocks of Julia street, known as the art district.  It started in 1994 and is a way to generate revenue for the art galleries during the slowest part of the summer season.  White linen clothes to best deal with the swampy climate.  It has become very popular in recent years, drawing tens of thousands of people, and appealing to youngsters – a good thing in my opinion.  The youngsters, not the large crowd.

The trio had an interesting photo experience.  Here’s the original picture:

And here’s the AI driven caricature:

I think it’s very well done.

River was playing on the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) stage – he’s everywhere these days.

Here’s Diana in front of a steam punk looking vehicle.  I think it’s the “Bed Zeppelin.”

Our Sunday morning walk in the park was stymied by a house shaking thunder storm.  Maybe it will cool off a little after the storm and we can venture outside.

I finished up “Truth & Beauty: A Friendship” by Ann Patchett this week.  A bit depressing, but a very good read.
A second Talking Heads reference in this post:
“At home Lucy and I stretched out on a couch that had been unfolded into a bed and watched the video of the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. Those had been our favorite songs to dance
to in Iowa when Lucy had been so in love with David Byrne.  “You know, I met him once,” she said as he slid across the little television screen wearing a big white suit. “You met David Byrne and you didn’t tell me?” “It was a couple of years ago, I think. There were writers and musicians reading together at Central Park and I ran into him backstage. I told him that when I was a teenager, hearing his music had saved my life. I guess it was a stupid thing to say but he was very nice about it. He was kind of shy.”
The beginning of the end:
“I WOULD SAY that was when things fell apart, but it would imply the disassembling of a time when things were all together and I couldn’t remember when that time was anymore. Lucy had started making little cuts on her hips with a razor blade. She was doing more drugs. We talked constantly about the possibility of her committing herself to a mental hospital but she kept holding it off, wanting to wait until such a time that committal sounded less painful than the life she was presently living.”
And then some more from the disaster file:
“I really, really should go,” she said. She kissed us both good-bye and was out the door. Two minutes later she was back. “Come look at this,” she said. “A plane’s hit the World Trade Center.” 
History is strangely incomprehensible when you’re standing in the middle of it. Lucy, Adrian, and I all made the wrong decisions that morning but none of us could have seen it at the time. Lucy rushed on to Penn Station and made her train, which turned out to be the last train to leave New York, and Adrian and I decided to go down to the World Trade Center to see what had happened.
The dreaded phone call:
“One day in the middle of the summer, Lucy’s doctor, Stuart, called me. As soon as I heard his voice, my heart froze in my chest. I leaned my head back against the wall where I stood and closed my eyes. “Lucy’s dead,” I said. “What!” Stuart said. “There’s only one reason you’d call me.” It turned out there were two reasons: Stuart and his girlfriend were coming to Tennessee on vacation and he wanted some advice about places to see. We laughed about it because everything was fine, but for the rest of the day I felt cold.”
Really this time:
“We came back from New York on December 18, 2002, a Wednesday afternoon. When Stuart called me at ten-thirty that night, I was already asleep. This time he was calling to say that Lucy was dead. His voice was surprised and afraid. He wasn’t sure of the sentence himself. “Ann,” he said. “Lucy’s dead.” When I hung up the phone I gave myself a few minutes in the dark to lie in bed and pretend I had been dreaming. He still had my number programmed into his cellphone from his trip.
At three o’clock in the morning, I drove to Karl’s house and when I woke him up and told him what I knew I started to cry, because I had just begun the second half of my life, the half that would be lived without Lucy.”

 

Here’s a very interesting interview with Daniel Lanois where he discusses working with U2, Bob Dylan and many others – mostly in New Orleans.

Daniel Lanois Rollingstone interview

I love the guitar on this John Prine gem:

This song also has some original instrumentation and sounds:

 

 

Week in Review – July 26th, 2026

“Home to New Orleans for friends, music and food”

Monday was a slow day after our early morning arrival back from Montreal.  Diana didn’t even play pickleball.  I was pleased that we earned a good review from our Airbnb host, Justin.  It makes it easier to rent future places.

Catching up on local news, I read that Plas Johnson died last Wednesday at the age of 94.  I wrote about him a few weeks ago – famous for the Pink Panther theme and played on numerous New Orleans soul and R&B records in the 50s and 60s.

 

 

 

At Tuesday trivia, we had a similar question about 1981 to one we had a while ago.  Several events were given and you had to answer with the year they happened.  The events included Charles and Diana’s wedding, MTV launching and others that I don’t remember now.  I “showed my work” again – I was in holiday in France after finishing high school in 1981 and the family went to a common room at the caravan park to watch the wedding.  The team listened.

We were ahead by 1 point going into the final question.  This involved putting four events in order from oldest to most recent.  Here’s the correct answer:

When did the Knicks last win an NBA title before this year? (1973)
When was Nikki Minaj born? (1982)
When did Nickelodeon launch Ren and Stimpy? (1991)
When did Nicolas Cage win an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas? (1996)
The two Jacks knew that Nikki Minaj had her big hit in 2000 – so had to be older than the old folks thought.  Denny knew that Anne loved Ren and Stimpy when they were first dating.  With that and some lengthy discussion, we were able to arrive at the correct answer to secure a 1st place win.

A heat advisory greeted us on Wednesday – can you imagine what a “feels like temperature” of 118 degrees is like?  Very swampy.

Tim called to check on us after storm Bertha passed through and told me about a book he got for his birthday from his daughter.  They each have to draw an object daily and text it to the other.  Tim was upset that the paper is too thick to trace through.  I thought he had done a good job with his snake until I saw the competing version.

Isn’t that a great gift idea – keeps on giving every day.

We met up with Kenny for Happy Hour at Cafe Degas on Thursday.  I called to coordinate with him and caught him visiting his Mom.  He said he would need to stop home and change as he wasn’t dressed for Cafe Degas.  I told him he would be fine in shorts and a t-shirt as that’s what I was going to wear.  Some hilarity (from my perspective) ensued as Kenny’s Mom and cousin (she called his Mom during the discussion) shared their thoughts on what Kenny should wear.  He ultimately came as he was and everything was fine.

We had a very nice time at Cafe Degas and then retired to Kenny’s porch for a little while.

We were up early for a walk in the park on Saturday morning.  The humidity was relatively low, allowing us to enjoy a walk/run without sweating all the way through our clothes.  On the drive home we came across Alvin, a cyclist who had hit his head on a low tree branch and been thrown out into Prytania Street.  Another lady was helping and nurse D jumped into action.  The police, and ultimately an ambulance, did show up and by that time Alvin was feeling a lot better.  Diana walked with him and his bike over to the Emergency room and he decided he didn’t need to go in and could easily make the short walk home.  Very nicely done, Diana.
We met the KKs, Denny and Anne for lunch at Tan Dinh Vietnamese restaurant in Gretna.  Denny spends a lot of time on the Westbank of the Mississippi river with his car washes, and so we took his recommendation for a lunch stop.
Here’s a map that shows red circles around our home and the restaurant.  You can see that we had to take the Crescent City Connector (CCC) bridge across to reach the restaurant – not something we do very often.
The trip took around 10 minutes – so not exactly an onerous drive.  What were we doing over there?  Aren’t there good Vietnamese places in New Orleans proper?  Fair questions.  We were enroute to a gallery opening at Brian Bush Art.
Brian and his wife, Lisa, are friends that we typically see a few times a year at music festivals.  Brian has been making these wonderful Mardi Gras flowers for over 20 years.
They really are works of art.  This building became available recently and Brian snapped it up as a place to store his art, show it by appointment, and host events like this one.
Ian Cunningham and Chris Senac, long time friends of Brian’s, provided some wonderful music – very skilled guitar playing.
Diana was up early on Sunday morning for the 8am girls tennis activity.  She was pretty worn out from 2 hours in the sun after that.
The Desert Nudes played a free 5pm show at NOLA brewing (0.5 miles from home) on Sunday afternoon.  Kenny and I had a robust mini-debate about the pros and cons of NOLA brewing during happy hour at Cafe Degas.  Keith – “too many kids running around, the music is too loud if you’re in the front part, and too quiet in the back – you can’t hear over the chatter and kid noise, the pizza, food, and drinks are good.”  Kenny – “kids are a given, you need to get there early and pick an in-between table or one on the right side of the stage to hear the music without it being too loud, the place is air conditioned, the music is free, and the food is great.”
Okay, I decided to take Kenny’s input “on board” and we arrived around 4:30 to get a good table.  Apparently we needed to get there earlier than that as all but one of the tables were already occupied.  We grabbed the one remaining and began to amass the chairs we needed for our krewe – KKs, Thom, Denny, and Mason.  I was pleasantly surprised when the music started – I could hear nicely from our back table.  The band was excellent – lovely three part harmonies and a fun repertoire of songs that you don’t hear too often.
A good version of “Don’t Fence Me In”, originally written by Cole Porter, led to Kenny claiming the song as his latest theme song.
I started “Truth and Beauty: A Friendship” by Ann Patchett this week.  I read the first chapter of her latest, “The Whistler”, and can tell it’s going to be so good that I’m saving it for the perfect reading environment – whatever that might be.  So I’m making do with one of her earlier books and am a little over half way through so far.  Here’s an online summary:

“Ann Patchett and the late Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981, and, after enrolling in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work. In Grealy’s critically acclaimed memoir, Autobiography of a Face, she wrote about losing part of her jaw to childhood cancer, years of chemotherapy and radiation, and endless reconstructive surgeries. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn’t Lucy’s life or Ann’s life, but the parts of their lives they shared. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans twenty years, from the long winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this is what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined . . . and what happens when one is left behind.

This is a tender, brutal book about loving the person we cannot save. It is about loyalty, and being lifted up by the sheer effervescence of someone who knew how to live life to the fullest.”

Here are some passages that I enjoyed:

Thoughts about “worrying” early in Ann’s relationship with Lucy:

“I was stunned by the rawness of her pain. I came to understand that night in the sports bar, safe from the blinding rain, that I could not worry about Lucy anymore. I knew then it was just too enormous for me to manage and that worrying about her would swamp me. If I was swamped by worry, I would be useless to her. It was even possible that I would desert her, and that was the thing that could never happen. I decided that night I would take all the hours of my life that could so easily be spent worrying and instead I would try to help her. I had been raised by Catholic nuns who told us in no uncertain terms that work was the path to God, and that while it was a fine thing to feel loyalty and devotion in your heart, it would be much better for everyone involved if you could find the physical manifestations of your good thoughts and see them put into action. The world is saved through deeds, not prayer, because what is prayer but a kind of worry? I decided then that my love for Lucy would have to manifest in deeds.”
Some great advice from Mom and I presume this book might not exist without them:
“One night after work I was sitting on the edge of my mother’s bed, reading her Lucy’s letter. “Save all of those,” she told me when I was finished. “I save some of them,” I said, but she and I both knew I never was much on saving anything.  My mother said it again. I was to save them all. “Someday you’ll both be famous writers,” she said. “And these letters will be very important to you.””
Patchett discovers the wonder of the service on a short flight from London to Scotland:
“All through the flight from London to Aberdeen I stared out the window at the rough patchwork of landscape and thought how beautiful it was, how beautiful it would be to live so far away from my mistakes. It was a small plane and we did a good deal of pitching and tossing, but everyone got a nice cheese plate and a glass of red wine and I managed to hold my snack steady. The world that existed in the air over England and Scotland seemed extremely civilized, even sophisticated, and for those moments I thought that Lucy was leading a glamorous life, at least when you compared it to being a waitress in Tennessee.”
On finishing her first novel:
“Then finally one day everything I had imagined for these characters while I was at Friday’s was down on paper. I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful spring feeling panicked and amazed. There is no single experience in my life as a writer to match that moment, the blue of the sky and the breeze drifting in from the bay. I had done the thing I had always wanted to do: I had written a book, all the way to the end. Even if proved to be terrible, it was mine.”
A rumination on the varied thoughts and personalities of Lucy’s doctors:
“They were the busy, important men (and all of the pivotal doctors in Lucy’s life, to the best of my knowledge, were men) who occasionally sat on her bed and stroked her forehead, handsome men who for the briefest moment paid all of their valuable attention to her. They told her she was the most remarkable case they had seen and made promises of how they would shepherd her through to a better life. The surgeons stoked her deepest dreams of repair like coal men shoveling fuel into a roaring furnace. They told her not to worry about the money, and then presented her with enormous bills. They told her it would take three surgeries over six months, only to discover it was ten surgeries over three years. There were wonderful doctors, full of compassion and innovation, but they never seemed able to consider any surgery but the one they were about to perform. They never took her lifetime into account or figured in the enormous costs, physically, financially, and emotionally, of all that had failed so dismally before. They didn’t account for Lucy, only for her face. And maybe they couldn’t. She was too huge for casual consideration. But how can you operate on the face without understanding what the face means to the girl? How can the meaning of kissing, swallowing, speaking, be completely ignored in favor of mechanics? The doctors took what they needed from her body, sometimes without ever mentioning it, so even though her head was swollen beyond recognition, what she cried over was the scar running up her leg where some surgeon had taken a vein without asking. She loved her pretty legs.”
I love this comparison with slapstick comedy for Lucy’s money skills:
“LUCY WAS AWFUL WITH MONEY IN A WAY THAT ONE imagines the Marx Brothers or Laurel and Hardy might have been awful with money. There could have been a movie, Laurel and Hardy Go to the Bank, in which our heroes try to bring their life savings in for safekeeping but at every turn find themselves distracted: pretty girls, butterflies, squalling children. All the while the money flutters out of their pockets like a careless trail of bread crumbs. In the sequel, Back to the Bank, they would mistakenly spit their chewing gum into the big check they were supposed to deposit and then for the rest of the movie they would struggle to undo the sticky damage they had done.”
Heartbreaking:
“Lucy’s loneliness was breathtaking in its enormity. If she emptied out Grand Central Station and filled it with the people she knew well, the people who loved her, there would be more than a hundred people there. But a hundred people in such a huge space just rattle around. You could squeeze us all into a single bar. With some effort you could push us into a magazine shop. If you added to that number all the people who loved her because of her book, all the people who admired her, all the people who had heard her speak or had seen her on television or listened to her on the radio and loved the sound of her odd little voice, you could pack in thousands and thousands more people, and still it wouldn’t feel full, not full enough to take up every square inch of her loneliness.“
I’ve been rationing “Living in the Present with John Prine” by Tom Piazza (my autographed copy – thanks KKs).  By “rationing I mean that I’m allowing myself a chapter a week.  It’s just too good to read through too quickly.
The chapter this week has John and his wife visiting Tom and his wife in New Orleans.  Tom takes them to Boucherie, one of his favourite restaurants.  Prine struggles to find something on the menu and ends up opting for the ribs.  They turn out to be Asian style and not the slab with barbeque sauce that he was hoping for.  The next night they visit Brigtsen’s, one of my personal favourites.  Frank Brigtsen comes out and makes a big fuss over John as do the rest of the staff.  With all the wonderful dishes on the menu, executed flawlessly, Prine’s wife confides later that he would rather have had a slice of meat loaf and some mashed potatoes.  I suppose it’s all what you’re used to.
Here’s a link to the latest Jon Cleary show playlist on Spotify.  I’ve listened and there are several gems on here.

 

It’s been a while since I heard this song.  It was on WWOZ the other day and I realized I didn’t know who played the amazing slide guitar.   Research reveals it’s Bonnie Raitt.

Week in Review – July 19th, 2026

“Montreal Week 2”

On Monday, our first day sans KKs, we made our way back down to Old Town.  We enjoyed lunch on the Terraces Nelligan – a rooftop restaurant with great views atop the Hotel Nelligan.

I tried to order a medium rare burger and was stymied by a Quebec regulation that says any ground beef not ground on the premises has to be cooked well done.  Not fancying that, I opted for a cauliflower steak – yummy.

While I was enjoying that (munched in before realizing I wanted a picture), someone bungee jumped from the crane on the other side of the river – 100% hard No on that activity.

I’ll have a sip of a refreshing beer and try to wash away the memory of the person bouncing around like a rag doll on the end of that elastic band.

Diana enjoyed a very colourful Niçoise salad.

After lunch, we walked around Old Town and took a spin through Notre Dame cathedral.  Not the very famous one, but still quite impressive – particularly the blue lighting.

I always enjoy checking out church organs and this one seemed serious:

This bronze sculpture caught my attention.  It’s called “The English Pug” and is part of a diptych called “The Two Snobs”, created in 2013 by Canadian artist Marc Andre J. Fortier.

Tommy’s Cafe was close by for our after cathedral coffee stop.  And the chair available for “Miss Champagne” seemed appropriate.

Tuesday began with a repeat visit to Chez Greenberg, down the street from the Airbnb.  This time I had a poutine stuffed knish with my macchiato – I recommend this as a good way to try poutine.  Jake Greenberg, presumably the owner, came by to check on the food and we had a good chat.  We told him we were planning on trying Milos for lunch and got positive feedback.  He also recommended Faros – the place we ate at last week with the KKs.  “Best two Greek restaurants in the city.”

We had chatted with two ladies leaving Milos one evening and they raved about the place.  It’s been in operation for many years and has since expanded globally.  We checked with Nick about the one in Miami Beach and he described it as “an institution.”  Okay – let’s see if we can get a seat at the bar and give it a try for lunch.  I started with the house special martini, which came in a fish container.

Our waiter/bartender had been to Miami Beach and to Carbone – still one of our most amazing dining experiences.

Here’s the prix fixe lunch menu:

I started with the tomato (Greek) salad and then had the Dorade Royal (sea bream.)

Diana had the phenomenal octopus, followed by lamb.

Fortunately the desserts were small.

Don’t miss the baklava ice cream.  Here’s a silly picture on the way out.

What a wonderful lunch all around.  We decided to try and make a reservation for dinner later in the week.  I think I heard something like “It’ll be our way to celebrate our last night in Montreal.”

After lunch, we watched the Spain vs France World Cup game.  I had high hopes for an exciting game but France seemed flat and tired, ultimately losing to Spain.

In the evening, we made a pilgrimage to find Leonard Cohen’s grave.  It was quite an uphill trek at the end of the walk to the entrance of the Mont Royal cemetery.  We came across this church on the walk, not Notre Dame but the location of that picture of the girls with the young men in tuxedos.  Or at least that’s the latest cover story – something about they were putting on their ties and getting all ready for a wedding, and offered to take the picture.  Hmm.

Here I am checking out the family plot.  Leonard is buried in a pine box next to his parents,  Nathan and Marsha, as well as his grandparents and great grandparents.

Diana captured some pictures showing how beautifully the cemetery plots are kept.

We heard thunder rolling on our walk back but did not get any heavy rain or “squall” – there were a few “squall warnings” during our stay that seemed to amount to nothing much.

Wednesday took us over to the Botanical Gardens – some of the largest in the world.  Research showed that we should visit the Japanese garden, the Chinese garden,  and the Alpine area – we set off in search of those.

The Japanese area sported some very old bonsais:

The Chinese garden had interesting buildings and water features:

We came across oodles of lovely flowers on our meander through the gardens.  Hydrangeas:

Balloon flowers (platycodon grandiflorus), native to East Asia:

 

Pom pom or ball dahlias:

We both agreed that our favourite section, not mentioned in my research, was the Lilly and brook garden.  Amazing colours and very extensive.

The Olympic stadium was next to the Botanical gardens – here’s a picture of the tower attached to it.

Some facts about the tower:

In the evening we tried another of our Uber driver recommendations – the Atwater cocktail club.  This was a speakeasy style place in the downtown area known as Atwater.  I had read that entry was by an alley behind the Foiegwa restaurant.  The one alley that I found looked a bit dodgy but closer inspection of the graffitied door revealed the “ACC” sign – must be the place.

We risked it, opened the door and headed inside to the fancy club.

We perused the detailed cocktail menu – most were less than $20 Canadian and made our choices.

The food menu seemed to have all of our favourites at once:

We started with chicken liver mousse, then beef tartare, and finally black truffle spaghetti.  So rich and decadent and all wonderful.

Our waitress, Ashely, gave us a post card with some of her recommendations on places to try.  We did try at least one of them.

What a nice touch from Ashley.

Diana decided to summit Mont Royal by the stairs on Thursday morning.  This took her a little bit higher than the terrace we reached on our first day in Montreal.

Some details on the stairs.  Good job Diana!

I think all that stairclimbing work was worth it:

We wandered the neighbourhood in search of a lunch spot, and ultimately ended up back at Bishop and Bagg for a burger at the bar.  It was interesting to observe their display of over 100 gins.

The evening brought a highlight of the trip for me – a visit to the Upstairs jazz club. Their logo is upside down because the club is actually downstairs from the street level.

There were only a few tickets left when I bought ours and so I opted for bar seating.  That turned out to be a great option – high stools so that Diana could see well and an amazing view of the stage.

We had wonderful service at the bar with great drinks and food.  I had a drink called Le Vieux something (don’t remember the word).  It was Canadian Club whiskey, Drambuie and ginger beer.  Like a slightly modified Rusty Nail and delicious.  We split a salad and a seafood pasta that was excellent.

And then the band!  A very good tribute to the Buena Vista Social Club.  This was an album from 1997 by Cuban legends with Ry Cooder.

Here’s the Upstairs version:

Friday was a busy day.  We visited the Terrasse William Gray, an Ashley recommendation, for brunch.  This was quite similar to the Nelligan terrace with excellent river front views of the Ferris wheel and Cirque du Soleil.

We shared a salad and you’ll be surprised…another tartare.  Both delicious.  Montreal really is an amazing food town.

The boeuf in the description reminded me of the boys in Paris as youngsters and the kick they got out of the McDonalds ads in the Metro – “100% pur boeuf.”

We wandered through Old Town after lunch, making a stop at Wolf and Workman before heading back to the Airbnb.

We had reservations for dinner at Milos in the evening.  Everything was fine, but not up to the amazing experience that we had at lunch.  Diana had a lobster and I enjoyed halibut.  Both were good but not at the outstanding level we had anticipated.

After dinner, another musical treat awaited.  The “Candlelight” performance of Abba and Queen songs.

This is a concert (apparently they have them in New Orleans sometimes) where a string quartet performs the music of Abba and Queen.  Here’s the order of performance:

I thoroughly enjoyed the arrangements:

A very busy and enjoyable day all around.

We were due to pack up and leave on Saturday.  Around 2pm, just before we ordered an Uber to the airport, we received notice that our flight was canceled.  Oops!

Not able to extend the Airbnb or find a room at any others close by, McD came up with a great idea – let’s stay at that really nice Nelligan hotel where we had lunch.  Booking was easy and we were checking in less than an hour later.  This was an old school luxury hotel – they had thought only I was staying and so stalled a bit at check in to make a “profile” for Diana.  I suspect what they were really doing was updating the welcome card on the petit fours.  We were escorted up to the room so that we could be shown the amenities – I don’t think I’ve had that since the Park Hyatt in Sydney many, many years ago.

We had dinner at Mignon across from the hotel and it was another delicious meal, including oysters of course.

Diana was out early on Sunday morning to explore the Old Town area some more.

We took advantage of brunch on the lovely Nelligan terrace.  The bacon Benny was just what I needed before setting of to try and make it home a day late.

I had checked transit time from the Nelligan to Montreal airport (YUL) in the morning – 20 minutes or so.  Our flight was at 5pm and so we ordered an Uber around 2:30pm.  As we departed the hotel, it showed the better part of an hour to the airport – hopefully we had enough wiggle room.  We did – the traffic entering the airport was ludicrous – 2o minutes to go less than a mile, but they had Global Entry and TSA pre at the airport and you actually cleared US customs in Montreal – who knew?

We did have a tiny snafu at airport security.  The bagel spreader souvenirs were not permitted as carry on items – such dangerous weapons.  Diana decided to go back out and check her back – no problem, she made it to the gate in time for boarding.

Our flights to Chicago and then New Orleans were fine – the usual sitting on the tarmac waiting on a gate routines.  We were home a little after midnight – tired and happily reflecting on a great trip.

My book this week was “Who is Maud Dixon” by Alexandra Andrews.  You may remember that I read her “The Fine Art of Lying” a few weeks ago.  All the reviews said that this was a much better read.  I agree with the reviews for once – much deeper characters and better humour.  Here’s an online summary:

“Florence Darrow has always felt she was destined for greatness, but after a disastrous affair with her married boss, she starts to doubt herself. All that changes when she sets off for Morocco with her new boss, the celebrated but reclusive author Maud Dixon. Amidst the colorful streets of Marrakesh and the wind-swept beaches of the coast, Florence begins to feel she’s leading the sort of interesting, cosmopolitan life she deserves.

But when she wakes up in the hospital after a terrible car accident, with no memory of the previous night—and no sign of Maud—a dangerous idea begins to take form. . .”

Some of the passages that I enjoyed:
Solid advice:
“You shouldn’t have to try to like things,” Florence insisted. “It’s like people who force themselves to finish a book they’re not enjoying. Just close it! Go find another story!”
And the retort:
“I hate to tell you this, but you might be in the wrong business. Do you know how many books I don’t like that I have to read every week? Sorting the good from the bad is the job.” “Oh, I’m not interested in becoming an editor,” Florence said with a wave of her hand. “Just to be clear,” Simon replied with a bemused smile, “you realize that I’m your boss’s boss, right? You might want to fake a modicum of enthusiasm for the work we’re paying you to do.”
From the life’s not fair department:
“Take my word for it,” Helen went on. “If you spend your life looking for fairness you’ll be disappointed. Fairness doesn’t exist. And if it did, it would be boring. It would leave no room for the unexpected. But if you search for greatness—for beauty, for art, for transcendence—those are where the rewards are. That is what makes life worth living.” Helen set her glass of whiskey down roughly, splashing some on the table. “I’m sure there are people in my past who don’t think it’s fair that my life turned out like it did. And who knows, maybe it isn’t. But I want you to understand this: I wouldn’t change a single thing I’ve done. Not a single thing.”

 

I enjoyed this article about attempts to create a Scottish Music Hall of Fame.  I’m all for it.

Scottish Music Hall of Fame article

Something Moroccan related for Maud Dixon:

Week in Review – July 12th, 2026

“Montreal – Week 1”

I enjoyed this online story, celebrating a truly amazing individual:

One of Britain’s biggest mazes is celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday by creating a spectacular design in the shape of a mountain gorilla.

Wistow Maze in Leicestershire, England, came up with the design to pay tribute to the legendary broadcaster who hails from their local county, having grown up near the University of Leicester.

The popular award-winning attraction features a winding labyrinth that stretches for three miles and takes around two hours to walk.

After my posting last Sunday, England beat Mexico 3-2 with Harry Kane scoring 2 goals, all while down to 10 men for much of the game.  It was a very exciting and entertaining match.

We watched the movie “The Choice” on Sunday evening.  This was our third attempt and we were successful in finishing before Diana “fais do do.”

There were more good sporting opportunities on Monday.  The great British hope, Fery, made it through to the Wimbledon quarterfinals in entertaining fashion.  Later in the day, the USMNT was dominated by Belgium from start to finish, ultimately losing 4-1.

I watched “Still of the Night” in the evening – a movie from 1982 with what I thought was a 25 year old Meryl Streep, turns out she was 33, alongside Roy Scheider.  This was very much a noir style mystery with an early eighties feel.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.

We had an early start on Tuesday, 6am in an Uber, to catch the first of our two small (American Eagle) flights to Montreal.  I watched a movie called “The Christophers” on the flight from New Orleans to Chicago.  This starred Ian McKellen and a leonine looking lady (stand by while I look her up..), Michaele Coel, in a story about an aging artist, forgery and the greed of his children.  It was a quiet, “adult” movie that I enjoyed quite a bit.

A long layover in Chicago was eased by the Admirals Club with good coffee, creative food, and excellent WiFi.  We were able to watch Zverev defeat Lehecka, and some of Argentina vs Egypt (Messi missed a penalty.)

Diana had an impressive set up on our next flight (Chicago to Montreal.)

Mimosa, book on iPad, Wimbledon on phone and texting on phone.  Check, check, check, and check.  All taken care of.

All that multi-tasking was stressing me and so I went old school, finishing off my Violent Femmes book from the book store talk several weeks ago.  I enjoyed the read and am looking forward to referring to my marked up sections when I listen to the album next.

It was quite a trek from the arrival gate, through immigration and out to the Uber pickup area in Montreal.  Our Lyft (much shorter wait time than Uber) driver dropped us off in the alley behind our building rather at the front door.  That was pretty disconcerting but he was sure it was the right place and we figured it out after he left, dragging our luggage down the alley, past the famous bagel place, and around to the front door, where we were able to easily gain entrance to the lovely Airbnb.

Next stop – the local stores for some supplies.  There were several small grocery stores very close by and a liquor and wine store right next door.  Easy peasy.

After our pre-dawn start, we opted for a nice early night.

We awoke early on Wednesday morning.  I went back to sleep while Diana explored the neighborhood.  She did report back on a restaurant that she found that ended up being very good (more to come.)

Later in the morning we headed out on an expedition to summit Mont Royal, the mountain/hill that Montreal is named for.  My research showed that Chemin Olmsted was a pleasant and meandering trail with a light gradient, passing Beaver Lake before arriving at the Mount Royal chalet and terrace.  That was all true, however, the weather was not what my research had indicated – hot and humid, and not the cold, crisp respite from the New Orleans swamp that I had hoped for.  Oh well, I took a few breaks to cool off and ultimately summited.

There was an interesting statue as we entered the park.

Diana was not a fan of my “bucket hat” and particularly the orange colour.  I stuck with it all the same, and was delighted to find a tribe of my people on our ascent.

Here we are up on the terrace with a view of downtown Montreal.

Kenny and Kara (henceforth known as the “KKs”) arrived around 5pm and seemed not to much the worse for their day of travel.  We started their first evening with dinner at Molenne, the restaurant that Diana found on her ramble.

This was an excellent dining experience all around – fun and attentive service and wonderful food all around.  Kenny’s raw scallop was a big hit, as was Kara’s clam pasta dish.

I loved my cod in mushroom sauce and McD couldn’t resist the bison tartare.

Kenny found an excellent stop for dessert on the way home.  Some wonderful cakes and after dinner drinks.

The KKs were at it early on Thursday.  They got some bagels from Saint Viateur and then navigated their way down to Old Town and the Riverfront district on foot. We arranged to meet them at Maison  des Eclusiers by the riverfront and enjoyed our first taste of poutine.

 

 

What is poutine?  I’m glad you asked – fries, cheese curds, and gravy with various other optional toppings.  I thought it was relatively tasty but didn’t need to order it again on the trip.

Fred texted us that his favourite stop in Montreal was Pub Saint Pierre.  We hoped to camp out there and watch the France vs Morocco World Cup game.  Alas, that was a no go.  They were fully booked with supporters of both teams and so we had to vacate our table before the 4pm kickoff.

There was a decent rain going when we were ejected from the Pub, and so we made our way back to the Airbnb to prepare for dinner.

Dinner was at a lovely Indian place that Kara discovered, Le Taj.  A fancy/cool setting with very good food.  We enjoyed onion bhaji and samosas to start, followed by chicken korma, lamb vindaloo, mixed grill and garlic naan.  Lots of yummy food and plenty of leftovers.  Nice job, Kara!

We headed back downtown on Friday morning.  First stop was the Crew cafe, a coffee shop in a very fancy, old, art deco style Royal Bank of Canada building.  The lines for coffee were too long, but the building was worth the visit.

The World Trade Center building was next door and we gave that a quick visit.  Long enough for Kenny to purchase some cool new shoes, and for me to snap some pictures of a part of the Berlin wall.

We then made a decent hike over to Rue Crescent, a “super cute street with bars and flower boxes.”  The street also sported the first of two Leonard Cohen murals.  I think it’s a very well done representation of the Canadian gentleman.

I first discovered him in my mid teens via the “Greatest Hits” album.

Look at that list of songs!  “The Partisan” and “Suzanne” were my youthful favourites.

We made our way from the mural over to the Boulevard Saint Laurent, which we believed would ultimately take us close to home.  There we found mural number two:

Do you think he might be a bit of a big deal in Montreal?

We stopped at a cafe for a lunch snack of Breton style galettes, sitting outside on the street.

Kara wanted to try the world famous smoked meat sandwich from Schwartz’s deli down the street from Cafe Breizh.  This wasn’t overly appealing to me but tasted good – somewhere between pastrami and corned beef.  This place is very popular – seems to have a constant line out the door.

After that sustenance, we hiked onwards to the Avenue Mont Royal, a pedestrian street (mostly.)  Kara browsed a used record store and we ordered up macchiatos from a coffee window.  We stopped into a little Chilean place to try and watch the World Cup game.  They had it on but didn’t serve any wine or beer.  I ordered an empanada – very good with a delicious sauce.  When I complimented the sauce, the owners told me they brought the recipe from Chile and gave me a little sample to take home.

After a quick freshen up, the girls walked around to the Sparrow, a restaurant/bar with an amazing oyster happy hour – $1 Canadian/oyster – that’s $0.70 US.  Granted, these are the smaller, PEI oysters, but those are usually even more expensive than our local gulf varieties.  I prefer the small, briny ones, but most others like the gulf ones.

I think you can tell from these pictures what the girls thought of the experience:

There was a small music club across from the Airbnb and the girls alerted us to the band playing that evening – Kataklysm.  I listened to a few seconds of a track – do so at your own risk.  There was an interesting Nordic/French band playing later in our stay.

Kenny and I joined the ladies at Sparrow and gave them an excuse to order some more oysters.  The place did make a very good gimlet.

The oysters weren’t enough to sate everyone and an Uber driver had recommended Fugazi pizza – handily just across the street from Sparrow.

That place made a tasty pizza.

I was amazed at the number of pizza, bagel and coffee shops in our neighbourhood.  It was a younger area from a demographic perspective, but still – how much pizza can one eat in a week?

The KKs were excited to try the local ice cream before leaving.  The line wasn’t too long.

Some down memory lane ice cream pictures:

The KKs went off early to summit Mont Royal – successfully completed.  Diana went out for a wander and I walked down the street to Chez Greenberg for breakfast.

Something about Montreal – everybody knows how to make a macchiato.   The special thing at this place was the latke with schmear, smoked salmon, chives, onions and crunchy things.  Different and delicious.

I rendezvoused with my spouse and we went to Bishop and Bagg to watch the Wimbledon ladies final.

It looked like it would be over before the KKs could join us.  Fortunately the match became competitive and needed a third set to decide.

The ladies went out for an extensive walk prior to another Sparrow happy hour, while Kenny and I watched the World Cup game at the apartment.

You’ll have to ask them about the background on this picture.  The one I got seemed quite fishy.

And then back to Sparrow to discuss the cover story.

We tried a well recommended and reviewed neighbourhood Greek place for dinner – Faros.  Again – great service and delicious food.  I tried something new – squid stuffed with cheese and veggies.

Diana had a grilled octopus, Kara lamb, and Kenny steak.

There was an interesting option where you could select a very fresh fish.

The bus boy was helping us with coffee and desert and recommended the yogurt plate.  Great recommendation – we all enjoyed it a lot.

And we were not done at that.  A fruit plate appeared.  We asked questions about one of the melon looking fruits and the owner/chef (for 30 years) came out with an explanation and then reappeared with another exotic melon that he wanted us to try.  What a great experience!

Somehow, on returning to the Airbnb, we got on a favourite show from our childhoods kick.  We watched Lancelot Link and the episode about the “Hong Kong Sneeze” – one of Kenny’s favourites.  Then I shared some Magic Roundabout, The Herbs, and then we finished with the Pink Panther for Kenny and my Dad.

The KKs left us on Sunday.  We sadly moped around and watched some Wimbledon.  In the evening, we couldn’t resist revisiting Molenne for a reprise of that ridiculous raw scallop, bison tartare, and spaghetti clams trifecta.  Just as tasty.

I finished up John of John by Douglas Stuart this week.  Not one of my top reads of the year, but as I said last week, some interesting things about life on the islands.

The Kevin Keegan reference made me smile:
“Dad, I seem to remember a wedding photo where you looked like a hippy.” “It was the style.” “And then there were the Kevin Keegan years. A mullet and a perm.” “I never permed it. I was blessed with natural curls.”
The mother in law who pretended not to speak Gaidhlig:
“He leant forwards. “It’s been forty-eight years. How have you not learnt a lick of the Gàidhlig? You carry on, filling this house with English, like some lazy foreigner.””
I like the “lazy foreigner.”
I can remember reading “The Wasp Factory” – certainly not for the feint of heart:
“The house was heavy with bookshelves. He found his mother’s copy of The Wasp Factory where he had left it two Christmases before, coverless from love. He picked it up and put it inside some-other-man’s bomber jacket. Then he slung his bag over his shoulder and went out into the drizzle.”
The joy of clever nicknames:
“He had earned the name ‘Flash’ because he had once shimmied to a Boney M song. His brother-in-law, Shockie, who was feeling a simmering resentment at his own nickname–earned when he was recounting a shopping trip to Edinburgh and had exclaimed, “Oh now, those prices gave me the shock of my life!”–had been the one to see Aonghas shuffle across the floor. “Hey, Flashdance!” he cried. “Give us a twirl.” And in the
very moment all the men laughed, Aonghas Calder had been renamed ‘Flashdance’ for the rest of his life.”
The danger of being sucked into the island employment traditions:
“Cal stood at the loom and listened to the hum of the fluorescent tube. He worried that the moment his hands settled on the beater they would stay there for the rest of his life. That this shed would become his hermitage, and that one day he would raise his head and he would be older than his father.”
Some thoughts on modern Oban:
“Oban was an inconvenient place to meet. Perhaps Innes had chosen it for that reason–it was unlikely they would run into anyone they knew. The mainland port town had been charming once, but it was spoiled by a busy one-way system that snaked round the half-dead centre. It was all tearooms and tourist shops, and Cal had walked from one side of town to the other in less than twenty minutes. The town square was little more than a traffic island, bordered by raised flower beds and littered with loitering pensioners with their coats on top of coats, sitting alone on damp benches, looking slightly lost, as though they’d been dumped there by their families.”

Poor David’s Pub has been the site of many wonderful concert memories for me.  David retired recently and his daughter is now carrying forward the responsibility for the club.  Here’s a Dallas Observer article with the details:

I love this tribute that Jon Cleary (local piano legend) wrote about James Rivers who passed recently.  We saw Rivers play with Cleary at the Broadside a year or so ago – wonderful.
And finally, to end a very long post, we can’t forget about Bonnie Tyler who died this week.

Week in Review – July 5th, 2026

“Happy Semiquincentennial”

I wonder why spellcheck hasn’t been updated to include “Semiquincentennial”?

The usual early alarm woke me on Monday morning so that Diana would be ready for the 8am pickleball clinic.

Monday was upset day at the World Cup – Brazil barely squeaked past Japan, Germany was ousted by Paraguay, and the Dutch lost to Morocco.  Sinner avoided a first round loss at Wimbledon in five sets and Djokovic looked a bit rocky for a while, losing the second set.

I forgot to mention a story about the Japanese fans from last week.  They clean up the stadium before they leave – picking up all the trash and mess.  The team did the same in the locker room – leaving it spotless with all towels neatly folded by the door.

Japanese clean up

We read and listened to albums in the afternoon.  Joe Jackson always goes over well with McD.  The chickpea wraps made another appearance for lunch – we split one as they are so filling.

Diana was back to play pickleball with some friends later in the afternoon.

 

 

I watched France easily dispose of Sweden on Tuesday.  They really do look like the strongest team by quite a bit.  Diana played some more pickleball while I was doing that.

We picked a new table for trivia in the evening.  This one had the “American Weiner” painting:

A take off on “American Gothic” by Grant Wood.  I had always thought it was a farmer and his wife, and read today that it’s his daughter.

Vacations led to a small team again – Jack, Aidan and Kyle on the youngster squad, me, Kenny and Alex (after jiujitsu) on the old folks contingent.  We did well – in first place with 86 points before the final question.  The second place team had 85 points.  Here’s the final question:

Put these in order from largest to smallest:

The theme was “Flys”.

How many years did Marty McFly travel back in time in the original “Back to the Future” movie?

How many Philadelphia Flyers team members are in the hockey Hall of Fame?

How many episodes of “In Living Color” was J. Lo in the Fly girls?

How many days does a fruit fly live?

How confident do you feel about your ability to put these in order?  Aidan and I wanted to bet zero, not confident at all.  The group consensus was to bet 14, meaning we would be second if the third place team didn’t get it right.

The correct order is:

J. Lo Fly girl  – 62

Fruit fly life – 50

Mary McFly back in time – 30

Philly Flyers HOF – 14

We did not get that order correct and ended up in second place.  A good showing from a small team.

Diana was busy on Wednesday morning – a walk in the park with Kara followed by yoga, and then her annual doctor appointment.  She got a good report.

She got a new nickname at the blood draw lab.  The first draw on Tuesday had one vial that didn’t work and she had to go back on Wednesday morning.  Struggling to pronounce Campagna, the ladies decided that she was going to be Mrs. Champagne going forward.  Little did they know that was a perfect nickname.

I got excited thinking that the English were going to be eliminated from the World Cup by Congo.  The very annoying Harry Kane spoiled that late in the game, and they live to play another game.  We’ll see how they do later today against Mexico in Mexico City.

We decided to pass on the gathering of the large Krewe to watch the USMNT World Cup game at Tchoup yard on Wednesday evening.  Too loud, crowded and noisy with very salty food.  It sounds like the group found a good seating area and had a good time.

Thursday was haircut day for me.  Diana dropped me off and then met me for lunch.  We were looking forward to Mayas but it is only open for lunch on the weekend.  Juan’s Flying Burrito to the rescue with our usuals – Luau quesadilla for me and modified Superbowl for McD.

I watched a bit of Wimbledon after lunch, and was happy to see Tiafoe win in four sets.  Unfortunately, he was eliminated yesterday.

We were invited over to Michael and Laurie’s house for the first time on Friday evening.  They live very close to Denny and Anne.  The excuse for getting together was to review our recommendations for their visit to San Sebastian in a week.  We had a very pleasant evening.

I enjoyed watching the tall ships sailing into New York harbor on TV on Saturday, July 4th.  It was nice that we had the chance to see them up close in New Orleans.

The sailors up in the rigging on this one made me a wee bit queasy.

Thom was home alone and so we invited him to join us for our second annual 4th of July visit to Toups’ Meatery.

The restaurant was very quiet and we had amazing service from Dave, starting with a cheese board and a foie gras torchon.  Dave explained the cheeses and accoutrements beautifully.

I had a glass of Grenache and Thom a Cab Franc – both were delicious.  Then it was time for the wagyu burgers.  I think you can tell that Thom was quite happy with his:

Diana and I split one and it was just as good, if not better, than we remembered.

This was such a good experience.  Thanks to Dave, Toups’ and Thom for a lovely brunch.

We headed home and changed into our pool gear for a trip back over to Michael and Laurie’s home.  Kenny, Kara and Thom joined and we had a very pleasant few hours telling stories in and around the pool.

Diana played tennis with the girls this morning and since then we’ve been watching tennis and listening to the thunder roll through.  I also spent some frustrating time trying to manage the synching of my various Apple devices with iCloud.  I don’t want my iPad to synch and it seems impossible to stop it.

My first book this week was Mendell Station by J B Hwang.  I didn’t love this book.  The story about training as a postal delivery person was interesting and I enjoyed reading about San Francisco neighborhoods that I know a little bit.  The story was too choppy along the timeline and a bit convoluted overall.  Here’s an online summary:

“A tender debut that follows a woman who, after her best friend’s death, loses her faith and quits her job to join the postal service, quickly becoming an ‘essential worker’ as the city shuts down.

It’s January 2020, and Miriam is already getting a sense that the world might be ending. First, she learns that her best friend, Esther, has died. Then her faith in God-in everything, really-follows suit. Her job teaching Scripture at a private Christian school suddenly seems untenable, so she quits. Thankfully, the postal service is hiring.

While Miriam finds comfort in her route, the mail truck can hardly outpace the memory of her lost friend and eroded faith. She finds herself composing letters to Esther that she will never deliver, reflecting on their shared childhoods and deep understanding of each other’s difficult families.

Mendell Station depicts one woman’s deliverance through the peculiar rhythms of work, and the beauty found in small details and gestures, those quotidian labors of love.”

I’m about half way through “John of John” by Douglas Stuart.  This is much better than my last book.  Stuart wrote “Shuggie Bain” – an excellent book but so depressing and grim.  “John of John” is a bit lighter so far, but there is definitely some darkness lurking.

I’m enjoying the Scottish island setting with the crofting and weaving occupations.  I’ll have much more to report next week.  Here are a couple of the reviews:

“Douglas Stuart brilliantly weaved a layered, compelling and yet so intimate a story of identity, what it means to belong, and the courage to claim your own truth.”—Oprah Winfrey

“One of 2026’s literary triumphs.”—Boston Globe

Local piano wizard, Jon Cleary, an import from England, hosts a weekly radio show on Jazz FM in the UK.  I haven’t found a way to listen to it yet, but he makes a playlist of the songs he played available.  Lonnie Johnson had a good song and I attempted to get some background from him via Google.

The first result made me chuckle:

Those Super Soakers were the bane of my existence in our California pool.

Here’s one from Charlie Gabriel of the Preservation Hall band.  What’s interesting about Charlie?  He’s 93 years old and still playing.  I heard him play live last year and he is amazing.

Some wonderful funk:

And finally, something to recognize the 250th anniversary, arranged by the wonderful Jaco Pastorius: