Week in Review – June 14th, 2026

“Happy Retirement, Tim”

The New York Knicks had a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs going into game three of the NBA finals on Monday evening.  I loved watching the Spurs come rallying back for a win.

They are a very young team and have the potential to be contenders for many years to come.

Before I was even out of bed on Tuesday, American Airlines had let me know that my flight to visit Tim and Deirdre in Philadelphia was delayed by two and a half hours.  They’re trying to get better about giving reasons for the delays – this one seemed a bit light:

I watched a movie on the plane that I would describe as a psychological thriller – “The Housemaid.”  I was telling Denny about it yesterday and he teased me relentlessly that the movie’s target audience was ladies in the 18 – 25 year old demographic.  Not sure I believe him – but he is now cut off from my movie recommendations.  His loss.

Tim had planned to pick us up at the airport, and we let him off the hook as our flight would now be arriving in rush hour.  We took an Uber and arrived around 7pm for some delicious Tim cooked ribs.  Diana said they were the best she had tasted.  I wonder what’s Tim’s secret?

Tim loves to decorate for all holidays – Christmas, July 4th, Halloween, Autumn, St. Patrick’s Day, and any number of others.  Deirdre keeps him restricted in how soon and late his decorations can stay.  He is in full July 4th mode right now – particularly down in his new basement bar.  There have been many improvements since I visited 15+ years ago – a new deck, a completely refinished basement with bar (beautifully stocked with whiskies and snacks), TV room and gym, and a downstairs patio.

Buddy the Beagle likes to go out early in the morning – around 5am.  He came to visit me and make sure all was good when he came back inside.  It’s been a while since I woke up to a dog in my face.  We took advantage of the early start to go out for a walk on the very well maintained trails through the woods.  It’s already starting to get warm in Pennsylvania early in the morning.

Our main activity for Tuesday was a visit to Peddler’s Village – about a 30 minute drive.  What is that place all about?  Here’s the advertising scoop:

We started with lunch on the patio at the Buttonwood Grill.  The food was good and we did hear something very entertaining as we were deciding on our orders.  “I’m allergic to mushrooms,” said Tim.  “No you’re not,” was the quick rebuttal from Dee.  The theme was revisited many times throughout the day, with Dee ultimately admitting that she had seen Tim eat things that contained mushrooms that he didn’t know about, and he had survived just fine.  “Who are you?  Sneaking mushrooms into my food.”

Walking around the artisanal shops with a drink is encouraged.  There is a local distillery and brewery to choose from.  I get a moonshine margarita slushy – not sweet at all due to the moonshine bite.

Each season seems to bring a different set of exhibits to the village – scarecrows, Christmas trees, and for our visit, sand sculptures.  Titled “Sights in Sand – an American Road Trip,” these very large sculptures were quite impressive.

The big question we all had was, “What holds the sculptures together?”  Apparently they are periodically sprayed with a blend of water and wood glue.  Each sculpture took around 125 hours to complete, and they will be on display through the end of August.

We made a quick stop on the way home to pick up sandwiches for our outing on Wednesday.  Then a quick visit to Wormwood farms brewery before heading home for Tim to grill a tri-tip.  It’s a while since I had this cut of meat – always popular at sporting events in California, and rarely seen in New Orleans.  Grill master Tim did another excellent job – finishing just before the “meat” of a rainstorm arrived.

Caitlin, Tim and Dee’s oldest daughter, visited for dinner – still in scrubs from her occupational therapy job – I believe related to patients suffering with brain trauma.  I would guess that it’s 15 years since I last saw Caitlin.

After dinner, Tim and I watched game 4 of the Spurs and Knicks basketball finals in the basement.  The Spurs had a 29 point lead and so I retired to bed at half time.  The big news in the morning – the Knicks were the first team in history to overcome a 29 point lead, and now lead the series 3-1.  Ugh!

We took our sandwiches to Bishop Estate winery for lunch on Thursday.  We each tried a flight of wines and then voted on which bottle to get for lunch – the Chardonnay won.

 

 

Diana picked up a couple of red white and blue wine glasses to go with Tim’s decor.

After the “allergic to mushrooms” theme died down a bit, the complaints about Tim’s birthday falling on father’s day ratcheted up.  So…he got one glass for his birthday and one for father’s day.  Here they are in the bar:

Tim got a night off from cooking, and we enjoyed dinner on the patio at 59 Almshouse.

In the evening Tim opened the retirement gift that Dee had hidden away for us when we had it shipped there.  More “Who are you, sneaking around and hiding things?”

It’s a line art sculpture of a Beagle, and was well received.

Friday was a smooth travel day back to New Orleans.

Kenny, Kara, Nina, Denny, and Anne met us at Merry Lee and Jeff’s pool on Saturday afternoon.  Diana had organized a cabana and so we were able to have a fridge and soccer on TV, and a place to shelter during a brief but heavy rain shower.

I had to oscillate between two sporting events on Saturday evening – Scotland vs Haiti in the World Cup, and Spurs vs Knicks basketball.

 

Scotland did win but played unimpressively and gave what I would describe as a flat effort.  They did lead their group for a while:

And the Spurs lost, giving the Knicks their first NBA Championship in over 50 years.

My book this week was “The Fine Art of Lying” by Alexandra Andrews.  Denny would probably say that I’m not in the target demographic for this book,  and I don’t care as I enjoyed the read.

Here’s an online summary of the plot:

“From the critically acclaimed author of Who is Maud Dixon? comes a riveting new novel about a young wife and mother thrust into a world of wealth and privilege, whose rash mistake sets off a domino effect of murder and betrayal.

In the beginning, there was art.

It was Clare Bast’s love of art that saved her from a bleak, predictable life in upstate New York, and drew her to the cultured world of Manhattan’s Upper East Side where she met Jed, her doting, affluent husband.

Despite her best efforts—including a half-finished PhD, abandoned when her daughter Sadie was born—Clare secretly can’t help but feel like an imposter in Jed’s one-percent, Park-Avenue life.

When the well-connected wife of Jed’s new boss introduces her to influential friends—a curator here, a gallerist there, an aficionado abroad—Clare feels an essential part of herself coming alive again. And when she discovers that an important work painted by the subject of her unfinished dissertation is hanging in the brownstone of a seductively attractive dealer, she believes fate is leading her where she belongs . . . until she finds herself at the scene of a gruesome murder and a stolen masterpiece. Caught in the perfectly wrong place at the perfectly wrong time, every clue the investigation uncovers points back to her.

Suddenly, Clare is trapped inside a dark and treacherous art world filled with unscrupulous dealers and international criminals. What, exactly, has she gotten herself into . . . and how is she going to get herself, and her family, out?”

This paragraph made me smile – we have the same anniversary and will celebrate later this week.

“She brought it to the living room and sat on the couch. Noodle lifted up his head to look at her before settling back down in his cage. Clare tapped in Jed’s password—0617, their anniversary—and the display opened onto a picture of Sadie and her in the pool in East Hampton. She swiped down and searched”

Have you heard of Erma Franklin?  I had not.  She is the older sister of Aretha and recorded the original version of this song, nominated for a Grammy.

The famous version was recorded by Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company a year later.

The first Rush shows of their much anticipated tour happened in LA this week.  The reviews rave about Anika Niles, the new female drummer, replacing the late Neal Peart.  I watched a video of them performing the entire 2112 suite for the first time in 29 years.

Week in Review – June 7th, 2026

“A Relaxing Week at Home”

Pickleball kept Diana busy on Monday.  She had a clinic in the morning and then a match with some new friends from the clinics in the aftenroon.

I watched the French Open tennis in the afternoon.  The match between Tiafoe and  was excellent.  Tiafoe had multiple chances to win and couldn’t capitalize.

A real shame, as he had a chance to go far with many of the big names eliminated.

I suggested John Fohl at Dos Jefes to Diana and she jumped on it.  John has been playing Monday nights at Dos Jefes cigar bar for around 30 years and always puts on an excellent show.  There were very few people there, around ten, with Fohl commenting about how much things slow down after the Memorial Day weekend.  As is typical, he started with some finger picked instrumentals before diving into his song repertoire.    I heard all my favourites, particularly this one with the lyric “Left hand of Toussaint, right hand of God.”

John Fohl live always gives me a very nice boost.

While Diana attended another pickleball session on Tuesday morning, I headed over to Aidan Gill for a haircut.  Then I spent an hour or so on a paint by numbers kit – heading straight back to my childhood.  I did find it very relaxing, even if I had to use my phone magnifying glass to see the numbers in some of the sections, and paint them with a very fine tipped brush.  I’ll share a picture when I’m finished.  We visited the New Orleans Athletic Club in the afternoon – I had a swim and a steam while Diana used the treadmill.

Tennis entertained me again in the afternoon – this time Mescik and Fonseca with one of the better matches that I’ve seen in a long time.

We had another good trivia showing in the evening.  The final question asked us to put these 4 events in chronological order:

  • The Geneva Conference
  • Five Easy Pieces movie
  • The launch of Reese’s Pieces
  • The publication of a Separate Peace

With a great team effort – Denny on Reese’s, Jack on Geneva, Thom on Separate Peace, and me on Five Easy Pieces – we bet the maximum 20 points and got it right for the win.  Another great leadership job by Kenny!

More pickleball on Wednesday – this time a serving and returning clinic that Diana seemed to enjoy.

And the final pickle session for the week was the Thursday morning clinic.  In the evening we attended a fun event – an outdoor movie at the wonderful Broadside theater.  The offering this time was Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior from 1981, the second in George Miller’s popular series.  An online summary of the plot:

“After avenging the death of his wife and young son at the hands of a vicious gang leader, Max drives the post-apocalyptic highways of the Australian outback, fending off attacks from nomadic tribes that prey on outsiders. Falling into an encampment led by the relatively peaceful Pappagallo, Max at first schemes to steal their oil, but soon becomes the group’s reluctant defender against the hulking Humungus and his ruthless marauders.”

I love the Humungus name, and one of my other favourite characters was the boomerang wielding “Feral Kid.”  Listed just like that in the credits.  Emil Minty was 9 years old at the time.

We really enjoyed sitting outside and enjoying the soundtrack on the massive Broadside sound system.  There is very little dialogue in the movie and the orchestral soundtrack sounded great.

Kenny and Kara stopped into the Chicory house coffee shop across the street from us after their Saturday morning yoga.  We had a nice visit and it was a good excuse for me to enjoy one of the ridiculously good mushroom, brie and shallot turnovers – they have a high butter content.

Anne’s sister, Mary Francis, passed through town on her way to Navarre and the continued condo clean out.  We met the girls at Charmant for a delicious brunch.  Diana did not enjoy the bacon infused Bloody Mary, so I had to help finish it.

I met the boys (Denny, Fred, Richard and various kids) in the afternoon to watch the USMNT play Germany in the last friendly before the World Cup gets underway.  The game was relatively entertaining and it was nice to try a new place that is a close walk for me, the Rendezvous bar.

I wondered why the US team is denoted as the USMNT, when none of the other countries feel the need to append “Men’s National Team” to their country name.  It’s just “Scotland.”  Denny posited that it was in order to make internet searches more efficient.  Perhaps.

I needed something lighter and quicker after the trudge through “Doxology.”  Claire Keegan’s “So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men” was a perfect antidote.  Three short stories that were easy and thought provoking reads.

Here’s an online review:

“So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men is a 2023 collection of three short stories by acclaimed Irish author Claire Keegan, exploring complex gender dynamics, misogyny, and missed connections through tales of regret, intrusion, and desire.  The stories, “So Late in the Day,” “The Long and Painful Death,” and “Antarctica,” are praised for their precise, powerful writing and ability to pack significant emotional depth into a small space, often leaving readers with a sense of unease and haunting reflection. “

My next book was “Ghost Town” by Tom Perrotta.  I read this in just over a day – it was another quick and enjoyable read.  I enjoyed “The Leftovers” and was interested to read another of Perrotta’s novels.  Here’s an online summary:

“Jimmy Perrini lives in 1970s suburban New Jersey, a few miles from Manhattan, but a world apart. At the end of eighth grade, after tragedy strikes, Jimmy finds himself lost in a fog of grief that alienates him from friends and family, drifting instead into troubling friendships with two older teenagers: one a notorious local burnout with a fast car, an endless supply of weed, and a shaky grasp of reality; the other a smart, eccentric girl, whom Jimmy finds himself drawn to as they become entranced by her Ouija board, which may just offer the only salve to their grief.

As a fateful public drama unfolds, Jimmy is torn between the occult beyond and the cold realities of the place he has called home. Narrated by a much older Jimmy, a literary-turned-commercial novelist, Ghost Town is an “emotional wallop [that] nails the restless ennui of adolescence” (People Magazine), revealing how the past haunts the present and the way our ghosts are always with us, even when we think we’ve left them behind.”

Some highlights:
I enjoyed this paragraph – mainly because of the pickleball reference:
“She pursed her lips and tilted her head, making a poor-baby face to acknowledge my pain and maybe mock it a little too, because my problems weren’t all that serious in the grand scheme of things. I was just struggling a bit, emotionally and professionally, finding it difficult to visualize a happy and productive future for myself. It was a garden-variety case of the midlife blues, nothing that couldn’t be cured with a little Zoloft and some pickleball, or so everyone told me.”
I didn’t know the origin of the Ouija board:
“The first time she mentioned it, he thought she’d said weegee board, and she had to spell it out for him letter by letter. She explained that Ouija was a compound of the French and German words for yes, though in her opinion the name gave a misleading impression of what the board was for, and what it was capable of.”
A great question from the section at the end of the book with questions for book clubs:
“The story begins with Jimmy Perrini receiving an email invitation to return to his childhood home of Creamwood, New Jersey, to honor his late father’s memory with the naming of a new municipal building for him. While the message disturbs Jimmy, it causes him to reflect on that fateful summer of 1974 and the “bad memories” of his hometown that he had locked away. How does Jimmy’s attitude about his hometown, and his hesitation to return, set up the novel for what took place for him that summer?”

 

I read that Suzi Quattro, a regular on “Top of the Pops” when I was a kid, turned 76 on Wed.

Alex recommended this one with an interesting band name:

From Marc Paradis, a very talented local musician who plays in a large number of ensembles:

 

Week in Review – May 31st, 2026

“Sail 250 – tall ships in New Orleans”

On Monday, Sheri really wanted a Muffuletta sandwich (a classic New Orleans original) before leaving, and so we met at Cochon Butcher which has great sandwiches and sausages.  I agree with Diana that while those at Butcher are good, they’re not a whole lot better than one you can pick up easily at several of the local markets.  I’m confident Denny would strenuously object to that opinion.

Here’s a video of Phil Rosenthal meeting up with Wendell Pierce (famous New Orleans actor) at Butcher:

After lunch we had agreed to meet at the Columns and sit on the porch while it rained outside.  The foursome were not able to secure a table there and so we met them at the Avenue Pub instead, where we played entertaining card games to pass the time.  Anne didn’t like the game we chose and refused to learn the rules in process – adding to the entertainment.

Later in the afternoon we migrated to the Bon Temps to play some pool.  Diana was delighted to find that her experience on Christmas day was not a fluke – they regularly carry Veuve Clicquot at a very inexpensive price.

The next stop on the moveable feast was Denny and Anne’s home for dinner.  Denny whipped up his usual yummy spread – hangar steak and shrimp/salami kebabs, harissa carrots on yogurt, salad, chimichurri sauce.  He really is a master with his sauces.  The foursome left to play trivia after dinner.  We were too tired and so stayed back to clean up and then headed home.  They got to trivia late (close to halftime) and were still able to secure third place – very impressive.

Diana had pickleball on Tuesday morning and I met Sheri and Sean at Juan’s Flying Burrito for lunch.  Diana joined after she finished to share my Luau quesadilla (shrimp, pineapple, etc. and my favourite thing on their menu.)  Our visitors left for the airport right after lunch – Sean to Dallas for work and Sheri back to San Jose.

At trivia on Tuesday evening, we tied for first place.  The final question involved putting four Chinese cities (Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, and Bangalore) in order from North to South.  Nobody was sure and we all had different answers, so our team captain decided to bet zero – a wise decision that paid off.  The tiebreak question asked when George H.W. Bush was born.  Whoever got closest to the date won.  We chose June, 1922 and the answer was June 12, 1924.  We were close but the other team got within a couple of days of the correct answer.  Chatting with them afterwards, one team member admitted to having a photographic memory and remembering having read the date somewhere.  Is it fair for folks with photographic memories to play trivia?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

Diana had her usual Wednesday yoga session in the park.  She and Kara met up for oysters and snacks at the Pascal’s Manale Happy Hour – ostensibly to use an expiring coupon that I was supposed to use for our New Year’s Eve catering and forgot about.

Sail 250 hit New Orleans on Thursday.  This is a collection of tall sailing ships from various countries that have come together to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America.

Sail 250 New Orleans

We decided to be early birds on Thursday afternoon and try to beat the inevitable crowds for a free event.  I parked at the Jazz Museum with the understanding that the ships would be lined up from the Bywater to downtown.  Oops – they were all clustered downtown around the aquarium area – so we had a nice mile plus walk down the riverfront – would be fine if it wasn’t so humid.

 

We boarded the “Union” a gorgeous ship from Peru.  The sailors were all so young and smart in their dress white uniforms.

They were kind enough to give us some time at the helm:

The thought of climbing up the rigging to unfurl the sails made me queasy.

This was such a nice event and I’m sure the sailors will say they were welcomed better and entertained more in New Orleans than on their next stops in Virginia, New York, and Boston.

After the excitement of the tall ships we tried the Happy Hour at the new Charmant restaurant by City Park.  I had read reviews, looked at the menu and thought we would enjoy it.

And enjoy we did.  The food and cocktails were excellent and at a very good price.  Diana absolutely loved the wagyu burger, as did I, and we both thought the savory bread pudding was creative and delicious.

We will be back soon to try their brunch and dinner menus.

I watched the San Antonio Spurs tie up their semi-final 7 game series 3-3 on Thursday night.  I used to love going to their games when we lived in San Antonio and it’s been a number of years since they had such a good team.  Very young and inexperienced, and very good.

Diana had 3 hours of pickleball on Friday – just can’t get enough.  In the evening we were planning to see the blues master, Marc Stone, at the Constantinople porch stage.  We parked easily and saw there was nobody there.  The host was on his porch and let us know we had the wrong day – not until Sunday.  Geez – I rarely get the dates and times wrong.

No worries – I had a plan B.  Fred and Kelly had send out a text that they were going for drinks at the Gilded Perch.  We drove over there and had a fun discussion on the porch while it poured buckets around us.

Saturday began with a walk in the park in the already humid weather.  Then we stopped at the store for supplies to make our chopped chickpea Italian salad.  That was our offering for Greg’s pool party later in the afternoon.

We had a really nice group at Greg’s and Diana was reminded of how much she likes hanging out in a pool for the afternoon – not helpful, Greg.

I watched the last game of the NBA semi-finals when we got home on Saturday evening.  The Spurs beat Oklahoma on the road!  What a great performance.  Now they face the New York Knicks in the finals.

Sunday again began with a walk in the park.  Didn’t seem quite a humid as Saturday.

I’m currently watching the French Open tennis – an excellent battle between Rudd and Fonseca – tiebreak in the second set.

Earlier in the week in California, Luciano had a graduation and the other two were as supportive as ever:

I finally finished up “Doxology” by Nell Zink this week.  You probably know by now that if it takes me more than two weeks to finish a book, it doesn’t have me engaged and excited.  This GoodReads review kind of summed up my thoughts:

“It’s an achievement in itself to write a political/family novel that features strange lo-fi anti-folk nerd bands from lower Manhattan and that I still don’t like: This meandering tale introduces us to an American family where the parents have roots in the musical counterculture, but then flourish in the tech upper middle class, while their millennial daughter tries to help save the environment by becoming a political activist. So yes, Zink apparently tries to reflect society and changing attitudes by describing different generations (including the grandparents) over time, but nevertheless, the book has pretty much nothing to say: If you look for a stringent narrative concept, a message, surprising twists and thoughts or elegant prose, this is not your book. It is very readable and it’s not like I had to force myself to finish it, but the world did not need this novel – sorry, Nell Zink.”
I had highlighted a number of areas in this book and will limit my sharing to just a few.
A paragraph on music that I loved – I don’t know many people that have ever heard of Roky Erickson – a wonderful artist who lost his mind.
“Eloise fled toward the stage, where Joe was launching into his encore, “Splash 1” by the 13th Floor Elevators. He saw her and stared at her. He sang the entire song looking into her eyes.  The rock repertoire includes several songs an informed person might call romantic, such as “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys, but few can compete with “Splash,” the work of a mystic at the height of his powers. Soon after its composition, those powers defeated Roky Erickson, and he turned his genius to the service of the devil and the Martian voice in his head, but in “Splash” he was as yet untainted.”
I loved this phrase:
“You’re an irrepressible font of nay-saying pessimism,” he said. “It’s weird, coming from somebody who’s about to have a baby.”

Miles Davis would have been 100 this week.  I enjoyed this article about his career:

Miles at 100 article

I loved this chat with Boz Scaggs about the recording of “Loan me a dime.”

Loan me a dime – Scaggs talks about recording with Duane Allman

And finally some Tedeschi Trucks band – an amazing Sly and the Family Stone medley:

Week in Review – May 24th, 2026

“Meeksies Visit and Happy Birthday to me”

Paul, a financial advisor that Denny and I share, invited us to lunch at Porgy’s seafood restaurant.  I had never been and was looking forward to it based on all the positive reviews.  The place is run exclusively by ladies and they were busy cleaning and stocking fish when we arrived.  They have a few daily specials based on what’s fresh and I selected the crawfish roll.  Denny and Paul split a triggerfish (never heard of it but it looked good) and a soft shell crab sandwich.  We shared a ceviche tostada to start and I’ll go back just to have that.  It’s also one of McD’s favourites.

Here’s the fresh fish cabinet selection – not huge but a good variety:

The restaurant is fresh and modern inside:

Kenny and Kara picked me up for a drink before our event on Wednesday night.  We enjoyed the fancy inside room at the Columns.

Our event was a book reading and discussion across the street at the Garden District Book Store.  The book was the 331/3 Violent Femmes edition from Nic Brown.

For any youngsters that stumbled on this, 331/3 is the speed that a long playing (LP) record spins at.  The Violent Femmes are an 80s band best known for “Blister in the Sun” – they have a very unique style and musical makeup that was reviewed at the talk.

The group gathered in the Chicory coffee shop rather than the book store – a first and one that worked out well for a decent crowd.  It makes me wonder about the economics of these book tours.  30 people attend and buy a $15 book – the $450 wouldn’t even cover the travel expenses for Nic alone.  Maybe they think folks like us generate a bunch of buzz?

The evening finished up with a cool performance:

Diana arrived home shortly after the event concluded.  No more babysitting of me required.

Diana dropped into pickleball on Thursday while I got my teeth cleaned.  My hygienist is very pregnant (due 6/18) and I felt fortunate to get in before she goes out on leave – she does a very good job.

The Stephen Colbert show ended on Thursday night.  This is the 10:30pm show that I watch most nights before bed.  Colbert has been uber critical of Trump and became a casualty as some media moguls wanted to do a merger that needed Trump administration approval.  Paul McCartney was the main guest:

There were a couple of excellent musical performances to finish out the show.  This was at the Ed Sullivan theater where the Beatles first performed.

The Meeksies (Sean and Sheri) arrived on Friday afternoon – staying in the cottage at Chez Ogan.  They had a bit of hassle from the thunder and lightning – bags couldn’t be unloaded until the lightning passed etc.  That meant they were late to meet us and Denny at Chais Delachaise for their excellent Happy Hour.  They ultimately arrived and we had a good time.

The octopus was excellent.

After this stop, we drove over to St Joe’s bar to meet up with the extended Krewe – Alex, Thom, Fred, Kelly, Peggy, Mason, Jack, Brennen and probably several others that I don’t remember.  Diana and I didn’t stay for very long.

My birthday celebration was at N7 (possibly my top New Orleans eatery) and included Kenny, Kara, Denny, Anne, Sean and Sheri.  What a treat:

I had some beets that were deliciously smoky and charred, followed by a wonderful croque madame.  Thanks to Diana for organizing this festivity so far in advance.

After N7, Denny tried hard to entertain me – music at BMC (way too loud and no seating), R Bar (now famous for Shia LeBouef’s Mardi Gras incident) – also too loud – seemed like everyone in there was yelling to each other.  We made quick exits from both.   I took some flack for being old and intolerant – it was my birthday and I wasn’t going to do what I didn’t want to do.

We retired to our home and relaxed on the porch.  Much better.

Diana ordered some Theo’s pizzas for dinner and I had a very nice time visiting and opening gifts.

We met the group at the Red Dog diner for brunch on Sunday.  The company was good and I didn’t love my huevos rancheros – way too salty.  I’ve had a couple of dodgy meals there and have no reason to return.

Kenny picked up Diana for a French Quarter ramble with the group on Sunday afternoon.  I was happy to chill at home.  They had a good time, including a Taro reading for Sean.

I’m still working my way through “Doxology” by Nell Zink.  I don’t love it and continue to get sucked in deeper and deeper.  We’re now at 9/11 and the impact on various characters.

Here’s a review of the new Tedeschi Trucks band album.  They were a huge favourite of mine at Jazzfest – orders of magnitude better than most of what you saw there.  This is a great album.

Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and their band are one of the hottest items in the blues rock world. Some write them off as a a rock band, but they are truly more than that.

I’ve watched Trucks expand his repertoire over the years. Adding his wife to the band certainly places a larger emphasis on the blues and roots music in their releases and shows. What I’ve always felt is that Derek grew up in the shadow of the Allman Brothers and internalized the essence of what Duane Allman was doing before his untimely passing. Duane spent years at Muscle Shoals and gained a superb knowledge of so many genres of music. I see what Truck has done as a continuation of where the Allman Brothers might have gone had Duane lived on.  The deep ties to the blues, the jazzy and improvisational nature of the jams that are so much more than just a local jam, the R&B infusion into the mix, the expansion of instrumental use in the music, a strong set of vocalists to lead and back the band, and just an amazing depth of knowledge and feeling for what makes music tick.

This album offers us 11 new songs to savor. Susan fronts the band for ten of the cuts and plays guitar on most of them. Mike Mattison is up front for “Under The Knife.” Trucks, of course, is on lead guitar. Mattison sings on all but one track and adds his guitar to many of them. Brandon Boone is primarily on bass; also appearing on bass is Mike Elizondo. Tyler Greenwell and Isaac Eady share the drumming duties. On B3 and keyboards is Gabe Dixon. Adding backing vocals and percussion are Alecia Chakpur and Mark Rivers. Horns are provided by Emmanuel Echem (trumpet), Elizabeth Lea (trombone) and Kebbi Williams (sax). Elizondo also adds keys to a few tracks. Austin Hoke is on cello and Abe rounds is on percussion for “Shout Out.”

“Crazy Cryin’” gets the album started. It’s a cut with a slick groove and features Tedeschi singing of a relationship that has not worked out.  It’s funky and cool, and Trucks comes in with an amazing short guitar solo late in the cut that makes it even better. Backing vocals add nicely to the mix.

Next is “I Got You” with some acoustic guitar added to the electric guitar. It’s an up tempo and fun love song. Derek offers an early restrained guitar solo. The organ and horns are sweet in support here as are the backing vocals. Trucks takes us home with a prolonged guitar solo that eventually fades to wrap it up.

“Who Am I” is a pretty ballad that Susan sings with passion as Trucks strums out some equally pretty licks with restrained poignancy until the end when he lets go to again take us home with some vibrant signature guitar to enjoy.

Up next is “Hero” is a passionate and emotional cut where Tedeshi pleads to leave where they are at as she reiterates the theme as she sings, “I’m not your hero, I’m number zero.” The song builds into a dervish of instrumental anguish to conclude, a wild ride that finally comes to resolution.

“What In The World” is another cut with sweet acoustic guitars, some ethereal organ and horns. and Tedeschi testifying with true feeling. Trucks steps in to punctuate the tune with his electric slide guitar. Beautiful stuff here.

The title track is next and picks the pace up significantly. Vibrant guitar, strident vocals and a driving beat make this one a winner. Trucks offers a concluding solo to once again finish things off and it’s in your face and it’s just wickedly cool guitar.

Mattison leads the fray for “Under the Knife,” a song with a very cool groove, great horns and a sweet pacing that makes the song interesting. Derek offers up an echoey guitar solo and Susan backs Mike to add a nice touch to the sound.

“Be Kind” bounces along  with the horns and organ helping to drive the song as the electric guitars layer over each other to cool effect. Dixon adds a sweet and distorted piano solo that is quite cool. Overall, it’s a driving and fun number.

Then it’s time for “Devil Be Gone,” as Tedeschi  casts our the devil while the guitar rings loud and clear in support of that idea. It’s a driving and vital cut with a heavy beat and the players and the singers give it their all in support. Susan and Derek take us home vocally and on guitar on this one.

“Shout Out” is a lighter track with Tedeschi shouting out to ask the person to return to her for support. It’s got a ton of feeling and the cut builds and builds in vocal and instrumental intensity to hearken the person to return.  Nicely done.

The album concludes with “Ride On,” where Tedeschi sings, ”I guess I’m just along for the ride.” The songs is a country/southern rocker that is emotive and quite slick. Slide guitar adds emotion to the sing as Trucks wails his way to the end to add to the tension and feeling.

This is another superb studio album for Tedeschi and Trucks. Every song is crafted well to allow each musician to become part of the continuum they create in every song. I truly loved this album; it is another winner for the band that will garner many an accolade for them. Well done!

Week in Review – May 17th, 2026

“A Relaxing Week – for the most part”

The week began with the usual early alarms so that Diana could make her 8am pickleball session.  Yeah!

Tuesday began with me joining a retirement financial meeting with Paul and Diana heading off to her pickleball tournament.  I followed that with a swim, steam and sauna at the New Orleans Athletic Club (NOAC) in an attempt to stretch out my back.  Trivia in the evening worked out well for me for the first time in a while.  Here’s Kenny’s scoring and notes sheet.

My contributions:  William the Conqueror, correct first names for Lamborghini and Prada, infra-red waveband, and “Francis” as the F in F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Denny wore his new “Dude” t-shirt that we got for his birthday in San Sebastian.  The design is by the same illustrator who did my Miles Davis cutout wall hanging.

The typical run and yoga in Audubon park sessions kicked off Wednesday for Diana.  Then she spent some time packing up for her trip to California.

She left for the trip to attend Ashley’s wedding on Thursday morning.  There were delays in Dallas due to weather in San Francisco, but nothing too extreme, arriving on Gypsy Hill in the early evening.

I watched the “Accidental Tourist” movie on Thursday night.  This is the 1988 adaptation of Anne Tyler’s wonderful book and stars William Hurt, Geena Davis and Kathleen Turner.  Geena Davis won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance.

This is my kind of movie – quiet, understated with deep themes and humour.

I found a recipe for the perfect “Vesper” – the James Bond drink and would have enjoyed one with the movie, but did not have the ingredients.  I’m adding it here so that I know where to find the recipe:

Friday, my first “unsupervised” day, was a busy one.  I spent the morning and early afternoon at Kenny’s rental houses.  We were trying to use my pressure washer to spray “Wet it and forget it” on the bricks and siding of the houses.  A series of unfortunate events prevented us from doing that and I’ve now ordered up what I think will be a much easier approach to accomplishing our goal.

After that frustration, Kenny took me on a tour of the Lakeview area of New Orleans (very nice and upscale) and then we shared a burger at Desi Vegas Burger house – one of the better burgers that I’ve had in a while.

In the evening, we gathered at the Bon Temps dive bar to support our friends who were running in the Barathon – a run of around 3.5 miles that visits 5 bars, where participants have to finish a beer before continuing to the next stops.  There were a surprising number of participants:

Our team:

Katherine, Fred and Brennen did a good job – coming in the top 25% in my estimation – very impressive.  How did the winners complete all of that in around 30 minutes?  Crazy.

While all of that was underway, Diana was making the trip from Pacifica to Gardnerville, Nevada.  Julie was almost on time for the departure and they made reasonable time on the 4+ hour drive.

I met Chris Peet at Casimiro for breakfast on Saturday.  This is a new brunch place from the ladies that operate Acamaya (one of my top 5 New Orleans restaurants.)  Mexican breakfast dishes are one of my favourite food groups.  We started with the Tetela de Hongos al Ajillo (triangles of corn masa stuffed with mushrooms and served with salsa verde and crema – I will be back just for these.  Then I had the chilaquiles with chicken – ridiculously good and enough to eat all day long.

We both tried the Cafe de Olla – coffee with cinnamon, spices and a slight sweetness – I had two and it was not Chris’ thing.

I really enjoyed catching up with Chris – been a while since we got time for a nice chat.

Denny and Anne invited me over for dinner on Saturday evening.  Chef Denny did his usual amazing job – hanger steak, gnocchi with spinach, and carrots on a Greek yogurt base.  It’s nice to have friends that worry about me when Diana is gone.

Here are some pictures from Ashley and Nick’s wedding in Nevada:

It seems that Diana had a good time and is glad she made the effort to attend.

A week after Mother’s Day and Diana’s flowers from Alicia are still going strong.  I’ve been changing out the water and adding ice cubes – apparently the secret to elongated life.

 

My book this week was “Doxology” by Nell Zink.  The online review says “this novel follows three friends – Pam, Daniel, and Joe – through the 1980s and 90s New York City music scene, exploring their relationships, the impact of 9/11, and the subsequent political landscape through the eyes of their daughter, Flora, as she grows up and becomes an activist. The book is an ambitious, generational saga that contrasts the punk-rock idealism of their youth with the political realities of post-9/11 America, touching on themes of family, fame, and the search for meaning. “

I find this book equally entertaining and clever with the musical references, and at the same time overly New York Times hipsterish and trying too hard.  I’m about 30% complete and will try to stick with it and have more to report next week.

I did find an interesting reference to Jane Birkin and the role she played in creating the Hermes Birkin bag.  This was a trivia clue that I knew because we sold so many of those ridiculously expensive bags in our stores.

Spotify shared some data this week – the first song that I listened to on the platform and how many since:

Let’s see – 31,500 songs over 12 years = 2,625 songs/year.  That’s a little over 200 songs/month and 7 songs/day – sounds about right.

I read an article about the albums that most influenced Tom Waits:

Some very good ones in that list.

Week in Review – May 10th, 2026

“Happy Mother’s Day”

As you can tell, I’m way behind on the blog again – worst ever.  Given that, this will be a short and concise post.

I tried to have an MRI early on Monday morning and they didn’t have the right kind of anesthesia.  Will have to be rescheduled at a different location.

Diana had pickleball on Tuesday and Saturday.

We had a couple of maintenance appointments on Tuesday – I had my hearing aids checked and Diana had a checkup at the orthodontist – no issues with either visit.

I had a haircut on Friday, followed by a visit to Juan’s Flying Burrito next door for a Luau (shrimp, pineapple etc) quesadilla.  Diana enjoyed some leftovers.  My barber is going to be out for a few weeks and so I got an extra short trim.

Kenny and Kara joined us for dinner and a movie on Saturday evening.  Both Diana and Kara had read “Remarkably Bright Creatures” and were looking forward to the movie version.  This is a book/movie about Marcellus the octopus in captivity in the Seattle area and the work he does to try and help the humans who take care of him every day.

Sally Field is the star and the scene that I remember most is her going on a date with a guy who wears his prized Grateful Dead t-shirt.  She thinks he was dressed like a slob, not realizing that he took the shirt, worth several thousand dollars, out of a frame to wear it on the date.

Diana, with a little help from me, made a chopped chickpea Mediterranean salad and sablefish.  Kara brought dessert that we enjoyed with carajillos (espresso and Liquor 43.)

Alicia had some beautiful flowers delivered for Mother’s Day:

We enjoyed Sunday Mother’s Day brunch at Cafe Degas – perhaps Diana’s favourite New Orleans restaurant – it’s what The Grape used to be for her in Dallas.

We ordered way too much food and had yummy leftovers for several days.

My book this week was the wonderful “The Things We Never Say” by Elizabeth Strout.  While not my very favourite of her books, it is still a remarkable accomplishment.  Highly recommended.  I read it in just over a day and look forward to revisiting parts of it.  Here’s an accurate online review:

“Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?

And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.

Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, The Things We Never Say takes one man’s fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.”

Here’s something from the trumpeter with the super high register and the funky band, Maynard Ferguson:

A track from my favourite band at jazzfest, the understated and laid back Deslondes:

Week in Review – April 19th, 2026

“French Quarter Fest 2026”

Diana was excited to get back to pickleball on Monday morning.  She won all but one of her games in the clinic ending tournament.

I picked up our Brass Passes for Jazzfest around lunchtime in the Jazz and Heritage Festival building on Rampart.  Music was playing on an amazing sound system in the pickup room.  The Brass Passes include a healthy donation to the local WWOZ radio station in the price.  This is the first year we’ve tried them and we’ll see how it all goes.

Anne hosted Happy Hour tennis (she drags a cooler out to the courts) for Denny’s birthday on Tuesday afternoon.  We had a nice group to celebrate.

In the evening trivia session, we got the fall of the Berlin Wall and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time after time” switched on our timeline and lost at the end.

I almost forgot to mention one of the more entertaining portions of the trivia experience.  Our “scribe” didn’t agree with the score that quizmaster Tom reported for our team.  He sat down at the computer with Tom and got things corrected – attention to detail!

The typical Wednesday morning run and yoga were executed by McD.  After that we made a productive trip to Trader Joes’.

In the early evening, we made the short drive down to Lafayette square to see River Eckert and his band perform in the free Wednesday night spring show series.

River had assembled an excellent band, including his dad, Jake, on guitar.

We left a bit before the end of the set to meet Denny and Anne to celebrate Denny’s birthday at Dolfy’s.  This is the new Basque restaurant and they did a great job of mirroring the food we had just experienced.  The pork dish was outstanding and the pintxos and appetizers also very good.

Thursday was day one of French Quarter Fest (FQF).  We made it down to the brand new park and the Pan Am stage just in time to see the very last of the Tin Men.  We set up in the spot with Randy, Amy, Jeanne, Larry, Brian and Lisa.  The park really is a very nice new space with expansive views of the river and downtown.

After setting up, we walked over to Jackson Square to check out the Nori Guys food offerings.  That was a mistake – the foot traffic getting over there was very busy and undisciplined – lots of bobbing and weaving.   Jackson Square was very busy – we got our sushi tacos, ate them, and headed back to the relative peace and quiet of the new parks.

When we returned, Muevelo, a Cuban salsa band was taking the stage.  Brian had advertised this as a potential highlight.

Muévelo, the Celia Cruz-inspired Cuban music dance band, was packed with ringers including Victor Campbell on piano, David Navarro on trumpet and vocals, Brent Rose on saxophone and Chris Butcher on trombone. Margie Perez was animated on lead vocals.

 

 

John Mooney and Bluesiana finished off our afternoon of music.  I had seen Mooney in a solo show at the Circle bar (sadly no longer with us) with Denny years ago.  I remember good blues music after an inordinate amount of time setting up and trying to perfect the sound in the tiny back room.  Set up was quick this time and Mooney demonstrated great slide work and feel on his guitar.

We heard a little bit of the Rebirth Brass Band on the Jack Daniels stage as we packed up and exited.

Friday at French Quarter Fest started out with Lulu and the Broadsides.  I really enjoy her song “Dear Rachel Carson” with the lyrics, “If we lose New Orleans, we lose everything.”

Such a big and powerful voice.

Diana and I split a soft shell crab po-boy from the Ajun Cajun tent and I snuck a spicy beef Mrs wheat’s meat pie into my pocket for dessert later.

After lunch, we walked over to the “Esplanade in the Shade” stage at the Jazz Museum to listen to the New Orleans legacy coalition, a group of next generation musicians who were rumoured to be joined by their fathers for some of the songs.  These are the next generation members – Omari Neville, River Eckert, Michael Mullins, Bradford Lewis, Austin Clements, Rodney Weber.  Cyril Neville, Jake Eckert and Mark Mullins all joined their sons for a couple of songs, with Cyril Neville paying a very nice tribute to River after “Tipitina.”

Here’s a local TV new segment about the coalition:

Legacy Coalition TV segment

There was a very strange transition from that wonderful group of musicians to some kind of rap/DJ set.  The area cleared out quickly.  We returned later to listen to the Riverbenders- a band led by Jack Eckert and Aaron Wilkinson (formerly of the Honey Island Swamp Band.)  I enjoyed this set very much – great musicians with a laid back sound.

Here are the Riverbenders live on WWOZ:

The River Benders on WWOZ

We had read about the dedication of an amazing new organ at the St Charles Presbyterian church and, after a brief refresh from French Quarter Fest, joined Kenny and Andrew there for the inaugural recital.

Here’s an article about the dedication:

Church Organ Dedication for St Charles Presbyterian

The performance was very technical and impressive and did nothing for me.  Would it have been too much to play something that folks might have recognized or something that really showcased the power of the organ rather than trying to see how many notes could be crammed into a measure?

I didn’t have a lot of time for reading this week, and we’ve heard plenty of music already.  Time to rest up for eight days of Jazzfest ahead.

Week in Review – April 12th, 2026

Monday began with a stroll down to Bistro  Aquilla for coffee and breakfast.  I ordered a San Giovanni sandwich which came on a base of beet dip.  Diana found how much of that ended up on my fingers quite entertaining.

We had an impromptu visit from Kenny and Squirrel later in the morning.  Duane picked up the name squirrel many years ago thanks to a football coach.  He had been out for a bike ride with Kenny and Ray when Ray took a fall and had to head home with some sore ribs.  So the duo made their way over to see us.  A nice surprise and our first visitors after being gone so long.

Diana met Jeff, Merry Lee, Jeff’s nephew and his wife at the Columns later int he afternoon.  I was mostly asleep on the couch and feeling jet lag too much to venture out.

I enjoyed the NCAA basketball championship on Monday night.  Michigan did not score as they did throughout the rest of the tournament but managed to eke out a win.

Diana and I walked down to French Truck coffee on Tuesday morning, the newspaper delivery starting up again just in time for us to enjoy it with our coffee.  From there, we strolled down magazine to pick up a card to Walgreens and then made our way home in time to meet Robert, the foundation repair guy at home.  We’ve noticed some new cracks and wanted to make sure all the foundation piers were still looking good.  Robert reports that all looks good and we are just experiencing some normal “settling.”

A new month of pickleball clinics started up and Laurie picked up Diana to get that all started again.  I walked over to Aidan Gill for a haircut while they ran around the court.  Aidan was in fine form with his banter about my trip.

We met with Jeff and Merry Lee for an early dinner at Tacos del Cartel on Tuesday evening.  Early so that we could eat before jet lag kicked in too much and also so that I could attend trivia if I thought I could last that late.  I was too sleepy to face the couple of hours of trivia and called it an early night.

Diana’s Wednesday began with yoga a new location on Freret Street.  She seemed to enjoy it.  We met Kenny and Kara for the parsimonious Happy Hour at Cafe Degas.  We followed that with a brief stop at the new business that opened where DMAC’s was, “True South”, and finished up at the Twelve Mile Limit.  I loved this place – a true craft cocktail maker in a slightly divey bar.  Their history is interesting:

“The history of Twelve Mile Limit is actually layered—it’s not just a modern bar, but a spot with over a century of local history tied to New Orleans development, baseball, and post-Katrina recovery.

🏗️ Early history (1910–1920s)

  • The building was originally constructed around 1910 as a pumping station, part of the city’s effort to drain swamps and expand New Orleans.
  • By the 1920s, it had already become a bar.

⚾ Baseball-era hangout

  • The bar sat near Pelican Park, once a spring training site.
  • In the mid-1920s, the New York Yankees trained there—during the era when Babe Ruth had just joined the team.
  • Local lore suggests Ruth (famous for drinking) may have frequented the bar.

🍻 20th century → early 2000s

  • The location stayed a bar for decades, usually named after its owner.
  • Its last pre-modern incarnation was “Marvin’s”, run by “Marvelous Marvin” starting around 2000.

🌊 Hurricane Katrina impact (2005)

  • The building was badly flooded during Hurricane Katrina, like much of Mid-City (which was deeply underwater).
  • It reopened, but struggled to fully recover afterward.

🍸 Modern era (2010–present)

  • In 2010, bartender T. Cole Newton bought the bar, renovated it, and reopened it as Twelve Mile Limit.
  • His concept: a “cocktail dive”—high-quality drinks in a laid-back neighborhood setting.
  • Since then, it’s become a well-known Mid-City spot, often listed among top bars in New Orleans.

🍹 Where the name comes from

  • The name “Twelve Mile Limit” references:
    • A Prohibition-era concept—people had to go offshore beyond U.S. jurisdiction to drink.
    • The distance was extended to 12 miles in 1924, inspiring a cocktail called the “Twelve Mile Limit.””

Diana had a haircut on Thursday  and I suggested that we should have lunch at the world famous Domilise’s before.  This is regularly mentioned as the best po’boy spot in New Orleans – oscillating with Parkway.  We didn’t love it.  The food was good and plentiful – just nothing to blow me away.

I left Domilise’s and took care of the grocery shopping.  Diana ran into Roeland at the Parlor getting her hair done.  New Orleans seems to become a smaller city ever day to me..

Here’s a lot of information on the history of Domilise’s.  It’s interesting how easy it is to find this versus other types of important New Orleans history.

Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar

is a historic, family-owned institution in Uptown New Orleans that has been operating since 1918. Located at 5240 Annunciation Street, it began as a neighborhood bar and eventually evolved into one of the city’s most famous po-boy shops.

Where Y'at New OrleansWhere Y’at New Orleans +2
Foundational Years (1918–1940s)
  • Establishment: Founded by Peter and Sophie Domilise in 1918.
  • Original Concept: It started as a corner bar serving the local workforce, including dockworkers and longshoremen from the nearby Mississippi River wharves.
  • Transition to Food: Sophie began cooking “plate lunches” for these workers, which gradually morphed into a sandwich-focused menu. During the 1929 streetcar strike—the era when the “poor boy” sandwich was famously named—Domilise’s maintained its working-class roots by extending credit to laborers until they received their paychecks.
    Culinary BackstreetsCulinary Backstreets +4
The Era of “Miss Dot” (1947–2013)
  • Family Transition: After World War II, the business passed to Peter and Sophie’s son, Sam, and his wife, Dorothy “Miss Dot” Domilise, in 1947.
  • A Local Legend: Dorothy Domilise became the face of the establishment, known for her sharp wit and warm hospitality. She personally prepared po-boys behind the counter well into her 90s.
  • Survival and Reopening: The restaurant briefly closed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as the family evacuated. Its reopening was seen by many locals as a sign of the city’s recovery.
  • End of an Era: Dorothy passed away in 2013 at the age of 90, having worked at the restaurant for over 65 years.
    Domilise's Po-boysDomilise’s Po-boys +5
Modern Legacy and Culture
  • Generational Ownership: The shop is currently run by the third and fourth generations of the family (led by Ken and Joann Domilise), with members of the fifth generation also involved.
  • Famous Patronage: The walls are covered in photos of celebrity visitors, including the Manning family (Peyton and Eli), who are such regulars they have their own dedicated “Manning Wall of Fame”. The late Anthony Bourdain also famously visited and praised their off-the-menu “surf-and-turf” po-boy (shrimp, roast beef gravy, and Swiss cheese).
  • Traditions: The menu remains simple and focused on high-quality ingredients, specifically using Leidenheimer French bread delivered twice daily. Many staff members have been with the restaurant for decades, including Ray the bartender (45+ years) and Gayle the sandwich maker (35+ years).

I accompanied Diana to her pain management group appointment on Friday.  The conclusion was that she will get two steroid shots later this month. –

Saturday was busy.  We started with an early walk/run in Audubon park.  That was followed by a visit to Tartine.  Nicoise salad for Diana and quiche for Keith.  We stopped at the hardware store on the drive home and had extra keys made, since the fancy locks are not reliable.  All that activity finished up with us hanging Miles Davis behind all the albums:

He looks a bit lonely and we’re in discussion about who to add to his band.  Bill Evans?  Dizzy?  What do you think?

 

I wanted to share some detail about the guy who made Miles: “Mikel Casal, a local San Sebastian illustrator with work sold through Lance & Malone.  “My father, uncles and cousins would come back to port with mementos from faraway places such as Canada, South Arivvca, Brazil, Norway and even Hong Kong.  SOme of those mementos that would come from sacks soaked in saltwater and diesel fuel were marvelously illustrated books and magazines.  I went wide eyed every time I would open them and it was at that moment I knew that when I grew up I wanted t be a draftsman.  Later i found out that what I really wanted to be was an illustrator.”

We relaxed in the afternoon at a crawfish boil hosted by Alex and Laura.  Wonderful food and company as always.

Sunday was very mellow.  We drove over to City Park so that Frank could show us the ultimate frisbee competition.  Those guys expend a lot of energy running around during a game.  After that we watched the Masters gold tournament.

We’re skipping books and music as this post is so late.

Week in Review – April 5th, 2026

“University Reunion”

Diana’s week started out with a long walk and after that she was ready for a nice lunch at the Laird’s table outside Fenwick.  This is the restaurant with views out onto a fly-fishing lake.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch with all three of us trying different seafood dishes.  Here’s a picture Diana took after lunch:

After lunch we made a trip to the Marks and Spencer’s Food store in the Newton Mearns mall.  This is a wonderful store, quite unlike anything we find in the US.  So many pre-packaged meals, cheeses, meats, and everything else you could hope for.  We picked out some lunch and dinner treats.  After that, we made a short side trip to B&Q home store to look for a new magnetic shower door strip.  That was a no-go – only available online.

Diana ventured out into the Scottish countryside again for a long run and walk on Tuesday morning.  Then we drove Mum’s car through to Edinburgh to meet up with my university friends for our 41st graduation anniversary get together.

We walked across to the Beehive pub ahead of our scheduled 7pm meeting time.  I was in line to order a drink when I received a WhatsApp message from Euan.  Thankfully that included a picture and a description of where he was sitting and the colour of shirt he was wearing.  I went across and introduced myself.  Bobby and Kirsty showed up a short while later and then Fiona and Patrick.  We made our way across the street to the restaurant at the Apex hotel.  The hotel is a remodel of the Heriot-Watt Mountbatten building where we studied Electrical Engineering all those 41 years ago.  The ramp that we walked up to enter the building is still there – now the handicapped entrance.  We walked up and noticed the red wall where our results were posted outside Dr. Davidson’s (head of electrical engineering department) office.

Left to right – Fiona, Bobby, and Euan.

Dinner was very enjoyable, the restaurant occupying what was one of two large lecture theaters in the building.

We reminisced about a “presentation skills” class we had taken in that theater all those years ago.  Euan talked about his experiences digging graves as a summer job, I shared how sound wavelengths operate in brass instruments (with live tuba and trombone demonstrations), Bobby discussed a new album that his country dancing band had released, and Fiona talked about gemstones with foils from a local museum.

All of the group are retired now (quite an achievement given we average 62) with Euan doing some occasional consulting with early-stage high tech startups.

This was a lovely evening from start to finish.  We’ll have to get together sooner if it’s going to happen again in these lifetimes.

We had a workout on Wednesday morning, followed by a “healthy” breakfast at a place called Hula in the Grassmarket.  I had a falafel bowl that was huge and delicious and brought a good bit of it home for later.  The drive back to Mum’s was smooth and easy, with a quick stop into Marks and Spencer for some special cookies and other snacks.  We chuckled at the alternatives to easter eggs:

We visited the Dunlops (Jeanette and Robert) on Thursday afternoon.  These are good friends of Mum’s who live one street away.  I babysat their children at least once many years ago.  We had a very enjoyable chat, with an “online shop” showing up during our visit.  This was included:

Prosecco without the alcohol.  Diana was horrified.  It’s also “suitable for vegans” according to the label.

Mum made beef olives for dinner on Thursday.  Ever heard of them?  Care to guess what they look like?

They are a Scottish dish of thin beef steaks wrapped around sausage meat, stuffing or even haggis.

Why the “olive” in the name?  There are no olives in the recipe.  It’s not clear to me – some online postings talk about the stuffed beef wrap looking like an olive – I’m not sure I see that.  Despite all of that, these made for a delicious dinner.

Julie and Robin invited us over to dinner on Friday evening.  We were joined by Lorna and Russell.

Dinner was a team effort – chicken tikka masala and naan bread by Julie, fancy rice with cinnamon sticks from Robin, and a raspberry meringue roulade from Lorna – all wonderful.

Lots of fun stories were shared.  It’s really such a lovely group.  The “Morgan” was mentioned several times during the evening, and Diana was confused about what that might be.  Any car enthusiasts reading that know?  Robin demonstrated as we were getting bundled up to leave – “Oh, It’s a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” said Diana.

Morgans are really unique.  They are still built using ash wood for the frame and are largely built by hand in the Malvern, England factory – the same one has been used for over 100 years.  Only a few hundred are built each year and the wait time can last up to 10 years.

We walked home a little after midnight (brrr!) and apparently missed the “clues” that were left to indicate that we were expecting a visit from Heather, Michael, and Hamish.

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans, Kara and Chris Peet, along with Nina, Ian and Hannah, were all running in the Crescent City Classic 10K.  There were over 20,000 runners involved.

Kara came across Chris and ran with the Love flag for a while.

We enjoyed a visit from Hamish, Heather and Michael on Saturday morning.  Diana was out for a run before major storm “Dave” arrived in the afternoon.  She returned in time to enjoy some Hamish time, including learning a new song about winding up a bobbin and pointing to the ceiling, floor, window and door.

Sunday was a long travel day.  Our regular taxi driver shared the audio of this Tom Jones performance as we were talking to him about Jazzfest experiences.

We were a bit nervous on seeing very limited visibility and sleet/snow from the airport lounge.

As we’ve learned, no reason to get too concerned as the weather will change in a few minutes.  True to form, the sun was out in ten minutes.

I’m always amazed at the quality of the service on the short flight from Glasgow to London.  We were presented with a food and drink menu and some delicious food.  Even a special Easter dessert.  The transatlantic folks could learn a lot from the folks working these flights.

We did not need to go through additional security or change terminals in London.  That meant more time in the lounge, Diana enjoying the selection of champagnes.

The menu on the transatlantic flight included a chicken tikka pie (reprising Julie’s dinner) and a carrot and ginger soup (Mum made this too).  I enjoyed them both.

I was trying to make some progress on Fred’s World War II book on the flight.  I was entertained to read of some characters trying to escape Spain via a ship from Bilbao with a stop at Saint-Jean-de-Luz – neither of which I would have known about prior to our holiday.

Clearing immigration in New Orleans couldn’t have been any easier – probably a much better option than going through Dublin.  After a short Uber ride we were finally home.  All seemed in order with our house.

I read in the newspaper that Easter Sunday has become a big day in the French Quarter – it certainly seems that way from the pictures.

Being in Edinburgh brough me back to Ian Rankin and his John Rebus books.  I don’t think I ever read the original in the series, “Knots and Crosses.”

A paragraph that sets the scene for typical Scottish weather – “grass percolating water.”
“It was April 28th. Wet, naturally, the grass percolating water as John Rebus walked to the grave of his father, dead five years to the day. He placed a wreath so that it lay, yellow and red, the colours of remembrance, against the still shining marble. He paused for a moment, trying to think of things to say, but there seemed nothing to say, nothing to think. He had been a good enough father and that was that. The old man wouldn’t have wanted him to waste his words in any case. So he stood there, hands respectfully behind his back, crows laughing on the walls around him, until the water seeping into his shoes told him that there was a warm car waiting for him at the cemetery gates.”
A good football reference – it was all midfield:
“He was growing tired, realising that the game was going nowhere. It was all midfield, a friendly rather than a cup-tie. He checked his watch conspicuously. “Time I was getting back,” he said. She picked up her newspaper. “Are you doing anything this weekend?” she asked. John Rebus sat down again.”
Maybe I need to take up Rebus’ rule – if I don’t like a book in ten pages, then move on?
“Rebus collected unread books. Once upon a time, he had actually read the books that he bought, but these days he seemed to have so little time. Also, he was more discriminating now than he had been then, back in the old days when he would read a book to its bitter end whether he liked it or not. These days, a book he disliked was unlikely to last ten pages of his concentration.”
Typical Rebus thinking – not wanting to play the part of a normal human animal:
“Often he declined invitations, because to accept meant that he had to dust off his brogues, iron a shirt, brush down his best suit, take a bath, and splash on some cologne. He had also to be affable, to drink and be merry, to talk to strangers with whom he had no inclination to talk and with whom he was not being paid to talk. In other words, he resented having to play the part of a normal human animal.”
A flash back to Denny and Anne in Edinburgh – their catacombs tour educated them about Deacon Brodie and we paid a visit to the pub on the Royal Mile:
“The British press had cottoned onto the fact that Edinburgh had a rather less than genteel past. They ran reminders of Deacon Brodie (the inspiration, it was said, behind Stevenson’s Jekyll & Hyde), Burke and Hare, and anything else that came to light in their researches, right down to the ghosts that haunted a suspicious number of the city’s Georgian houses.
The typical postcard home from an Edinburgh boarding-house: “Edinburgh is lovely. The people rather reserved. Saw the Castle yesterday, and the Scott Monument. It’s a very small city, almost a town really. You could fit it inside
New York and never notice it. Weather could be better.” Weather could be better. The art of euphemism.”
A walk down memory lane for me – I made the walk from Marchmont, across the Meadows, past the Royal Infirmary and Greyfriars Bobby every day on my way to University:
“From his flat in Marchmont to the library could be a delightful walk, showing the strengths of Edinburgh as a city. He passed through a verdant open area called The Meadows, and on the skyline before him stood the great grey Castle, a flag blowing in the fine rain over its ramparts. He passed the Royal Infirmary, home of discoveries and famous names, part of the University, Greyfriars Kirkyard and the tiny statue of Greyfriars Bobby. How many years had that little dog lain beside its master’s grave?”
I was watching a Fleetwood Mac documentary and this wonderful song came on.  Peter Green was such a genius:

Week in Review – March 29th, 2026

Second week in San Sebastian

Monday was a bit of a fancy and refined day here.  Diana started with her usual walk/run along the beach.  We went grocery shopping in the afternoon and stopped in for a mid-afternoon drink at La Cervezeria around the corner.  I got a kick out of the young girl next to us taking videos of herself eating pintxos – typical of the generation.
I found a martini bar and we gave it a try.  It’s inside a very fancy hotel and did indeed make a very good martini.  Bette Davis made one of her final appearances at this hotel to accept an award.
We walked from the martini bar over to dinner at Bernardo Extea.  I found this place through searches for good seafood restaurants.  This place was described as the best seafood in a quiet and unpretentious setting – perfect.  It turned out to be just so.  Our waiter’s recommendations were very good.  Diana had shrimp carpaccio for an appetizer, and I had a half portion of foie gras – still a lot.
Diana had tri-colour scallops for her main and I enjoyed a wonderful grilled monkfish (another waiter recommendation):
There was an ecossaise (Scottish) coffee on the menu and so I had to give it a try – very similar to a cafe liegeois with whisky added.
Here’s Diana as we were leaving with the restaurant sign:
And here she is walking home through the lovely tunnel close to our apartment (usually has a musician during the day).  We couldn’t find the taxi rank by the restaurant and so walked home.
On Tuesday, we made a day trip to Bilbao with the primary intent of visiting the Guggenheim art museum.
On our walk from the bus station to the Guggenheim, we passed the Maurice Ravel school.  I looked up the Ravel/Bilbao connection:
I had no idea about that connection.  We visited the town his Mum was from last week on our drive back from Biarritz.
I wondered about the connection between the Manhattan and Bilbao Guggenheim museums and looked that up too:
“The Bilbao effect” – how interesting.
I will say that on our 1.5 mile walk from the bus station to the museum, it was very clear that we were in a big city versus the enclave of San Sebastian – people speak much louder, car horns honk and so on.  We have been so spoiled by the peacefulness of our location.
We were just talking about the museum, and Diana says it is definitely the best one that she’s been to “inside and out.”  The Frank Gehry architecture is truly amazing.  Here are some pictures, including the flower ensconced “Puppy.”
The exhibits inside were equally impressive and unique. The first one that we visited was called “The Matter of Time” by Richard Serra.  All the guides said that if we only saw one thing, this should be it.
The exhibit was huge and you certainly did lose perspective when walking through the curved steel structures.
Here’s a view from above to give some scale:
I really enjoyed the visiting exhibit from Ruth Asawa who creates sculptures from wire.
You can look at the sculptures for a while and still struggle to see how she put them together.  This exhibit made me think of Finn’s fiancée, Holly, who also creates 3D scultpures.
“And the City Stood in its Brightness” by Mark Leckey was a multi-media exhibit with the city, music, and light all playing together.
 I didn’t capture the name of the artist who created the light box mirror art.  It was amazing inside.
Here’s one last picture from the museum – me posing with “maman”:
After browsing the museum, we had lunch (the ensalada mixta is a new favourite) and then walked to the funicular to get a view from above the city.  The red Bilbao sign at the start of this message was at the top.  Diana got this picture of the Guggenheim from above.
The bus (with zero legroom) dropped us back in San Sebastian just before 7pm.  It was good to relax and stretch out.
I made another attempt to taste the Turkish eggs at Cafe Somos on Wednesday morning.  The last time I tried the small place was packed with no available tables.  The weather was not as great on Wednesday – overcast and a bit cooler, so I was able to get an outside table with no problem.
Such a delicious breakfast.
On the walk back to the apartment, I snapped this picture of Diana’s favourite bakery – the baguette available around 4pm and just warm from the oven is the best that I’ve had.
We braved the elements for a late lunch at La Perla, the fancy beachfront restaurant (the only one built on the beach.)  Here’s the Nook of the North just before we entered:
The view of the bay from the table was very nice.
I took advantage of all the mirrors to capture a silly selfie:
Lunch was yet another gastronomic delight.  We started with truffled egg and mushrooms – amazing.  Do you know how they make a truffled egg?  I just learned on this trip – they sit truffles on top of the eggs for several days and the flavour of the truffle seeps into the eggs.
That was followed by octopus on a smoky paprika sauce – also amazingly good.
A pretty restaurant on the beach could easily serve mediocre food at a high price.  La Perla does neither – creative, beautifully cooked, and reasonably priced.
Back at the apartment, we watched an episode of “Parts Unknown” where Anthony Bourdain explains why San Sebastian is the best place to eat in Europe.  It was fun to see him rambling through the places that we have enjoyed.
This protest passed by the street in front of our apartment before we headed out to lunch.  We guess it was a Palestinian protest from the flags:
We did the usual walk down to Old Town in the afternoon on Thursday – Bar Sport had just reopened and we had a couple of specific pintxos there that we were looking forward to trying.  One was recommended by Chandler who just opened a new Basque restaurant in New Orleans.  He visited San Sebastian for “research” prior to opening and loved the foie gras at Bar Sport.  This is the most popular pintxo bar and was still busy when we showed up deep into siesta time.  We started with the cream of sea urchin – something completely new and delicious.
That was followed by the much-vaunted foie gras a la plancha.  Equally delicious and worth braving the bustle of the establishment.
I popped into a barber shop for a beard trim and ended up getting an overall trim.  The barber was originally from Nicaragua, spent ages 15-19 in Minnesota and ended up in San Sebastian.  Really interesting guy who was quite the perfectionist with my beard.
We had a couple of more pintxos and then a coffee at one of the lovely Parisian style outdoor cafes on the square.  Then I helped Diana find the shop with the top she wanted to buy, picked up a slice of Basque cheesecake to try before we left, and some wonderful art.
David Bowie was on the beach today:
Diana suggested a final stop at La Perla on the walk back and we captured some last beach pictures.
And we weren’t quite finished yet.  “I just want one more of those tuna tartare pintxos from the Cervezeria across from the apartment.”  Diana’s favourite food groups:
Doesn’t look like tuna?  I know – they had a steak tartare special that couldn’t be resisted.  Quickly followed by the tuna:
Friday was a full and relatively smooth travel day.  Taxi from apartment to bus station (10 minutes), bus to Bilbao airport (1 hour 15 minutes), flight to Amsterdam (2 hours), layover and hike to next gate in Amsterdam (2 hours), flight to Glasgow (1 hour), bumble around trying to get eSIM to work (30 minutes), taxi to Mum’s home (40 minutes).  Time to relax – ahhh.
My brother-in-law, David, turned 60 years old on Saturday and Mum organized a lovely lunch at the Blair to celebrate.  This is a delicious restaurant out in the country on the way to Kilwinning.  It was noted that the twisty country road to get there was “not appropriate for speeding.”
We found a 3D creative picture for David in San Sebastian.  That’s the local beach in the background and then beachgoers and finally Sean Connery and his Aston Martin with surfboard in the foreground.
Back at the house, David showed that he still has sufficient oomph to blow out the candle:
My grandnephew, Hamish, was having a great time with the attention from everybody:
He’s such a happy and easy wee boy.
Sunday was a quiet and relaxing day with pretty miserable weather, interspersed with brief periods of sunshine.  A cold wind and rain kept us inside most of the day, with Diana starting a jigsaw puzzle.
Missing New Orleans, and particularly the omnipresent live music, I reread “Groove Interrupted – Loss, Renewal, and the Music of New Orleans” by Keith Spera.  He covers music for the local newspaper and I really love his writing.  Here’s an online summary before I dive into some of the quotes from the chapters about how local musicians were impacted by Hurricane Katrina:
“The recent history of New Orleans is fraught with tragedy and triumph. Both are reflected in the city’s vibrant, idiosyncratic music community. In Keith Spera’s intimately reported Groove Interrupted, Aaron Neville returns to New Orleans for the first time after Hurricane Katrina to bury his wife. Fats Domino improbably rambles around Manhattan to promote a post-Katrina tribute CD. Alex Chilton lives anonymously in a battered cottage in the Treme neighborhood. Platinum-selling rapper Mystikal rekindles his career after six years in prison. Jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard struggles to translate Katrina into music. The spotlight also shines on Allen Toussaint, Pete Fountain, Gatemouth Brown, the Rebirth Brass Band, Phil Anselmo, Juvenile, Jeremy Davenport and the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. With heartache, hope, humor and resolve, each of these contemporary narratives stands on its own. Together, they convey that the funky, syncopated spirit of New Orleans music is unbreakable, in spite of Katrina’s interruption.”
A description at the start of the book:
“Often described as the northernmost point of the Caribbean, New Orleans is unique among North American cities. A commingling of French, Spanish and various African cultures—coupled with a port town’s naturally decadent inclinations—cultivated a healthy appetite for food and music. The vibrant, idiosyncratic music community is essential to its hometown’s
identity, and to the larger world of popular music.”
I agree with Dave Matthews on the “most musical city”:
“The Dave Matthews Band recorded its Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King CD in New Orleans in 2009. Matthews, a frequent visitor, subsequently declared New Orleans “the most musical city that I’ve ever been to. Somehow it’s in the roots and in the ground in New Orleans. It’s in the blood. It’s in the celebration, and the suffering.” The recent history of New Orleans, of course, contains plenty of both.”
Some passages about the immediate aftermath of Katrina:
“Roaming Uptown the day after the storm, I was heartened to discover Tipitina’s, the city’s flagship music club, largely undisturbed on a swath of high, dry ground along the Mississippi River. From the street, the nearby home of legendary keyboardist Art Neville—founder of seminal funk band the Meters, a Neville Brother, and one of New Orleans’ most beloved musicians—also appeared undamaged.”
“The earliest post-storm gigs, such as blues/ funk/ soul guitarist Walter “Wolfman” Washington’s at the Maple Leaf, were powered by generators and cut short by curfews.”
“Katrina blew Soul Rebels Brass Band snare drummer Lumar LeBlanc and trumpeter Marcus Hubbard to Houston. They found housing, enrolled their kids in school and decided to stay. But six-plus years after Katrina, they still drive 350 miles each way between Houston and New Orleans for the Rebels’ weekly Thursday night gig at Le Bon Temps Roule, a roadhouse-like bar on Magazine Street. Maintaining that connection is essential, whatever the toll on their vehicles’ odometers. “We still consider New Orleans our home,” LeBlanc said. “I’m New Orleans till the day I die.””
A passage about Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown featuring two fo my favourite musicians, Marcia Ball and Joe Krown:
“The next night, he accompanied Krown to the fabled New Orleans nightclub Tipitina’s to see Austin rhythm-and-blues pianist Marcia Ball, an old friend. Ball embraced Brown for a long good-bye hug. “Gate’s going out the way he wants—in the clubs,” Krown said. “It’s not even about playing. He just wants to be out there, around music he likes, as much as he possibly can. And he’s doing exactly that.””
Some words about the 2006 Jazzfest, the first after Katrina:
“On the festival’s first Sunday, my wife and I stood in the field facing the main Acura Stage alongside a half-dozen writers and journalists. Like me, they had witnessed countless concerts, and were not easily moved. By the conclusion of Springsteen’s tour de force with his Seeger Sessions Band, all of us—myself, my wife, the other writers—were weeping. It felt wonderful.”
“For two glorious hours, Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions ensemble—six horns, a banjo, accordion, pedal steel guitar, fiddles, piano—invigorated vintage folk and protest songs. Few others in popular music could craft a show that spoke so eloquently to the city’s struggles, both welcome distraction and poignant reminder.
Eyes closed, Springsteen rededicated “My City of Ruins,” originally written as a eulogy for Asbury Park, New Jersey, to New Orleans. To a hushed, riveted audience, he described scenes of desolation that sounded all too familiar: “The rain is falling down … the boarded-up windows, the hustlers and the thieves … now tell me how do I begin again?” And then the refrain: “Come on, rise up! Rise up!”
Thousands of weary New Orleanians let the lyrics wash over them like a baptism. The personal pronoun of the title gave them voice: My city of ruins. Those in need of someone to express the anger, frustration, grief and resolve expended over the previous eight months had found their man. Fists were raised and tears were shed as Springsteen delivered a Jazz Fest moment for the ages.
But he thought two lesser-known verses might be appropriate. With that, he unspooled “When the Saints Go Marching In” not as a boisterous, high-kicking second-line parade, but as an acoustic prayer delivered in a desperate hour. Face clenched, he sought the promised land: “Now some say this world of trouble is the only world we’ll ever see/ But I’m waiting for that moment when the new world is revealed.” No other artist could have spoken to, and for, the city of New Orleans more purposefully, passionately and effectively than Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band. Years later, people still talk about it. “They should talk about that forever,” Davis said. “I thought it was one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen thousands of shows. Reverend Springsteen held church, and ministered to a flock.” Dave Malone, the guitarist and vocalist for veteran New Orleans roots rock/ funk/ R& B jam band the Radiators, had never experienced Springsteen live before Jazz Fest. “The cynical part of me thought it would be hokey—some Pete Seeger stuff can be dated. But that guy has some kind of magnetism I can’t explain. His delivery and band were incredible. It was one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life. I was sitting there crying like a third-grader.”
I have a lot of other highlighted sections about other musicians and their travails during and after Katrina, but I’m going to keep them to myself so as not to dilute the Springsteen commentary.
I don’t remember what got me on a Ry Cooder kick this week but I’m glad it happened.  I love this concert for New Orleans:
There are a lot of other great Cooder videos out on YouTube that I had not seen until this week.