Category: Books

“Residency Week 6 – Live Music Week”

Monday started with Anne going with Diana over to Metairie (where the big box stores are nearest to New Orleans) to shop for a new oven for her Mom’s house.  Everything was on a long back order and so she didn’t have a successful trip.  But she did learn where all the huge stores like Best Buy and Home Depot are located – they don’t have them within the normal New Orleans city limits – which I think is a nice feature.

We walked to Dos Jefes for the regular Monday night Jon Fohl show, and were pleasantly surprised to find Papa Mali subbing for him.  Mali had a nicely varied set, playing a number of songs he had written with Robert Hunter (Grateful Dead lyricist), and telling some great stories.  Here he is playing “Deal.”

I also enjoyed his version of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.”

We had a nice chat with Papa during his break.  Diana asked him about the song below that he had written about his wife (married for 40 years with 6 kids and 2 grandkids).  The struggling musician actually offered to buy us drinks – silly man – but such a sweet guy.  He noticed a friend at the bar – Dale Spalding, harmonica player for Canned Heat, and went off to coax him into playing in the second set.

Here’s the song for his wife, “Not so hard to understand.”

And then a real treat, Dale Spalding playing the Boz Scaggs classic, “Lend me a Dime.”

An excellent start to “Live Music Week.”

Diana met Debra and Anne for a ladies lunch at Shaya on Tuesday.  They did bring me some leftovers and hung out at the condo for a while after lunch.

“Pogeutry” provided our music on Wednesday at Tipitinas.  This is a band made up of the Lost Bayou Ramblers with Spider Stacy and Cait O’Riordan of the original Pogues from the 1980s.  I loved this show – so much energy and a good lead in to St. Patrick’s celebrations.  Here’s “Dirty Old Town.”  Kenny and Kara were able to join us and both enjoyed the show very much.

 

Spider Stacy is quite the tin whistle expert:

We enjoyed Happy Hour on the Columns porch again on Friday afternoon.  The beet salad may be the best that I’ve ever had – the food has really come a long way under the new ownership.  We laughed at Tim’s patron saint on our walk home:

And the number of beads still in the trees:

It was back to Tipitinas (thankfully a 5 minute walk around the corner) on Friday for a free show by the Soul Brass Band.  Another excellent evening, that ended with McD getting a big hug from the surly bouncer that she befriended over the course of the evening.  Here’s the band performing the Rolling Stones “All Over Now”:

Saturday brought…another parade!  This time the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s parade.  Not nearly as crowded as the Mardi Gras parades, but just as much fun.  I wasn’t expecting cabbages, leeks, and carrots to be typical throws from the floats – you really needed to pay attention.  We all had fun collecting “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” stuff for Anne’s dad, Grandpa Jack.

The krewe came back to the condo to relax after all the fun of the parade.  We ordered Theo’s pizza and the boys enjoyed a cigar on the front balcony.

And then…Diana convinced me to walk around to another free show at Tipitinas – this time Papa Mali, the guy we enjoyed so much at Dos Jefes on Monday night.  Unfortunately, this one was not our favourite – too much noodling around on the guitar and keyboards and not enough song structure.  Oh well – we had an amazing week of music overall.

Sunday was a mostly lazy day and then we joined Denny and Anne for dinner at Jamila’s.  This is a Tunisian restaurant with excellent lamb tagine.  I had been talking to my mum about the place, and she encouraged me to get the tagine and report back about it.  It was thoroughly delicious – so tender and so much flavour.  The place is run by a husband and wife – he manages the front and she runs the kitchen.  So welcoming and funny – we will be back for sure.

We had a drink at Chaise Delachaise before Jamilas.  I didn’t recognize the name, but realized on arrival that we had enjoyed a lovely New Year’s Eve dinner there a few years ago.  So many great places close by in this town.

Enough music already, so I’ll dive right into the book section.

My first book this week was “The Violin Conspiracy” by Brendan Slocumb.  The plot revolves around a Stradivarius violin that is stolen from a black violinist.  It turns out it was given to his great great grandfather by his slave owner.  The story of the violin theft is interesting, but less so than the story of Ray and his journey through racism to become runner up at the Tchaikovsky competition.  I found the first 70 or 80 pages a bit superficial, but really got sucked in when the story flipped back in time to Ray initially being obsessed with playing.

Slocumb holds a degree in music education (with concentrations in violin and viola) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  For more than twenty years he has been a public and private school music teacher and has performed with many orchestras in the region.  All of this makes for some detailed descriptions of violin technique and repertoire that I enjoyed a lot.  I learned what double and triple stops are all about.

I recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in classical music.

Having run out of books on hand – time for a visit to Octavia books down the street – I read one of Diana’s stack.  “One Italian Summer” was a very quick and easy read.  Pretty girly but set in Positano with pleasant descriptions of the food and the area.

Here’s the Amazon summary:

“When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers, and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone. 

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life. “

I liked the way that Katy discovers her mom as a real person in Positano.  The construct of time travel seems a bit hokey, but actually works out well in the end.

Stay safe and kind to everyone!

 

 

 

 

“Residency Week 5 – Lundi Gras King and Queen”

I learned this year that Lundi Gras (the Monday before Mardi Gras) brunch at Commander’s Palace restaurant is a big deal with the New Orleans locals.  Anne was able to get us all a reservation and strongly encouraged us to dress up in fun Mardi Gras outfits.  She lent Campbell and Molly some fun duds:

Denny and Anne were also very sparkly – Anne with her band hat and tasseled boots:

And then D with her complete flapper girl outfit:

The food at Commanders is always excellent, with great service and good fun all around.  I met my work friend, Fred, who recently retired.  His family all had matching crazy suits:

A small band toured the restaurant taking requests.  I asked them to play “What a Wonderful World” – and the trumpet player had a great deep, raspy voice:

Here we all are in our corner table after a lovely meal:

And then….as we were about to leave, the lady in charge of the room asked us to wait a minute because she had something for us.  Oh boy, what she had was not anything that I expected.  She quietened the room and then announced that she had chosen Diana and me as Lundi Gras brunch King and Queen.  We were awarded decorated spatulas and then paraded around the restaurant behind the band waving them to all the diners.  Who knew that was a thing?  Apparently the locals did because Debra asked Diana the next day if they had crowned the King and Queen.  Diana had a good story to reply with.

What to do after all that excitement?  How about….another parade?  Yes – this was going to be the last one for us.  Orpheus was quite different with the floats beautifully decorated and lit up – a real feast for the eyes.  I always enjoy checking out the bands warming up in the park on the corner – and St Augustine’s is one of the best in the city:

Here are some pictures from the parade watching:

Yes – even the penguins made it out for this parade.

I had been told that Mardi Gras day begins very early, and there was a rumour that Mardi Gras Indians and bands would be gathering at Tipitinas shortly after 6am.  Vince and I made our way there to check it out.  Galactic was just finishing their overnight show when we arrived.  It was funny to watch the concert goers emerge into the daylight.  The Professor Longhair statue at the entrance was all beaded up:

Kenny and Kara joined us and we waited for a long time – but no Indians or bands.  Calling it a bust, we went back to the condo to get ready for our bike ride down to the French Quarter and the Marigny to checkout all the crazy outfits.

 

The group assembled and then we were on our bikes and off.

After a couple of stops we arrived in the Quarter and stopped to admire all the outfits.

We ultimately arrived at Anna’s in the Marigny and Diana and Debra enjoyed some champagne together.

That was maybe the most fun day of people watching that I’ve ever had.  We were exhausted after the day, but the kids headed off on the bikes to meet up with the rest of the krewe at The Kingpin.  Oh to be in your twenties.

Debra manages Jacques-Imo’s restaurant (first meal Diana and I had together in New Orleans was there) and had secured reservations for us on Wednesday night – a last meal for Campbell and Molly.  Denny, Anne and Jack joined us for an excellent meal.  Debra had arranged a lovely bottle of French champagne for Diana, and loaded the table up with complementary appetizers.  She is so sweet and kind.  This place was quite the opposite of Commander’s Palace – very casual and loud.  The southern food was amazing and the portions so generous that we were eating left overs for two days.  Molly was talking about her fried chicken on the flight home.

Honey was happy to have her parents back home on Thursday, and quickly destroyed her treat from the parades.  How could you be angry with that face?

Campbell texted me, “We had so much fun and will have stories forever.”  Mission accomplished!

 

 

We walked over to the Columns Hotel for drinks and snacks on Friday afternoon.  New ownership has really upped the cocktail and food game there.  It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed passing an hour or two on the porch.

We passed this nicely decorated house on our walk down Marengo to The Columns.

Saturday started with a pleasant run in Audubon Park and a trip to Octavia Books where D stocked up on reading material for her sun-bathing sessions on the back terrace.

In the evening, we picked up Denny and Anne and drove to Faubourg Brewing in East New Orleans.  It used to be called Dixie Brewing, but has changed like so many other businesses as the Dixie statues and monuments have been removed.  Sun Pie and Gal Holiday were both performing outside on the expansive lawn.  Gal sat down at the table with us and rapidly consumed a bunch of crawfish before her set – she had some great peeling and eating skills.

There were several games available on the lawn and I was very impressed that Denny was able to outplay the Connect 4 champion McD.  You could tell he was really concentrating.

We enjoyed some chargrilled oysters and boudin egg-rolls and called it a reasonably early night.

Sunday’s run was in the Riverside part of Audubon – an experiment that we won’t likely repeat – the pavement is just too rough and unpredictable for a leisurely run.

In the afternoon we attended another porch concert.  This was hosted by one of Anne’s tennis ladies who was celebrating her birthday.  These started as a way for musicians to make money during early COVID and I hope they continue.  Just a great way to pass a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.

The band was The Walrus and they played all Beatles music – and played it very well.  A nice selection from all the albums.

There was an interesting moment when one of the guitar players amplifier broke down.  No worries – the man of the house quickly nipped inside and emerged with a replacement.  “The beauty of playing at a musician’s house”, said the singer.  I did chuckle at the guys in their “Laissez Boy” recliners, fresh from the parades.

Kenny and Kara joined us for pizza at Theo’s.  It was nice to sit outside, enjoy the yummy pizza and tell stories.

I finally finished “The Great Wide Open” by Douglas Kennedy.  Almost 600 pages long and pretty dense, but a really good read.

Here’s the summary from Amazon:

“Alice Burns – a young book editor – is deep into a manuscript about the morass of family life. The observations within resonate, perhaps, because she has just watched her own family implode.

As she reads she wonders: When did the sadness start? And could it be that unhappiness is a choice?

Thus begins a great American epic which follows Alice as she navigates high school, first love and sexism at an elite college, a spell in 1970s Ireland, and a tragedy that sends her stateside as the US embraces a cowboy actor named Reagan.

But it is also the tale of her endlessly complex parents and brothers – how their destinies are written by the lies they tell themselves and others.”

The book started out very well but veered into a bit of unbelievable territory in the middle sections.  There’s only so much that can realistically happen to one family, and I felt that Kennedy was trying to cram in too many historical references and events.  That being said, I still recommend this read if you have the patience for such a long book.

This Tom Petty song was in my head each time I picked up my book:

Here’s one from the late keyboard player, Chuck Leavell that I’ve had on pretty heavy rotation this week:

Stay safe and be kind to everyone!

 

 

 

“Let the NOLA residency begin”

This week was all about packing up and organizing for our “residency” in New Orleans.  Diana did a fantastic job of getting everything ready and packed in the Atlas – lots of room thankfully.

Before we left I had one last follow up appointment from my hand surgery.  The doctor said it looked great and it was clear that I had been doing all the recommended exercises.  I’m not sure McD believes that, but I really have been pretty good about doing them several times a day.

We split up the drive to New Orleans with a stop in Shreveport on Friday night.  We didn’t have very high expectations, but were delighted to find the Fat Calf brasserie.  What a wonderful meal – one that I would drive the 3 hours from Dallas to repeat – just amazing.  We selected four appetizers for our meal – all were excellent.  Moules frites, escargots, a duck and foie gras parfait, and quail with dirty rice.  I don’t know which was my favourite, all so well done and delicious.  We’re already plotting a visit on our return drive.

We arrived in New Orleans at 2pm on Saturday and met our hosts in the Villa Vici furniture store below the condo.  Very pleasant folks who helped us unpack and carry things upstairs.  The condo is very sleek and modern as advertised.  We’ve been enjoying the lovely outdoor spaces – balcony overlooking the street out front (great for people watching), and extensive rooftop garden area out back (gets wonderful sun in the morning for coffee and the crossword.)  There are a few sheep happily grazing on the rooftop:

We met Kenny, Kara and crew at the Westin in the French Quarter around 4pm for the Happy Hour show by Kenny’s cousin, Tim Laughlin on clarinet.

It was a real treat to meet Kenny’s Mum, Miss Sue.  We really enjoyed the excellent music and time to relax and catchup.

The view of the Mississippi and the Quarter from the Westin are quite impressive.

After that lovely arrival music, the Ogans and Kirschs came back to the condo with us and we ordered Thai food from Pomelo – directly across the street.  Pomelo describes their food as “street style Thai.”  It was quite good, but different than the traditional curries that we’re used to.  We had a great time hanging out and catching up with each other.

Denny and Anne arrived with a Mardi Gras starter kit:

Sunday started with a long walk down the Nashville Avenue “neutral ground.”  This is what the grass area between lanes in the middle is called.  There’s a nice path winding all the way down.  We made a turn on to Freret Street (Kenny’s neighbourhood) and enjoyed a coffee from Mojo before walking back home.

Our appetites were suitably worked up now for brunch at Atchafalaya – one of the more popular weekend brunch restaurants.  I absolutely loved my duck confit hash.  The blackberries and mangos listed on the menu made me a bit nervous, but they complemented the duck very well.  Diana loved her Bayou Benedict.

I made it back to the condo in time to watch the Bengals defeat the Chiefs by 3 points in the AFC Championship football game – the result that I had predicted on a work call on Friday.  That was only after a very nerve wracking overtime session.

Kenny and Kara had us over for burgers and to watch the NFC Championship – Rams versus 49ers.  The team I was hoping would win was again victorious.  It will be the Rams and Bengals in the SuperBowl in a couple of weeks.

What a great couple of starter days to the residency.

I added a new puzzle to my daily crossword routine.  “Wordle” is a game that was created by a gentleman in the U.K. to play with his wife.  You get zero instructions – just 6 chances to find the Wordle of the day.  Each attempt is highlighted with green for the correct letter in the correct spot and yellow for the correct letter in the wrong spot.  I think I had significant beginners luck on my first attempts:

This is embarrassing.  I read 50 pages of William Kent Kreuger’s “Ordinary Grace” before convincing myself that I must have read it before.  It didn’t seem overly familiar but there were occasional passages that sounded just like something I’d heard before.  I finally did a search of the blog and found that I read it back in 2018.  Silly K!

After those 50 pages, things got too busy for me to settle down with a book.  I’m looking forward to making up for that next week with some good book time in the rooftop garden.

Here’s one of my favourites from Tim Laughlin, the clarinetist that we saw on Saturday:

An interesting cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold”:

A favourite from the excellent Tom Waits that popped up on a playlist this week:

And finally something great from Radiohead that I heard on the soundtrack of a show I was watching, just don’t remember which show that was:

Stay safe, calm and kind!

 

“Spouting Volcano on the Horizon”

Monday was Martin Luther King Day.  Here’s an essay he wrote in 1964, after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, for the Berlin Jazz Festival.  What wonderful writing, capturing the role music has played in social change in a compact essay:

“God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

This is triumphant music.

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.”

I caught a flight to Guatemala City on Monday afternoon for work.  There were several guys sitting near us who were with an organization called “Stoves for Guatemala.”  Apparently rural Guatemalans often cook on unventilated wooden stoves in single room dwellings, leading to bad respiratory disease.  This organization has built 600 clean burning and well ventilated stoves already.

https://helping-guatemala.com/

Here are some aerial pictures of the Guatemala City area during landing:

BP was excited to be allowed on the trip, and insisted on having his picture taken on arrival at the airport.

I stayed in an area called Cuidad Cayala – a planned city done in the Colonial architecture style.  The GoWork office and restaurants were all a short walk for the hotel, which made things very easy.  Cayala is very pretty and safe – with many high end shops and restaurants.

I met some work colleagues for an Italian dinner at Tre Fratelli on Monday night.  We sat outside and it was very chilly for Guatemala (high 50s).  I needed my puffer coat as the evening cooled off, with no humidity at all.  The city is at 5,000 feet and so cools quite quickly this time of year.

Here’s a picture of a volcano spouting in the distance, taken from my hotel room balcony:

Tuesday breakfast was at Cafe Saul – a great spot that I found on my last visit.  It’s so nice to be able to get a perfect macchiato with no fuss.

My first meeting of the day was a one on one with Jorge, and we decided to sit out on the patio of Cafe Barista and enjoy another coffee.  Such a pleasant way to do business and get caught up before the rest of the day inside.

Lunch was again enjoyed al fresco – this time a Greek place called Arena.  The pulpo (octopus) and falafel were both delicious, and the setting delightful.

After a long afternoon of team meetings, we enjoyed a seafood dinner at Atuna.  The croquette appetizer was delicious and then I enjoyed a very impressive lobster thermidor.

Sunset behind the volcanoes after dinner was quite something:

Back in Pacifica, the girls were enjoying the sunny day and then afternoon tea – complete with some very fancy finger sandwiches.

Diana sent me this lovely video of Frankie showing me her penguin sweatshirt.  She can be so adorable when she’s not being quite stubborn and opinionated:

Wednesday was another busy day of meeting various teams.  That was followed by a steak dinner with the leadership team at Montanos.  We had a private room with a TV that allowed us to share videos and photos of hobbies.  Damon gave a short talk about his basement garden where he grows peppers and vegetables during the winter.  Josue shared videos of him drumming with his band that won the Guatemalan Battle of the Bands contest.  A fun evening.

With the new US COVID rules – test no more than 24 hours prior to flight departure, I had to take a test before dinner.  Here I am working away while awaiting the test:

We met with our Project Management team on Thursday morning, enjoyed another delicious lunch at Arena, and then made our way to the airport for the flight home.  I had an Ensalada Fatouch that was very fresh and yummy.  Finn always has a chuckle about “Fatouch”.  I don’t really remember why – think there was somebody he worked with that liked it.

I was fortunate again, with a smooth and on time flight.  Customs at DFW was very quick and I just had to wait a short while for Diana to arrive from San Francisco.

It’s always pleasant to return to my home office, and I worked in it most of Friday morning.  Then we picked up Finn from work and had lunch at the Mexican Cactus.  Diana tried the ceviche with barramundi and it was really fresh and delicious.

Will supervised the loading of Finn’s car on to a transporter that should deliver it here on Tuesday.  Will has put a lot of time and money into getting the car absolutely perfect for Finn to enjoy.  I only have a limited number of days to wake up at 4:30am to deliver Finn to work, and I know the retiree is quite happy about that.

Jens and Glenda are coming over for dinner tonight.  We’re looking forward to it as it has been months since we’ve caught up with them.  I think McD is planning her excellent shrimp and scallops – yum!

“The Blue Hour” by Douglas Kennedy was my companion on the trip this week.  What a well written and constructed book.  I was hooked on the first page and wasn’t disappointed after that.  Page one:

“First Light.  And I didn’t know where I was anymore.

The sky outside: was it a curved rotunda of emerging blue?  The world was still blurred at its edges.  I tried to piece together my whereabouts, the exact geographic location within which I found myself.  A sliver of emerging clarity.  Or maybe just a few basic facts.

I was on a plane.  A plane that had just flown all night across the Atlantic.  A plane bound for a corner of North Africa.  A country which, when viewed cartographically, looks like a skullcap abreast a continent.  According to the flight progress monitor illuminating the back-of-the-seat screen facing me, we were still seventy-three minutes and 842 kilometers (I was flying into a metric world) from our destination.  The journey hadn’t been my idea.  Rather I’d allowed myself to be romanced into it by the man whose oversize frame (as in six foot four) was scrunched into the tiny seat next to mine.  The middle seat in this horror movie of an aircraft.”

A good plot summary from Amazon:

“Robin knew Paul wasn’t perfect. But he said they were so lucky to have found each other, and she believed it was true. When he suggests a month in Morocco—where he once lived and worked, a place where the modern meets the medieval—Robin reluctantly agrees.

Once immersed into the swirling, white-hot exotica of a walled city on the North African Atlantic coast, Robin finds herself acclimatizing to its wonderful strangeness. Paul is everything she wants him to be—passionate, talented, knowledgeable. She is convinced that it is here that she will finally become pregnant.

But then Paul suddenly disappears, and Robin finds herself the prime suspect in the police inquiry. As her understanding of the truth starts to unravel, Robin lurches from the crumbling art deco of Casablanca to the daunting Sahara, caught in an increasingly terrifying spiral from which there is no easy escape.

For fans of thought-provoking page-turners such as The Talented Mr. Ripley, Douglas Kennedy’s The Blue Hour is a roller-coaster journey into a heart of darkness that asks the question: What would you do if your life depended on it?”

An example of the excellent descriptions:

“Simo insisted that I sit in the backseat, where I had both windows wide open to rid the car of his incessant cloud of smoke, and to provide some ventilation on a torpid night when the humidity and the actual mercury level made the air seem as glutinous as maple syrup.”

For a pleasant change, the ending of this story wasn’t rushed but unfolded at just the rate pace.

I really enjoyed the story, the writing style and the surprising twists of this book very much.  I understand that Kennedy is much better known in the UK and France than in the US, and maybe those folks appreciate this kind of writing for the same reasons that I do.

Cafe Saul in Guatemala plays an eclectic mix of music, with some really unusual covers of popular songs.  I had to use Shazam to identify who was playing this hit from David Bowie.  A typically subtle arrangement from M. Ward:

Something from my Spotify Discovery Weekly list.  The level of musicianship on a Bela Fleck album is always extraordinary:

A song from The National that I think I heard on a movie soundtrack, but can’t remember the details:

And lastly, a lovely song from the excellent Rodney Crowell:

Stay safe and kind!

“Happy New Year!, and Happy Birthday Jack and Mason”

Boxing Day afternoon was spent hosting Andy and Jude at Clorinda’s house.  It’s always so nice to visit with the best neighbours ever.  We had a very entertaining time and even had Clorinda telling some old stories to much hilarity.  We have some good videos of the stories, but are still working on getting them in the right format to be able to share with you here.

Earlier in the day, Diana participated in a virtual Secret Santa with Alicia and John and Joey’s families.  Bonna was D’s Santa and she put together a lovely champagne themed basket.  Diana was really delighted with the detail and with everything in the basket, and she had the perfect hoodie to complement it.

 

 

We flew home on Monday and were subject to the delays that thousands of other travelers experienced.  Our flight was delayed with a 3:30am arrival, and fortunately we were able to change to an earlier flight, making it home just before midnight.  Not too bad considering all the cancellations.

We were able to get out for walks and runs during the week, after no exercise in California last week due to the cold, rainy weather.  The weather in Texas was great this week with highs in the 70s – just like pleasant Spring days.

Wednesday was Finn’s day off and so I took him for a walk and then to Trader Joe’s to pick up some nice meals for the weekend, while we’re gone to New Orleans.  The rest of the day was catching up on some admin tasks that had been ignored over the break – expense reports and health care claims all filed now.  I know – very exciting stuff, but it feels good to have everything caught up and organized for the New Year.

“Emily in Paris” has a new season on Netflix and we’ve been enjoying that in the evenings.  It’s way too long since we’ve been able to visit Paris.

We flew to New Orleans on Friday morning for the fourth annual celebration of Jack and Mason’s birthday on January 2nd.  We spent the afternoon enjoying the new Ogan patio, and exchanged some gifts.  Anne loved her “champagne clutch” and Diana her tennis skirt (in preparation for taking up tennis during our NOLA residency.)

After enjoying the lovely weather on the patio, we got changed for New Year’s Eve dinner at Costera.

Costera was an excellent choice for dinner (thanks Denny) with multiple courses of Spanish tapas.  The menu was fixed and included a plethora of delicious courses – beef shank Bombas, scallops, and an amazing seafood paella were the standouts.  We were joined at dinner by the Kirshes, Krieks, and Eisles – what a fun group.

There was a bit of a wild party in progress when we returned to Webster street after dinner (and a few minutes after midnight.)  Things quietened down quickly and we were able to get a decent sleep.  Apparently a good enough sleep for McD to pop right up on New Year’s Day and head out for a run in Audubon park with Laura and Kara.  She particularly enjoyed the band playing at the park entrance.  Great job of starting out on the right foot Diana!

Denny and Anne hosted an open house on New Year’s Day afternoon, with oysters served 7 or so ways.  Frank and Macon showed up early to help shuck several hundred oysters – quite a special skill that Frank certainly has mastered.

Denny is an excellent chef, creating all kinds of delicious sauces for the oysters.  My favourite is the grilled version, and I’m glad Fire Chief Kenny was on hand to supervise the process.

Merry Lee, Jeff, Donna, and Steve (our friends from California) were able to secure an invite to oyster fest.  Merry Lee and Jeff have a condo in New Orleans now.  They seemed to enjoy meeting everyone and sampling the various types of oysters.

 

Chef Denny was finally able to relax with old friends and enjoy the evening with a cigar.  What amazing weather we had for both days.

The weather changed on Sunday as we planned to celebrate Jack and Mason’s 19th birthdays.  Can you get a better birthdate than 01/02/03?  We bundled up and headed to Cafe Sbisa in the French Quarter for brunch.  Other than an overly loud but very talented jazz trio, the lunch was perfect.  The boys invited some friends and seemed to really enjoy their lunch.  We had a brief ramble in the Quarter after brunch, and then retreated to Webster Street to watch the Saints game – they still have a shot at making the playoffs.

Have you read a book by Stuart Woods?  Apparently a lot of folks have.  He’s written over 70 books, and occupied almost an entire shelf at my local library.  I was looking for something light and easy to enjoy on the New Orleans trip, and decided to give him a try.

“Bombshell” is part of the series featuring ex-CIA agent and Hollywood producer, Terry Fay, and is co-written with Parnell Hall.   This is certainly easy reading, with each chapter 3 or 4 pages long.  You can tell that Woods has a formula that he deploys to crank out these books.  I don’t have any quotes as the writing is quite basic and used to drive the action forward, rather than set the scene or develop the characters.  I’m not sure I would select another Woods book, except maybe for some mindless poolside or beach reading.

Diana and I were chatting with Derek Huston, New Orleans saxophone player extraordinaire, at Oyster Fest, and D asked him who was his favourite musician.  After some thought, Derek gave an eloquent explanation of why that was Charlie Parker.  Here’s one of the more mellow and accessible Parker pieces:

Here’s a calm and relaxing guitar piece from an album that I love, Julian Lage’s “World’s Fair”:

And finally, the ultimate calming piece for me, Bill Evan’s “Peace Piece” – this is right up there with “Kind of Blue” as music that I can listen to every day and not tire of:

Please stay safe and be kind in 2022!

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We’re engaged, did you guys all know about this?”

Jose and his crew were coming to replace the kitchen floor last Monday, so we decided to exchange our Christmas stockings on Sunday night.  I love these three little penguins nesting in my stocking.

There were a couple of gifts that I couldn’t resist for Diana, but which didn’t fit in her extra large stocking.  She had mentioned enjoying spirograph a few months ago, and I was trying to describe the fancy set I had.  She’s pretty excited to try out this classic set when we get back to McKinney.  I’m not sure if that will be before or after she tackles the “Where the Crawdads Sing” jigsaw puzzle.

I saw the “Champagne Clutch” from Neiman Marcus and knew that McD needed one of those also.  Enough room for a bottle of champagne, a credit card and an ID.

My favourite gift is this Pooh cushion.  The other side has the “We’ll be friends for ever, right Pooh?  Even longer,” classic quote.

We think we may stick with the stocking stuffer only Christmas gift tradition.

Spending the night at the Grand Hotel in downtown McKinney seemed like a better plan than getting in the way of Jose and the flooring crew.  The Grand is such a lovely, old school hotel with a great location on the square.  We had dinner at the Urban Bar and Grill – a new restaurant where Bayou Jack’s used to be (I loved that New Orleans style place.)  Our meals were great – particularly Diana’s mussels.

We took advantage of some of the photo opportunities on our walk back from dinner.  Diana always says we rarely get pictures of the two of us at busy times like this – so here you go D:

I saw storms and flight disruptions forecast for San Francisco on Wednesday, and so changed our flights to Tuesday.  That way I could be sure to be ready to go to celebrate Will and Christine’s engagement.  You hadn’t heard about that?  Oh my goodness, what a production.

But before that, we celebrated McD’s birthday again with Adamo, Amy and crew.  A creative cake indeed.  It wouldn’t be a complete visit if Diana didn’t have kids hanging off her.

Now back to the engagement event – eleven of us were staged in a limo bus just down the street from the site of the proposal – in a “taxi” outside Christine’s house, where they first met.  We were provided with a detailed set of instructions, including a dress code.  As we exited the bus to offer congratulations, Christine said, “Did you guys all know about this?  Oh, of course you did.”  Pictures were taken in front of the old apartment, and then we all rode in the bus to the restaurant where Will and Christine were going to have a special celebration dinner.

It turned out the place Will had chosen for dinner was right next to the Tadich Grill, a favourite of mine when I would occasionally work in downtown San Francisco.  This is the oldest restaurant in California, dating back to 1849.  We decided to have dinner there rather than riding back in the bus and catching an Uber from the drop off point.  This was a great decision – wonderful oysters Rockefeller, petrale sole and cioppino.

After dinner Diana wanted to check on the newly engaged couple.  She asked the maitre d’ to take us to the couple with the white jackets.

We had our gift exchange with Will, Christine, Campbell and Ollie in Redwood City on Thursday night.  That was followed by a delicious meal (outside so that Ollie could attend) at Terun.

The visit gave the girls a chance to admire Christine’s rock again.

I think I was a pretty good helper for Diana as we assembled Christmas dinner from the remainder of the seven fishes dinner from the previous evening.  Marco and Giancarlo’s families joined us and we had a very nice time.

We certainly got plenty of celebrating and time with family in this week.

I did find enough time to finish up “I Dream He Talks to Me” by Allison Moorer.  This is about her experiences raising a non-verbal autistic son, John Henry.  The book certainly brings perspective to the challenges of raising our kids.

“I suspect he hears music all around him because he stops what he’s doing and he listens.  My son has taught me countless lessons, but the biggest one may be that there is music in everything.  I don’t know what role it will ultimately play in his life, whether he will pursue it professionally or if he will just enjoy it.  I only know that music might very well be his language in some way.  What he cannot say, he might one day sing too.”

A beautifully written book about treasuring all the small moments in life.

I love this song by The Delines, a band from Portland who describe themselves as retro-country:

And here’s one from the Scottish band The Blue Nile.  Their music is always so well produced:

Stay safe (it’s getting crazy out there again) and kind.

 

 

 

 

“Happy Birthday McD, Happy Christmas Finneroo”

We drove down to Austin last Tuesday afternoon, arriving in time to meet Brad and Jocelyn for a lovely dinner at Eberly.  We drove by this iconic Austin restaurant many times and had never tried it.  We were missing out.  It was great to catch up with friends.

My work Executive Committee had a holiday meal at Garrison in the Fairmont hotel on Wednesday evening.  This was another amazing meal – the octopus appetizer, and then the ridiculously decadent duck and foie gras tower, topped with black truffles (one of the best dishes that I remember from this year.)  It’s so nice to work with a group of folks whose company I enjoy so much.

Our corporate center Holiday Happy Hour was on Thursday night at the Fairmont hotel.  We had reserved a combination indoor/outdoor space and the weather was perfect for enjoying both.  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.  Here’s the motley IT crew (the official picture will be much better), and Diana with our friend Neffie.

I think Diana looks wonderfully sparkly and festive.

On Friday, we had lunch at June’s – steak tartare and bone marrow bolognaise, and then endured the very long drive back home to McKinney.  This week was a great start to the holiday season.

On Wednesday, we had our Christmas gift exchange with Finn.  We ordered in Thai food and then had Finn open his stocking and gifts.  He was really spoiled and very appreciative.  He also did a lovely job with his card and gifts – very creative and thoughtful.  I love my whisky glass with Emperor penguin etching and Diana is quite proud of her hand-blown glass mermaid.

The Atlas came back from getting wheels “powder coated” on Thursday.  Diana is quite happy with the way the all black rims now look.

 

 

 

 

I got a haircut on Friday and decided to have a snack at the neighboring Lion and Crown afterwards.  Scotch Eggs!  This place had all the classic pub food favourites and I’ll have to plan another stop in.

 

 

 

Diana added another year to her age on Saturday.  We had dinner at the Capital Grille – we hadn’t been there in a while and were not disappointed.  Such a classic steak house with excellent service.  McD had the full experience – filet mignon Oscar style (crab, béarnaise, and asparagus) with a lobster tail on the side.  Not to mention the sides of lobster mac ‘n cheese and mushrooms.  We have lots of leftovers for dinner tonight.   The hostess sprinkling sparkly confetti shapes on the table as we were seated to celebrate the Birthday was a fun touch.

Today we’re planning to pick up Finn from work for a sushi lunch, and then enjoy the Cowboys/Giants game.

I finished three books over the last fortnight.  First was completing “Crossroads” by Jonathan Franzen.  This book felt quite long at 575 pages, and a bit plodding in places.  And then, to add insult to injury, Franzen used quite a twee technique to finish things up.  The conclusion to the story was told in a couple of letters sent between the key characters.  It almost felt as if Franzen realized the book was already too long and didn’t feel like editing things down and providing a satisfying conclusion.  I would still recommend this book for a good holiday read – it’s the kind of book you can settle into for several hours and just enjoy the characters.

My next book, “Mayflies” by Andrew O’Hagan, is a Christmas present from Mum that I couldn’t resist sampling, and then couldn’t resist finishing.  It’s in two parts – a group of mates from the Glasgow area attending a music festival in Manchester in 1986 as teenagers, is part one, and part two is the same group in their 50s in recent years.  Part one got a bit repetitive after a while – kids being silly at a music festival, but part two was excellent.

Page one sets the backdrop for part one:

“Nineteen eighty-four was the end of old Woodbine, or 1985, when the strike ended and the Ayrshire men returned one by one to the pits, met at the gates by women giving out carnations.  The miners had fought hard, but they were all sacked within a month.  ‘He takes his shame out on us,’ Tully said.  ‘I suppose Thatcher never really got it about the enemy within.’  And that comment was pure Tully.”

On the life-changing impact of a great school teacher:

“After the results came in, I went to school for the last time.  She was sitting with a huge pile of jotters. ‘Ah, James,’ she said.  ‘I gather you got a place.’

‘Strathclyde.’  She jumped up from her desk and hugged me right next to the blackboard. ‘Susan,’ I said.

‘Mrs. O Connor to you.’  She was smiling,  I didn’t know what to say.  It can take a whole lifetime to know how to thank a person.”

The mates are constantly arguing about top 3 lists:

” ‘Top three goals ever scored by a Scottish player,’ Tibbs said.

In unison: ‘Archie Gemmill.’

‘Too obvious,’ he said.

‘Have there been three goals?’ I asked.”

How a Kenny Dalglish header inadvertently led to the rise of Thatcherism:

” ‘In 1978,’ he said, ‘Ally McLeod whipped the whole nation into a patriotic frenzy so he did, which ended in ignominy and humiliation.  The aftermath of the Argentina campaign is widely accepted to be the main reason the Scottish devolution bill failed in the referendum of March 1979.  That led to the Scottish Nationalists withdrawing support for he minority Labor government and the subsequent vote of ‘no-confidence’ led to the election won by Margaret Thatcher.’

He was a juggernaut of reason.

‘Open and shut case,’  Tully said.  ‘Goal makes Dole.'”

Some local colour, Elspeth’s wedding reception was in Seamill:

“Seamill – on the north Ayrshire coast.  I see my father pointing to the Isle of Arran from a tartan blanket on the beach.  He held my finger up when the sun was blinding and traced the shape of Beinn Tarsuinn and Goatfell.  Forty years on, a caravan stood empty on a ridge above the beach, so I took it over and fixed it up, filling it with cushions and Chinese lanterns.”

Revealing the title’s meaning:

“‘A beautiful publication,’ he said.  ‘Swammerdam believed that no being was higher than any other being, a revolutionary thought at the time.  He wrote this book one summer in Sloten, outside of Amsterdam.  He filled it with poetry and visions as well as anatomical observations.’

‘It’s really wonderful,’ I said.  ‘Mayflies.’ “

What an enjoyable read!

My third book was “Lucky” by Marissa Stapley.  This is a quick and fun read that I finished in two sittings this weekend.  I think Diana will figure out the puzzle quicker than I did.

A grifter/con-artist wins a $390 million lottery, but can’t claim the ticket because she’s wanted by the police at a federal level.  The book alternates between time slices each chapter, piecing the back story and the lottery plot together piece by piece.

As is typical, the ending was a bit far-fetched, but enjoyable nonetheless.  Recommended for a rainy or cold weekend.

I went on a deep dive around Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” this week.  Many versions exist and all are quite different.  I’m partial to the “This Mortal Coil” version.  What do you think?

That’s enough of that one, but there are many more interesting versions to explore.

I loved this Lyle Lovett song that popped up on a playlist – excellent musicianship and production:

This one from Mary Chapin Carpenter (one of McD’s favourites) has been on heavy rotation recently.  Great guitar work:

I’ll leave you with this excellent instrumental from one of the great guitarists, Brian Setzer:

Stay safe, kind and patient with everyone!