“Annual Check Ups”

We took off for Dallas on Sunday to attend our all day physicals at the Cooper Clinic.  A few minutes into the flight, the pilot let us know about a big storm in Dallas and Air Traffic Control telling him to fly up through Oklahoma and then loop back down.   Only problem – they told him after he took off and so we didn’t have enough fuel.  No big issue – we’ll land in Corpus Christi and get some more fuel.  That was a very efficient process with us on the ground in Corpus for less than 15 minutes.  I think we were around a couple of hours late getting to Dallas.

We were looking for a quick and healthy place to have dinner before checking into the Cooper Clinic.  I found something called “Flower Child” in Inwood Village.  This was perfect – quick, healthy, and tasty.  It seems to be an expanding chain and I recommend it if you come across one.

Flower Child made me think of my sister in law, Amy.  She was out protesting that we don’t need a king to rule the US:

I had originally considered Casa Rosa for dinner – when I waited tables there in the 80s, it was located right next to Flower Child.  They had a recent reprise closer to Love field airport and are now permanently closed again.

Also right next door is the Inwood movie theater.  Best known as the place where Denny and Anne had their first date.  The movie  – “Reservoir Dogs.”  The offerings were much tamer on Sunday:

After dinner, we checked into our massive suite at the Cooper hotel and relaxed before all the prodding to come on Monday.

I caught up on texts and found some funny things.  Will sent this picture of us a few years ago:

He also sent this caricature of the four of us:

And this silly one of himself – not sure how Christine feels about it:

Will is going to a wedding in Ibiza sometime soon and visiting Paris on his way.  He remembers eating moules frites with curry sauce the last time he was in France – more than 25 years ago.  Diana helped me pull up pictures to show him the best place in Paris – in Montmartre – big portions, well cooked, at a good price and with good service.

Alicia sent a funny Father’s Day meme – we’re not sure why the penguin has a purple eye and I couldn’t capture it at the point where the other penguins join in.

Our Cooper day started at 7:00am with blood draws.  Diana was ahead of me and so I asked the lady how she had done getting blood from her.  “Oh boy, that was hard, took four of us.”  Diana told me they ultimately called in “Queen” from a different department to get her blood.  The lady from the last two years who got her on the first poke wasn’t there anymore.  I feel badly for Diana that there aren’t more superbly qualified phlebotomists out there.

Our days of tests were busy with nothing major found on either of us.  Various vitamins that we need to take, and I had a couple of things frozen off in dermatology – finally getting rid of that thing under my glasses pad on my nose.  This is the last time this very expensive day of tests will be covered by my work – we’ll see what we do going forward.

We left the clinic around 3pm and headed for McKinney to meet up with Finn and Holly.  We checked into the very cool and historic Grand Hotel – above Rick’s Chop House (home of still the best shrimp and grits that I’ve ever had.)

We met Finn and Holly at the Urban grill in downtown McKinney.  Diana and I had eaten a snack at the bar there and remembered it being good.  Everything we had was delicious, with great service.  I dropped a fork at one point and had a new one in my hand a few seconds later.

Our appetizers included calamari (Holly’s favourite), fish and chips (Finn), and ahi tuna tartare (yep – D.)

For dinner Finn went all out for his birthday with the ribeye steak.  Diana and Holly both had the lamb chop lollipops, and I enjoyed a delicious heirloom beet salad.

The kids gave me a belated Father’s Day card and goodie bag.  The card is excellent:

Very clever.  The only one we had to explain was the “Sage” advice.  Is that a generational thing?  I don’t think so.

I received a very thoughtful goodie bag of treats.

Finn had gone to the cigar shop close to our old house and asked the guy for his best cigar recommendation.  The penguin came from “Fair and Square” in downtown Mckinney (where McD got a cutting board gift for them) right before dinner.  Finn remembered that Diana liked Mounds and not Almond Joy – huge brownie points scored.  And then the Chanel goat juice (Elroy Kee term) – we think it smells really good.  What a thoughtful little goodie bag.

We walked the kids back to their car and saw this sign outside Emporium Pies – I’m looking forward to trying the rhubarb pie at La Petite Grocery soon – been way too long.

You may know that June 17th is also our wedding anniversary.  I love the cards that Diana and Mum got me – Diana’s with British pennies on it (do they still have those?) and Mum’s with a pair of dragonflies.

We looked at some pictures and videos from that lovely day in Cozumel.  Finn thinks he would  like to take Holly there for a honeymoon.  That could happen.

We slept late on Tuesday and then made a trip to our old regular – “Filtered”, where we would have our coffee and a quiche.  The place has been remodeled a bit, and for the better, looks great now.  We passed on the quiche with the expectation of lunch at the Blue Goose.  I can’t remember how we did on the puzzles, or if we even did them.  We were sitting at a table of nerds working away on their laptops.  When did going for coffee mean being surrounded by 90% nerds on laptops?  When do you get a break?

We drove over to the local Blue Goose and had a lovely lunch experience – such amazing and positive service.  I loved my sour cream enchilada and got the recipe for the sauce.  Diana had the “off menu” pulled chicken taco salad and was quite happy.

The car returned, we were back inside Love field airport.  We laughed at a guy from Lubbock sitting next to us at the bar who was exclaiming how humid it was.  Diana and I had remarked in the morning that it was so dry and comfortable to move around.  It’s all about what you’re used to – as they say.  This guy was still sweating after having been in the very cool airport for 20 minutes.

The jet bridge wouldn’t align with the plane for our flight home, and so they ultimately moved the plane to a new gate.  We arrived home a bit late, but probably got home around the same time as we missed rush hour traffic.

On Thursday evening we met Jeff and Merry Lee for dinner at Compere Lapin.  This is a restaurant by Nina Compton from the Caribbean – and the dishes are a mix of New Orleans and her homeland.  The place has won many awards.  Diana and I went close to the opening (10 years ago) and I can still remember how amazing the goat curry tasted.  I also remember being amazed by how adventurous Jack and Mason were with the menu, and Denny saying, “they eat what we eat.”

Jeff and I both had the goat curry (ridiculously good with all the flavour and the little gnocchi’s) , and the ladies both had the sea bass.  I think we were all quite happy.  We had some appetizers of fish collars, smoky fish dip, and ahi tuna.  Deserts were I think mango creme brulee and something else that I can’t remember.  I had a port and desserts aren’t really my thing.

Trey had asked us to consider attending his friend, and dog sitter, Nina’s show at the Maple Leaf on Friday night.  Given that his dog, Bear, saved his life before his house burned to the ground recently, we thought we could do him a favour.

On Saturday I again got disappointed in our nation.  First I read this New Yorker article – geez!:

Australia writer deportation – New Yorker

I stupidly followed that with “The Mauritian” movie.  Jodie Foster is an excellent defense attorney and the movie is very well done, albeit a bit plodding.  The message is that the main character spent 14 years in Guantanamo Bay prison, tortured as we have heard about, and never charged with a crime.  I believe there were 778 prisoners there, only 8 were ever charged, and 5 of those were overruled on appeal.  So 770 folks held for many years with no charges?

“Adventures in Cooking”

Kenny was in the neighborhood on Monday morning and stopped in for a coffee and a chat.  Always a good way to kick of the week.

We visited the New Orleans Athletic Club (NOAC) for a workout later in the morning and then worked on a summer salad with watermelon for dinner.  We’ve decided to try and cook at home much more and to focus initially on recipes from the Mediterranean diet – I started researching some ideas for the rest of the week.

A walk down the streetcar tracks to Jefferson avenue kicked off our Tuesday.  It was starting to get pretty hot as we walked home and were facing directly East and into the sun.  Nonetheless we covered close to 4 miles.

Tuesday dinner was our first dive into the Mediterranean stuff and consisted of jambalaya stuffed peppers and bang bang cauliflower.  I chose the jambalaya version as we had some leftovers in the freezer that eliminated most of the preparation steps.  The bang bang sauce for the cauliflower was made with sriracha, sweet chile sauce, mayonnaise and lime juice.  Both dishes were very tasty and we enjoyed making them.

After dinner, I headed over to Dat Dog for trivia with the guys.  It was the usual krewe plus a kid whose name started with an “M” – I can’t remember what it was – geez.  Mitchell, Maxwell, Matthew?  None of those seem right.  Anyway, Mr. M had studied AP English at Jesuit High and came in handy on a couple of questions – one about “Beowulf” and then on a Jane Austen related question about the English ten pound note.  We were in 3rd place going into the final round and then wagered too much on a question we did not know the answer too (always a bad strategy), and dropped to 4th.  Ugh!  Here was the final question:

Put the following in order from largest to smallest:

1  Number of mirrors in the Versailles hall of mirrors (I thought they were very large mirrors and this would be a small number – completely wrong)

2.  Number of steps in the Statue of Liberty

3.  Number of members of the House of Representatives (I did know that one)

4.  Number of doors in the White House – ridiculous, even if you knew the prior 3, nobody knows this

I would challenge you to take a shot at the answer, but just like with Mr. M, I can’t remember the correct order.  I do know that all the answers were between 300 and 400 – one of the more difficult final questions that we’ve experienced.

A NOAC workout kicked off our Wednesday.  On starting the car to drive home, I noticed the low tire pressure warning light – the rear left tire had an issue.  On arrival home, Diana checked the pressure – around 20 lbs versus the 36 recommended.  I finally got the tire repaired on Thursday afternoon.  A real local character who runs the Park Place repair shop on Tchoupitoulas found a piece of sheetrock on the internal wall.  He had it repaired and sent me on my way in a few minutes.

This was the sad day when we learned that Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame had died – more in the music section below.  The Beach Boys always make me think back to a Neil Young Bridge School Benefit concert at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.  There was a lady police officer in front of us that was growling at anyone trying to go up the wrong set of stairs in a very officious and negative manner.  As soon as the Beach Boys started their set, she turned into a completely different person – dancing with folks walking past – the power of good music!

Dinner on Wednesday was planned to be mango shrimp.  I visited Breaux Mart for mangoes.  Unfortunately I’ve never bought them before and wasn’t exactly sure what to look for – something yellow with an oval shape?  No.  I finally asked and found them.  I was glad that the recipe gave helpful instructions on how to peel and dice a mango – it would have been quite an ordeal otherwise.  This was another tasty and healthy meal.

After dinner we watched an episode of “Swing” with Owen Wilson.  We find this golf related comedy entertaining so far.

And after that, we finished “The Brutalist”.  The last 3o minutes of this movie are very “artsy.”  I’ll leave it at that.  I think I would have been pretty peeved if I’d been at the cinema house and sat through 3 and a half hours to get to those last 30 minutes.

Dinner on Thursday was taco stuffed avocados.  The taco stuffing consisting of ground turkey, black beans and onions.  Poor Diana ultimately visited three grocery stores to get the necessary ingredients.  Whole Foods and Breaux Mart after her physical therapy session.  She did get some delicious avocados at Whole Foods, but reported that the shelves were mostly bare – must be restocking day.  Then she visited Rouses (the big grocery store) in the afternoon to get the last ingredients.  I really enjoyed this meal and will make it again soon, perhaps with a different stuffing.

I read this article by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker on Thursday evening.  A very interesting analysis of what causes violent crime reduction and I’m not sure you would guess correctly:

Malcolm Gladwell New Yorker article on violent crime reduction

It had been a long time since we’d been to the movies and so, with it being so hot outside, we decided to go and see “The Materialists” at the Broad Theater on Friday afternoon.   This was opening day for the film so we didn’t really have much to go on .

Dakota Johnson plays a New York based matchmaker who is caught between a previous relationship with an actor who is broke, and a very successful financier.  It gave us a good bit to talk about after we left.

Here’s what the New Yorker had to say about things:

New Yorker review of the Materialists

We stopped by to visit with Kenny and Nina, and ultimately Kara when she got off work, on the way home from the movie.  They were planning to go to the free Friday concert at Tipitinas and we had talked about going to see the Joe Krown trio at Dos Jefes.

On the way to Dos Jefes, we stopped into Rouses to pick up supplies for our Saturday brunch recipe.  Kenny, his youngest brother Tommy, Kara, and after a while Pepperoni (Michael Azzano), joined us at Dos Jefes for some of Joe Krown and then headed back to Tips for Eric Johanssen.  Krown played as amazingly as ever – hands just dancing across the keys.  We need to make the effort to visit this bar more often.

I watched “Hitchcock” on Netflix to wind down from all of the excitement of the day.  I thought this was really well done with a great performance from Anthony Hopkins as Hitch.  Helen Mirren and Scarlet Johanss0n  also turned in strong performances.  The focus was on the movie “Psycho” and the struggles of making it something that an audience would want to go and see.

Diana joined Julia for a walk in Audubon park to start her Saturday, while I read the newspaper and worked on the blog.  We made tomato and parmesan mini quiches for brunch, using a new muffin tray that we bought at Rouses on Friday night.  Diana had decided not to move hers to New Orleans, having not made muffins in many years.

The petite quiches turned out very well and I’m looking forward to making them with all kinds of fillings.  Using slices of ham as a “crust” was a great idea.

I spent the afternoon reading with various sports on TV in the background – US Open golf and LSU baseball.

I’m about half way through “Everybody’s Fool” by Richard Russo, the second in the North Bath trilogy.    Russo is best known for  the Pulitzer prize winning “Empire Falls”, made into a movie that I enjoyed.

I like what Entertainment Weekly had to say: “A crowning achievement—“like hopping on the last empty barstool surrounded by old friends” —from one of the greatest storytellers of our time.”

Some passages that I enjoyed from my reading so far:

“His heart went out to the kid.  Imagine having her for a mother, your whole life a giant margin for her to ask her impossible questions.”

“A giant margin” – what a great simile.

“Maybe it was time, not love, they’d run out of.  It was pretty to think so.”

Do you think this is a nod to the last sentence of Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”, when Jack says to Brett “Isn’t it pretty to think so?”

“”You gonna get in?” “I’m still thinking.”  “There’s your problem right there,” Jerome said.  Like his sister, he spent far too much time diagnosing Raymer’s problems.  “Best nip that in the bud, bud.  Man starts thinking this late in life, no previous experience or proper guidance, there’s no telling where it could lead.””

A great example of the typical dialogue between Russo’s characters.

I’m pleased that I have half of this book and another two books in the trilogy to look forward to.

Earlier this week I was playing an Earth Wind and Fire album.  On returning it to the alphabetically filed album collection, I noticed a very old Duke Ellington Album that I hadn’t heard – must have come from McD.

“Mood Indigo” is on this album – such a wonderful piece.

I came across a number of entertaining covers:

We lost two massively influential musicians this week – Sly Stone and Brian Wilson.  Here’s my favourite from Sly and the family Stone:

Depending on when you ask about my all time favourite songs, the answer could well be “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys – a Brian Wilson masterpiece of composition, arrangement and production:

I was reading a newspaper article about the local band, Better Than Ezra, and The Kingsway studio was mentioned.  This was Daniel Lanois’ studio at the corner of Charters and Esplanade – 544 Esplanade to be exact.  Nicholas Cage bought the house after Lanois and it is now owned by the Cumming guy who has the boutique hotels.

The albums that Lanois produced in that building are legendary:  “Oh Mercy” by Bob Dylan, “Automatic for the People” by R.E.M., “Achtung Baby” by U2, “Us” by Peter Gabriel, and “Yellow Moon” by the Neville Brothers, to name just a few.  Unbelievably productive and wonderful sounding place.

We’re flying to Dallas tomorrow afternoon and so I’m going to go ahead and publish this post a day early – much better than a month late like the last few.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

“Birthday Music Week”

Bryce the piano tuner came on Monday.  He was impressed with how well our piano had survived storage, moving, and settling in to a new home.  As is typical here, he was quite the character, sharing stories about tuning Paul Simon and Harrick Connick’s pianos, and videos of rock concerts that he attended in the 1970s.   Here he is testing out his tuning job, while I stay out of his way in the living room:

Denny and Anne were headed out of town, so took me for an early birthday dinner at Husky.  As a special treat they brought me some meat pies from a butcher in Lafayette.  We followed that with a visit to Dos Jefes to listen to John Fohl – always a treat.

And now we move into the heavy music rotation part of the week.  On Thursday we joined Kenny, Julia and John for a singer songwriter night at the Broadside Pavillion.  The artists performing were Gregg Hill, Mia Borders, Alex McMurray, and Johnny Sansone.  The highlight for me was Alex McMurray’s solo set, with Mia Borders as a close second, particularly the song she did with McMurray.

On Friday we met at Kenny and Kara’s house for a birthday drink and they presented me with this lovely gift from the local artist, Simon.  We could easily walk to his gallery from our home.

The four of us decamped to a restaurant called “Pigeon and Whale.”  This place specializes in seafood and we shared a number of dishes.  They also have a large selection of different negronis.  Kenny and Diana insisted on dessert, and I’m glad they did as the lemon thing was delicious.  Thanks for a lovely dinner with wonderful friends, Diana.

After dessert, we met the boys at NOLA brewing.  Alex McMurray, who we saw the previous night, was playing with his band.  It was nice to hang out with the boys for a bit, and we had to call it a relatively early night as I was taking Diana back to the airport at 5am on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, my old Executive Committee team was enjoying dinner at Phil’s place in the Hamptons.  I miss that krewe.

The music continued on Saturday.  This time it was the second annual Bob Dylan birthday tribute at the Broadside.  I thoroughly enjoyed it last year and so was quite excited for the show.  Anne, Mason, Jack E and Peggy all joined.  The show was excellent all around!  Excellent backing band, singers, and venue.  Gal Holiday performed my favourite Dylan song:

I enjoyed the opening song by the organizer of the music, Sam Price:

I drove Anne home after the show and we passed a restaurant called “El Pavo Real.”  I had seen it many times and never been there.  “We’re going there tomorrow,” said Anne.

She picked me up and we enjoyed Sunday brunch.  This is a great Mexican place and wasn’t busy at all.  Excellent chilaquiles and palomas.

Meanwhile, in Redwood City, California, Diana had made it in time to dress up and attend Olivia’s high school graduation celebration.  The pictures would say that they had a great time.

Have I had enough music yet?  No – it’s my birthday week, I want one more night.  Sunday brought “Rock for Aegis,” a benefit for Scott Aiges who was the music journalist for the local paper and is fighting aggressive brain cancer.  The power was out in Uptown New Orleans, apparently part of a necessary rolling brown out due to unforeseen demand.  We had planned on meeting at Fred and Kelly’s home for a drink before the show, but they had no power.  I invited the group to meet at our home, as we still had power, and worst case a generator.

The show was local musicians playing Tom Petty songs.  And for the third night in a row, Alex McMurray was involved.  The highlight for me was Samantha Fish (excellent blues musician) covering “American Girl.”

Meanwhile, in Pacifica, California, Diana was hosting a party for Alicia’s 25th birthday.  She always loves that our birthdays are just a few days apart.  Look at the spread she assembled.  It looks like everyone had a good time.

Interestingly, the “end pieces” of the sourdough loaves were all that remained.  Olivia noticed and realized that Grammie used to eat those first.

A subset of the group enjoyed the sunset on the beach:

Meanwhile, somewhere off the coast of the Florida panhandle, Denny and Jack were catching pleny off red snapper:

My book this week was one that I’d been waiting on for a while, “Run for the Hills,” by Kevin Wilson.  I’ve enjoyed all of his previous books, so uniquely creative and funny.  This one didn’t disappoint.  Here’s the summary:

“Ever since her dad left them twenty years ago, it’s been just Madeline Hill and her mom on their farm in Coalfield, Tennessee. While it’s a bit lonely, she sometimes admits, and a less exciting life than what she imagined for herself, it’s mostly okay. Mostly.

Then one day Reuben Hill pulls up in a PT Cruiser and informs Madeline that he believes she’s his half sister. Reuben—left behind by their dad thirty years ago—has hired a detective to track down their father and a string of other half siblings. And he wants Mad to leave her home and join him for the craziest kind of road trip imaginable to find them all.

As Mad and Rube—and eventually the others—share stories of their father, who behaved so differently in each life he created, they begin to question what he was looking for with every new incarnation. Who are they to one another? What kind of man will they find? And how will these new relationships change Mad’s previously solitary life on the farm?

Infused with deadpan wit, zany hijinks, and enormous heart, Run for the Hills is a sibling story like no other—a novel about a family forged under the most unlikely circumstances and united by hope in an unknown future.”

We’ve had a lot of musical discussion this week and so I’ll leave you with just one sample.  Sansone played this at the singer songwriter show:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!

“A Normal Week”

I’m not sure what a normal week is these days.  But this seemed like one.

On Monday, I visited Tony to get my hearing aids cleaned and adjusted.  As is typical, we spent the first 30 minutes talking about who we had seen performing at jazzfest and veered off into other musical discussions.  The only problem was that my appointment was only for 30 minutes, the poor guy behind me had to wait a while.

I took advantage of being in Metarie (a solid 6 miles away, but seems like a totally different place than New Orleans, and we complain about having to drive that far) to make a Trader Joe’s visit.  Diana was quite impressed with the fullness of the fridge on return.

We followed up our trivia win last Tuesday with 2nd place this week.  We were quite pleased with ourselves.

Diana arrived home at 1:20am on Wednesday morning.  She had delayed flights and had to sprint through DFW airport to catch her flight to New Orleans.  I couldn’t sleep until I knew she was home.  Thankfully I didn’t have any “important” work to do on Wednesday.

Wednesday was health care day.  I had my teeth cleaned – good report of no issues.  Then I drove Diana to an appointment over at the Jefferson hospital complex – less than 5 miles away and less than a 15 minute drive, but again it feels like a long way to us these days.  We routinely drove 30 minutes to do anything at all in Dallas, but things change when you can walk to most everything you need.

Coming back from the store, we ran into this second line parade on Prytania Avenue.  There a lot of weddings in May, and it did seem a bit hot for them to be walking too far in those fancy outfits.

Diana suggested a route around the parade to avoid following it all the way home – good thinking D.

The Prytania movie theater shows a classic movie each week at 10am on Sunday and Wednesday.  This week was “Moonstruck” with Cher and Nicholas Cage.

The talks before the movie starts are a very enjoyable part of this experience.  The detail and background provided on this occasion was very impressive.  I have no idea how the gentleman memorized all that he shared.

My big take away was that I didn’t remember the film being so funny and corny.

After the movie we had lunch at our old standby – Juan’s Flying Burrito.

My book this week was “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy.  This is a murder mystery set on a remote island near Antarctica, but it’s a lot more than that.  I learned about emergency seed banks, and lots of nature, including deep details about penguins.  A very good read.

“A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.”

I really enjoy this band – always a little bit different:

Something folky and quiet:

And finally, a song from 1976, back when the music could play for over a minute before the vocals start – not suitable for the attention spans of today:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

“Movie Week”

Kenny and Denny joined me at the Prytania theater on Monday afternoon to watch the Oscar nominated live action shorts.  These were five short films with quite varied subject matter and styles.

I did get in trouble for talking during one of the films.  We had dinner at La Cocinita to share our thoughts.  No clear agreement.  I thought “I am not a robot” from the Netherlands was the most entertaining.  I think Denny and Kenny preferred “The Last Ranger” about rhino horn poaching in South Africa, but maybe Kenny liked “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” from Croatia – that’s the one the critics think will win and was my least favourite.

We did not do well at trivia on Tuesday night.  I believe we were between eighth and tenth.  Things started to go badly when Denny insisted on answering “Is chemical energy an example of potential or kinetic energy?” with kinetic, even after I gave the example of a battery which is stored up or potential energy.  And they got worse from there.  A bad night for the Bayou Boyz.

I talked Kenny into attending the Wednesday morning movie matinee with  me at the Prytania.  The offering this week was “The Conversation”, starring Gene Hackman and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1974.

We agreed that this film was pretty slow, with a confusing and convoluted plot line.  Coppola apparently was very committed to writing and directing this movie and only agreed to direct “The Godfather II” after the studio agreed to “The Conversation.”

Kara joined us for lunch at Martin after the movie.

It was a cold and early start for me on Thursday morning – 30 degrees when I left home at 6:30am for my flight to San Francisco.  Diana picked me up at the airport and we resumed the routine of helping Clorinda.

Today was a busy day – visits from cousin Joelle and Jerry, Adam, and Victor and Jennifer – all three at slightly different times.  We made a new recipe – orzo Mediterranean salad – and thankfully had enough for everyone.  This was a good recipe from the New Orleans Times Picayune newspaper.

Diana has fallen way down the rabbit hole of bracelet fabrication.  Look at this whole enterprise and the tools involved:

This all started with a desire to make a “few” Mardi Gras bracelets.

Andy and Jude came down on Friday night.  They are always such great company.  Andy had to make a quick trip home when his new replica of Prince’s Telecaster was delivered.

Jeff and Merry Lee sent some pictures of penguins that they took in Antarctica:

I finished up “Rabbit is Rich” – an enjoyable read but not really my thing, and started “James” by Percival Everret.  This is described as:

“#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER• NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.”

I’m not far into the book but am enjoying it a lot already.

Here’s an old classic that I heard on the local radio station, WWOZ:

And a couple from a band that’s been around for a long time that  I just heard this week:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

“More of the same”

This week was quite similar to last week – helping to make Clorinda as comfortable as possible as she regains her strength.  The good news is she has a very good appetite and is always so alert and responsiveness when her grandchildren show up:

We did manage to escape for lunch at Puerto 27, a very good local Peruvian restaurant, while Clorinda was at dialysis.  Diana went for comfort food and was very happy with her burger, while I chose an avocado and crab sandwich.

I passed some of the time with the new documentary series about Saturday Night Live on Peacock.  The episode on “More Cowbell” was hilarious and well researched, the episode on the musical guests, a pleasant walk down memory lane.

We flew home to New Orleans on Saturday and were surprised to see the airport so quiet on our arrival before 8pm.  TSA closed, all stores and restaurants closed, so clearly no departing flights.  Seemed unusual.  It will not be like that next week when the Super Bowl comes to town.

We were getting parade updates for Chewbacchus, a walking parade that we’ve enjoyed in previous years.  It has a science fiction geeky theme, and certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously.  We were much too tired to venture into the fray and so missed Kara and Debra in their Wonder Women krewe.  I think McD should join them next year – what are your thoughts?  She just needs a little encouragement and some help with her outfit.

It’s always hard to wind down after a day of travel.  We watched a very good movie, “The Peanut Butter Falcon”, to try and relax and it did the trick.  Great acting and a nicely understated and calm storyline.

The weather today was the best of the year so far – 70 degrees, blue skies, and, most importantly, no humidity.  We celebrated with a couple of laps around Audubon park – always a treat.

I started “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story” by Bono this week.  I’m about half way through just now, and am really enjoying the read.  The writing is honest and lacks any of the bombast that you might expect, given his public persona.  I’ll share some of my favourite passages next week.  Here’s some of the online chatter:

“NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Bono—artist, activist, and the lead singer of Irish rock band U2—has written a memoir: honest and irreverent, intimate and profound, Surrender is the story of the remarkable life he’s lived, the challenges he’s faced, and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him. • A VOGUE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

“A brilliant, very funny, very revealing autobiography-through-music. Maybe the best book ever written about being a rockstar.” —Caitlin Moran, award-winning journalist
 
“When I started to write this book, I was hoping to draw in detail what I’d previously only sketched in songs. The people, places, and possibilities in my life. Surrender is a word freighted with meaning for me. Growing up in Ireland in the seventies with my fists up (musically speaking), it was not a natural concept. A word I only circled until I gathered my thoughts for the book. I am still grappling with this most humbling of commands. In the band, in my marriage, in my faith, in my life as an activist. Surrender is the story of one pilgrim’s lack of progress … With a fair amount of fun along the way.” —Bono
 
 As one of the music world’s most iconic artists and the cofounder of the organizations ONE and (RED), Bono’s career has been written about extensively. But in Surrender, it’s Bono who picks up the pen, writing for the first time about his remarkable life and those he has shared it with. In his unique voice, Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin, including the sudden loss of his mother when he was fourteen, to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than twenty years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty. Writing with candor, self-reflection, and humor, Bono opens the aperture on his life—and the family, friends, and faith that have sustained, challenged, and shaped him.
 
Surrender’s subtitle, 40 Songs, One Story, is a nod to the book’s forty chapters, which are each named after a U2 song. Bono has also created forty original drawings for Surrender, which appear throughout the book.”

I didn’t save off any new songs this week – that’s a first.  Not sure why.  Here’s a classic that was in the soundtrack to a movie I was watching, can’t remember which one:

The wonderful guitarist, Julian Lage, has a new album out with a lot of very varied content:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!