Good news . . .

Monster clam

At Mass this morning Father Frank let us know that all of the campus buildings that needed sheetrock have just gotten their first mudding! Yay! And as I left church Barbara, the lady I helped during the summer bible classes, told me that the Early Learning Center should be ready to open October 17th. Phew, I can hardly wait to get back to some semblance of order in our lives. Now if only IHOP would get their act together we'd be in good shape. Isn't that crazy -  IHOP and it's ever so nice waitresses being a part of our new home routine? I do like it here. I get frustrated sometimes because I still haven't mastered how I want my days to unfold but if I just let them unfurl in their own bumpy way I'm fine.

Went into Baton Rouge this past week to Perkins & Rowe and had a good time at Barnes &Noble before having a Louisiana lunch at Voodoo Grill. P&D's Pop also brought me to LeBlanc's Grocery Store on Drusilla so I can get used to some of the ins and outs of Red Stick. On top of that I had an appointment in St. Francisville because my propensity for uti's is acting up again. But at least that trip led to lunch at The Francis, the only problem was - no bread pudding! Imagine that - truly it's difficult to imagine a lack of bread pudding in Louisiana. But the Chicken BLT was salubrious and we left sated and happy.

I also had a chance to go fishing with southern daughter in Breaux Bridge as she was looking for a new campsite. We had a very good day with perfect weather; alas the fish kept jumping out of the water, eating the bait and not getting caught. I did manage to hook a giant clam on a worm - if I think about it I imagine he was just sitting on the bottom of the lake as my worm went wandering into his open shell and he closed up on it. That would be a cool video. As it was I thought I was pulling in a big catfish; my pole was bending and I was reeling the line in as fast as I could, remembering P&D's Pop's admonition to work faster and furiouser. So when I landed the expected big fat fish on the ground and it was a big fat clam I cracked up. Southern daughter came to help unhook the monster with her pliers and after a bit of work he just plopped on to the ground and she rolled him back into the lake. It was good for a laugh.

Yesterday Grampa brought me to Slaughter so I could attend the first birthday party for our step grand-daughter's foster baby. She did a wonderful job getting the church hall where she worships decorated and best of all the cake was out of this world delicious. I wish I needed a cake for some occasion because I would ask her pastor's wife to make one for me also! But, no such luck. I don't need a cake. Dommage.

Later in the afternoon son, daughter-in-law and I went to Théâtre Baton Rouge to see the musical  Évangeline. It is a memorable play based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem. It was written and directed by Louisiana natives; the music and scenes were well thought out; the script was interesting and lighthearted at times to breakup the solemnity of the love story. I do believe with some pretty big tweaking it could be performed in a theater on Broadway but I'm not sure if anyone would take on the reworking of the presentation. I've a mind to try to get in touch with Goodspeed Opera House and suggest they look into it. I think it deserves a run in New York to get it off and running. It wouldn't work with the present format but if some somebodies could rework the script and find a better way to tell the story than through Fr. Felician I think it would be grand, grand, grand. We ended the day coming home to pick up Grampa and having supper at The Longhorn. 't was a very good day.

Quote:  There is no gambling like politics.    ______Disraeli

Experimenting . . .

Lord, it is beautiful here.

I'm so tired of not hearing well that I asked P&D's Pop to set up his old hearing aids for me. I know they're not made for my hearing loss but I've got to try something so I'm not always saying "Huh? Excuse me? I can't hear." That takes all the fun out of conversations, I'll tell you that. So I'm going to try to wear them everyday for a week or so and try to get used to all the sounds I can now hear such as the closing of cabinets, my own self talking, P&D's Pop's voice louder than I'm accustomed to. I think it will make a difference and then if I like the sound enhancers I'll ask my old primary care nurse practitioner to give me the name of a good audiologist. Who knows what this expense could be? So I want to make sure that if we buy these things I will use them daily just as I wear my glasses. I was so frustrated at church Sunday because we had a guest priest and he read a letter from an elderly man caring for his wife in their home as the flood waters rose. But I missed so much of what was read I almost wanted to stomp out and blame the priest for not speaking up and I do believe he may have been miced (hard C!) So we'll see how this turns out.

Found another breakfast place closer to home than I thought. There is a Cracker Barrel even closer than Frank's on Airline. It's hard to realize that it's there because you only see it as you take the exit and since you are exiting I12 you're certainly not looking to your right on the exit in a leisurely fashion; you're gripping the wheel with deadly strength as you merge onto Airline North no looking allowed except ahead and to your left! I don't usually care for Cracker Barrels but I really hadn't been to one for breakfast except last weekend with Big Kiddo and wifey so this was pretty good; still as expensive as IHOP but if they improve the strength of their coffee it may do. We really will probably go to James's Restaurant more often and although there is no ambience ( no one there would even think to apply that word to James's) the food is good, plain and cheap. $12 as opposed to $20.

We went for a walk in the neighborhood last evening and spoke with Mr. Wally our former early morning runner whose home was flooded. He is slowly getting it back into shape with the help of his sons but he must wait for the sheetrock to come in - if I understood him correctly (I didn't have my ears on!) there is a six week wait for delivery! Wow - living in this flooded area is painful for most.

Quote:  The king-becoming graces are justice, verity, temperance, stableness, bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, devotion, patience, courage, fortitude.    ____Shakespeare

Haven't been feeling quite up to snuff . . .

I've been dragging butt for a bit and I'm not sure why - maybe a summer bug or a little bit depressed. I think it's a combination of both. I was looking forward to helping out at the Early Learning Center at Immaculate Conception but they don't know when they'll reopen so today I went to Livingston Parish Public Schools Center in Livingston where I was fingerprinted so I can help out in the schools in Denham Springs. It was an interesting process which started with a lot of phone calls and messages left but ended up just perfect today. Livingston Parish does not have volunteers and I was asked to be a sub. I explained that I didn't want to be a sub just a plain volunteer for the lower elementary levels. It took the assistant superintendent to come up with a way to do that. I was signed up as a volunteer coach! Instead of the usual $55 fee a sub must pay to get fingerprinted I was only charged $10. The fingerprinting is done digitally and was pretty cool. ( A sub will get $45 returned to them after they have subbed for 10 days - that's rather interesting. I guess some people may put in to be subs and then be so choosy they never get to work. Qui sait?) Whatever the case may be Mr. P gave me the name of the principal at the school he thought was most in need of help. It's only a few very curvy, narrow miles away on Brown Road. Since it did not get flooded it is being used by two schools and so they are in double sessions. I called the principal to offer my services but had to leave a message with one of the schools' secretaries. I hope she'll call back and allow me to help out. I mentioned Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 1pm so we'll see what happens. Even the secretary asked me if I was planning to sub! They really aren't used to volunteers - that must be a Catholic school thing!

For whatever reason I feel better now that I've gotten helping out with the kiddos underway. I'll probably need lots of patience again. I remember how long it took Immaculate Conception to allow me to help out.

We finally got our wills taken care of. I was a bit displeased because a couple of the sheets of paper on the original wills are wrinkled but our poor Attorney, Ivy, has had to use another Attorney's office and the printer was acting up a lot. We needed the originals and three other copies for the big kids and the finicky printer did not cooperate so we have some wrinkles but they are valid wrinkles! Have been watching a few Louisiana Public Television specials as they raise money for flood victims. We both found them interesting as they were about the history of the Créoles and the 'Cajuns. What an extraordinary history exists in this watery, beautiful, plentiful, hot state.

Quote:  Adversity borrows its sharpest sting from our impatience.   ___Bp. Horne

That was a neat way to spend the day . . .

We left quite early yesterday morning for a trip with son and wife to Shell Beach which is East of New Orleans which meant driving through some of the older parts of the suburbs near NOLA. The houses are packed in tightly but are pretty as all get out. It looks as if government may be trying to save these older areas as there was road work going on and although there were some more than run down places there were more nice looking, sweet homes all fixed up and lived in. We stopped in Hammond at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I had forgotten that they serve a pretty darn good breakfast and enjoyed the meal and the company. I think that P&D's Pop and I shall try the Cracker Barrel on Airline for breakfast instead of Frank's until our IHOP gets back in business. We stopped to check on it after flying/walking at the park this morning and it seems they are waiting for an inspection and then may be ready to open. I hope so. Even the Home Depot is starting to look like it's getting ready to reopen. Every business that manages to reopen is a big plus for Denham Springs. I tell you the drive to the park still brings me to tears - I don't do it on purpose but I can't believe that this great community that we chose for our home is in such dire straits. It doesn't look as if I will be helping out at the early learning center at church until mid-October. They have no building ready for them. I hope they'll be able to keep the children they had enrolled but they may lose a lot of them because of the flooding. Parents might not be able to afford to send their kids or many not even be in their homes or may have lost their jobs or may have extra family living with them or may have just called it quits and left the area. It's amazing how a disaster of this magnitude affects our lives and we were not personally affected. But, I ramble as usual.

The drive to our fishing spot was through St. Bernard Parish which had been completely inundated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the year our son moved to Louisiana to start his new job and find a home for his family. He did well and thankfully chose to live in a small town not prone to flooding, wet and rainy with lots of deep puddles but not rivers or oceans backing up or surging forward. The area we visited yesterday had been totally wiped out and more than 150 people in that one parish lost their lives. It is amazing to see that some have returned and are still making their homes in this watery parish. Most of the fresh seafood comes from this area of land; shrimp boats and fishing boats of all kinds abound. We had perfect weather for most of the day and although we only caught some too small drums and one crab who skittered back into the water it was a great day.  As we left and drove through a gate on the highway we realized that St Bernard Parish now has a way to keep the flood waters at bay - the gates can be closed and the area where we were fishing can be cut off from the rest of the small communities in St. Bernard Parish in times of hurricanes, storms and high water. We didn't figure out how long the retaining wall is but it must be many miles long and I'm wondering if there are other roads that are gated in the same way? I think not; the expense would be staggering so I'm guessing that the people of the little villages on the Shell Beach side of the wall will have to make sure they get out of churning, rising waters before the gates are closed. Their homes are built up on stilts now, amazing practical designs for living near land's end. We stopped at Middendorf's for a late lunch, another wonderful experience. I know we shall go back. The restaurant is positioned close to the waters of both Lake Maurepas and Pontchartrain and the trains grumble by the restaurant as does I55. I'll just say that I ate another fried catfish poboy and had bread pudding for dessert as I watched boats and trains come and go as we were seated on the open, covered deck. Can't begin to explain how much I love this new land of ours and sharing son's turtle soup and froglegs was a big plus too!

Quote:  Alexander the Great, seeing Diogenes looking attentively at a parcel of human  bones, asked the philosopher what he was looking for.  "That which I cannot find," was the reply; "the difference between your father's bones and those of his slaves." _____Plutarch

Almost perfect flip off . . .

New ornamental pepper

Since we're having problems with P&D's Pop's cell phone (we've already changed the battery and brought it to the at&t store in Watson) I decided I needed to get my let's-get-this-merdeski-fixed-for-good attitude in gear so I left the house alone leaving P&D's Pop talking on the phone about flying, planes and whatever men can find to discuss. The Watson store wasn't too busy and the manager took care of my problem. She said they'd had a lot of complaints about the particular phones we have that are about two years old and suggested we get the LG phones which are more reliable. Naturally they don't have any really plain, regular, ordinary phone phones in the store but she found two of them and will have them for me Monday. So . . . that's a good thing and I rewarded myself with a stop at Big Easy Beignets for a snack. The only problem, well not a problem when you come down to it, was that I ordered the smallest order which consists of 3 beignets but the chef was his generous Louisiana self and gave me four! Yup I ate them all with extra powdered sugar and the strongest Community Coffee on record, black bien sûr, so I'm revved up.

I then decided to stop at Clegg's to buy a new plant to add to my pots on the back porch. I found a very nice colorful ornamental pepper that they put out for Fall planting. The man behind me in line warned me not to let the grandkids dare each other to bite a pepper or to let any pets mess around with them either. He explained that they were hotter than hot. The lady at the cash register said I could make some hot pepper jelly with them! Interesting. Finally I headed for home only to have some dude in a big bad Ford 550 dually cut me off on Juban so he could slam on his brakes when he crossed in front of me to get into the I12 lane. I haven't flipped anyone off since the Gold Star Bridge in Connecticut quite some time ago but the automatic response is still only slightly buried in this now almost calm southern belle. (That's a joke.)  And so yes I flipped him off and it felt good. Time to go work off the excess coffee hyper me and do some weed whacking.

Quote:  It is with narrow-souled people as with narrow-necked bottles; the less they have in them, the more noise they make in pouring it out.  ___ Pope

Funny little girl . . .

Church bulletin

We went to Frank's for a great breakfast this fine Sunday. I had the New Orleans French Toast. I have no idea what they use for bread but it was soft yet grilled or fried perfectly and covered with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Delicious - didn't need syrup of any kind. I like it when I find something new to eat. Even God may not know when IHOP will be able to reopen. It doesn't take us long to get to Frank's early on a Sunday morning. When we got home I put a Louisiana Roast in the crock pot and went off to Mass. More and more people are making it back to church. There was a little girl about three years old with a blond couette on the top of her head, just the way Ma used to do our hair when we were little. She was turned around, kneeling on her seat and had a book. She was making sure the book was in proper position for the lady kneeling facing her and the altar so she could show the woman the different words and photos in the book as if she were a teacher reading to her class of little ones. It was perfect and amused all of the people sitting behind them. The church properties are still in flood remediation and this is the last week that the church will serve free lunches as they try to get back into some kind of normal routine. The schooling whether religious or early learning will not start again until the buildings are functional and Livingston Parish starts school around September 12. A few more large restaurants have reopened such as Walk On's which was jam packed for the ignominious LSU loss to the Wisconsin Badgers. Don's Seafood and the Longhorn are also open. Construction is still going on at the newest building at Juban Crossing and also on the medical center near us. It seems that the smells and garbage piles just get larger and stronger each time we go out.

I was taking some photos of a sorry looking sunset last evening when a open air jeep looking vehicle piled with people came driving down the street. They stopped and told me that they just wanted to see what an unflooded neighborhood looked like. They only lived further down on a road off of Juban. About 20 years ago they had looked at our subdivision and almost bought a property here to build their home but went further away. They had never flooded and as they had the highest property in their neighborhood all the neighbors had brought their lawnmowers and parked them in their yard. All flooded. They had two feet of water in their home. They also explained how many air boats were launched off of the flooded lower part of Juban to rescue people who had never seen water in their yards before. My impression was that they did have flood insurance because the man explained that Louisiana means water! He also said that the builders were already gouging people. I find it so hard to drive anywhere near here and see all of the putrid piles along the roads. Even when the huge dumpsters and grappling hooks get finished with what they are hauling away the land is terrible, torn up and covered with crumpled drywall and smells. Not sure people will be allowed to rebuild their homes because of the regulations that say that after a flood your home must be built a foot higher up than where the flood waters damaged your home - or some such regulation. There may be a lot of tearing down of homes or homes left to rot. Government does not seem to have any clue about what needs to be done immediately and quickly. Red tape is holding up much of the drying out and rebuilding.

Quote:  Defer not time; delays have dangerous ends.    ____Shakespeare