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

Sometimes I scare myself . . .

I've gotten way more done than I could possibly expect and it's just 11am. Whoa! Time to slow down. Up at six; breakfast at 6:30; at the park walking and taking pictures while P&D's Pop was flying; read one and a half sections of the Advocate; spoke with my older brother who had spent a week at his cottage which is wonderful news as it means they are well and the cottage is finally ready for full time use with sewers and water newly completed; sent P&D's Pop off to visit Gil; baked some Saltine and Toffee Cookies and viola I have even completed my stretches and my extra special stretches before I sat down at the table to write  this crazy blog. Hell, I impress myself.

The weather is gorgeous - it's still mightily hot but a bit drier than it has been all summer so far. I find it pleasant to sit on the back porch to read and watch the hummingbirds fight over the two feeders. I imagine we will get more birds heading to us from the North as they begin to migrate. Not sure what Fall will bring to us but I'm looking forward to going out and getting a few more plants to brighten up the porches. What I do find amazing is that the huge multi-plant pot
my sister-in-law bought for us when we moved here in February is still going strong! I had to replace one of the plants because it just plain wore out but the replacements are doing great. Time to test the cookies and go back outside to reading and relaxing.

Quote:  A word or a nod from the good, has more weight than the eloquent speeches of others.   ___Plutarch

Got a lot done already . . .

The stuff the flood water pushed into and over the fences at one of the dog parks.

Yesterday we scooted to South Park; we were the only ones there. It's eery being alone in a park where people are usually taking their morning constitutionals, walking their dogs, mowing, exercising with their friends in one of the covered areas or flying model planes. Even the birds and animals were scarce. The park must have had about four feet of water rush through it and although the river water  is now gone the devastation to the homes, schools and businesses around the park is enormous. I believe many people who lived in trailer parks may have to totally scrap their homes.

On a better note P&D's Pop and I went to St. Francisville for breakfast this morning. It is a 45 mile ride but Birdman Café and Books is superior. Grampa had an omelet made with everything fresh  you can imagine - I watched the chef as he prepared the fillings and cooked it to perfection! I had a sweet potato Belgian waffle with butter and cane syrup that was perfect - just the right amount of crisp. I spoke with the chef and told him it was the perfect waffle; he was beaming! Wish they were not so far away. After we got home I spent the morning finishing up what I tried to accomplish yesterday. There are three items we ordered from Amazon on August 11, the day the rains started and brought the flooding to our town and the surrounding areas, which have never arrived. I was finally able to contact UPS on line about one item and between UPS and the Amazon seller we were able to close out the original order, get a refund and reorder the battery for Grampa's phone. But . . . the two items scheduled to get here through the US Postal Service were very difficult to track down online either through the post office or Amazon. I filled out the paperwork on line for both entities but it always came back not quite right! So I fished around long enough to get a phone number to call for the USPS and I waited 22 minutes for their call back but the lady got me squared away. They have no idea where the packages are but it seems they were delivered to the Denham Springs Post Office on the 12th of August which would mean they were in the post office when it flooded. The lady gave me the inquiry number to give to Amazon to show that we had done due diligence! Then I miraculously found a number for Amazon and they called me back immediately! The young oriental man on the other end of the line was more than patient and gracious as he solved my problem. We now have replacements for the items that were most likely flooded in the post office. When he asked if there was anything else he could do to help me I said it would be nice if I could easily find the telephone number to call Amazon if I ever need their help again! He gave me a number that I can call whenever I need help! Yay, things are looking up!

I worked myself to the bone yesterday cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing bathrooms, washing bedding, clothes and trimming the lawn. Today I shall relax.
Grampa just came in as I was finishing up and I mentioned I could use an alcoholic beverage to help with the relax part of the previous sentence.  He said I had to wait until Thursday when Walk Ons has its grand reopening.  Yay.  I shall do that.

Quote:  We may outrun by violent swiftness that which we run at, and lose by overrunning.   __Shakespeare

I am a fortunate one . . .

A barge that can't be filled too much as the water isn't too high here on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi in Vidalia, LA

We just returned from breakfast at McD's in Denham Springs one of the few stores that was not inundated. We circled home by South Park and Wax Road. My God, my heart seizes up and tears come unbidden when I see the destruction. It is overwhelming and I keep saying to myself, "And we weren't even touched by this devastation and I become emotional." P&D's Pop and I along with our son's family are unscathed along with the new friends we've made but the people surrounding us have been destroyed. They are stalwarts in the face of this enormous calamity but I can only imagine that if I am depressed by what I see whenever we go out by the thousands of families who have nothing but wet, stinking, rotting garbage in front of their once comfortable homes I'm not sure I could manage my life as they must. Their lives can't and may never again get into a routine comfortable pattern for they have been caught by nature and government in this hell. If the hell were fire and brimstone that cleaned the face of  Louisiana it would be welcomed as it is there is nothing but putrefaction and government regulation. Money does not flow into the hands of families desperate to clean up and move on with their lives. The red tape to get anything at all done is regulated to the nth degree and little is happening to clean up the rotten in the state of Louisiana. Good people are languishing  and I wouldn't  blame them if they pity themselves as government regulations and other forms of financial help are a matter of waiting in lines or online to fill out forms and hope that someone somewhere really does know how to get help to the people as they scrub themselves and their now meager possessions trying to get their lives back together. I cannot see how this can be done quickly because it is so widespread and bureaucracy is a set back every step of the way. I am rambling again as I am overcome by the magnitude of the desolation surrounding us. So I'll move on to a pleasant subject.

A friend who used to kidnap me from our son's home over the past few years when we were visiting from Connecticut will upon occasion still call me and we go off in search of old places and things. We ended up in Vidalia, Louisiana looking across the Mississippi River at a house on a cliff perched above Old Man River in Natchez, Mississippi. She asked if I would be okay with going to find the place and seeing if we could bum around it or at least peak in. In all the years my friend Angie and I hung out together Angie would always enlist me in her wild quests and we always had a blast - sometimes we did foolish stuff but we always laughed and had a great time. Friday was one of those days. A... and I are of different generations but she is very interesting as she tells me about her life growing up in a very small Texas town where her parents lived by their wits and what they could put on the table. She didn't know you could buy meat in a store until she was almost 16. Her Mom and Dad used to grow cotton, hunt, farm, butcher to feed and clothe their family. She pointed out the cotton fields as we drove North. I hope I'll get a chance to see them in bloom on LA 61 which goes into Mississippi. Cotton fields on both sides of the road! Must remind myself to keep track of the harvest. I think even P&D's Pop would take me for a ride to see the white fields. I didn't know that picking cotton by hand can cut your fingers to shreds. I knew it was back breaking work but not that it could tear your hands up. Thank God for the cotton gin. Wow, I have so much learning to do and I just put it off. It's time I go back and study US history for a start. I know so little and what I learned was minuscule. We shall get together again at some point in time after she does what she hates doing - doctoring!  A... reminds me of myself when I was so pooped and miserable I couldn't get out of my own way and was so grouchy I wanted to crawl into a hole. It took a nurse practitioner with lots of experience with women to listen to me and put me on synthroid even before she got the blood work back! I've been on somewhat increasing doses through the years and it is almost a wonder drug! Crazy.

Took a break to go to Mass while P&D's Pop is at the flying field at Bayou Park in Zachary. Immaculate Conception Parish continues to amaze me. Even though the property was flooded they have been working hard and a group from New Orleans has set up an outdoor kitchen in the parking lot to feed all who come to eat. They even send out food  and will continue to do so for as long as necessary which from the looks of our streets will be a very long time. The church has been emptied and the floors cleaned from the sludge left by the flooding. They are going to try to dry it out so they don't have to cut into the walls but that will take quite a while. They only have Mass in the church on Sunday's the rest of the week it is in a small chapel in their newest building which was built high and dry a few years ago. The rectory and early learning center were destroyed and have been gutted. As soon as they can dry out enough of what's left they will start to rebuild. Thank goodness the newest building on campus was built up high. The priests are sleeping on mattresses on the third floor and keeping up with their jobs getting help to all in need. That's a huge job. The phones are now working and plans have been made to start some of the religious ed classes. The Early Learning Center must be rebuilt before classes can start so I think it may be a month or so until I get back to help out. I really can't do any physical work but I am looking forward to the kids and teachers. I'm always surprised about how much I miss kids!

Quote:  The wise carry their knowledge, as they do their watches, not for display, but for their own use.
     I envy no man that knows more than myself, but pity them that know less.    ____Sir T. Browne