Something has actually changed. After four years in New Orleans, I am hating the summers less. A small miracle! I’ve slowed down a lot. I’m wearing cotton and linen more. I bought rain boots. I structure my days around the air conditioning during those scorching, mid-afternoon hours. Maybe I’ve adjusted my expectations a bit, too. …
Tourist Courts and Amusing my Mother-in-Law
92 years old and going strong, my mother-in-law is a Texan through and through. She has rolled with the punches remarkably well over the years, and it’s easy to mistake her for decades younger than her actual age. Her enviable ability to let things go is, I think, one of the secrets to her longevity….
Bats and Bassists in Austin, TX
Nowadays, our travel multitasks, combining business with pleasure, and usually, family. This past week, our visit to Austin, Texas centered on the Austin Bass Workshop, where my husband got to be with his people as both student and teacher during a four-day intensive course. Meanwhile, I hung out with the in-laws in 100+ degree heat. This…
Adventures in Trash Picking: Adirondack Chair!
I definitely owned a junk shop in another life. Or maybe it will still happen in this one, but one thing is for sure. I can’t pass up anything that’s been set out on the curb. I have to go check it out. Mainly, I hate to waste anything, and I just can’t stand what…
Lubbers
On Father’s Day, we decided to try Middendorf’s, a legendary seafood restaurant situated about 45 minutes northwest of New Orleans, perched overlooking the water between Lake Maurepas and Lake Ponchartrain. Already ravenous, we opted out of the 1 1/2-hour wait, thinking we’d just mosey along to Frenier Landing, a place overlooking Lake Ponchartrain that we’d enjoyed…
Creole Tomato Attempt, Spring 2018 Edition
With two days left until summer, I would like to give you the update on my spring tomato attempt. Here’s what did work this season: I got about a dozen and a half small creole tomatoes from my garden! I started them indoors from seed I bought at Perino’s Garden Center shortly after Mardi Gras, so…
Oleanders in June
I hadn’t heard the song, “Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans” until after Katrina. So many New Orleanians, including my soon-to-be husband, were scattered to the winds, staying with friends or relatives, or starting up new/temporary lives in far-flung locales. It was the incomparable Connie Jones who sang it. This New Orleans…
A Visiting Vegan
My visiting vegan friend presented a fun challenge and a new excuse for exploring vegan restaurant options in my adopted city. I definitely haven’t made a point of searching out vegan food here, but I had a hunch that in a city so very devoted to gustatory delights, I wouldn’t have far to look. I…
View from the River
A friend visited from out-of-town this weekend, and we got to tag along with my musician husband aboard the Steamboat Natchez. Preceded as we were by a man and his bass, we even got to skip the line, settling ourselves at a north-facing table and watching everyone else suffer the mild indignity of the “welcome aboard”…
Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing
My birthday is right around the corner, and with it come thoughts of cake. Specifically, chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, requested as my birthday cake since the 1980’s. It’s not a thing at all around here, as evidenced by my New Orleanian friends’ blank stares. But … in central PA, it’s so very common. …
Louisiana Latitudes 