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. …
Category: New Orleans
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”…
Legacy of Prohibition
Both record-breaking heat and more flooding occurred in New Orleans during my brief trip north, so I am grateful that the few days after my return have brought nothing but garden-variety temperatures and a mild afternoon thunderstorm. I had a thought-provoking time in Pittsburgh. I don’t know that city well at all, but my few…
96 Degrees in New Orleans…
Yesterday, May 14, set a new heat record in New Orleans. 96 degrees. Fortunately, I am in Pittsburgh with my musician husband, where it is cool and rainy. Spring is still in progress here, and I am feasting my eyes on the gorgeous, lush greenery, the azaleas and lilacs, and these beautiful pink dogwoods. It’s…
Unexpected Inspiration from a Student Recital
I go to these recitals because I get to sit next to my husband, who teaches these kids. I like him, and we spend precious little time actually doing things together. Also, it is uplifting to see talented young people bringing their individual voices to a musical ensemble at a very high level. This kid,…
Jazzfest, Jimmy Buffett, and Changes in Latitudes
I got some more insight into Jazzfest this year. In my experience to date, it has not been my favorite. Always ridiculously hot, muddy or some combination of the two. I feel trapped in the Fairgrounds, unable to come and go, at the mercy of expensive food vendors. I leave sunburned and exhausted, feeling ancient…
Continued Search for Spring
2014 was a particularly tenacious winter, not unlike this one. We moved down here from Philadelphia on April 21, slipping from the clingy grasp of the season’s chill. By the time we unloaded our belongings in our new city, temperatures were already in the 90s, and stayed that way. So that year, I formed my…
Scratching the Surface
On Monday, I stopped by the St. Joseph Altar at St. Dominic’s. My friend, along with several other ladies of the church, has been baking cookies for over a month now. This alone was reason to go. I arrived at the same time as a knot of women from Baton Rouge, in town to visit…
Louisiana Latitudes 