While most of you will be snoozing in your beds tomorrow morning, I will be boarding a 6am (!!!) flight to Boston. I love my husband, so I'm taking a cab to the airport. I'll be attending a graphic design conference and then G will join me on Wednesday. Thursday we celebrate 5 years of marriage. We wanted to go back to Scotland where we were married, but due to financial concerns, we are staying on this side of the pond. *sigh*

I was looking forward to escaping the heat, but what heat? It's gorgeous outside today! I don't want to stay indoors, doing laundry and packing... I do need to tend to my garden and plants though so some outdoor time is required. Maybe hit the Symphony book sale being held at my former place of employment, Delgado Community College. I was teaching full time until I started my design studio. I still taught a class a semester but they haven't needed me since Katrina. I miss teaching. I don't miss grades, grading and paperwork. I couldn't hang with the bureaucracy when I was full-time. Being an adjunct is nice - you show up, teach, leave. Working with the students is the best part (most of the time).

Gonzo woke me up at 6 this morning, crazy cat. We think the cool weather has turn her crazy dial up to 11. She's bouncing off the walls more than usual. Only good thing is it's only 9:18 and I've caught up on the blogs and even done a post. I'll be back next week y'all. I wonder what the Bahston equivalent to y'all is?

I have a new nickname: “Hammer.” My book club group, “Babes, Books & Booze”, bestowed it on me last night. One of the babes had emailed everyone Sunday asking if we could move the meeting back a week because she hadn’t finished reading the books. We usually meet every 5-6 weeks, but because of JazzFest we had a 2 month gap and picked two books to read.* Two other people wrote that it was OK with them, but it wasn’t with me because I had read the books and will be out of town next week so I put that out there and waited for others to reply. I called the hostess and she was in agreement with me, and she also could not meet later this month. I sent out an email stating this and that we were going to meet on the date we originally picked. When we met, the other “babes” cheered me and said I had dropped the hammer, hence the nickname.

It seems to fit since now as president of my neighborhood association, I have to maintain control. We have our first meeting where I will preside early next month. They can get pretty heated when certain topics are discussed. Monday, I called a small meeting about a problem property in our neighborhood. It’s a dump, not section 8 and the neighbors have witnessed drug dealing and other criminal activity. It’s been a problem for years. We’ve started a new campaign with the owner, a retired lawyer in a well-known law firm. We wrote a letter with a list of complains and followed up with a phone call. He was cordial, which he hasn’t always been in the past, but didn’t make any promises other than ask the tenants to be “tidier” and if there confirmed criminal activity, to let him know and he would evict. I invited the Quality of Life officer from the Second District Police to our meeting. I thought he’d only be able to address the crime, but he said can also help us with the trash and other issues, and if the owner refuses to cooperate, can have the property placed on a list of problem properties. Stacey Head has tried dealing with the owner on our behalf but didn’t get far. We are hoping a phone call from the police will strike some fear into the owner.

Being “the hammer” isn’t really in my nature and there are many time I kick myself, wishing I had spoken up or been more assertive, especially so after Katrina. That whole affair really took the wind out of me. I find myself being more fearful than I used to. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. The federal flood, lack of response from the government, the harsh words from the media and pundits, stupid and corrupt city and state politicians, increasing crime and the sluggish recovery can mess with anyone’s head. I was talking to someone about this yesterday and they asked if I worried about the upcoming hurricane season. I thought about it and realized that no, I wasn’t. I know what to do, more so now than ever. It is the things I have no clue about – ie. The recovery, will the city come back, better than before? Will the out of control crime get worse? Better? Will I be a victim? How long will it take? – that stress me out.

I like “hammer.” I think I could get used to it and embrace the title. My shield. I am really looking forward to “checking out” for a week and a half when we go to Boston next week. A break from the humidity, rebuilding, work, life… Dr. A sent me a link to a great article in the Washington Post about things to do in Boston – thanks! link

*The books were “Wine & War” and “Suite Francais” both set in WWII France and both fantastic.

Weekly Photo Challenge: "Restaurant"



From the archives... We spied this restaurant in London, "Old Orleans" So authentic! With the alligator on the sign and the jazz musician over the doorway. We did not eat here.

Freret Market is tomorrow y'all. They moved it back a week because of JazzFest.

Noon to 5:00
Freret at Napoleon
75 Vendors
Pet Adoptions
Free Live Music:
Washboard Chaz @ noon
The Tanglers @ 1:45
Billy Iuso & Restless Natives @ 3:30

Musical Chairs with Big Easy RollerGirls at 1:30 & 3:15

Ah crap. Most of today wasn’t all that bad. But it was too quiet at work and I didn’t have enough to do and clients weren’t getting back to me with the answers I needed. I was antsy so took a nice walk around Audubon park after work. When I got home I needed to disarm the alarm but my mind went blank. I couldn’t remember the freakin’ code! I hoped instinct would kick in and I punched in some numbers. Wrong. Nope. Not it. Sorry, try again. WHOOOP WHOOOP WHOOOP The cats freak out and run around trying to escape the ear splitting noise. I’m starting panic. What is the damn code? Where do I have it written down. Let’s see it was in my Palm but I lost that a few month ago. ARGH. Numbers popped into my head, but was that really the code? I punch it in YES! Thankyouthnakyouthankyou. The monitoring company calls “Is everything OK” we go through the routine. I’m actually shaking. After I take a shower I listen to the message on the answering machine. It’s Canon calling to let me know they cannot repair my camera due to the liquid damage. They were sending my camera back unrepaired (what’s the point in that?) with photos of the damage. Just rub it in whydoncha? BAH! That’s it. When G gets home he’s taking me out to dinner. Now which pizza place is it that has the $10 bottle of wine on Wednesdays?

UPDATE: My luck is turning! G just got home and handed me something my friend asked him to give me. It's a HUGE "Pirates of the Carribbean movie poster! Johnny Depps's face is like twice life-size! mmmmmmm

I've been sucked into the world of FaceBook (would that be called sucking face?). I got a MySpace page so I could read a friend's blog after Katrina (good excuse) and found a few other friends on there. But it's so clunky and lame. Other friends would tell me "Come over to Facebook. It's nicer over here." I resisted. I already have too much computer related stuff with my various blogs, trying to read everyone else's blogs, email, IM, etc. Friday was a slow day at work - I told all my clients I was going to JazzFest and then ended up not - so I spent several hours playing on Facebook. It is much nicer than MySpace. And I found a few friends I had lost touch with. I didn't really bother filling out all the "What are your interests/favorite movies/music" kind of stuff. A) there is too much good stuff to list, b) I'm lazy, c) I'm only allowing friends who know me see my page and they already know what I'm all about. One thing I could never answer was "Who are your heroes?" We all have heroes don't we? Someone we look up to. I guess I do but I never really thought about it. Well. I am happy to announce one of my heroes... Salty Miss Jill! I stumbled onto her blog and was impressed with her wit, cleverness and major snarkiness. I'd love to hear a conversation betwix her, Adrastros and Jeffery, with all their different styles of snark and kvetching.

Every JazzFest experience is completely different based on weather, crowds, bands and who you are with. Yesterday, G and I took with us G’s brother, his g-friend (her first!) and the Mad Irishman. It was a gorgeous, sunny day with clear skies, low humidity, a nice breeze and one hundred billion other people. I’m glad we went early to enjoy the fairgrounds before it became a sea of people. I can’t remember seeing it that crowded in years. The right side of my body is more sunburned that the left since we spent so much time at the Acura stage. And for the first time ever, we didn’t spend any time in the jazz or blue tent. G and I usually cram in as many bands as possible. We’ll stick around if some one really tickles our fancy and if there isn’t someone else we MUST see at the same time (which happens a lot). We were really miffed they scheduled Dumpstafunk at the same time as Galactic – a funk sandwich! – but we made time for both. We were walking, standing or dancing 95% of the time. (we didn’t bring any chairs - doh!) Today I feel like I do after a long hike. I wish I had worn a pedometer so I could tell how many miles we walked. And we only were able to eat once, good choices though: hot sausage po-boy, cochon de lait, softshell crawfish po-boy and Cajun duck po-boy. I hope I don’t sound like I’m whining; I had a fantastic time but dang I’m exhausted! Having fun really takes it out of you as you age. I don’t know how people who go every day do it. I guess they pace themselves better. I think I’ll slip out of work early. I need to rest up for Wednesday at the Square. “Too stupid to stop!”

One of the challenges of JazzFest is what to wear. For those of you who like to wear "interesting t-shirts" I have a site for you: NoiseBot

Weekly Photo Challenge: Roister

Canon has said they can fix my beer-soaked camera for a fee so I'm waiting to get it back. I had to go into the archives for my entry. Here's some from the Irish Channel St. Pat's Parade.





More here.