Category: Uncategorized

NOLA

In the Big Easy for a conference this week and met up with my old buddy Paul for dinner and music last night. We walked along Bourbon St. just to say we’d done it and then headed into the Marigny, which is way better. Even Wikipedia recognizes it as a place haunted by locals and “knowledgeable” out of town visitors.

Started at Buffa’s. One big dinner and a few beers later, the band set up and they were amazing. This blurry bass player gives an idea of the vibe… And will remind me of my increasing unsteadiness as the night went on.

We met up with some of his National Guard buddies and hit the Apple Barrel, the Spotted Cat, and finally Vaso’s. In each place the music was great but by the time we got to Vaso’s it was really great… 9 or 10 guys jamming hard, with a funky jazzy groove. They were really really tight and they were really really loud… It wasn’t really music you could dance to (except for a couple of drunk girls who gave it the old college try) but it was impossible to stay still, and so everybody just kind of grooved in place.

Just another Saturday night around these parts. Wow.

Paul has Army stuff today, including a ruck march, and I can only offer one word of advice: hydrate!

Sherry and Prov hosted us for a super dinner for Lees recent b-day. Along with Eileen and Zohar. Great fun!

This year, the Harris Hill ski jump had nice slick icy snow, but they had to spend a lot of $$$ to move it off of the parking area. Exact opposite of last year.

Snow Day Smile

Not Finding Nemo

The great blizzard of ‘13, feared by reporters, named for a rogue seafarer, kinda missed us. In the end, it was just another snowstorm.

The concrete lions that guard our patio had to put on an extra layer of stoicism at first, but once the snow started to fall, they decided their new helmets were actually pretty cool… Part Braveheart, part Lord of the Rings.

Almost not in Kansas anymore

Snow on the ground, 40- knot winds, and a sign on the jetway that says “please report all wildlife strikes to airport operations.” On Monday it was 75 degrees: I preferred that.

Deep, dark and slimy

Yesterday I ran/slogged my way through Kansas City’s annual Groundhog Underground Run, which takes place in a hollowed out limestone quarry about 100 ft underground. It’s actually quite surprisingly dry and well lit. Even though I am a lot slower than I was 15 years ago when I last did this race, it appears that the rest of my age group has thickened and mellowed right along with me, so I still got to be not-last. If there had been lions (or creepy cave monster snakes) they would have feasted, but maybe not on me.

Phroezin’

I’m in Phoenix this week, and it’s unusually cold. Nervous homeowners are pulling out all the stops to protect their delicate desert plantings: sheets and blankets and tarps and even camouflage Santa hats.

The Connecticut River is just about completely frozen over. Not thick enough to walk on yet.

Fire…

Our new Harman Accentra pellet stove. More or less heats the whole house, so far we love it. We bought the stove at Bernardston Farmers Supply, and they were great… knowledgeable, down to earth, fair price…

Also note the recently completed river of tile…

Googly eyes at Whetstone – some Sherrys are laudably spontaneous.

This wonderfully evocative puppet stands in the lobby of Sandglass Theater in Putney where we went last night to see Richard 3.5, which was a wonderful, if hard to describe, interpretation of Shakespeare’s Richard III. But I’ll try anyway. It was part history lesson, part puppet show, part dramatic reading, and two parts corny Vaudeville song and dance. Now is the winter of this uncomfortable folding chair made glorious summer by these two grizzled troubadours…

Finally we understand the purpose of giant pickups with giant tires… They’re bird sanctuaries!