Growing a Pumpkin Patch is Hard Work.

Another Katrina Update

Just a quickie -

Everyone in my immediate family is safe.  My sisters in Starkville and Pensacola are dry and they have power.  Mimi in Mississippi is without power but has supplies and several options if she chooses to go somewhere where there is power.  Mimi from Metairie is safe and in Houston (see last night's post).  My mother is in the Netherlands, and my father happened to be in Houston this month for work.  He has purchased a generator and will try to get to Orleans Parish, where the house is, to assess damage as soon as it is safe to do so.  Right now, obviously, it is not safe, and Orleans Parish is officially "closed."

Jefferson Parish, where Mimi lives, is reportedly admitting residents on Monday only, and then no one will allowed to return for at least one month.

We have heard reports that there wasn't much flooding where our house is Uptown.  I have seen photos of flooding a few blocks from the house, but what little information there is on Uptown and Tulane indicates that while there is significant wind damage, there was minimal flooding.  Many of y'all have seen the very large, very old oak tree that straddled our yard and the neighbor's yard - we can only hope that if it fell, it fell towards the street.

We have also heard that Mimi's house did not suffer major damage.  We pray that is true.

We know that many of our other friends and relatives are homeless.  Safe, but homeless.

I'll continue to post updates here.

W.W.I.J.R.D.?

What Would Ignatius J. Reilly Do?

Actually, Ignatius J. Reilly probably wouldn't have left, since his only trip out of the city resulted in a minor valve crisis and the theft of his jacket, so in all likelihood, he would have ended up on the roof with his poor momma and drunk Santa Battaglia, waving his cutlass in utter despair until Myrna Minkoff came to his rescue.

More importantly, here's what you can do:

Donate.

I also have a Mimi update for our friends and family.

Mimi evacuated her home in Jefferson Parish and rode out the storm in Hammond, Louisiana, with family.  Our wonderful cousin tried to get her to Atlanta today, but they were turned back in McComb, Mississippi, by a state trooper who informed them there was no gas on the road ahead.  They headed west and arrived in Houston, Texas, a few hours ago.  I spoke to Mimi and she sounds good, but is exhausted and hadn't yet seen any images from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in Jefferson Parish and in New Orleans.  She is staying with B0bby and Juli@ in Houston.

We don't know when she will be able to return home, but we have reason to believe that her home is less damaged than others in the area.  In the meantime, Mimi has two outfits and some toiletries.  If you are interested in helping her out, please leave a comment below.

Now, a Broadway update.  We know only that there is a lot of wind damage and that there is flooding near Tulane University, but that there isn't much water past Freret Street (near The Boot, if your geography is rusty).  For now, Orleans Parish is "closed" and they haven't indicated when homeowners will be able to return.

Julie is safe and sound in Pens@cola, and the girls in St@rkville have power.  Susan brought Mimi Lippinc0tt a cooler of staples earlier today since she is still without power, and Aunt N@ncy is in constant contact with her.

I'll post more information as it comes in, and if you have any updates, please leave them in the comments section.

Road Trip

Last Tuesday, Adam and I drove to New Orleans for a family wedding.  Many, MANY people told me I was crazy to attempt the drive by myself (Chris flew down to join us on Saturday morning), but Adam really is a great baby in the car.  The drive, which normally takes about seven hours, took ten with the stops to feed and change Adam, but he only fussed for about thirty minutes, total. 

I plan to post a photo album of our trip, but in the meantime, here's a shot of Adam holding court at Mandina's.  Clearly, he was much less impressed by my shrimp po' boy than he was of the bottle his BB was holding.  That, or he's all highbrow and he wanted her plate of trout almandine.

Adam was a dream on the (long, rainy) drive back.  The return trip took nine hours - my experience on the way down told me that it was much faster to nurse Adam in the car and get my food through a drive-through than it was to try and nurse Adam and eat my food at the same time.

When we returned home, little did we know that a tragedy was waiting for us.  At some point during the past week, one of the many power surges we've had zapped the outlet we used to plug in our deep-freeze, and when I opened it up yesterday morning, I was horrified to see that everything was completely thawed.  quarts of chili, chicken breasts, a Costco-sized pack of Boca Burgers, the mini quiches that I eat for breakfast... and at least two gallons of stored breastmilk.  As I start back at work next week, I'm sure you can only imagine how I'm spending my spare time these days.

Introducing Trey

It isn't uncommon for members of my family, both immediate and extended, to marvel at the fact that there really aren't any ugly people among our relatives. Here is one example: Trey (RGL III), at 9 weeks old, is already proving that while the grown-ups in our family are pretty decent to look at, the babies we produce are downright adorable.

For those of you not in the know, Trey belongs to my brother Robert and his wife Karla. I am thrilled that we were able to meet him in Atlanta this past weekend as they're moving to California at the end of this month and there is no way that we'll be able to get out to California anytime in the immediate future.

Witness: even when he's making a fussy face, he's still just precious enough to gobble up.

.

Back from Texas

Chris and I (and the Pumpkin Patch) headed to Texas this past weekend for my 10th high school reunion. We stayed at Uncle Bobby and Julia's gorgeous apartment, which was the perfect location for getting to Spring and to the reunion downtown. We also ate. I went to Texas with a list of things that I needed to eat, including chicken fried steak, brisket, and a Whataburger with cheese and no onions.

For the chicken fried steak, we headed to Goodson's in Tomball. I ordered the small, but as the large only cost one dollar more, Chris figured he'd go for broke. The large was indeed large, as you can see from the photo.

For brisket, we were originally planning to go to Goode Company, but after reading a review of the Houston Barbecue Company in the Houston Press, we decided to eat there, as it is less than a mile from where Uncle Bobby and Julia live. Let me say now that Chris and I both highly recommend the Houston Barbecue Company - the brisket was fantastic and so were the sides. Don't let the strip mall location fool you.

Finally, Whataburger. Oh, Whataburger, with your toasted buns and your perfectly charred beef, your omission of nasty mayonaisse, and your extra mustard, you make a great burger. I think that Chris was slightly underwhelmed by Whataburger, but that's probably because he'd been hearing about Whataburger nonstop for the past two weeks. I ate my Whaturger (I ordered a Junior because I was starting to feel like a pig and we'd eaten brisket just three hours prior to our trek through the drive-thru) and I loved every cheesy, charred, mustardy bite.

I'm going to put up a photo album that includes both our before-and-after chicken fried steak photos, reunion photos, and the photos I took while stalking (and I mean stalking) our old house in Spring - in the meantime, if you can, go eat a Whataburger for me.

Labor Day Weekend at Scobey

Chris and I spent the long weekend in Mississippi - the photo album from the weekend is over there on the left.

On Friday night, we drove from Atlanta to Starkville and stayed at the beautiful townhouse that Susan and Kathleen share (along with Jane, when she's not globetrotting). Saturday morning, we drove from Starkville to Scobey and arrived right in time for lunch. Mimi fed us a feast - okra, cornbread, sliced tomatoes from her garden, corn from a neighbor's garden, baked apples from a neighbor's orchard, meatloaf, and green beans. Chris and I took a long walk around the property with the dogs on Saturday afternoon, and Chris was able to get the tour of Uncle John's home. We were also able to visit with Uncle Rodney before he left for work on Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday, we attended church with Mimi and talked to Dad's good friend Bobby Biddy, and then headed back to Scobey. Kathleen and Susan came over from Starkville for dinner and spent the night.

Chris and I headed back to Atlanta yesterday afternoon, and arrived home about an hour before Frances blew into town. It was great to get to Scobey since I won't be able to travel to Mississippi for Thanksgiving. I hope everyone likes the photos!