2/28/2008 - Sarasota, Florida

Here we are in Sarasota, FL visiting FireCat's sister and her husband. Our first night here they invited the son and grandchildren over to join us for a "Florida boil." This, I learned, is very much like the crawfish boil my new inlaws hosted when my New Orleans-based daughter got married...they just use shrimp instead of crawfish and add corn, potatoes and other veggies. It was wonderful!

FireCat and I like being able to sleep in now that we're in the eastern time zone, but it doesn't leave much time at the end of the day when the market closes at 4:00 instead of 1:00pm. We have been managing to get out and see a few sights though.

We went to the Ringling Brothers art museum the other day. It was pretty amazing. I especially liked the house, where the back porch is a marble patio that leads to steps into Sarasota Bay. I guess they could take their pick of stepping into a boat or diving directly into the water. I've always wanted a place right on the beach but never envisioned anything quite that close!

Last night we went to a wonderful piano bar/restaurant overlooking the water. The sunset we hoped for was a bit cloudy but the appetizers were to die for! We had flatbread/lavosh "things" served on cutting boards that we could pass around and share--such as baked brie and raspberry sauce with pine nuts, portabello mushrooms, and tenderloin steak with accoutrements...I had to try several because there were so many I'd never seen anywhere else before...but of course we couldn't pass up the raw ahi either. FireCat is always so generous in hosting us, and it's been a real pleasure getting to know his sister better.

I've enjoyed taking walks before market or after, and this morning I discovered Panera Bread (and almost missed market open!) Wow! I'd read about their stock but never been in one before. There are definitely some advantages to living in a city. Tomorrow night we're going to try a stroll about town, which looks lovely the times we have driven through. There's a huge used bookstore that I can't wait to explore. It's nice to be somewhat settled for a week; we'll be here until Monday or Tuesday, then off to Naples, the Everglades, and on to visit FireCat's friend in Key West. Let us know how you're doing--we love hearing from the folks back home too!

2/22/2008 - Mmmm

Mmmm, fried green tomatoes (wonderful movie but I never ate them before), seafood gumbo, fresh lime daquiris, a pound of peel-your-own shrimp right out of the bay, key lime pie and bread pudding, all mixed up with a great live country band...this must be the gulf coast of Alabama. We just had to stop, found Lulu's, and fell in love. We might have to come here again some day just so we can eat here again.

It's interesting driving along the gulf coast. The beaches are nice but narrow and quite wet right now since it's been raining hard for a few days. In some ways it looks like any other coastal town. But as you drive you begin to notice that there are a lot of run down or abandoned businesses and homes. Then you notice all the homes being built or remodeled on stilts. And then you remember that these are the towns hit broadside by hurricane Katrina--the ones you didn't see on the nightly news because of the focus on New Orleans.

It gives me some clue as to just how great the devastation was when there is still so much to do after two and a half years. I wonder about the difficulty in making a choice between rebuilding your home to withstand water (hense the stilts) vs wind (I can't imagine a house on stilts would hold up too well in high winds). The Starbucks in Biloxi where we worked this morning is still suggesting that people donate a cup of coffee for relief workers. Perhaps the news crews have gone home and hence much of the country has forgotten, but people here still live every day in the presence of Katrina.

We are in Florida tonight and our drive tomorrow will take us through the panhandle, a first for me. My daughter called from California today and I spoke with my dad in Eureka this afternoon--a little touch-base with family and home. I'm looking forward to a good long shower and a movie with FireCat tonight. Life is good.

2/21/2008 - Moving on

I know I've been remiss in my posting--having too good a time with the three grandchildren I guess. My visit was a wonderful combination of helping my daughter with the housework, playing and creating relationships with my two granddaughters (three years old and almost two), deep discussions with my daughter and son-in-law in the evenings, and of course continuing to trade until mid-afternoon. The only things I missed out on were sleep and exercise! LOL

It is difficult to leave them all and makes it even harder to live so far away that I only get to see them about once a year. I hope I can make it more frequent in the future. I feel really lucky to have a son-in-law with whom I feel so comfortable and who seems to not mind me being around. Not too many people can stand a visitor for two weeks!

Firecat and I had a couple nice days in the French Quarter and today we drove to a Nature Conservancy Swamp near Slidell. It's been raining and it's humid so it was the perfect setting...but the boardwalk was way to short to suit me--I needed a longer walk!

Then we drove to Biloxi and I got to play craps at the Beau Rivage. I didn't win this time though. Tonight we parked in a lovely park and had a picnic dinner in the van with classical guitar wafting from Firecat's music setup. The trees are making that wonderful dripping sound overhead as I write. We agreed we are having quite an enjoyable adventure and making some wonderful memories. I need to wrap this up quickly however since my battery is low. We head for Alabama tomorrow after market, then Firecat's sister's in Florida by Sunday. I'll add some photos when we get them downloaded.

2/19/2008 - Snoop

Firecat called me from Dallas last week to say he was about to buy tickets to see Snoop Dogg at the New Orleans House of Blues. Sure, I said, that will be an experience I've never had! So he picked me up at the daughter's house Monday night, I said goodbye to the grandkids, and we headed for the French Quarter for a couple nights.

We checked into the hotel for a nap (nice to see you again after two weeks, Firecat!), scoped out a trading spot for Tuesday and had dinner, then enjoyed the best bread pudding in New Orleans at Oliviers across from House of Blues, and watched until the line started moving.

The doors opened at 8:30 but it was nearly 9:00 before we got into the venue--standing room only. We found a great perch on the second floor balcony overlooking the stage, and waited for the show to begin at 9:30.

So, what are two mid-fifties white folks doing at a Snoop Doggie Dogg concert, you might ask? Well, we wondered that ourselves. We agreed that we were going for the experience, the feel of the crowd, and a chance to see the venue in that particular spot. So we listened to some very bland impromtu rap from what appeared to be Snoop Dogg's stage hands, and we waited for the show.

We looked over the crowd, we immersed ourselves in the experience, we soaked up the atmosphere of the New Orleans House of Blues...but we couldn't take any photos because they don't allow any cameras. So we waited for the show to begin.

We watched at 10:45 and got excited as they whipped up the crowd time after time, telling us to cheer louder so that Snoop Dogg would think we were ready for him to come out. We stiffled yawns as the rapper said he'd be the first to know the Dogg was coming because he'd get a phone call. Finally at 11:30 we looked at one another and realized we had experienced the crowd, the venue and the "feel." We could even write in our blog about going to a Snoop Dogg concert. The only thing we hadn't done is heard the Dogg rap...and neither of us really came for that anyway.

So we left, FireCat scalped our tickets on the way out and made a little profit for the evening, and we got to sleep in time to trade the next morning. I still don't know if he ever showed up. I guess we really are a couple of fifty-something white folks.

2/12/08 - Back to the Future

I had a scare with a nasty flu bug yesterday--muscle aches, splitting headache, scratchy eyes. I feared it might be the horrible flu my other daughter and her family caught when they were here over the holidays. So I pulled out all the tricks in my "doctor" bag to see if I could stop it in its tracks--echinacea, LOTS of roasted garlic spread on sourdough bread, zinc lozenges, grape juice and a cayenne pepper pill, followed by about 12 hours of sleep. Now I'm fine. Don't ask me which ones worked but I'm thankful something did!

This made me realize a similarity with my daughter. It's been an interesting week talking with her and her husband about their plans for their future. They are a fairly conservative Christian family who plan to home school and are looking for land in the country. They are moving in a couple of months into a mobile home on a friend's land so they can save up the money to buy several acres of their own. We have been mobile home shopping while I am here.

Their plan is to live as independently as possible. My daughter has been teaching herself to sew (I never could), use home remedies (like using her breast milk as a treatment for her older children's eye conjunctivitis), and other such things. She just bought a book on how to live without electricity. I told her that in my generation the people who tried to live like she wants to live were liberal hippies, and my dad used to say, "...but you don't hear them willing to give up electricity."

So she says "I guess that's what makes us different from the liberals." Firecat says about stock prices: "The future is the past with offsets." So I guess that could be said about the generations too, eh? ;)

Speaking of Firecat, he has been keeping himself busy after the trading day with his other love, music. Don't miss the photo at right of his mini-studio set up during his week at Charles' house.

2/6/08 - New Orleans; being Granny

Well, I learned something new about Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Every other night of the year Bourbon Street parties on all night, but on Mardi Gras night the horse police ride shoulder to shoulder (rump to rump??) through Bourbon Street forcing everyone to quit partying at midnight. I figure it must have something to do with Lent starting the next day but having never been Catholic it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I am here (in Metairie, a suburb of N'awlins) visiting my oldest daughter, her husband and three children (the youngest, their first boy, having just arrived on the scene Dec. 28). Now I know for sure why God created menopause. Whew, am I ever worn out!

My son-in-law works in technology so their house is wired well and it's a great place to trade, which keeps me busy until 3:00, then there's laundry, shopping, dinner prep, dishes, and of course story-reading, diaper-changing, etc. mixed in throughout the day. At least I don't have to help breast-feed the baby. ;)

I only had two and I was young then, but that was plenty for me. This is my oldest daughter who I always thought would be the career woman because she was so studious and intellectual in high school and college, but instead she wants eight (!) children and plans to home school them all. I don't know how she handles it all so well--she stays so calm and I feel like a train wreck by the time the kids are in bed. Of course they're all adorable but I won't start with that; I am the proud Granny after all. The hardest part actually is forming relationships with them and then having to leave and not see them again for so long.

No news to report other than that. Firecat is still enjoying himself with Charles near Austin while I'm here slaving away with the toddlers. (Now you know why he didn't come with me, ha ha!)

2/3/08 - Austin, TX

We checked in Friday night at a quaint timeshare west of Austin at Lake Travis—very cute and reminiscient of my childhood in the 1950s. Firecat and I keep having these nice memories come up, triggered by the feel of the location, that we have been sharing about what life was like for us as kids. We had a nice walk around part of the lake Saturday afternoon, then went into Austin for the music scene on Sixth Street last night. It turned out to be mardi gras night in Austin and they blocked off Sixth Street.

We did sort of a progressive dinner, sampling different foods and drinks at some of the different estabishments. We had a wonderful corned beef and cabbage at B. D. Riley’s Irish Pub and after exploring the street, including giant Mexican margaritas at Iron Cactus, we returned there just in time to catch the concert by Al Haynes. Wow! Even Firecat was impressed with his chops. The only bad part for me when the music is so good is that Firecat wants to listen to it and watch the guitarist instead of dancing with me, but they sure played some great dancing blues. I’d love to see the SLO Blues Society get them some time. It was a very fun night, and we finally turned homeward about 1:15am.

You can check out Al Haynes and the bass player Appa Peters at:

http://alan-haynes.com/

http://www.geocities.com/appasbluespower/

I’m flying as I write to New Orleans—my first trip on ExpressJet and I’m impressed with them—efficient, on time, friendly (of course, it’s Texas), comfy and roomy seats, direct flights and inexpensive. Firecat will have a couple weeks break from me now. ;) He will be continuing the trading training with our friend and trading partner Charles for the rest of this week at the timeshare near Austin, returning to Charles' home near Dallas, then meandering south to explore San Antonio and Houston on his way to meet me in New Orleans. He has the camera so I’m not sure I’ll have pics to post for awhile.

I’m not sure if my daughter’s family has plans for the Super Bowl—I don’t think they have television so I’m not sure I’ll get to see it—but I hope y’all have a great time watching it…and let me know what your favorite commercials are. ;O