Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 6

So the adjusters show up. It is a nice sunny day. It is a husband and wife team from Pennsylvania. She examines the inside of the house. He the roof. They seem cordial and all. The apologize for our loss and leave. I feel uneasy. Not sure why.

So now, all we could do was wait . . .

We returned back to Dallas. We still were unsure what our next step was. Do we get an apartment or not? Where is his company going to send us? One day we are going back to New Orleans the next day we are not. In the meantime, things are getting tense at the in-laws.

At one point my mother-in-law had a little bit of a heated discussion that sent me over the edge. She left the house and in the 30 minutes she was gone I packed up every single item we owned that was at their house and moved us out. Remember my husband rented a UHaul to go back to check on the house, well, he brought a lot of stuff back with him.

I had enough room in my Yukon for my daughter to sit in her carseat and me to sit in the driver's seat and I couldn't see out the rearview mirror!

I drove south into Dallas because I knew my husband was working in Dallas. I called him on my cell and asked for directions. I think he was in shock that I made such a drastic move so suddenly but he handled it well and was supportive of my decision despite how rude I was being to his parents. He told me how to get to him and made reservations for us to stay at the hotel directly next door to his temporary office.

We moved in and I settled down. I spent time shopping with my daughter, watching movies, going to Chuck E Cheese and hanging out with my old college roommate Liz. She let me use her washer and dryer and we had dinner over there a few times.

Then, we were told we were to go back to New Orleans. Despite the condition of our home. Hubby's job was returning to the city the following week.

I was on the phone A LOT making preparations for our return home, etc. My best friend Jen offered up her camper still parked in Ohio (she had moved to Florida the year before). That way we didn't have to wait on FEMA to get us one. I called my parents and asked them if they would tow it down for me. Jen went to work trying to get a current license & registration on it as it had expired since the trailer was in storage. It was a lot of back and forth and coordination between her and I and my parents and her parents. Jen was awesome and patient despite the quick turnaround time needed.

One random day in that week at the hotel, I got a phone call. I was in a mom's club back home that happened to be an international club. The woman calling me was from the headquarters. She got word from our chapter president of the damage to our house. She said they have a fund to help out their members in times of need such as this. She informed me that they were mailing me a $5000 check and needed to know where to send it! I was in my car and luckily I was parked because I just started crying. I had two feelings: guilt and humbleness. I felt guilty for being in need and humble for their generosity. I couldn't thank her enough. What do you say to someone who you don't know that is going to make getting those trees off your roof a reality?

We eventually made it home and met my parents with the trailer to live in. Before we could move back in, we had to clean up the house from the flea treatments and get the rooms with mold secured with plastic so it didn't spread. We also had to gut the walls and treat the studs to remove mold.

 

My parents stayed with us for a while helping us get things handled. Kate at 2.5 locked herself in the camper while we were all outside. It is a fun story to tell today but a little worrisome at the time. Roof has a blue tarp all across the front. Found a guy to remove the trees from our yard with his industrial size chain saw and front loader. Dad and his normal chain saw was not able to handle 50-60 year old 70-100 feet tall pine trees. The entire frontage of our almost 1 acre property was piled up 10-12 feet with tree debris. I used to have a picture of it using my mailbox as a reference for height!

 

Several moms from the Mom's Club I was a member of brought us meals during that time. It was so nice to get home cooked meals instead of eating out! My parents brought down tons of gifts from family and friendsfor Kate. It was like Christmas for her. We did have to throw out a lot of her stuff because the toy room was one of the rooms that got damaged badly.

 

A check from the insurance company arrived. $20,000. Really? Did they see my house?

 

 

 

 

 

So my parents eventually went back home. We were able to live in the house. Scott was working. I was trying to lead a normal life with Kate and find a contractor to fix our house. It just seemed to be one thing after another.  We needed to buy a new fridge but it was hard to find appliances after the storm for obvious reasons. They were sold out EVERYWHERE. So we ordered it online from the same place in Chicago we ordered the first one. Because the mail, let alone shipping was a total mess in New Orleans the 2 week shipping turned into months and we didn't get that new fridge until 2 weeks before Christmas! The first fridge got lost and then was later found sitting on a dock somewhere. The second fridge got sent back to Chicago after arriving in New Orleans. It was a mess. To get by I was using the camper fridge for veggies and fruit and a 1950s beer fridge that was plugged in outside the back door of the house in the carport.

 

What I didn't tell Jen about one of my dogs was that she only had 6 months to live. She had lymphoma for the second time. We treated her at age 3 for it and spent $5000. It bought us 5 more years with her. This time we passed on the treatment as $5000+ was not feasible anymore. She called me one day and said that Dakota seemed sick. I counted the months backward. It was about month 5ish. Crap. So I decided to drive there and get the dogs. Well, lo and behold, Hurricana Wilma was headed straight for her in Florida so I had to delay my trip! I didn't make it there in time. My best friend had to put my Dakota to sleep for me. I remember having to make that decision at an iHop. Jen called me two days before I was leaving to go to her house to say Dakota was in bad shape and what did I want her to do. I was having breakfast at iHop and was standing outside the restaurant on my cell phone crying telling her not to wait for me.

 

Two days later I left for Florida. I decided since I was by myself and not in a hurry I would drive through Waveland, Bay St. Louise, Gulport areas. I got off at Waveland, MS and took the route I new to get to a beach house owned by Scott's boss. As I drove south towards the water through the neighborhood there were boats in the roads, houses off their foundation in the road. There were dirt paths around everything. This was early November. The only people I really saw were the utility companies in their trucks working Then, out of nowhere it was like the whole environment got eery. It was devastating. There was nothing. All of sudden like that. Nothing. There was a definitive line where the surge clearly took everything away. It was ground just covered in mud. As I drove through the streets, you would see an occasional lawn chair or something that didn't wash out to sea. Someone found a picture of a couple with their child and set it up against a tree.

 

I came to the ocean. I could go right or left. I knew the house I was looking for was two houses to my right. I could see from the corner the lot. There were no houses either direction. I turned left and headed toward Bay St. Louis. I saw a U-Haul truck on the beach covered in sand almost to the roof. The only way I knew it was a U-Haul was because of the coloring and partial lettering sticking out.

 

I saw a woman outside by two tents. There weren't many people so I stopped to talk to her. I asked her a lot of questions and asked her if I could bring her anything on my way back from Florida. She said Second Harvest was setup in town and feeding everyone. Walmart was open again. She had everything she needed. I asked about a FEMA trailer. Now, this is where everyone needs to listen up and forget what Oprah and the news told you about no one getting FEMA trailers . . . What I didn't realize and learned that day from her is that you could not get a FEMA trailer until you had approved electrical and sewage hookups for safety and obvious reasons for the sewage. She had an electrical pole erected and was waiting on the utility company to make it's way down to her with electricity so she could hook up to it. There were utility trucks everywhere and from all states. She was just waiting her turn. She was generally pretty happy and content. She had quite a spread. Two big tents, Water jugs everywhere. A tent for sleeping. A tent for food/living, etc. Now, that is a survivor. (Side note: FEMA called me two weeks after getting home and offered me a trailer. I denied it as I had one and didn't need it.)

 

What everyone needs to understand is that the infrastructure of the gulf coast was destroyed. I don't know the specifics, but their sewage and water lines could have been destroyed as well. That takes time to fix people. When Oprah rolled in 6 months later reporting on the lack of progress I almost punched the TV. I was seeing it first hand how bad it was. There is no bouncing back FROM NOTHING overnight. They weren't even cleaning up a lot of stuff or worrying about the houses in the middle of the roads. They just worked around all that. I saw them working on getting the necessities back in order - like electricity.  I returned in February and saw a lot more progress and cleanup. My parents were with me and they just couldn't believe it. The one thing my dad and mom commented on was the amount of FEMA trailer parks. Yes, that was the easiset way to get them setup with proper electrical and sewage instead of on individual lots. I also took them through Lakeview  (New Orleans neighborhood that rarely is covered because it's not the ninth ward) where there were FEMA trailers on almost every lot as their utility infrastructure was intact but their houses were completed flooded.

 

I spent a week at Jen's to relax a bit and I needed that. I also found out I was pregnant with Jack while there. It was a funny story. I was complaing how about a week or so ago I felt like I had the flu and how it only lasted one day. She reminded me that happened when I got pregnant with Kate. She asked me how long it was since I had a period. Lord, I had no idea. I was so distraught I wasn't keeping track. She stopped off at a Walgreens to get me a pregnancy test. It only took 1 second and that thing was screaming PREGNANT! lol! She got to enjoy me calling Scott and my parents to tell them. What a crazy ride.

 

I took my 1 dog home and continued to look for contractors and wrangle with the insurance company for more money - which was a documenting nightmare and full time job. We had to have a second adjuster come out. The insurance did not want to replace our entire roof, just the front! Are you serious? Contractors were telling us the whole roof needed to be replaced because every single tile was unglued from the winds and many were broken. So the morning of the adjustor coming, Scott gets a ladder out to have a look at the roof himself. I am inside with my back to the patio doors folding laundry when I hear a loud crash and him screaming. I turn around and there he is laying on the driveway under the ladder. The neighbor behind us was drinking coffee in his breakfast nook and came running. He heard him and could see him laying there. (First time we met the neighbor because there were no privacy fences anymore.) The ambulance came and he ended up with a very sprained ankle and broken arm. The good news is the second adjuster agreed we needed an entire new roof. Thank god.

One day at the end of November I walked out of my front door and smelled gas really bad. A few months earlier a runner told us he smelled gas everytime he ran by in the morning. We had the fire department come out and check. Nothing. Well, I finally smelled it. We believe because it was now winter and the winds had changed pushing the gas toward my house and it was getting caught up in the alcove by the front door. I called the gas company. They found it right by the connection to my house. The guy unhooked my gas meter out front, put it in his truck and said "Call a plumber." I had no gas to my house that fast! As my luck would have it the first two weeks of December were frigid cold for Louisana. I was wearing my old wool sweaters and ski parkas from my up north days IN THE HOUSE! We had to go by 4 space heaters and all sleep in one room at night.

I called the plumber. He told me the gas line to my house was most likely cracked when the trees fell during Katrina. He said it is only 6 inches underground. He proceeded to tell me it would be about $2400 and whatever it cost to break up my driveway as it ran under my drive. I said, "You are going to have to break up my driveway?" He said, "Yes ma'am." With that I did an about face and walked into my house and slammed the door in his face. I didn't care about the money. I didn't want one more thing broken. After I regained my composure. I called the plumbing company and told the lady who answered to apologize to him for me. She said, "Honey, please don't worry. We will help you." The owner called me back and said he found someone who could tunnel under my driveway but it would cost more money. I told him I didn't care and to get it done ASAP. Unfortunately, I had to go two weeks without gas, heat or hot showers.

 

Christmas arrived about two weeks after my new fridge and my gas was fixed. It was the first time we didn't spend it with my family. It was quiet but nice. Kate got so many gifts it took us all day to open them. Scott cooked and we sat around finally in peace because we had secured more money from the insurance company and a contractor who was going to start the 3rd week in January.

Rebuilding the entire front of our house.

To wrap it up. The last and final thing to be fixed was our ornamental pond under the palm tree you see in the pic above. It was detroyed by the trees falling on it. It was the end of June before that got done. Scott came home from work on July 13 and told me he lost his job. On July 14th I gave birth to Jack.

Related: 31-17 . . . and then we danced.

Typical New Orleans

So I am reading the magazine Real Simple and there is an article "How to save money on everyday essentials." Readers submitted little blurbs about what they do to save money or cut costs.

One reader said they buy in bulk at a warehouse club and split everything with friends/neighbors. Another reader said she simply asks herself if that overpriced sugar-filled treat is really necessary for her kids.A lady from North Carolina states she just uses a little less of her detergent, shampoo, cleaning products.

So I see that one of the submissions is from someone in New Orleans. It says . . .

"I find a good price on the wines I love and buy by the case . . . it saves me from going back and forth to the wine store."

A day in the life post

Nothing specific to write about so going to talk about yesterday in general.

It was hot. But not the kind of hot we had earlier in the week. I actually wore jean crop pants and didn't feel like I was suffocating.

I had to drive across Lake Pontchartrain for a meeting in the city. It was beautiful and such a relaxing drive.

My GPS so far has been pretty accurate getting me around New Orleans. Had to use it to get to my meeting.

Got off at Claiborne and while driving west I saw all kinds of men sitting in the neutral ground under the oaks in their lawn chairs. Trying to stay cool but such a peculiar place in my opinion. For those who don't know what the neutral ground is it is what some refer to as the median. A large grassy area dividing the road. This one was particulary wide with lots of shade trees, but still an unusual site for me.

I was late to my meeting and worried about the client being angry. He was so kind and calm. I had to remind myself I am in the south.

I had a second meeting at The Bean Gallery in Mid-City. Been there before to meet the same person. I was early for this meeting. I love the architecture in that area and the college feel to the coffee house. I ate my panini and did a little people watching. Such a different crowd from where I live but it brought back memories of college and living that lifestyle. Except not everyone was college age. Still those who live that life as adults. I so wanted to join them.

Headed home and was in traffic on 10. Shot out of the traffic via the Bonnebel exit. Wanted to hit Macy's on the way home. But a quick change of mind and I stopped by my client Mary, owner of Old Town Praline & Gift Shop. I love to stop by her shop. I knew it was after closing time but thought she and her daughter might still be there. I was right.

Mary's daughter left and Mary and I sat on her church bench behind the counter and caught up. I love talking to her. She is such a neat and very intelligent person. She told me about selling her house, buying a condo and her mother. She also told me about the health problems she was experiencing lately. I got the feeling she felt like talking. Maybe it was because I was someone else that she doesn't talk to on a regular basis and not part of her family which surrounds her daily. I just listened and offered a comment or question on occasion. I wished I could have stayed longer, but had to run home for dinner. Mary sent me out the door with chocolate of course! I ate it on the way home! And I skipped Macy's.

On the way home hubby asked me to stop by the store and get bread and ice. Ice, a staple in our house.

I arrived home to the kids just sitting down to BLT sandwiches. Their first ever and they loved them! Hubby used the bread I brought home to make us each one too.

There you have it folks. A day in the life.

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 5

Sept 2005
Days went on. Stress continued. We handled all the things you need to do. Apply for food stamps through the Red Cross. Apply with Fema for the $2000 evacuation money. Apply for $2000 from insurance company for being displaced to help cover expenses. We did it all.

I was keeping friends and family posted on what was going on via email on a regular basis. One surprise was an envelope that arrived in the mail at my in-laws from our friend Beth. She had emailed for our temporary address, but little did I know what she intended to send. It was two checks for $500! One was for us and another was for a guy, Jason, who worked with Hubby. Both Jason and Hubby worked with Beth in Pittsburgh. Beth and her husband Ray had become our friends and we knew some of their extended family. Beth collected $1000 from their family members. About 6 couples total I think? She split the money between ourselves and our friend Jason's family. I couldn't believe such generosity and that was just the first time I would cry from such acts of kindness. You must understand that Beth and Ray were not our best friends or super close to us. They were just a couple we met through my husband's job that we spent time with on occasion and enjoyed each other's company. So to have her do this for us meant so much and really sealed the bond between us. It really showed who they were. It was so unexpected. We didn't expect anything from anyone.

We finally secured a date to meet the insurance adjuster at our home. Hubby and I took off by ourselves back to New Orleans leaving our 2 1/2 year old daughter with my in-laws for the first time ever. She did fine. We just told her we were going to the airport to get mommy's car. Which was partially true but at that age time was not something she grasped.

Speaking of my car at the airport, hubby was watching a video of the hurricane that someone took from inside the airport parking garage. And in it he spotted my vehicle! He knew exactly where he had parked it in the outside parking lot by the fence and could see the sticker I had on my rear window in the video. However, when we actually returned to get the vehicle, the sticker was gone. The wind was so intense it ripped the cling sticker off my window. So the video must have been early on in the storm.

Anyway, we took off to the meet the adjuster. I got a little queasy and anxious as we got off I-12 and started approaching our neighorhood. I started to see just piles of debris along the roads. We pulled up to our house and it was just as I had seen in the video that hubby brought back from his first trip to the house. Bad. It was very sunny that day and hot! I walked around the property just looking. I peeked inside too. But we did not go in as we already knew our house was infested with fleas. Yes! Fleas!

Our neighbor and a good friend had entered our house many times to have service men look at restoring our electricity or to remove valuable items that might get damaged from the heat and moisture and lack of air conditioning. They had informed us of the flea infestation.

The lack of air conditioning infested our house with fleas. According to the exterminator, who had to treat our house THREE TIMES to kill all the fleas, the eggs were carried in by the dogs but since they were treated for fleas and our house was air conditioned the eggs never hatched. Well, when our house got damaged, lost electricity and was wet & hot inside it became an incubator and they hatched and went into survival mode (because no dogs were presnet to feed on) reproducing 4xs the normal rate. They survived off of each other and attacked anyone who entered the house! Gross! I know . . . Tell me about it.

I felt kind of helpless being there at the house. We didn't know what to do with ourselves as we waited for the adjuster. We did have a neighbor come over and tell us we need to get those trees off our roof or we will ruin the inside of our house. Like we didn't know that already. He basically told us to ante up the $5000! I wanted to tell him where to shove his glass of Merlot he was holding! Fortunately, we met some people staying with a neighbor who were in town to help clear debris and such. They offered to remove our trees and cover it with large blue tarps for $1200. Luckily, they got it done just in time for Hurricane Rita to roll in! Phew! And much to our luck Rita was the first rain since Katrina so our house did not get any more water in it.

We drove around town a bit and looked around. It was odd. Some things were back to normal and open for business but many were not. Or they were only letting in so many people at a time to a business because they lacked enough employees to sevice everyone.

We went to dinner at a co-worker's home. We sat among their extended family who lost their homes completely from flooding in the Lakeview area across the lake closer to New Orleans. It was a strange evening, yet sweet. We shared this tragedy with people we barely knew and some that suffered much worse than us. When I left I cried and thanked our hosts who just hugged me and assured me all would be ok.

We spent the night at our neighbors house. They were lucky enough to have electricity back on.

Then, the next morning the adjuster came . . .

Continue to Part 6....

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 4

PART 4
The first thing I did when in Dallas was visit the Hibernia Bank. That was our bank which was based out of New Orleans. Luckily there was one in McKinney where my in-laws lived. Well, when I walked into the McKinney branch the first thing I noticed was a table with toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, and other amenities for evacuees. They knew we were in town. It was sad. It made me feel sad. I didn't feel like a victim but the whole world was aware of what was going on in my life. I didn't take anything from the table but felt appreciative of their efforts.

When I approached the teller she gave me this very cheery hello. I told her my situation. The first thing she said was how sorry she was. Sorry for what I thought? I am not even sure what to be sorry for yet? She gave me a very genuine sympathetic look. I found it hard to look at her in the eyes. I just said I wanted to know if my husband's check cleared as I had payed all our bills online before we left for vacation expecting his direct deposit to go in. She said she couldn't check that information because all the computer systems were down for our account because of the storm but they were working to setup the backup system in Houston. It would be a day or two more. I was concerned about checks bouncing. She said not to worry that all fees would be waived. She asked me if I needed any money. I just gave her a questioning look and she explained that they were giving all their customers emergency cash up to $1000 to get them through and it would be deducted from their account when it came back online. I was impressed but declined. I had some cash on me leftover from vacation. Plus, my brother graciously gave me all his cash he had left before we left Virgina.

The next thing I did was call my insurance company. My in-laws used the same company as we did and had a great agent who went above and beyond to help us. I had no idea where to start or even what to tell him. I didn't have my policy with me of course. Who did? (I take it with me now when we evacuate! Along with birth certificates and other important documents!)

Ron Pope from Farmer's took care of everything and fielded every single question I had. He found answers to everything if he didn't know. He followed up with us even when we eventually went home! He assured me and told me everything would work out and be ok. I so wanted to believe him. I needed that reassurance.

After taking care of that we moved on to finding an apartment to live in. Hubby's boss was saying that there was no going back for a long time and to find housing. So off we went for 2 days looking for apartments. It was so bizarre. Here I had this broken house 9 hours away and it was as if I was building a new life overnight in a new city.

Well, just before signing on an apartment, the brakes were put on the apartment hunt by his boss. He was all over the place with the plan and it was not making it easy on anyone working for him. One day they are doing this and then the next day they are doing that.

The apartment complexes were offering evacuees month-to-month renting or no deposit to rent offers. We didn't need certain records to rent as we had no access to them. It was as if the evacuees were celebrities in Dallas. Restaurants ran evacuee specials, etc. Just show your proof of residence.

In the midst of all this I saw an ad in the local paper that they were having a food and supplies drive at a local church for Katrina Victims and needed volunteers. So I decided I needed to go. My MIL watched my daughter. I showed up to a husband and wife team running this whole thing. They put their own money forth to rent the semi trucks to fill with food and supplies. They rented three! They used the church parking lot as their collection center. The amount of people who showed up to volunteer was incredible. Almost too many. But it was the amount of people that turned up to donate that was even more astounding. At one point I had tears in my eyes. They were essentially doing this for me and my city of residence. Yet, I was there to help and expecting none of this to ever be mine. I in no way was feeling like a victim. For some reason I just couldn't.

At one point the man who organized it all gave a little speech to thank everyone. I asked him if I could say something. So I told them all where I was from, how I was on vacation so I wasn't there when storm hit and that I wanted to thank them all on behalf of everyone in New Orleans. And to this day, I still think the guy who organized it thought I was lying about where I was from. I can't explain it completely. He kinda cut me off and took the microphone away from me when I spoke and then blew me off the rest of the day. Never said another word to me until I went to leave. He said this, "For an evacuee that is a pretty nice volvo. Texas plate too." I turned around and said, "It is my father in laws. I don't have a car here. Mine is still at the New Orleans airport." I got in the car and left in tears.

I just gave 6 hours of hard work loading 3 semi trucks and that is what I get from him? Some rich dude who apparently thought all the evacuees in New Orleans were black and poor. Ignorant.

There were many volunteers who did come up to me after and hug me or ask me questions about my home and state of affairs as I knew them. I appreciated their concern. I thanked them again on behalf of all New Orleanians and Gulf Coast residents.

Continue to Part 5

What's in your favorites? Part 5

Every now and then I like to share what I have saved in my browser favorites. So here are links I would like to share this time!

Freebies 4 Mom - I forget how I found this site but have since subscribed and find her posts to be some of the most useful emails I receive. Lots of great giveaways, coupons, freebies. Love it! Check it out. Subscribe and see if you love it too!

Don't Look Now! - Add this blog to your favs if for nothing other than to look at her beautiful work. I wish I could be this creative and crafty. I absolutely love her designs. Definitely my style!

Vincent Shoes - I stumbled across this and so want to buy these adorable shoes. Very European looking. Wish they made them in my size. Expensive. But no more so than Stride Rite and affordable when on sale. Currently have a lot 50% off! ( I so want to buy something from this site!)

Etsy - Your place to buy all things handmade. I so like to visit regularly just to view the 'handpicked' items on the homepage! Nice to support the hand crafters!

Buy Gift Certificates Half Price - For those living in the New Orleans or Baton Rouge area. Get half price gift certificates for hardware stores, boutiques, restaurants, entertainment and more! If you don't live around here try Restaurant.com for discounted restaurant gift certificates for cities all over the US!

Louisana Northshore- official website of the Nola Northshore. From here or not you will love this site if not meerly for the great design. For both locals and soon to be visitors!

To read my other "What's in your favorites?" posts:
What's in your favorites? Part 1
What's in your favorites? Part 2
What's in your favorites? Part 3
What's in your favorites? Part 4

It's a wrap!

I just realized I haven't posted since December 17th! Well, makes sense. My brother arrived on the 18th as my first holiday visitor. My mom left yesterday as my last holiday visitor! Phew!

So here is my holiday wrap up in random as it comes to me order!

- Severe fog on bridge the night brother arrived. Had to go through Slidell since we couldn't cross causeway bridge. We were 45 minutes late. Bridge was open on way home but had to go 35mph. Was a long night . . .

- When my parents tried to get here they got stuck in Atlanta cuz their first flight was late and they missed their connection. Got in VERY late after much running around the ATL airport trying to get on other flights out.

- My Girl sat on Santa's lap this year! Finally . . . Boy did too, but he did last year. He is not afraid. We attended a Santa party at a friends house and it was perfect. She just watched all the other kids first and then got up the nerve and up she went!

- My Girl got her ears pierced. It was her big idea and she begged a lot! I wanted to wait till her 6th birthday (feb) but daddy gave in (surprise to me!) and said ok a little earlier. She was brave and scared at the same time. Cried a little. Nana was there to see this big life moment for her. She picked heart shaped light pink stones for her first earrings. So cute.

- Went to New Orleans Art Museum for first time while family was here. We were fortunate to accidentlly happen upon Prospect 1 exhibits which were way cool. We all agreed our favorite exhibit was Willie Birch's drawings in the entrance. We also enjoyed the Paul Villinski's Emergency Response Studio. He makes a FEMA trailer green! I hope to be able to get to the Prospect 1 locations throughout the city before it is over. . .

- Took my brother and mom into the 9th ward to see Brad Pitt's Make It Right project.

- Ate at Deanie's, Dragos, Felix's Oyster Bar (hated it).

- Met Chef Leah Chase of Dooky Chase's restaurant. Wanted to eat there but the day we showed up they were closed for a wedding rehearsal. Dang. Did you know she is from Madisonville?

- Visited the Covington Farmer's Market and bought a great pepper jelly, banana pepper mustard, northern white bean salad and some incredible salsa! All homemade and cheap!

- My mom cleaned my house completely twice while here. She even mopped all my floors! Did all our laundry while here. Can she stay forever or at least visit once a week? Ohio is really cold in the winter mom. Just a thought . . .

- Kid's got their swing set that Uncle Greg bought them set up and love it. Nana spent many hours with the kids swinging and sliding.

- Uncle Greg taught my son how to shake his booty to music and now he does it all the time at home and in public. He looks ridiculous!

- My family time was low key compared to last year but nice. We laughed a lot and for some odd reason danced a lot. There was always music coming out of our computer and very loudly. Daddy played DJ and we all danced together. Everything from Christmas to Frank Sinatra to Doo Wop.

- My brother's pipes froze back at his house in Ohio while here. His furnace pilot went out for some reason. He went home to water damage all over his house. His neighbor saw water coming down his driveway from his garage and called him. He told him the code to his garage door and sure enough he had a problem. Luckily he was able to deal with some of it via phone from here. Lots of floors and ceilings to rip out now . . .

- We saw the movie Marley & Me. Made me cry.

- A friend passed away.

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 3

Sept. 4th, 2005
Our 6th anniversary, and we are on an airplane flying from Virginia Beach to Dallas. On the way to the airport I saw signs all over Virginia about benefit concerts for Katrina victims and such. I saw people out collecting money at stop lights. Already I thought? Gosh, it just happened 5 days ago . . . I was impressed and touched.

I don't even recall the flight at all. I do recall getting off the airplane in Dallas and walking practically all the way to baggage and realizing my husband does not have our video camera on his shoulder. I ask him where it is and I see him freeze, think and then his face turned red as he shouted out some obscenity. "I left it in the overhead bin on the airplane!" He ran over to the counter of the airline we just flew on and asked the lady behind the counter to phone the plane and ask them to look for it. She explained that the plane had already been reloaded and we would be lucky if it had not already taken off again. I burst into tears and walked away thinking we don't know what we lost at home and now we may have lost one of the few possessions we had left. It was expensive and fairly new. It contained videos of our daughter from vacaton. I headed for the baggage area and spotted my father in-law. He approached me and saw me crying. Not being the affectionate type he felt obligated to hug me and tell me everything would be ok. He thought I was upset about our house. I told him that no, in fact, I was crying because we may have now lost our video camera and I couldn't take anymore stress!

After much persistance on my husband's part the camera was recovered. (A airline attendant got lazy and wouldn't look. Mgmt finally boarded the aircraft and found it right where we left it.)

We arrived at my in-laws and my husband immediately took off with my FIL to rent a u-haul and buy supplies to return to our house the next morning. He loaded it with a generator, wood, food, water, gas, chainsaw, tarps, and a gun for protection as our neighbors were telling us they all were using self protection and guarding our neighborhood from looters.

They left the next morning. They were able to get to our house because only residents were allowed to return and they finally cleared the debris from our road so they could actually get to the house. It was a sad site. So bad in fact, they spent the night, took some stuff from the house and returned on Sunday. There was nothing they could do. The trees and cleanup required heavy machinery.

In the meantime, my daughter who was potty trained for #1 (tee-tee) shortly before going to VA Beach and completed potty training for #2 (BM) while in VA Beach got potty trained for night time sleeping by default. I was so distraught and out of it with things rushing around in my brain I forgot for 3 nights in a row to put a pullup on her at night. Finally, my mother in law inquired why I wasn't doing it. I laughed and simply said, "I forgot." She was dry each morning when she woke up so I never put one on her after that. There is my secret to how my daughter stopped wearing pull ups at night! Ta Da!

On Sunday, when hubby returned we got in a very emotional argument. I was mad at him for everything. He brought all my old, crappy, painting, yardwork clothes, and nothing I usually wear? He grabbed a pile of clothes from the back of our closet and none of the hanging clothes which is what I wear. Though, he brought all his hanging clothes including suits for work! He also brought my bike and rollar blades, but none of the pictures and photo albums I requested. He thought I might want to get some exercise while there! Geez. Amazing how differently men and women think.

I was also angry at him for buying all the supplies, renting u-haul and going all that way to turnaround and come right back. I thought he should have stayed and did something with our house. Like hire someone to remove the trees, get the electric hooked back up, etc. He said there was just nothing he could do. They were wanting $5000 to remove the trees. Who has that type of cash to spend when you don't even know what is ahead and how much money you will need to live away for an undetermined amount of time.

We were arguing quietly outside at his parents pool. I sat out there alone and cried and he kept coming out to talk to me. When I eventually went inside my FIL said that there would be no crying or fighting in his house. I literally exploded. I never had words with my FIL before. I went off. I used some harsh words. I got in his face. It was ugly. So ugly my husband had to step in and stop me. I remember thinking how could one not cry or fight with their spouse at a time of such stress. I do remember telling him that was fine with me. I would pack my stuff and fly to my parents and they would let me cry all I wanted. That is when Hubby stepped in. He knew I would do it and was not kidding! He begged me not to do it as I started to pack my suitcase.

Finally, my FIL came up to me, hugged me and told me not to go. He said he loved me as much as he loved his sons and that he wanted us to stay at his house.

This was just the beginning of a long journey of arguments, tense moments, tears, and testing of family ties.

Continue to Part 4

Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival 2008

** My 2007 Wood Boat Festival Post **

Well, it was again a very good festival and a beautiful weekend for it! The kids really enjoyed making their own wooden sailboats. I filled up our pool at home and they sail them everyday! I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the boats this year. A lot of focus was on what the kids wanted to do. We did get to watch the quick and dirty boat race from a friends boat. (pics below) They had their boat docked along the seawall and it was entered in the festival as a wooden boat to be judged.

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 2

PART 2
On Monday it is a wait and see game as news coverage is scarce at first. We initially think all is generally ok in New Orleans. (I mean not what it would ultimately turn into.) Ya know, normal storm damage. By Monday night we start to see photos of houses cut in half by pine trees from our area. The photos of extensive tree damage start to frighten us. We are scouring NOLA forums looking for info about our neighborhood and our house. We find a woman who posts that she is going the next day to our street to check her parents house. We give her our house address and she promises to check our house and report back to us when she returns to Baton Rouge and can get internet again. So we wait. I am sick to my stomach.

Hubby is consumed with work. His vacation has turned into running things from our hotel while his boss (at the time) tries to figure out what to do. We think we are going back soon - until the flooding of New Orleans starts.

On Tuesday we got the email. I actually was the first to read it. I remember checking my email and seeing the woman from the forum's email in my inbox. I started shaking. I just knew it was not going to be good. By this time I had seen way to many photos with trees on houses from our area to think that my very wooded lot was spared from having any fall. And so many are very close to our house.

I opened the email. I remember it being about two lines of text that said our house had a tree on it and she was sorry about our lose. WHAT? What does that mean I yelled out loud. Hubby read it. He got angry. He said how could someone write that and not explain in more detail. Was the whole house destroyed? Did it look like those houses cut in half? I quivered with fear and thought the worse. I didn't cry. Just stood stunned and silent. Hubby furiously wrote back as nicely as he could muster to please give more details. She said she wasn't going back until the next day and would take another look and pictures and email them to us. So again we waited. . .

Feeling helpless we walked down to the hotel restaurant. We went in silence. The entire hotel staff knew where we were from and were always asking if we heard anything yet. As we walked to the restaurant I couldn't look up and make eye contact out of fear of them asking. We slid into a booth by the window overlooking the beach. I looked out towards the water and spotted my 2.5 year old daughter romping around with my parents. I started to sob. The waiter walked up and handed us the menus, saw me crying and knew. He said simply, "I'm sorry" and walked away. He must have told others as the manager came by and told us that we could stay at the hotel as long we needed. He then brought us iced teas. I don't recall ordering or eating.

In the meantime, we had a lot of preparations and decisions to make. By now we know there is no returning home. We don't know where hubby will be going to work yet. We don't know when we can even go to our house. Entire area closed. We don't even know what is wrong with it. We have dogs in Tallahassee with a friend who also needs to go wherever my husband goes. So again we wait for direction from Scott's boss on where they will go. That will determine where I and My Girl will go. If his business goes to Dallas, I will go with him and we will stay with his parents. If the busineess goes to the other two city options then I will drive home with my parents from VA and stay with them until further notice. So I can't cancel my flight or change it yet. We decided to at least stay at the hotel a few more days. That was the only certain we had in our life at that time.

On Wednesday, no email with pictures came. The woman sent a message that there were 2trees on our house. One on the left side. One on the right side. Looks bad. She had a difficult time getting to our house to see it. What? Can't get to our house? We sighed. Ok. Still don't know how bad, but at least that is a bit more info. At that point we would take anything. We appreciate her efforts. We feel bad about our initial anger. In retrospect, how could one not feel so emotional?

Hubby's boss decides on Dallas. Good. Now we can move forward with whatever plans.

First problem. We are in VA. Dogs are in FL. Gotta get all of us to Dallas. Can't fly to FL, get dogs and drive to Dallas. NO GAS ANYWHERE between Tallahassee and Dallas. Friend evac'd with dogs in Tallahasee can't get gas to take on road with him. Can't even find gas cans. He is sending his wife and kids to Philadelphia to his mother's house.

What to do? My best friend, Jen, has been in contact with me telling me to tell her how she can help. I call her and ask a favor you can only ask on a best friend. I ask her to drive 5 hrs one way to pick up my dogs and keep them at her house for an undetermined amount of time. She agrees immediately. Her husband? Not so hot on the idea. She doesn't care.

But first, I must find a kennel to keep them at overnight since our friend must leave Tallahasee on Thursday and Jen can't get to the dogs until Friday. I google kennels in the area. Call and explain the situation of one person dropping and another picking up. She asks if they have shot records. I freeze. I think, "Please don't let this one thing ruin what is turning into a feasible plan!" I say no and explain where we are at and where we live and that our vet is not even open or in town to fax records. She kindly apologizes and says not to worry about records. They will take the dogs and just keep them together in a kennel seperate from all the others. I breathe a sign of relief. One problem down. Many more to go . . .

Jen and her hubby drive to get the dogs. When they arrive both dogs had been nicely groomed by the kennel. No charge. They stop half way home at a waterfront restaurant that they have frequented in the past when scuba diving in the area. The waitress finds out the mission they are on and tells them they can bring the dogs out on the restaurant patio while they eat. So they take her up on the offer. The dogs lay at their feet and sleep. Jen's hubby is amazed at how well behaved they are and admits to her that he was not hot on the idea of a 10hour round trip to get them but he prayed to God how he could help the people of New Orleans and got the answer that he needed to do his part by helping us and this was how. He knew we would do the same for them.

That was Sept 4th. They kept the dogs until Nov. 11th.

Continue to Part 3

Gustav Evac = 10 day Vacation

Tonight we returned home from our Gustav evacuation to Dallas that turned into a 10 day unplanned vacation.

We normally head to Dallas for evacuations. (3 since we have lived here) This time, I left town a bit early to beat the rush and since it was a long weekend I figured what the heck just go and if it doesn't come near us I will return home on Labor Day.

Unfortunately, Gustav came close enough to us to knock down two pine trees in the back and take out our power. Now, if you are not from this area I am not talking about an evergreen. I am talking about a 100-200 foot tall pine tree. The kind that can slice a house in half completely if it lands on it at just the right angle. We had 4 hit our house during Katrina causing $50,000 in damage. This time the trees did not hit our house and luckily not our neighbors either. One took out a section of the back fence and another crushed the neighbors carport.

So since life was not back to normal immediately after the storm (no power #1 reason) we decided to stay until the power came back on at home. Well, that happened day 2 after the the storm. At that point I found out that the schools weren't reopening until tomorrow (the 8th) so I decided to stay a few extra days. Besides, hubby was out of town so why rush to get home?

I found out that my friend Beatriz whom I used to work with at US Steel in Pittsburgh recently moved to Dallas. So on my 9th wedding anniversary (sept 4th) she and I met up at Chuck E Cheese to catch up. Hubby thought that was a funny place to celebrate our anniversary but heck he was in New York on business. Second best option, spend it with a friend! Yes, Chuck E Cheese was my idea. A strategic one I might add. I invested $10 in tokens for the two kids and sent them off to play while her and I found a booth centrally located so we could keep an eye on them and spent the next 3 hours catching up!

Beatriz is one of those friends whom I miss and everytime I see her it is like we have never been apart. You know the type? Just like old times as soon as you see each other. She is from Mexico City and we met at US Steel. We hit it off immediately and spent a lot of time together before I had kids. She moved back to Mexico shortly after my daughter was born. She recently returned to the states and now is in Dallas much to my delight! Now I can see her when I go to visit the in-laws! Once while living in Mexico and visiting the states on business she made a stop in New Orleans to see me. I took her around the french quarter and we had a grand time. She says now that she is closer she will be down to visit again! Yippeee! It is good to have friends like her. . . .

I also had the opportunity to spend two nights with my good friend Liz whom I went to Ohio University with. We lived together our senior year but met our sophmore year. She is a New Englander whom now lives in Dallas too. She has a little girl and my kids just loved hanging out at her house. Her hubby went out of town this weekend and we had in impromptu girls weekend with the kids. We organized her kitchen and daughter's room, went to the park, cooked mexican and watermelon margaritas, watched movies, drank beer and coffee on her back deck (not at the same time!) and just hung out with the kids! It is so nice to just relax and enjoy an old friend with no schedule! Again, one of those friends you just love to have!

Well, now we are home. The drive with the kids was fine both ways. Took hubby's car this time instead of my Yukon. Kinda small and crampy but that baby can fly! Had to restrict the kids on messy foods and drinks in the car since it has off white leather (ugh!) and he is picky about his car. Anyway, the kids managed to not drive me crazy even though I was with them alone both ways (9+ hours!). They are at the ages now that they can kinda entertain each other. Didn't even take the DVD with us this time. It's Broken :-(

I did witness a lot of hurricane/wind damage on 190 between Opelousas and Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge apparently took a beating too as many business signs were down and many businesses closed. Some had power, some didn't. I saw tons of electrical company trucks caravaning around. Some working along my route. Others in route to their next job. We tried to stop at McDonald's in Baton Rouge for the bathroom but the inside was closed and there was a sign that said they were only serving a few items off their menu. Also, as far north as Natchitoches had damage. We stopped at the welcome center there and they were giving out bottled water because they were on a boil order and they had several trees blown over.

So hopefully, we are not hitting the road again later this week for Ike. If so, I might just have to burn me a Tina Turner cd for the drive!

Later!
UPDATE: Read Nolanotes's post on Gustav's damage

Hurricane Gustav

I interrupt my memoir posts to say a few words about the new hurricane bearing down on Louisiana.

I am not even thinking of what might happen to our house/belongings. Not going there mentally. However, I do keep hoping that this storm leaves New Orleans alone so we can continue with our life and have little disruption. I know that sounds selfish, but I think New Orleanians have the right to feel selfish about this one. Some are still in the rebuilding mode and others have just finished.

Going through this evacuation/preparation/waiting game again is different from the first time. Now we all fear how long, how bad, what next? We all know we can recover from it because we have before. Just knowing we may have to go through it again makes me sick to my stomach. But, there is nothing we can do but be safe.

So I sit here in Dallas watching the constant news coverage and keeping up to date on the status of the hurricane and path. I am sitting in my father-in-law's recliner watching the news and typing this. Kids are happy to be at Gigi's! Hubby is in Hattiesburg, MS at a friend's house. A little more out of harm's way but able to easily get home after. If it gets really bad he will leave there and head to Dallas to set up his business here temporarily.

Just a reminder to those who may not be aware (and I don't expect you to be if you don't live near/in the Gulf South) but this hurricane is falling on the same day, same time of day and same week as Katrina. And that is eerie!

Katrina = Aug 29th, 10am
Gustave = Sept 1st, 10am-ish

Oh. And as I attempt to end this post the weather lady just tells me that the width of this storm is the same as Katrina! That means it affects those in a much larger area than where the eye passes over. The eye of Katrina hit 1 hours east of us. We still sustained an ENORMOUS amount of damage from it!

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 1

April 4th, 2004 - My husband and I move to New Orleans (Mandeville/Covington area) from Pittsburgh, PA with our 14 month old daughter.

2005

Aug. 26th - My 2.5 year old daughter and I fly to Virginia Beach, VA to meet up with my parents, brother, aunt and uncle to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. Hubby stays behind to attend convention in NOLA for work. He will catch first flight out in morning. I am aware of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico but believe it is going somewhere else.

Aug 27th - Attend my grandmother's 90th birthday at her assisted living facility. During party my husband arrives from airport and tells me about Katrina heading right for New Orleans. He spent the night before preparing our house by moving all outdoor furniture in, sand bagging the doors, etc. I had no idea the storm was supposed to come our way. Call the neighbors who are watching dogs for us and ask them to take the dogs with them. They couldn't. They were going to their daughter's apartment in Baton Rouge and already were taking 2 dogs.

Aug 28th - Storm is really bearing down on New Orleans. Those who were going to stay are now deciding to leave. Looking bad. Storm is taking up the entire Gulf on weather maps. I can't believe my eyes. Husband calls co-worker who agrees to evacuate our dogs with them to Tallahasee, Florida. We are staying at the beach and try to enjoy our beach time and forget about what is going on at home. Husband rents a surf board and goes surfing. Daughter spends the day in the pool with her grandparents and learns to swim with life preserver. We sneak peaks at the lobby televisions everytime we walk through. The hurricane news is everywhere we turn. I get up at 2am in the morning and sneak out of the hotel room because I can't sleep and sit in the lobby with night shift clerk, cleaning lady and security guard and watch the continuous hurricane coverage on the tv. They learn I am from that area and wish me the best.

Aug 29th - Hurricane Katrina hits Pass Christian, MS at 10am. It is 200 miles wide and we feel the effects of it tremendously.

Continue to Part 2

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - The Intro

Well, today is the 3rd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I have been saying I am going to write our story for no other reason than for my kids. I have had many requests to put it down for others to read but just can't seem to find the time or maybe I am avoiding it for some reason.

My story is not as tragic as some. But, it is my story and it was life changing for me and my family. I want my kids to know the details of what happened 3 years ago in this country, what part we played in it and how our lives were changed by it.

I made a promise last week to myself to start writing our story today on the 3rd anniversary and to stop putting it off any longer. I even marked it as a To Do on my calendar! Little did I know that another Hurricane (Gustav) would have us all with that pit in our stomach again and evacuating or preparing for evacuation.

This evacuation is different. After Katrina the feeling and worry is so different than before. It is hard to explain but even a very bad storm has me wondering if a tree will be falling on my house while I try to sleep during it.

So, today on the 3rd anniversary, NOLA braces itself for Gustav and whether we want to or not, we will remember Katrina today. We don't even have a choice this year!

So without further ado. Here is our story.

New site to check out!

Just launched www.whitewoodfarms.com for my client Anita. She gave me a jar of her New Orleans Key Lime Marmalade and it is soooooo good! Order and ship anywhere in the US or Canada. Her Jams, Jellies, Marmalades and Preserves make great gifts!

Meal of a lifetime

Tonight, the hubbs and I got to experience a very special treat. Besides the fact that we got a babysitter and had a night out by ourselves, we also got the meal of a lifetime!

A very generous friend of ours decided to celebrate he and his wife's 20th anniversary by hosting 4 other couples for dinner at the Ritz Carlton of New Orleans - or so we thought. We were told to get a babysitter, arrive at 6:30 for cocktails and dinner would be at 7:00pm - and they were footing the bill.

So we found a friend to watch the kids, dolled ourselves up and headed to the French Quarter. We arrived and joined the group for a drink and then were escorted to the dining room - and then they just kept going (oh, I thought we are going to the private party booth area) and then they kept going (oh, we are going to a private room) and then they took us directly into the kitchen????? (Oh, I thought, they are going to let us meet the Chef or something) and then I noticed this large table right in the middle of the kitchen set for 10. That, my friends, is where we dined on a 11 course meal for the next 3.5 hours! THE CHEF'S TABLE!

The very first thing I noticed were the plates. I wish I had my camera to take a picture. But they were these fancy dinner plates with words around the border and prices. Like a menu. Absinthe, Shrimp, etc. But the prices were like .25 or .50. I immediately remembered NolaNotes post on similar style plates.

There were just as many waiting on our table as there were sitting at our table. The Executive Chef introduced himself and then told us there was no menu. The way it worked was that they picked what we eat. They inquired about any allergies, strong aversions to certain foods, etc. None in our group. We were all game. Bring it on!

So bring it on they did. They mentioned 7 courses at the beginning, but at the end we counted 11 including the last which was Cafe Bruno - a coffee with bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves etc and prepared over an open flame tableside and topped with vanilla ice cream and fresh cream.

It was so neat to watch all the staff come out together and serve each of us. If someone was not seated (bathroom break) they would hold the food and bring it out when the person returned to the table. Each time the Executive Chef, Sous Chef, Pastry Chef or similar would explain what was just placed in front of us with such great detail and they were so proud.

My favorite was the Wild Truffle (mushroom) Cappucino - the very first course. It was a very smooth soup that was served in a a cappucino cup and you drink it. It was so delicious!

Let's see if I can remember what we had.
Wild Truffle Soup
Fried Soft Shell Crab
Shrimp over some corn mixture
Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna with some Mango Smoothie in a shot glass (or so we called it!)
Filet Mignon with a potato of some sort and a crab stuffed tomato
Blueberry Glazed Duck over Cous Cous
Sorbet Trio - Cantelope, Strawberry, Passion Fruit
Creme Brulee Trio - Pistachio (MY FAV!), Coconut, Mango
Chocolate Mousse, Puff Pastry, Ice Cream and Deep Fried Fig
Bananas Foster (prepared tableside of course)
Cafe Bruno

Of course there were sides to some of these and fancy names, glazes, reductions, etc. My naming above does not do it justice. I don't even think I have recalled everything! Thankfully, everything was small proportions!

Oh and I should add that there was a constant flow of champagne and wine. They just kept putting something new in front of us. We just kept talking and eating and - well - drinking.

We finally exited the kitchen around 10:30pm. 3.5 hours later. Overstuffed and waddling, we took a seat in the dining area to watch Jeremy Davenport play his trumpet. About 5 minutes after sitting down to listen one of the other husband's in our group shouted across the table over the music, "Hey! You think we can get a little something to snack on?" We all just started laughing!

What a cool night out!

Mandeville Seafood Fest Rocked!

First of all, I am writing this post out on my patio at 11:30pm in the most beautiful weather, listening to crickets and fireworks all around. Hard to believe it is July in Louisiana and I am not even sweating and apparently the bugs are asleep tonight. Humidity is very low and it is amazing!

Before I get to the parking/shuttle issue at the Mandeville Seafood Festival this year allow me to rave about the new venue and all the fun we had!

If you are a local, you will know that the festival was moved from the normal location at the Mandeville Lakefront to it's new location at Fountainbleau State Park. It had outgrown it's previous location and the park allowed for more vendors, entertainment stages and space in general.

First we started out in the kiddie section doing the bounce house and the pony rides. We stopped at that because they were charging a dollar a ticket and both of those rides took 3 tickets each! Ouch! (I guess since kids get in free they make up the difference with charging so much for the activities).

After that we circled the food vendors deciding what we wanted to eat. So many delicious choices and only one stomach per person to hold the food. We decided on Fried Shrimp & Hushpuppies since both hubby and daughter wanted that and the boy loves it too. I had my eye on a Crawfish/Spinach Bisque in a bread bowl. Still wish I would have gone that route. I saw several carrying it around and it looked awesome! My second choice was Fried Green Tomatoes! Always a great choice for me. $12for all of us to eat. Not bad.

Anywho, probably the best part of the whole experience was sitting out on the beach and listening to the band on the main stage. It was heaven. A nice breeze was blowing, no humidity, no sweating, the band sounded good, the sun was going down on the lake, the boats were lit up on the lake, the pier was lit up. It was spectacular! (My photos don't do it justice!) We brought our chairs and the kids just sat in the sand and played while we drank a cold one (only $4- not bad) and listened to the music. Rained threatened many a time tonite. We even felt a few drops but it passed by and left us only with a nice breeze! Thank you very much!









After a bit I broke away from the hubby and kids and went around to all the craft/gift booths and did a bit of browsing solo style. On the way back to the beach I picked up a Praline Iced Coffee for myself, two dippin' dots for the kids and tried to get hubby a beer but didn't have any hands left to carry it.

I found hubby and kids in the same state as I left them and then sent hubby for his own beer. I kicked off my shoes, dug my toes into the sand and just listened to the music! I just sat in amazement at the number of people at the festival and the fact that I was not dripping in sweat for the first time in the four years I have been going to this festival! It had to be at least 3 times more people than normal. And it was the first night. Unbelieveable! They were right. Find a bigger venue and more people will come. They had so many people that they postponed the fireworks 15 minutes because they said they still had about 17 bus loads of people waiting to be shuttled in to the festival and they wanted to wait to make sure they got to see the fireworks.



We watched the fireworks and then hung out a bit more and listened to the band. We figured it would be a mad rush after the fireworks to leave. So we waited a bit and then eventually headed out to catch the shuttle back to our car. That is when the fun started . . .

Remember the images you saw of the people at the superdome after Katrina waiting to get on the buses to leave New Orleans? Well, it was a definite re-enactment tonite at the Seafood Festival. There had to be 500 people standing outside the gates waiting to be shuttled out of the park to their cars at Pelican Park. There were tons of buses sitting there already full but couldn't move because of the traffic gridlock. If I could offer one bit of advice to the festival planners for next year it would be not to let ANYONE park in the state park and make everyone be shuttled. This would eliminate the traffic problem and the problem with all the people walking out to their cars parked within the state park. My hubby asked some police officers standing nearby what was the plan to get everyone out of there and they shrugged their shoulders and said, "We honestly don't know. We were told to get out here because the crowd was getting too big."

There happened to be one bus sitting near us with no one on it. My hubby went up to the driver and asked what was up? She said her boss told her not to open her door until she got closer to the exit gate. Well, shortly after that she opened her door and my hubby saw and we went running and got on as fast as we could before somone said no. Just as we got on a police officer came up and said she can't do that as it would cause a lot of problems with the crowd. She told him her boss radioed her and told her to open her door and let people on. We were the last to get on and got so lucky! And to top it off, her bus was air conditioned (not all were) and that turned out to be a great benefit because it took us about 40 minutes to get through the traffic and back to our car.

The bus driver informed us that they started the day out with 8 buses and the planners never expected such a large crowd that they had to call in as many buses as they could find. She said last she heard they were up to 17 buses! The signs said the buses were only running until 1am. It was 10:00pm and I think they were going to be running much longer than that! There were still tons of people to shuttle out of there! Our driver was super nice and one lady went around and gathered up tips for her just out of appreciation for her patience and the mere fact that she let us on the bus!

The amazing part was that so many people gave up on waiting and walked back to their cars. The bus driver said it was a three mile walk. Some were even carrying their kids (some sleeping on them) or were wearing heels. One walking lady literally threw herself out on the road in front of our bus trying to hitch a ride. She pounded on the door. The bus driver said she was too full and couldn't take her. The lady flipped out and gave everyone on the bus the finger and was screaming at us. Our bus was a riot. Everyone was joking and telling the bus driver to just run everyone down who was in the road - heck, Mayor Eddie Price would do it!

The Boy didn't make it to the car awake. The bus ride put him to sleep. The girl fell asleep as soon as our car hit the road back home.

It was a great night and fun time all around - despite the exit plan. I trust that issue will be fixed next year - or even tomorrow night! This is the Festival's maiden voyage at this venue. They will have a few things to learn and correct. I swear, based on the crowd there tonight this could be the next Jazz Fest some day!

Thank you Mandeville Seafood Festival Planners! We loved it! Oh! And thank you Mother Nature for our first Seafood Fest that we didn't come home from completely drenched in sweat!

Visiting Family, Visited New Orleans

Yesterday my MIL, SIL and niece arrived from Dallas for a visit. We took them into New Orleans today after a big breakfast was cooked by hubby.

We caught the St. Charles Streetcar at St Charles and LowerLine. Parked for free on street. Rode it all the way to canal. Nice cool breeze and great view! Got off at Canal and walked to Palace Cafe for lunch. Service sucked today but the Crab Cheesecake I ordered way oh so yummy!

After lunch we walked down to the new Audubon Insectarium. Had three kids ages 2, 5, and 8. All three had a great time. Very well done exhibit. If you go make sure you do the Immersion Theater show (it is short and worth it!) and hit the butterfly exhibit at the end. Both were our favs!

We hopped on the streetcar for another breezy ride back to our car. Drove back home, grilled some pork chops, baked beans and potato salad. Ended dinner with Bananas Foster prepared by hubby with apple pie and vanilla ice cream!

Baths all around and settled down to watch "The Game Plan" with the kids.

Now I must get to work!

Attention New Orleans Area Entrepreneurs!

I would like to take a moment to suggest some additions to the northshore that could make some entrepreneur very wealthy.

1. We need a mobile dog groomer. Seriously. Dog-Gone Purrfect was my go to dog groomer. She had her own truck and showed up at your house. Took the dog out to her truck for like an hour. Walked the dog back to your door and drove away! Perfect. I never had to put my hairball dogs (golden retrievers) in my car. And to top it off, it was a meer $24 per dog (large breed price) compared to others who charge around $60 or more! Someone please start this service up again and keep the prices low! I need it! DGP either moved or went out business for some reason. It wasn't from a lack of clients. I could barely get an appointment and for the last two years her voice message said she couldn't take any more new clients. This is niche area for any dog groomer looking to go out on their own!

2. And would someone get a clue that this is a very family-oriented area and put in some sort of Family Funland and make sure it has one of those awesome put-puts with the moutain, trees, waterfalls, tunnels, etc. Add go-karts, arcade, coffee shop, ice cream parlor, paint ball, batting cages, driving range - all in one stop shop. I am sorry, but current Funland on West Causeway Approach just doesn't cut it at all!

3. Speaking of family fun we need one of those cool bowling alleys that is like an adult Chuck E Cheese. Neon balls, arcade, bar with beer. Dallas has this cool place called Strikz and it rocks! I am sure it is probably a franchise. So if you got the dough and need an idea please check into a kick-A bowling alley. Again, Tiffany Lanes is not cutting it for me and the fam.

4. Another thing this stay-at-home mom community needs is a drive-thru post office/shipping center. I HATE, i repeat, I HATE draggin my kids out to run into the post office to ship a package. And then there is the line to wait in. Ugh. I want to pull up, hand my package through the window to the attendant. Wait for them to weigh and pay and go. If you could just add a chocolate shake service too that would be cool. Or better yet, Starbucks. Ship and sip. Now there's a name!

Numbers 2 & 3 would also benefit the teens and college age people who have nothing to do around here. Maybe it would keep them out of trouble. And we all know their parents have the cash to support them patronizing these places.

So come on Nola Entrepreneurs. Step up and use my ideas. I just want free passes, coffee, shipping credits, etc for giving you my expert advice. Yes, I am an expert. I live here, stay at home and have a family. So that makes me qualified!

. . . but trees cause damage

More on the storm.

So I returned home today after my previous blog about the storm to find my neighborhood was in shambles from this morning's storm. I didn't realize it was so bad while I was in an office here in the area. My electricity was out and had been all day. The kid's pool and other toys were strewn all over the yard. A small plastic box I keep on my patio in a slightly protected area was lying in the backyard and all the contents were emptied out of it. The patio umbrella I purposely laid on the ground in the corner of the patio before lasts nights storm was blown to the other side.

But it was the site of a neigbhor's house that made me sick to my stomach and brought back all the memories of our house after Katrina.





- MY House after Katrina -