Really cool web site!! Check your U. S. geography knowledge.
Please adjust your links accordingly!
I tried several times to get a bit of a nap today when I got home, but they were picking up more tree junk from our street, and it's sort of hard to nap to the noises of backhoes and trucks. Little by little--and I'm glad I have a nice manageable car, because I turned onto my street at one point and saw that it was totally blocked. So, I had to do a u-turn. Luckily there was a driveway nearby, because my street is a bit on the narrow side. I'd been out to get gas so I could get both to and from the airport tomorrow. YD is going somewhere and I'm taking her to the airport. It's not like I have anything else to do--and besides, I'm going to be needing transport to and from the airport later this month.
The best part about the rain last night was that it was last night, and had stopped by dawn. Even though it was cloudy, it was--overall--a nice day. And the air is not so dusty.
I had a call this evening from a woman in California who is thinking about going to the Romania dig this coming summer. She had all sorts of questions, and she seemed to like what she heard. She and her husband have gone on a bunch of Earthwatch expeditions and have totally realistic expectations about different cultures and living experiences. I told her about the kid year before last, and she was appalled at some of his behavior. I hope they go to Romania--they sound like a couple who would be a big help there. As she said, you go on an expedition to work--not to be amused. The Kenya trip I'm taking involves work--about 6 hours a day. And checking lion scat to determine what they've been eating is not what you call glamorous, but it gets results and information. On a related note, I need to copy off the article in the briefing booklet that says (basically) that lions with bad teeth eat humans. My dentist will love that. (to top)
I see the dentist again this morning--he wants to check on the extraction site, since it is essentially covered by the temporary prosthesis. He wants the gum to heal with a slight depression in it. I'm glad I've got the appointment--last evening and this morning are the first times I've had a discomfort sensation there. I just have to keep an eye on the clock and take the pre-medication an hour before the appointment. (The pre-medication is a necessity with an artificial joint in my body.) After the dentist I think I'll go to the internet cafe. I got a "reminder" that my virus protection etc. that came with the computer is about to expire. I wasn't able to renew it from my desk-top, no doubt because I have a different system on that one. And, rather than crawl around under the card table to find the magic cable to shift from my desk-top to my laptop, I'll just go where there is wireless. I've got some more books that I've finished to "release" there also. The first batch was gone in two days.
Yesterday I took YD to the airport. I picked her up at home and we went across the lake via the Causeway, but I took the interstate back home. (Much more direct route to Slidell.) Once again, there was very little traffic. I took the bypass that avoids the heart of the city and could see somewhat more of the devastation. The LSU Dental School is along that route. I asked the dentist how it had made out and said not well. The senior students have all been sent to private dentists' offices, but the others are sort of in limbo. On the east side of New Orleans I saw where an entire apartment complex had been bulldozed. Most of the apartments lining the interstate there have significant roof damage--in some cases the roof is down to the studs. No signs of life--how can you return or even "camp out" when there are no stores open for life's little necessities like food? And I saw no evidence of electricity there. YD said some bloggers from the Florida area were whining because they had been without electricity for three or four days. I consider myself lucky to have gotten power back in two and a half weeks. Almost all the power poles in my area had to be replaced. If they weren't broken, they were leaning dangerously.
I got a (natural) gas bill yesterday and it was a biggie--but I sort of didn't have to pay it all. I had deducted the automatic payment for early September from my balance, but the gas company hadn't collected it. So, there was that much less to subtract from my current account balance. I have also noted that the newpaper auto-deduct hasn't been auto-deducted. I think the water company didn't charge for the month that it had to be boiled before drinking.
Weather today is gorgeous. We really need more rain, but the sunny weather lets more repairs get done. Once we do get some significant rain, the burn ban will be lifted and instead of dragging yard trash out to the street I'll be able to burn it once again. a href="#top">(to top)
When I'm not involved in driving into New Orleans, I like the fog--it's like a comfy blanket. It blurs the edges, and subdues some of the sounds. Fog is part of winter in New Orleans. However, in the transition from the old normal to the new normal--whatever that may be--the fog seems to lose some of its mystique and it's just there. It will lift soon as the rising sun warms the air up and then the storm damage will be visible and serve as a reminder that this a period of transition for many of us. And it's a transition to an unknown.
BK (before Katrina) I had been giving some serious thought to some kitchen remodelling. I figure my chance of finding someone willing to do this are between slim and none for probably the next year. They will be busy building and repairing kitchens (and the rest of houses) for people who have none. The job thing is very much up in the air. University faculties are being cut anywhere from 25% to more than 50%. The spring semester is a big question mark for local schools--how many students will return? Xavier (my university) says it will be able to have classes on its campus. And, they say a preliminary survey shows that about 3000 students (out of the 4000 enrolled for the fall) plan to return. But, this school does not have a big endowment to take up the slack of repair bills. Their web site also talks about faculty cuts in the vicinity of 30% - 40%, and staff cuts of more than 50%. So, my spring looks very "iffy" at the moment. Not being able to plan very far ahead is a major frustration for me.
Yesterday I discovered that my landline phone is out again. I don't know how long it's been out--I don't use it very much, especially now that I have the cell phone. I get very few calls on it. I'm gradually getting the cell phone number on the records of those who might need to get in touch with me, such as my doctor and dentist. So, today I'll call in the dead phone. (It's nice to have a phone to use to report that your phone isn't working!) Other than that, I can't think of anything that absolutely must be done today. It's a good thing I have a lot of books! (to top)
I took a nap after lunch, and then I washed my car. It has been so dirty, but now that we've had a bit of rain, the worst of the dust is off. It's very discouraging to have a newly washed car covered with dust the next day. Today it got a good cleaning. After that I discovered that I was out of doggie hamburger and dry dog food, so it was off to WalMart--after stopping at Arby's for an early supper. Their late afternoon crew just does not have the zip that the lunch crew has!! Of course, most of the lunch crew is management, from a bunch of different stores. I got some more reading about Zimbabwe done, then did the rest of my errands. Naturally, since I had washed the car, we got some sprinkles, but as long as it isn't more dust the car will stay looking good. Compared to dark cars, mine barely shows light brown dust--the car is yellow. But it shows on the windows.
As I said, another exciting day draws to an end. (to top)
This morning the weather was just right--pleasant temperature (not so warm that the sweat was pouring off with activity) with a bit of overcast--but not rain-threatening overcast. (Although goodness knows we need rain.) So, I decided to try to clean up that point of (public) land across from me before my struggling azalea and some caladiums got trampled by people removing cables from where they were lying, sliced neatly into several pieces. I got enough weeds and stuff cleared and trimmed so that the "real" plants were visible. Then I dragged tree branches from the ditch and moved them to the area where I've been putting (or having YK put) trimmings. And they made a sort of platform so that I could dump weedy stuff without having it all go into the ditch. (We're still under a burn ban, so bonfires are not an acceptable disposal method.) I could see trucks down the road doing something, but there is so much to be done it's hard to keep track of who is doing what.
After the yard work I showered and washed my hair, then went out for a late lunch. Getting back home was interesting. One of the streets I (and a LOT of other people) use regularly was completely blocked by a long truck the was getting tree stuff scooped into it. It was crosswise in the street and had a couple of flag people directing traffic around it. I'm glad I know my way around town--instead of heading all the way over to the US190W, a street where the chances of making a left turn onto it are between slim and none, I ducked through some narrow streets and came out the other side of the truck. That was for starters. When I got to my road I saw that there were a couple of large trucks in my block, so I made a slight detour and came around the other way. There was a bit of a problem--there was one truck in my driveway, and another one pretty well blocking the street--which is narrow. They could see where I wanted to end up and moved out of the driveway. I took a deep breath (to make my car narrower) and managed to get into my driveway.
I am curious about what is going on, so I walked back out there to inquire what they were fixing now. Telephone cable--splicing the cut parts back together. My next question was "Where are y'all from?" I find it very interesting to see where all the help here is coming from. Most of the workers brought in by the power companies and phone and cable companies are from the south, but these guys were from Vermont. And yes--they liked our version of November weather. One had been home the week before and had six feet of snow. I'm trying to remember the last time we had snow that stuck to the ground for more than a few minutes--several years ago, I think.
So, another unremarkable day has gone by. I'm reading Rising Tide, about the 1927 flood and the development of the Mississippi levees and control structures (such as the one at Simmsport which, if it fails, will let the majority of the Mississippi water go through Morgan City to the west--leaving all the petrochemical plants on the lower Mississippi unable to run. And that will also kill the nuclear power plant which uses river water for cooling. Can you say Total Disaster?) The Corps of Engineers are definitely not the heroes of the book. And the author has been in town--probably to write another book about the Corps and their poor engineering. Back to reading, petting the giant cat, and sort-of watching TV. (to top)
We had a whole bunch of "guests" at church yesterday. A big group of mostly young people from a couple of Massachusetts congregations had come down for a week of helping with cleanup. They helped not only people from our congregation but also went into New Orleans for a couple of days and worked in the Lower Ninth Ward, where the devastation can best be described as "utter." ( That's the area Prince Charles and his wife visited on their U.S. tour. A far cry from the black tie dinner at the White House of a day or so before!) They seemed--I guess the word is stunned, or maybe shaken--by the extent of the disaster. Here on the North Shore things still show that there was some really really bad weather. Many trees have yet to be trimmed or taken down, plenty of buildings show extensive damage, and if you go into the areas within a mile or more from Lake Pontchartain you see what the storm surge did. But storm surge damage did not leave sewage all over the place.
A sure sign of a recent disaster is the Saturday house and garden supplement in the newspaper. This is the first time it's been published since August 27. It's full of hints and tips on how your garden/plants/trees etc. can be expected to do. And it has a long article on how to salvage books that got soaked. The answer is to freeze dry them. They say put them carefully in a plastic container, then leave in the freezer for about three months. (This is, of course, assuming you have electricity!) According to this article, the mold etc. can be gently shaken from the pages. (I'm glad I don't have to test tht particular method out.)
I'm down to less than three weeks until I leave! I've had a fair bit of e-mail correspondence with several of the people. One young woman (from North Dakota) read the part in the briefing about bringing a duffle bag and was wondering how she could fit everything into one. I told her about the rolling duffles of all sizes available. The Medium that I bought has at least half again the capacity of my 26" suitcase. I'm wondering how I'll fill it! I'm sure it will NOT be bursting at the seams. Even though it's a rolling one, I still have to lug it around a certain amount. And no, I no longer make detailed lists of what I'm taking. I've got three pairs of lightweight "working" slacks that get tossed in, four or five "working" tee shirts (although I need to add My "I Survived Katrina" shirt to the stack), and the usual underwear needs. The slacks have been to Romania three times and one pair is covered with artifact locations that I reorded on the legs because I didn't have anything else to write on. The only new item of clothing is the long-sleeved shirt that's supposed to have extra sun-blocking capabilities.
I just looked outside again and it is absolutely gorgeous weather--a marvelous fall day in the Deep South. I used to think that cold climates were better, because one could always add more layers, but about forty years in the south has left me with zero longings for crisp, freezing weather, melting dirty snow, and having to wrestle little children into and out of snowsuits and boots. My children do not feel the least bit deprived of snowy winters. OD had a bit of snowy winter when she did her residency in Arkansas. YD had the annual snow that totally messed up traffic in her years in Atlanta. They both settled in this area. In fact, it's so nice I just might DO some yard work this morning. Or maybe this afternoon. (to top)
I still had time remianing, so I headed for the WalMart on that side of town. I hadn't been to it, but luckily its interior arrangement is very similar to the one on my side of town. Mostly I was after bleach to pour into my stagnant pool. My pool guy said that bleach would do a good job on mosquito larvae, and not muck up the walls. So tomorrow I'll dump about five gallons of cheap bleach in it. That done, it was time to head home, stopping for the prescriptions on the way. Once home I had a phone call to make to the gas company (Atmos) about their notice that I was way behind on paying my bill. Excuse me, but they are supposed to take it from my checking account without me having to mess with due dates, checks, or postage. And they hadn't. The guy said they hadn't debited anybody in September. Well, it looks like they forgot to tell their computers to go back to debiting in October. While I had him on the line, he got to hear about how Atmos had wanted a copy of my late's death certificate in order to change the name on the account. And I faxed the same to them. And they were still sending bills to him. I also pointed out that the only other agency asking for proof of death was the New Orleans Saints season ticket office. Even the credit cards got switched with just a phone call. (The Saints ask for proof of death--an obit will do--because one time the wife in a nasty divorce had the tickets changed to her name--and the soon-to-be-ex-husband did not like it when he found out the next year at renewal time. Good for her.) The upshot was that the account name got changed and they promised to debit my account--or at least stop sending me letters saying I was in arrears. I wonder how many other people got undeserved letters like that.
I get really upset at that kind of erroneous letter. I grew up in a household where the money was frequently scarce, and I was aware of the concept of "or else" letters, debt consolidation loans, and times when we had incoming phone service only. I have a horror of being even a day behind.
And that's why I am able to go and spend money on things like DEET and sun hats and trips to Kenya. (to top)
Technically, it's probably not even true "can see" weather. But the work goes on. (to top)
11/8/05 - "What this country need . . ." . . .is more unemployed politicians." Angela Davis said that, according to my WWFWW calendar. I do believe she has a point. Perhaps it would do professional politicians good if they say, took a sabbatical and came to pull sheetrock from inundated houses for a while. Or (for those who are lawyers) volunteered their legal services for a year at a store-front law clinic. Anything--as long as they did more than a walk-through of "problem" areas. Oh yeah--and they should live in the area they are working in. They should learn about "situations" from the inside.
And here's another suggestion: spend three months in Iraq or Afghanistan as an enlisted reservist or National Guardsman. Try to figure out just where those WMDs were. Get to meet the Iraqi people who are struggling to get through each day, with electric power maybe five or six hours on good days. I seem to recall many years ago that a mayor (was it in Chicago?) moved into public housing for a while. Hey, let a Congressman come stay at my place for a couple of weeks. He too can listen to the beep beep kaTHUNK as the sun rises. He too can play the game of guessing which streets will be blocked by refuse-collecting trucks and cross fingers that those picking up pieces of house interiors have not left a bunch of nails behind. Then he can semi-park in the stop-and-slow traffic. And this is not the really bad area--how about trying to camp out in east New Orleans--and find a stores that sell food, candles, and gasoline.
A friend e-mailed me a New York Times article talking about Congress and Louisiana and recovery problems. That set me off, and when I glanced over at my daily quip calendar, Angela Davis' quote seemed quite apropos. I am fully aware that my annoyances are minor compared to so many areas. Since I don't have a job the traffic and delays help to fill up my days.
The weather continues to be warm and dry. Warm is good, but the area could sure do with a good soaking rain so the burn ban can be lifted. They said there would be three passes of the trucks picking up tree and yard trimmings, and three passes of trucks picking up soggy carpet, furniture, etc. Well, there have been two passes for the tree stuff, and I have a whole lot more to get cleaned up. It's the little stuff that presents the problems--I usually burn that. Now I'm feeling urgency to get at that stuff and get it up front quickly. Unfortunately for yard efficiency, school is back in session, and the high school YK goes to doesn't get him home till about 4:30. Too late for any yard work. A good rain would play havoc with all those people with blue roofs, but I think it would help "melt" the root balls on several tree stumps that are on their sides.
Tomorrow it's back to the dentist so he can poke around and check the way the socket is healing. This is not a Big Deal and the area feels fine. The next two days I need to spend working on an old course proposal. If I can offer a course that is relevant but almost nobdy else teaches, I MIGHT be able to pull a slot teaching it somewhere. At any rate, doing this will be good mental exercise. Part of this involves trying to get my relevant women's history books all nicely listed and annotated. And I've acquired a lot more since I first did this thing up.
Two weeks from tomorrow I leave for Kenya. Another item on tomorrow's agenda is confirming my plane reservation and making a hotel reservation in Nairobi. (to top)
I was still caught up in the book so after the dentist I headed for PJ's where I could read some more without any guilt feelings about household things that I could see needing doing. And then back down the interstate to eat lunch at Arby's--and keep on reading. And when I got home I read some more. Did I mention it was a compelling book?
So, basically today saw no progress in yard work or inside tidying. So what. And guess how I will spend my evening. I'm up to the background to the 1927 flood now--all the rains over the winter throughout the Mississippi River valley and the valleys of tributary rivers. I doubt I'll finish it tonight, but most likely it will be done by tomorrow night. (to top)
I am hoping that Abby will quickly get back to "normal" eating. It's a good thing my sitter has tons of experience with animals--she'll be able to monitor her progress.
On the travel front, I verified my flight with Northwest/KLM, arranged for transport at each stop, and had them put my miles (more than 6000 each way on Northwest aircraft) on my Continental card. I checked with Earthwatch as to whether I needed a mosquito net, and was assured that at the site there are very few mosquitos this year, courtesy of a very dry season.
And then I tackled another item on my to-do list--checkbooks. I printed out the current status of my accounts and went through two of the three accounts. Much to my surprise the bank says I have more money than I think I do. I could go back and check my arithmetic, or I could make a note of the difference, and if it's there next month add it in under the heading GOK (goodness only knows). The deposit that I had mailed to the bank about a month ago FINALLY got credited. I figured it was lost in the mail.
And--I have landline phone again. Some nice person showed up and found that it had been messed up when the cable people were doing their thing. This worker was from Wisconsin and was really enjoying our "winter" climate. I think these people who come in from all over do okay finacially--and to get a break from snow makes it even better.
Today's paper reports that sonar has shown that the pilings for the levee that broke were not as deep as they should be, plus they rested on peat-type soil. Just what is needed--a nice solid foundation. culprits: Corps of Engineers and those who were supposed to be inspecting stuff. And I continue reading Rising Tide and the various foul-ups that exacerbated the flood of 1927. (to top)
Yesterday I spent a very pleasant evening having dinner at a colleague's house. He's the department chair, but before he got that post he was a friend, and still is. I know that my job is semester to semester (and almost always has been) and I am hoping that they will still need "half" (or a quarter) of a faculty member. His wife is curator of Asian art at the New Orleans Museum of Art. She is one of the thirteen staff that still have jobs. All the others had to be let go. The Museum had a minimal amount of water, and only on the lowest level. Their sculpture garden outside lost a couple of pieces but in the great scheme of things they were very lucky.
I also learned that one of my colleagues lost her house completely. Her husband is a physician at Tulane, and that hospital suffered some flooding. (It's in the immediate area of Charity and down the road from University, both of which have been closed.) Tulane talks about coming back but it looks like in the near future they will be relying on their satellite offices. (My orthopedist is part of the Tulane group in Slidell.) Not only did they lose their house but she was among the unfortunates to get cut from the department.
Yesterday I went in to New Orleans to the radio station. The NPR station was talking about their streaming audio online, and it suddenly occurred to me to check WRBH online. Good news--the building took no water and they are broadcasting again. However, the little antenna behind the building, which formerly transmitted to a bigger antenna, is all they have. The big antenna is/was in St. Bernard parish. And that was totally under water. So, nearby people can get it on the radio, but most listeners now are via streaming audio. It was good to see some of the people--others are elsewhere. They aren't doing the variety store ads--no ads for many of them, and not enough stores open to make them useful. So, I read parts of a young adult novel--Jubilee by Margaret Walker. I recorded two half hour segments and I plan to go in Monday to do a couple more. It's a really good book and I just ordered a copy for myself so I am not left with just some parts from the middle. I expect that when I have read it I'll pass it on to my older granddaughter.
This was only the second time I'd been on the streets of New Orleans, and it was a different area than Xavier. I got off the interstate at South Claiborne. I knew that had flooded--it floods in heavy rains. Once again, no traffic lights--just four-way stop signs. And they were more than adequate for the level of traffic. S. Caliborne has a really wide neutral ground, and it had been cleaned up (as least as far as I went on the street.) But the poor houses along the road looked really bad. The only bright spot was the Rex den, where they keep their floats. It had flooded, but the doors were halfway open and I could see the floats for Mardi Gras all bright and clean. My route to the radio station takes me down Louisiana Avenue, which was, until recently, the location of a huge housing project. The projects had been emptied out and several of the buildings razed several years ago. Since then many of the older houses along the street had been renovated and the area was looking much better. But so many of the houses showed signs of flooding. Several of the big churches on the street also flooded, and one door still held the big orange X of search and rescue.
But, when I was almost to St. Charles Avenue, the traffic lights were working and things were looking somewhat better. I noted that Rally's has a big sign offering $10 an hour for employees. The McDonald's on St. Charles was closed. On the other (the river) side of St. Charles the neighborhood quality changes, and they were far fewer signs of devastation. Most of the live oaks that overhang Louisiana Avenue for most of its length were still intact. This area got minimal water. Magazine Street, where the station is located, had almost no flooding in the area I travelled. But, once again, the traffic was way below normal.
I think I commented earlier that in east New Orleans "not even WalMart was open." Brain-dead me--east New Orleans flooded really badly. Almost no signs of life are visible from the interstate, other than a big bunch of PODS (big metal storage units) in place at the apartment complex run by Volunteers of America. The doors to WalMart were open, and the interior was empty. Of course--they flooded too. Hundreds of cars at the car lots lining the interstate are covered with mud and muck. Only one dealer has managed to reopen and his shiny vehicles are in sharp contrast to the rest of the area. The North Shore has huge bad areas, but they are almost nothing compared to New Orleans.
But New Orleanians, for the most part, are quite upbeat about the future of the area. (Hey--we control the mouth of the Mississippi!) Many will leave, because with lost houses and jobs, they have little choice. But many of those will try to return eventually, especially if they have long family ties to the area. There will be Mardi Gras festivities this year, although over a shorter period of time. The CBD (Central Business District) and the French Quarter are in pretty good shape. The parades will all be along the same route (instead of in various parts of the city) and they will go on for only 6 or 7 days--not 14 or 15 as in the past. It will be interesting to see how many of the costumes are Katrina-related. When people costume as Blue Roofs, Flooded Houses, and--the really scary one--Refrigerators for Halloween, what will Mardi Gras bring. Mardi Gras will help with a mental turn-around and will be good for the area. (But New Orleans East will take longer.) (to top)
Katrina has brought one badly-needed change to New Orleans--many of the schools are reorganizing as charter schools. And (actually change #2) the state is taking over a bunch of them. The Orleans Parish school board has done nothing but fight and politic for as long as I've lived here. Their financial accounting system is so bad that some people are getting paychecks who have been out of the system for years. A fancy (and expensive) computer program breaks down frequently--leaving teachers without paychecks. It looks like Katrina will end up getting rid of the old ways more or less completely (at least for a while.)
Today was a lovely day--in the 80s, and without the usual high humidity of the summer. Dry as a bone again, but the weather gurus are guessing forecasting rain for a bit later in the week. They are "predicting" that we will finally be getting our more or less wintery weather for a few days. This last bit, about the rain, is from the TV weather people. Intellicast, on the other hand, shows no significant change in the weather in its ten-day forecast. We need some rain--damaged roofs and all. Rain will help spread some of the dirt my neighbor brought me yesterday. I looked at his four big piles of dirt and asked if I could have about half a load. He said sure--he wasn't sure what his now-fired builder had planned for the dirt. So, he brought it over yesterday with the Bobcat he'd rented so he could rearrange his dirt. I've got a spot where the tree stump has lifted partially out of the ground, but the stump is fairly level. The roots are sort of naked, but the dirt will cover them and I can plant stuff on the little rise around the stump. I'd been slowly filling in those empty spots with the de-tootsie-rolled Feline Pine. I just tossed it, then hosed it down to dilute the liquid remaining. (In exchange for the dirt I'm picking up the entire bill for my fence repair--and the gate we decided we wanted.)
Once I got back home today I had to get some stamps. I've talked about the humongous lines at my branch of the post office. I though about going to the next town, but then remembered that even though the main branch of the post office is closed, it has a mini-station the size of an ice cream truck to take care of simple transactions. There were only two people in line, so I got my stamps and got my mail posted in nothing flat. Usually I buy commemoratives, but I didn't think this branchlet would have much variety and they didn't. But I've got enough stamps to last me for a while.
(If I ever find I need a load of dirt, I'll rent me a Bobcat and spread it that way. That looks like a lot of fun!!!) (to top)
I've been checking out the reports about the latest tropical weather in the Caribbean--depression 27, which is expected to become TS Gamma. And then probably Hurricane Gamma. Maybe even a category 3 by the time it hits Central America near the Yucatan. The reports all talk about the high pressure area (a strong one, they emphasize) which will supposedly protect US territory from yet more of Nature's work. I don't care what they say--I won't rest easy till it goes away. It's the heritage of Betsy and Katrina and Rita and a bunch of other storms over the years. One never takes something for granted. (Betsy was the chief example of sudden path change.)
It's supposed to rain a bit today (that's why I was rearranging the dirt) and it's starting to cloud over. Good. We need more than just a sprinkle. But let's not have it rain till I'm done getting my pool rail and doing errands. (to top)
And there I am with losing track of what day it is. I keep thinking tomorrow is Friday, but it's not. Tomorrow is the day I get my new bridge. At the moment Friday is "open."
The weather has really cooled down. I am digging out the sweaters and afghans, what with the skyrocketing price of natural gas. It didn't rain as much as I would have liked last night and the forecast doesn't show much in the near future. Maybe tomorrow morning I can rearrange a bit more dirt then toss rye seed out on it, sprinkle it some with the hose, then hope it will take hold. The rye I tossed out a couple of weeks ago is up now. I should be seeing the rabbit any day now getting his salad greens!
Traffic in Slidell continues to be extremely heavy, especially on the road I travel to WalMart etc. and thence to the interstate. Last Friday evening it took me 30 minutes to go three miles--and there were no accidents to blame. This morning it took me 20 minutes to go 2.5 miles, and I called the chiropractor's office to say I might run a bit late. I made it only one minute late--the slowdown was a patch of "taking turns" while a lane was closed off for electrical work, and once past that it was smooth sailing, with the interstate speed pushing 80.
I do hope this is a transitional "normal" and not what the "new normal" will be. (to top)
I had a good suggestion from OD regarding my Nairobi homelessness, but so far nobody has responded to me e-mails. I talked to the person at Earthwatch and told her my plight, and what I was doing about it. She sympathized and asked to be kept in touch. If I don't hear from the Scottish woman in a day or so, I think I'll phone one of the other women--both of whom live in the US.
Each time I go to the store I get more dog and cat food to stock up on for my vacation. I try to keep to 20 items or less because of the long lines. And, as long as I am at the store I can get a newspaper, not that it has all that much in it. The Times-Picayune main office is in the Xavier vicinity--translation: at least four feet of water. Our local rag's Slidell office also got at least four feet of water, but their western St. Tammany (my parish) edition is trying to cover both ends of the parish. I don't have regular delivery yet, but Thursday and Sunday I'm getting a free throw. It looks like they have given up (at least for a while) on two papers. The free throw is titled St. Tammany News. BK (before Katrina) we had the Slidell Sentry-News and the St. Tammany News-Banner. Any way you look at it, the paper is minimal in quality, although it does have some good comics.
When I was at WalMart I almost ran into somebody I knew, although I couldn't recall exactly who it was. He asked how I'd done, and I learned he had been flooded out big time and had moved to Mississippi. After we chatted and went our respective ways I remembered who he was--the veterinarian I used to go to. I taught his daughter to swim, and I used him as my vet back when I lived here in the 60s, as well as after we returned in the mid-70s. I changed to the mobile vet after Pete died, because of the logistics of getting eight (at that time) animals in for their annual shots. The big-box stores of today tend to be the "meeting place" that the village squares used to be.
Today's (actually yesterday's) to-do list had "vacuum" on it. Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow. It's much easier to rush around the house when you don't sweat to death doing it. (to top)
Outside are the usual noises of kaTHUNK and beeeep beeeep beeeep as the cleanup of roadside trimmings and tree pieces continues. Yesterday's paper headlined the arrest of a Slidell city council memeber for getting a 100K kickback for a trash clean-up contract. I'm not in city limits so the kickbacks for these crews probably went to somebody else. Hey--look at how contracts get awarded for Iraq--don't they mostly go to friends of George?
My Friday to-do list has a slew of phone calls on it, but they have to wait till a "normal" working hour. Meanmwhile, I shall huddle in my bathrobe, with a bulky sweater over it. Too bad the floor registers aren't larger so I sit on one of them like the cats do.
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It's less than a week--sounds unreal. I guess Tuesday when I start packing it will become real. This evening I stopped at Walgreen's to get a newspaper (still no home delivery--or vending machines) and picked up a couple more little things I need. I also got a couple of those mesh laundry baskets that collapse into almost nothing. They were 2/$5 and they should be handy as substitute dressers if necessary.
The tree guy came by this afternoon to give an estimate on the remaining work at the little house. It has two really nice live oak trees that need a lot of trimming--and not just the branches that are practically touching the house. He did a really nice job on my live oak--it doesn't looked all "trimmed out" and I expect that it will really take off in the spring. There's also a tree leaning significantly into the next yard that will have to come down. At least the insurance check came through for that place.
The tree guy told me his wife really liked the bridge that he took back to her. It was the first bridge my late husband built for ditch-crossing and was in response to "honey, could you put a couple of boards across the ditch to make it easier for the kids and their bikes?" That was 29 years ago, and the bridge has since been replaced by one that's wider (this is the one that was hanging off the mailbox) and the old bridge had been moved down the road for the neighbor kids to use for a shortcut. Well, the neighbor kids now have kids of their own, and I didn't want to this original get scooped up by trash people. The tree guy looked at it and took it back to Cincinnati with him and gave it to his wife. I think I'd like her--anyone who could fall in love with a footbridge--and also works with the Cincinnati zoo--has to be nice. I talked with her a bit this afternoon and told her I'd make extra copies of some of my pictures from Kenya.
Speaking of pictures, I finally took my storm pix in to be developed. Walgreen's doesn't have Kodak picture CD, and I found that the Walgreen's one is not nearly as versatile, so if I am to post pictures I'll have to learn how to use my scanner and do it that way. I'll have double prints--that's standard with next day service and doesn't cost extra. I'll probably take a bunch of those along on the trip. Then the Florida woman (who had two hurricanes last year and Wilma just recently) and I can compare notes.
After the cold morning, the afternoon was rather nice and I got some yard-weeding done. Mostly I pulled up or cut back wild cherry trees and treelets and pulled up as many blackberry vines as I could find in one particular location. Mostly, I was trying clean up around a rosebush and a little crepe myrtle tree. I can see the difference, so I guess the effort was worthwhile. More weeding tomorrow, I hope. (to top)
One thing I have decided on is what to wear travelling. Polyester slacks, of course, because they don't show wrinkles, and I'm not sure the tents have things like clothes rods. I'll take a light sweater with me on the plane and leave a warm jacket in my car in case it's cold the day I return. It's easier to plan clothing when you are going from one place to another, but staying in the same general climate. Kenya is below the equator; therefore it is summer there. (Or rather spring.) I keep checking on the Intellicast weather for Nairobi and the temperatures seem quite pleasant. One of these days my mind will automatically relate Celsius temperatures to bodily comfort, just as it now does with Fahrenheit. At least I've gotten to where I can think of time on a 24 hour clock and not see, for example, 1530 and have to subtract 1200 to realize that it's 3:30 PM. (This probably good for maintaining mental flexibility--or something like that.) And now, to continue the Usual--an "exciting?" evening of TV and reading. (to top)
I'd called in a renewal for my BP meds, since I'll be getting back with about two days of pills remaining. However, my insurance won't cover a renewal till 11/29. Okay--the order is in their computer and I'll pick it up as soon as I get back. I also bought the $1.50 Sunday paper, which does NOT have three times as much content as the 50 cent daily paper. It has gazallions of advertising supplements to give it quite a bit of heft. I am reminded that Christmas is coming--how can that be? Until today it was really warm outside. Katrina has played havoc with my sense of time--I have to look at my phone to see what day of the week it is. The upcoming trip has also consumed most of my thoughts. Well, I'll get back December 8--that still leaves more than two weeks before the holidays.
About mid-afternoon Yard Kid appeared, and did he ever get a lot done. There was dead and down small tree--he sawed off branches and dragged it all up to the road. Then there was another tree that had fallen even before Katrina. That's gone now too. Hand that kid a pruning saw and he can really go to town on two and tree inch tree trunks. In the morning I'd cut back a bit on some of the wild cherry trees. With that stuff cut, I could see that a lot more should go. Now my crepe myrtle treelet and my lonely struggling rose bush are not going to have to compete for sun with the trash trees. The final touch, after I heard YK raking, was to hand him the seed spreader loaded with rye seed and have him seed that side. It's supposed to rain tonight, although the radar doesn't look that way, and that should get it started. If nothing else, it will hold the dust in place. And look nice. The rye I spread on the patio side of the house looks fairly decent. Another seeding in the bare spots before I go and it should look good when I get back.
Two more days. (to top)
One big item on my agenda is writing the first two Holidailies entries. I've done Holidiailies since 2001 and I hate to start late. So, I'll get the entries written and let YD post them for me. I know what I'll be doing those two days, so it shouldn't be too hard. I think I'll have YD dump my bulk mail about every other day also.
This afternoon the pet sitter came over, met my giant cat, and saw one of the two from the shelter. She's known my dogs for quite a while. While stocking up on pet food I bought a bag of dog biscuits for her to give to the dogs when she pulls up in the driveway. (I keep a bag of dog biscuits in my car and when I pull up at home I give them each one.) Even though it's been almost two years since she has seen the dogs they seemed to recognize her.
I got a note from the guy in Montana without e-mail saying he too would be on the flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi. I gave him a call and found out his seat is five rows ahead of me. I also gave him a tip for handling plane changes with only about an hour between flights--asking for transport. He's had both knees replaced, and he says we'll be the bionic ones on the team. Were it not for assisted transport I'd probably still be trying to find my way around Charles DeGaulle airport from the 2004 trip!
Oh yes--one other thing: I forgot to call OD about getting an antibiotic prescription for the trip before their family left for Texas, so I called my regular doctor. I asked to speak with his nurse, but the receptionist was able to take my message. I guess the drugstore will have it ready for me tomorrow--nobody called me back for more details. So tomorrow I have to remember to add drugstore to my errands list. I also have to get more dog food and wild bird seed. (The pet sitter knows about the bird seed too.)
I shall spend the rest of this evening with my to-do list near at hand so I forget as little as possible. (to top)
So, I will get the duffle packed tonight, and the carryon almost packed. Since YD decided to take the day off tomorrow I can put off leaving here till about 8 AM, which will give me time to wash my hair in the morning. I have little stacks of stuff all over the place, and a couple of master lists of don't forgets. I keep writing little notes to the cat-sitter, but then she's used to that. We always forget to cover something when she visits beforehand. Anyway, it's several years since she's done the house-tending.
I've been to the bank, getting money to change into Kenyan shillings, I've printed out the little exchange tables that are online, I've got $5 bills for tipping the people who wheel me around the airports, and this time I remembered to put in a bunch of dollar bills for vending machines. I guess if I want something in Amsterdam I'll have to cope with finding a few euros. I don't think I have any sitting around the house, or if I do, it's not much and I don't feel like looking for them. I put my passport with my travelling wallet. I need to add a couple of my credit cards, and that should do it. Oh yeah--I need to put the e-ticket info in my wallet. This will be the first time I've used one of those. I called last week to confirm and have them list me for transport at each stop.
I lucked out at WalMart this afternoon--found the latest copy of one of my favorite puzzle magazines when I went to the store for more dog food, bird/squirrel food, and cat litter. I finished the Ngaio Marsh book so I need to find another for airplane reading. I've got plenty around--it's just a matter of deciding which one gets to go in the tote. I have several Analogs that I've finished--I'll leave them in airports.
This whole trip seems totally unreal. I cannot believe I have gone and done this, but as I drove down the road on my errands I realized that I would have two weeks when I could go somewhere without seeing the insides of everybody's houses out at the curb waiting for pickup. Two weeks when I would not have to dodge tree pieces that aren't quite all the way off the narrower roads around my house. Two weeks when I could meet people without saying "how did you do?" and crossing fingers about what the answer might be. Two weeks when I would be around people for most of the day. (Cats are lousy conversationalists.) Two weeks when I would not have to factor in extremely heavy traffic going from point A to point B. If this trip wasn't already tax-deductible as a charitable contribution, I'd be tempted to put it as a mental health expense.
Katrina was almost a quarter of a year ago.
(Ignore the December dates at the top of the page until it actually IS that particular date. YD will post my first two holidailes entries.)
This is Sue's daughter, Diana, making her first Holidailies post for her.
Well, before I go on, I'll go ahead and put in the post that she wrote before she left for me to put here for this day:
This is the day we leave the camp and the lions and head back to Nairobi. It will be about an eight hour drive and we’ll get there in the late afternoon. Several of us are not spending the night, but taking advantage of an 11:30 PM flight to Amsterdam--the first stop on the way home for several of us. We’ll get into Amsterdam early tomorrow morning.
This last two weeks has been quite something, and by the end of Holidailies you’ll have heard a lot about it.
Ummm... well, it didn't exactly go that way. Three days after Mom got to Kenya, she slipped and fell on some stairs and fractured her hip. She then spent the next week and a half in Aga Khan hospital in Mombaso, Kenya. She never did get to see a lion. Funny thing is, she is on her way back today. It just happens to be on a stretcher, with a nurse accompanying her.
I'll probably be posting her entries for the next couple of weeks since she's going straight into the hospital for replacement surgery once she makes it back. So, watch this space for updates. If you want to get in touch with her, please don't email her at the address on this site. It actually will probably be better to email me at diana@dianarowland.com, since I'm not sure when she'll get the chance to check her email.
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Diana here again. I haven't had the chance to talk to Mom yet, but she's in the hospital here and had her surgery today. I stopped by the hospital to visit her and met my sister over there, but Mom was not yet out of recovery, so I didn't get to see her.
Hopefully by tomorrow I'll have an entry that's actually dictated by her.
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Other Journals I follow regularly, including those of relatives (and which are usually updated almost daily)
Romania 2005
Romania 2003
Vacation 2002
Archive for links to earlier sites.