Happy Saint Patrick’s Day….

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As luck would have it, an event scheduled earlier in the year was re-scheduled and they either didn’t have a choice about dates or picked this evening without realizing it was Saint Patrick’s Day. We have to cover it for the paper and even though it is at a place with a really nice restaurant that part is only open Fri-Sat this time of year. In light of what time we’ll be done, we won’t be able to get anywhere to eat until a little late and it’s not as if we have Irish pubs around. Although a couple of places are doing special dinners, they’re likely to be really crowded by the time we arrive. We decided to swap our usual Thursday pasta night and did that last night to save the lamp chops and mashed potatoes for tonight. We’ll prep everything before we go and it will be pretty quick once we get home. Granted, I normally do a nice Shepard’s pie, but things have been really hectic this week and I simply didn’t have the energy to juggle that.  I think there’s one or maybe two Guinness in the fridge and a Smithwick and I did go get a bottle of Jameson as we are almost out. Not sure yet if will go on the rocks or in Irish coffee.

A friend whom I lost track of was about as Irish as can be – Boston, former cop, and played the bag pipes. We met my first summer ROTC camp which was at Fort Riley and we overlapped for two summers. He was great fun and played the pipes well. In one of those ironic placements, his ROTC assignment was in Alcorn, MS – about as far culturally from Boston as one could be. He did have some adjustments to make for sure. I hope he’s doing well and having a great time tonight.

 

Good Food With a Little Whimsy……

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Yesterday was another of a couple of extra tasks thrown in when we already had multiple tasks to handle. The additional began to verge on “juggling” instead of handling, although the extra did mostly include fun.

I read about, then was told about Royd’s being open; something new for Redland, the historic agriculture area where markets pop up periodically. The individual who wrote them up in the weekly Redland View said he’d been keeping an eye on the place because he was curious as to what was going on. A family – still not sure if it’s just husband and wife or if there are two generations involved – have one of the farms and decided they wanted something more to share with people. Royd’s has a set of swinging saloon doors of The Gateway with the store front of The Jail and R l Everglades General Mechandise to the right and City Drugstore to the left; in the Western Store style. It’s actually open on three sides, but has overhead covered with picnic tables inside and the area set up with the mechanical bull. The kitchen truck (might be two) are outside and servers take orders and bring the food. It’s a breakfast and predominantly lunch place closing at 5:00 Wed-Thurs; 7:00 Fri-Sun and opening each day at 8:00. It’s a blend of American and Cuban dishes with sandwiches and full entrees plus desserts. And like most places in Redland, milkshakes are a big draw.

I had the hamburger and brought most of the fries home to Hubby and resisted ice cream. Well, I resisted asking about it because I thought the temptation might be too much. There is also supposed to be a petting zoo or at least animals to see on weekend. I’ll find out more about that when I talk with one of the principles on Monday.

Not Exactly Catching Up……

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This is one of the times when the absolute “musts” due to deadlines are being done and other things are staying high on the priority list with no let-up for probably another week. It is simply the “nature of the beast” because several events/obligations were previously scheduled and other important items were put on hold as I dealt with everything surrounding the trips to Louisiana. There are limited tasks others can assist with and while some of that will improve in the future, it doesn’t apply right now.

Okay, with that said, I have been up since 4:00 this morning and may very well try to lie down for a bit before dinner. No doubt that will cause the phone to ring or a text to come in, but maybe not. Speaking of dinner, it’s grilled pork chops and leftover clean-up for sides plus salad. Nothing is complicated nor time-consuming which helps. I managed to polish off one leftover for lunch so refrigerator space is becoming manageable again. I did forget we are dining out Thursday as we have an art swap to do. This involves about an hour and a half of somewhat chaotic swapping art in an exhibit, getting drinks for people, having some individuals who are coming for the social aspect and others merely to pop in and out. Hanging the exhibit might go fairly quickly although that is never a guarantee. Then it’s dinner which probably will go fairly quickly as they now close at 9:00 and won’t be urging us to linger. The “forgetting” part means I bought groceries I will have to freeze which is okay as we had also cleaned that out somewhat.

 

Repeat Louisiana Trip, Day 5…..

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Didn’t get the catfish after all; just one of those things. Had a mix-up in some paperwork and had to go back by the lawyer’s office which then threw me off in timing and knew the place would be packed. Estate issue will be more complicated than I hoped, but it can’t be helped. Also different than what I dealt with in Maine with that one; each state has their own way of doing things.

On the up side, the weather did warm up nicely during the day and it was all sunshine. Did meet my girlfriend for dinner; Two Johns is still a nice tradition for us. She lost her mother last year, so discussed those things. She is also retired now; well back working a few days. Her second grandchild – little boy this time – is 8 months old; cute video of his 3 year old sister with him. I explained I still plan to make an annual trip to be able to see ,my aunt, cousins, and old friends. I might swap from the fall though as there have been  times when football games have caused disconnects with getting together.

Anyway, I couldn’t sleep so came on to the airport and of course the coffee guy isn’t even open yet. I have hopes by 5:30 though. Unlike MIA there are vending machines which means Coke Zero is a caffeine option if necessary. Okay, enough for now and am hoping no delays in flights.

Repeat Louisiana Trip, Day 4……

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Am continuing with various tasks. Estate issues come with complications no matter what. I won’t get into specifics as they aren’t pertinent to the blog. (I will renew my annual promise to update our wills; perhaps I’ll even do so this time). My good friend is available for dinner in Bossier tonight and I’ll relocate this afternoon. One more trip to the post office and the lawyer’s office, then I’ll go to Cotton’s for lunch. I’ve done many take-outs from there. That was Daddy’s favorite when it became too awkward for him to go out in his wheelchair. He preferred the catfish and fried shrimp combo. He would eat the hush puppies too, ignore the french fries and give me the coleslaw.

Dinner tonight will of course be the exact opposite at Two Johns Steakhouse as I have written about before. I hope it hasn’t changed since the last time. That was actually two years ago as my friend wasn’t in town when I was here in October nor did I try to get in touch on the trip a few weeks ago; that was simply too hectic.

This will be a short post in order for me to pop down for one more coffee and complete two or three things on my to-do list. Hubby is finishing up a class today and he’s currently scheduled to be off to be able to pick me up tomorrow. I will try to remember the place closest to security is probably the one open rather than the one by the gate. I had to back-track last time to grab a coffee before boarding.

 

Repeat Louisiana Trip Day 3……

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Emotional content alert. Yesterday was the visitation and funeral. Although we did not know most of the church and Gideon people, two individuals who had been neighbors came to pay their respects. One non-family individual was special to my sister and I as we all went to school together a very long time ago when we lived in the small town of Sibley, just a few miles south of Minden. The most touching was our cousin who drove down from Tennessee and was starting back after the funeral. He’s the youngest of the five children of my aunt. None of them knew he was coming either and my aunt was of course happy to see him even for a short while. In some ways, this was difficult for her too, as there are only two of the siblings/spouses still with us; her and my mother’s older sister.

My sister did a great job with the eulogy and managed it without stopping to cry. I was unaware of one of the stories she told – well, two. Daddy and his three brothers had the distinction of being the first group of siblings to all complete high school in the rural area they grew up in. Part of that was the local school only went to 8th grade. In order to go to high school, that was the next town over. Commuting with only usually one truck per family – which would have been needed  at home – was not really an option. For Daddy and my uncles, living and working at the boarding house was the way.

The weather had cleared as predicted with temperature in the low 50s; the wind sharp. The graveside part was fairly brief. We said good-by to the relatives. The step-siblings and families were exhausted from the weeks leading up to the day. We decided on not gathering for dinner so it was my sister and I to have that final time at the Mexican restaurant.

Repeat Louisiana Trip, Day 2…..

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Hard to believe just two full days. Weather was terrible yesterday and I had a lot of driving to do. Temperature never got above 37, and was mostly 34 with dips to 32. Fortunately, that wasn’t sustained and there was enough traffic to keep any slick spots away. I started out at 8:30 for an extra  task that caused me to drive back to the airport, then down south to see aunt and cousins. I knew we wouldn’t get to talk at the funeral and I did have to ask cousin who is judge a couple of estate questions. The rain never let up, merely shifted from light to a bit heavier. It could have been worse, but was tiring to deal with. Sis wanted to do dinner early as she was tired from revising eulogy and taking care of some other stuff. We went to Roma again and since neither of us had an umbrella, I let her off and was able to park not far from the door. She had her first limoncello cake and truly enjoyed it. I keep forgetting to ask since I think they have someone local who does their desserts.

I thought I would sleep last night, but it was wake up every two hours although I did go back to sleep pretty quickly. I finally gave up at 4:00. Had a Facebook message from cousin in Texas; knew there was someone I’d forgotten to notify. It does get a bit jumbled. Today will be long; family time at the church at 12:00; visitation at 1:00; funeral at 2:00, graveside after. Not sure who all will be available for dinner tonight. We’re going to his favorite Mexican restaurant – well, his favorite here anyway. Good news is rain has passed as predicted and temp will get to low 50s by time for cemetery. He will actually be buried next to Mother in the same way my stepmother was buried next to her first husband.

Repeat Louisiana Trip, Day 1…..

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Emotional content continues. We thought our father’s rally might sustain for a while. My sister called me Monday afternoon, Feb 21 with word he had passed away. She and her husband were headed back Tuesday, but I explained my situation with the friend in rehab to everyone. I wouldn’t be able to travel until Friday, the 25th. As it turned out, due to other circumstances, Sunday the 27th was going to be the best day for the funeral.

Ironically, my schedule for this trip is identical as the previous with the 5:24 a.m., out of Miami on a Friday and I’m scheduled to return on the 6:30 from here on Wednesday. The difference was I did use my “faithful driver” as he always claimed he was fine with pre-dawn pick-ups and was at our door his usual cheerful self at 3:15 a.m., yesterday. The drawback this time was the section of the airport we were in had absolutely nothing open; and as I had observed last time, there are no vending machines in the airport. Despite the many trips through MIA, I’d never noticed that. I’ll probably email about it at some point. There were two places preparing to open for what I imagine was a 5:00 a.m., start. That is early, but not quite early enough. I did have half a cup of coffee on the ride in and managed to make it until they served us a small cup on the flight.

Connection at DFW was still tight although a little better as the terminal for the swap was closer than before. The delay came in a ridiculously long wait to pick up the rental car. I did make it to the lawyer’s office before their lunch break to get the documentation I need as executor. My sister and brother-in-law then met me at Burger King for lunch before we went to take care of a critical piece of bank business.

In another of life’s ironic twists, our brother can’t come up because he and his wife have some cold/mild flu – COVID tests negative, but carrying any germs into a crowd these days is not appropriate.

Bouncing Between Stories……

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This is one of those weeks with two stories already on tap for the paper and the third one hit this morning. On the other hand, it happens to be the follow-up piece to one I initiated couple of weeks ago and is a totally “feel good” piece.I didn’t previously post about ,”The Redneck Talent Show”, which put together by a YouTube star who has some connections to the area. His work has built up a following of more than 9 million and the Talent Show was something new for him and his team. The “talent” was wide open to different things with entertainment being the goal. With a prize of $10,000, it drew in more than locals. However, a local dance group (the newest in the area), did win. I wasn’t familiar with them and have been impressed with the day’s exchanges.

Of the other two, one is something relatively new that may well become an annual event and should bring a lot of people in who will be staying in hotels, dining out and so forth. Some will come in RVs since it’s an athletic event at the Speedway, but even with that, they’ll probably have to gas up before leaving and that certainly generates sales tax. There is still a perception that the Speedway is only about NASCAR or open only part time rather than understanding they have about 300 days a year with events. Some are small, and some, like this one have nothing to do wit cars/vehicles. The MIAMI CLASH is one of several locations and includes Pro and Amateur biking, running, and swimming competitions. Hubby will cover the actual events and I’m doing the preliminary to let people know about it.

The one that is distressing deals with thefts and vandalism against one of our Boy Scout troops – the historic one founded in 1946. Acts like these are never good, but when it involves a charitable/civic group it’s especially disturbing. A little publicity might possibly result in some useful information getting to the police.

Louisiana Trip, Day 6……

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Having done basically all that could be done with the situation with my father, I was able to re-book to return yesterday. Unlike my other trips when I stay in Bossier and have dinner with my other high school friend, I hadn’t contacted any of them. I was also staying in the room with my sister so I set the alarm for 3:45 a.m., to add in the extra time to get to the airport for the flight to Dallas.

She had not been to Roma, the only Italian place in Minden and the nicest as it is in a historic building. I’ve written about it before although I had forgotten their veal is just okay – nothing special. I made a note in the phone for future reference. My sister enjoyed her shrimp scampi and their homemade rolls are good.

Both flights yesterday went smoothly and it didn’t take as long as sometimes for luggage, plus Hubby was able to come get me instead of using the driver. Today has been non-stop catching up as tomorrow will be super busy, too.