December in New Orleans

Did I mention I was in New Orleans for a conference in December? No, I guess I didn't. It was fabulous. I would love to go back sometime and spend a little longer, seeing more of the real New Orleans, and volunteering to assist building or whatever needs to be done. The interesting thing is that the downtown area and the French Quarter were mostly spared from any devastation because the levies in that area held. If you went to New Orleans and only visited downtown and the French Quarter, you would never know anything had happened. You might think that the tourist business was failing though.
Before I left I looked at the weather report. Even though it showed warm weather, I somehow didn't believe it. I thought it was going to be a little chilly. WRONG. It was steaming hot there. I actually had to go shopping for flip-flops and a couple of short sleeved shirts. I brought sweaters, boots, and all long pants...no shorts, skirts, sandals, etc.
The food in New Orleans is out of control. There were great restaurants everywhere. I think K-Paul's was my favorite fancy place. They served a giant basket of different types of bread, including cheese & chive scones, molasses muffins, and regular dinner rolls. For dinner we shared a Cesar salad and both had blackened red fish with mashed potatoes and broccoli or something like that. There was no way to finish it all.
And Acme Oyster was my favorite down-home place. The oysters were awesome both on the half shell and baked: fresh, flavorful, juicy. And very reasonably priced. The evening we went Acme (we also went for lunch one day) we had a great time sitting at the bar, chatting with the oyster shuckers and the other patrons.
We frequented Cafe Du Monde, for beignets and cafe au laits, both in the afternoons and evenings after dinner. Their beignets are like pillows of fried dough (think chewy doughnut) covered in a mound of powdered sugar. And their coffee is smooth with a hint of chicory.
One night we took a mule drawn carriage ride around the French Quarter with a guy who could have been a history teacher, he knew so much about the area. It was fascinating. I highly recommend taking a tour if you ever get down to New Orleans. Their history is thick with scandal and intrigue. Nothing dull about it, especially given a good story teller.

Ruby Loves Apollo

Well, I guess it's been more than a month since my last post. I was busy getting used to having a dog. She is really amazing. We are still working on potty training. She has done rather well recently. Although she still seems a bit unclear on the concept of going to the door to be let out when she needs to go. However, when she was left in my Uncle David's kitchen for a few hours while I was at a seminar and he was out, she used the pad I set out for her. This was a major breakthrough.
So, I came down to Ventura to visit my Uncle David, his girlfriend Cindy and their posse of dogs: Diggie the old man, Trevor the mellow one (but don't fuck with his food), and Apollo Cindy's 65lb baby Golden. And Anisa also visited one night. She is a 100 lb Ridgeback. When we first arrived Ruby was skeptical of the boys, especially Apollo because he was so big and aggressive. By the second day, however, she had no issues and had a great time playing with him. He was able to play really well with her, just rough enough not to hurt her. On Monday morning when we got up (Ruby and I) she ran around the house looking for Apollo. He had been taken to the vet really early to be fixed. She seemed very sad. Now we are having to keep them apart, because Apollo really wants to play, but he is not allowed due to his fresh sutures.
In any case, I got some great photos of them playing.
Today it is raining in Ventura. I don't think I have ever been here in the rain. I am happy I decided to stay another day, because I don't really feel like driving in the rain. Hopefully it will be dry, for at least part of my trip, tomorrow.