Yesterday morning, my neighbor had picked some fresh blackberries and decided to make some daiquiris. Our house guest had made a big pot of salmorejo and we had a stuffed artichoke from the Green Market. I went and picked up my mother and brought her over to see Arlene and have lunch with all of us. I have a good life, good friends, good food – my mother said that when Arlene goes, she’s going…
I went to Walgreens and stood in line waiting to pick up the last few anxiety pills for Arlene. We brought Arlene in bed with us again this morning to give her loving and she bit at the air and finally just hung her head down. She is so old. I went down the aisle and pick up a plastic bench for mom too. She was stuck in the tub for an hour and a…
I woke up and went to spin class this morning as our guest made us a version of gazpacho for lunch today. Most of the spin class was done with our eyes closed and most of what was on my mind while I was there was Arlene. I miss her already. I told the vet I would bring her in on Wednesday – giving us a chance to all say our goodbyes. But yesterday I…
I’m sure you know that New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in America, boasting a storied past but did you know that we have the oldest opera house in America and that New Orleans is also known as America’s First City of Opera? Last night we went to see La Traviata – great performance, especially the woman who played Violetta (Georgia Jarman) and big kudos to the set designer – wow. But equally…
Today kicked off the French Quarter Festival but I had too much to do workwise and too heavy of a heart to go listen to music, so we sent our guest on her own (or with our neighbor which might be worse than on her own). Arlene’s last days are now and oh, what a heavy heart I have – my Bean, my two colored eye wonder. Sigh.
When I was writing fiction and sending short stories and novel chapters out to publishers and agents, I got some great rejection letters – almost frame worthy. But last night I heard a friend who received back in her SASE a blank piece of paper. Now that is rejection.
We went to Lilette last night for dinner and as always it was delicious. We had oysters, gnocchi, ceviche on beds of fennel, kobe strip sirloin, tuna with fava beans, and then we finished with coconut sorbet and profiteroles – yum yum yum! Did I mention yum? After we headed to Donna’s to hear Tom and Evan play but wow – when we got there it appeared as if two tour buses had unloaded Germans…
I took our guest to see the lower 9th ward and to Lakeview to give her an idea of how badly damaged both areas were – one rich, the other poor. And also to get a view of how far they need to go to get to where they need to be. It’s pretty sobering to see it after spending time at the LaLa on the bayou where life seems to be just dandy. And…
Yesterday, Arlene got trapped under the bed again and pee’d all over herself. I was headed out to aerobics but instead got her unstuck and tried to hold her but she was shaking and covered in pee. I put her in the laundry sink with some warm water and was stroking her fur when she went into a full blow panic attack and so I rushed her out sopping wet to the yard. My neighbor…
Today I lost my perspective – too much on the to do list in the wake of mom who couldn’t get out of the tub for an hour and a half because her legs were weak, Arlene got stuck under the bed again and pee’d all over herself and then had an anxiety attack, the lawn mower rolled over and ate an irrigation pipe, the guy who I called to fix it said his dad…