No Free Lunches
N and I went for our joint birthday celebration to Bayona – it was tough finding a nice restaurant open for lunch as all are still understaffed. Meanwhile a note from the SF office saying (at my urging) they were trying to make the OTR reporter conference in NO next year and most of the hotels said they are still not at capacity and won’t be until 2008 – BIG SIGH.
I was hoping to sit in the courtyard at Bayona but we arrived in a gale hale thunderstorm that was loud and thunderous – so much so we had bribed someone from the parking lot to drive us the three blocks back to the restaurant. We had a duck sandwich with almond butter and roasted onions, spinach gnocchi and a delicious fried oyster salad with black eyed peas. I’m still full and I didn’t even mention the brown sugar custard with bananas and the bread pudding.
Then we walked over to Tujagues for a cocktail and stopped in to buy some party pants at a cute boutique and ran into the Snake buying one of N’s presents – so he was busted without even knowing it – and he joined us at Tujagues – but the Pimm’s Cup was horrible and as much as we tried to get the bartender (surly I might add) to doctor it – he couldn’t get the cloying sweetness to go away. So we made our way to the Napoleon House for the real thing. The Quarter was crowded even in the rain – because of Jazz Fest we reckoned. We stopped at the Touche for one last cocktail and found ourselves in the midst of Ohioans or some such. They were singing the State Farm ditty and we were beside ourselves with laughter. Back towards the parking lot we found another cute shop and went in and I bought a hot pink wig that is sassy. N and I both got bling bling rings and she got one for her toe as well.
The weather report says rain rain rain for the next three Jazz Fest days – may there be mercy on us patrons.
Stopped by the LaLa and big L was there working on the plumbing – he said I am his favorite client – and I said why because he can come and go as he pleases? – he laughed, I didn’t. Meanwhile, looks like R was there and pulled the lathe off the back room getting it ready for insulation but still no call back from K, the incognito contractor. Since my birthday greeting – the dancing balloons – no word. I’m sure she’ll contact me soon, as she wants a lot more money last I heard.
S is gearing up to travel tomorrow to NO for JF. N is going to Shreveport for a funeral, her cousin died. I saw L briefly this morning driving along the bayou – P has the dogs so I haven’t seen him the past few mornings – I told him to bear with me as my pendulum swings from little Ms. Do Right to there once was a girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead and when she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid. He said he would have patience.