Home for the Weekend
This weekend was the first trip in for Bunny & Trisha, so after school Friday we all headed straight into New Orleans, arriving about 5:30.
We hadn't even gotten the car unpacked before Olga "Yoo Hoo"ed across the fence, welcoming us back. We should have known that no hurricane could keep her away for long. A little later I saw AJ & Yoko, our neighbors across the street, getting out of the car. Shortly, we were in the middle of an impromptu dinner party. As we were showing our guests out the front door a couple walking their dog walked by, & we stood on the sidewalk chatting with them for a while. It's good to be home.
Saturday morning was a trip to the Quarter before starting our industrial-strength cleanup day. We went looking for breakfast, but Coissant d'Or & Le Madeline were both closed, so Trisha got her wish & it was Cafe du Monde for coffee & beignets. Sure, it's hokey. But it was sooo nice. Sitting there reading the Times Picayune, drinking coffee and spilling powdered sugar all over myself. As we were leaving an artist was setting up his umbrella & hanging paintings on the fence of Jackson Square. Things are definately comming back.
In between the parties & visiting and walking around the quarter we managed to rig up a temporary power line to the back, so I could turn on the pool filter & try to clean out the algae & mosquito larvae. In the process I got power to the electric water heater in the back building, so now we're very popular people in the 'hood. Estimates for restoring gas service range from weeks to months, so anyone with an electric water heater is either a close friend or an entrepreneur, selling showers for $5 each.
The contractor had closed in the office roof, so at least it will stay dry. Still a lot of work to be done, but it's a lot better than it was a week ago. It still needs a window, shingles and some wall repairs on the outside, and of course it's a horrible mess inside, though even that is better with the ceiling torn down.
Bunny and Trisha vacuumed & dusted and swept and mopped and by Saturday afternoon things were beginning to look and smell more normal. Another impromptu dinner party, when Bunny's mother, sisters & their husbands came by. We sat out in the back yard well into the night
While I disassembled and cleaned the refrigerator in the back (How could I have missed that quart container of chocolate ice cream while emptying the freezer?) Bunny emptied her closet. Some of the clothes had been lying right against the mold on the walls and were pretty badly stained. We loaded them up & took them back to Zachary. Maybe they'll come clean.
The pool is cleaning up nicely. By Sunday afternoon you could clearly see the bottom step, and it was almost possible to see the bottom in the shallow end. By weekend it should be easy to clean the debris off the bottom.
After removing 2 trashcans full of gunk, Bunny got the pond looking quite presentable, and there was even had time to water the grass before heading back to our country estate.
Sunday evening, as we were sitting at the kitchen table in Zachary, Trisha said, "This doesn't feel like home any more, after being back to New Orleans." I agreed, but of course to me it never did.
We hadn't even gotten the car unpacked before Olga "Yoo Hoo"ed across the fence, welcoming us back. We should have known that no hurricane could keep her away for long. A little later I saw AJ & Yoko, our neighbors across the street, getting out of the car. Shortly, we were in the middle of an impromptu dinner party. As we were showing our guests out the front door a couple walking their dog walked by, & we stood on the sidewalk chatting with them for a while. It's good to be home.
Saturday morning was a trip to the Quarter before starting our industrial-strength cleanup day. We went looking for breakfast, but Coissant d'Or & Le Madeline were both closed, so Trisha got her wish & it was Cafe du Monde for coffee & beignets. Sure, it's hokey. But it was sooo nice. Sitting there reading the Times Picayune, drinking coffee and spilling powdered sugar all over myself. As we were leaving an artist was setting up his umbrella & hanging paintings on the fence of Jackson Square. Things are definately comming back.In between the parties & visiting and walking around the quarter we managed to rig up a temporary power line to the back, so I could turn on the pool filter & try to clean out the algae & mosquito larvae. In the process I got power to the electric water heater in the back building, so now we're very popular people in the 'hood. Estimates for restoring gas service range from weeks to months, so anyone with an electric water heater is either a close friend or an entrepreneur, selling showers for $5 each.
The contractor had closed in the office roof, so at least it will stay dry. Still a lot of work to be done, but it's a lot better than it was a week ago. It still needs a window, shingles and some wall repairs on the outside, and of course it's a horrible mess inside, though even that is better with the ceiling torn down.Bunny and Trisha vacuumed & dusted and swept and mopped and by Saturday afternoon things were beginning to look and smell more normal. Another impromptu dinner party, when Bunny's mother, sisters & their husbands came by. We sat out in the back yard well into the night
While I disassembled and cleaned the refrigerator in the back (How could I have missed that quart container of chocolate ice cream while emptying the freezer?) Bunny emptied her closet. Some of the clothes had been lying right against the mold on the walls and were pretty badly stained. We loaded them up & took them back to Zachary. Maybe they'll come clean.
The pool is cleaning up nicely. By Sunday afternoon you could clearly see the bottom step, and it was almost possible to see the bottom in the shallow end. By weekend it should be easy to clean the debris off the bottom.
After removing 2 trashcans full of gunk, Bunny got the pond looking quite presentable, and there was even had time to water the grass before heading back to our country estate.Sunday evening, as we were sitting at the kitchen table in Zachary, Trisha said, "This doesn't feel like home any more, after being back to New Orleans." I agreed, but of course to me it never did.
posted by Carl at 10:07 PM
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