Sunday, May 5, 2013.
Second-Hand Jazz Festival. Cinco Of May.
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is advertised on two walls in my house. With the weather being so fine, I should have gone to the Fest. I probably would have if Mary Ann were nor in Washington, DC visiting her sister. Instead, I worked on other projects.
I did get live information about this years' iteration of the festival from Mary Leigh and They Boy, who went yesterday and spent the whole day eating. Good reports on the Cajun jambalaya ("best I ever ate," says ML), pheasant gumbo, cochon de lait poor boy ("fabulous!"), hot sausage poor boy ("good," sez The Boy, who understates everything), and a sno-ball (ice cream cream--and that is no typo, as any New Orleans sno-ball lover understands).
ML said that Fleetwood Mac played for three hours. She must have been breathing a lot of the special kind of second-hand smoke that always attends concerts of artists from Fleetwood Mac's era.
The kids gave me this briefing during brunch at the Camellia Café, where for some reason they were celebrating Cinco De Mayo. It's not usually a good idea to get ethnic specialty dishes in restaurants that don't have the same ethnic backgrounds as the dishes. We started with some queso, but it was just okay. A Mexican-style Cobb salad wasn't as good as the normal salads they serve here. The special menu also offered a chicken and tortilla soup, but before they could bring me some one of the cooks dropped the pot and lost the batch. The Mayan gods were against this special menu, and I think maybe they ought to forget it next year.
The rest of the afternoon went to coaxing life from the lawn tractor. I gave it new filters, oil, and gasoline, plus a full charge of the battery. Still, it would have been a miracle if it had caught, and three miracles have already transpired this weekend. So, nothing. Next weekend will be the one. I hope.
Steel, the former puppy who decided he liked living with us better than at his real home next door, has disappeared. He and fellow German Shepherd Susie went out for a stroll Friday morning. Susie returned, but without Steel. The leading explanation is that Susie--who lost her position as alpha dog when Steel grew a good bit larger than she is--led Steel deep into the woods, then sneaked away to return home alone. Susie is a highly street-smart dog. Could this have been a plot?
Camellia Cafe. Abita Springs: 69455 LA 59. 985-809-6313.
