John's Birthday

Today is John's Birthday! We have a special dinner planned with lots of friends. A shrimp boil, with corn on the cob, baked beans, pasta salad, and Flan for dessert. I've been cooking and cleaning all day. Spent yesterday exploring more of this country side, in my attempts to get to the West Bank for the shrimp. This is truly a strange place. Even though the map clearly shows the location I needed to reach (the Seafood Market) is on the EAST side of the Mississippi River, the road to get there is I90 West, and just to add to my confusion, the signage on the express way calls that side of the river "The West Bank!" When I told this tale to our friends, they told me it's just because the river twists and turns so much that that side is "generally" west. They offer that thought so confidently, I had to back to my map and look again! It's not true! If anything the majority of the land "over there" is south of New Orleans, and generally it's East! I hope I can make sense of this place soon, thank God gas is getting cheaper and cheaper, because it takes me twice as long as it should, to get anywhere! I have to keep circling back and starting over. I know it's partly my own lack of directional sense, but mostly it's because everything is "off Kilter" from where I think it should be!

The good news is; It's John's Birthday!!! Friends will be arriving in a couple hours and we'll have a wonderful evening solving all the worlds problems or creating a few others.

Life here has taken on a pleasant routine. Em volunteers at the Presbyterian Church most everyday. I drop her off and Jack (the dog) and I grab a quick walk around the lagoon at City Park. I get home and tidy things up a bit, paint a little on the newest chair creation, then I take a second walk with a friend at Xavier U (about 2 miles from our house) in air conditioned comfort. Home again to start dinner, pick up Em, and then John gets home. Most any evening we might walk at the park and/or saunter over to a friends house for a glass of wine. It's a very calm time in my life right now and I find, much to my surprise, I really, really like it. I've grown so used to having a half dozen things to do with any given hour, this is a very sweet interlude of peace. I'm not at all interested, at the moment, in changing this reality by getting involved in church or community stuff.

Time enough for busy, right I'm enjoying being more serene and centered than I think I've ever been. It's kinda nice!!