Posted 5:47 AM by Rob

I did something this week that's been on my list for a while -- attended a game at Wrigley Field. I think it was meant to be. A seminar I was interested in was being taught in Chicago, and my supervisor at work ordered me to spend some of the office training money. So what's the next logical thing to do? Check the Cubbies' schedule. And 'lo and behold the lowly Braves were scheduled in for three games. Perfect.

I knew Benjamin has occasional business in the Chicago area, so I talked to him about whether he could arrange things to be there, too. And he did have a meeting in the general area, so we scheduled it for Wednesday evening and I bought two tickets at Stubhub. He drove into the city from South Bend, Indiana, returned his rental car and we met up at the venerable old Congress Plaza Hotel, which was a trip in itself. We caught the subway a couple of blocks away and rode in a train full of Cubbies t-shirts and hats (no problem knowing which station to get off at) to the park.

Except for Fenway, Wrigley is the oldest major league ball park in the country, and the best one I've been in to watch a game. Although it holds 41,000 fans, it has a very intimate feel, almost like a minor league field. And there is, of course, the ivy. As Braves fans, Benjamin and I kept a low profile, but the crowd was mellow, probably because the Cubs are leading the NL East. There's a real sense there that this may be their year after the long drought. We had three beers each, talked about a bunch of stuff, and watched the Braves go down in ignominious defeat.

At the end of the game, we decided to savor the park for a while longer, and were surprised that the crowd didn't trip over itself trying to get out like they do here in Atlanta. Instead, they stuck around and broke out singing the Cubbies National Anthem. It was quite moving.

Finally security signalled us to depart, and we headed back to the train.

The seminar? That was good, too.

Posted 9:28 AM by Rob

For those of you who aren't regular readers of decaturga.com, this is your official invitation to the Grand Opening of the new McKoy Pool!

On Friday, May 23, just in time for Memorial Day (and Decatur Arts Festival weekend) McKoy will unveil its new facilities (see drawing at left). Mayor Floyd will be in attendance, although it's unknown if the local resident pony or Tom Keating will be guest speakers.

From 6-8 p.m., refreshments will be served.

Posted 4:34 AM by Rob
Atlanta is often accused of being "white bread city," with no distinctive local cuisine or particular discernible culture (aside from sprawl). Now, though, we have fried coke!

John Kessler writes this week in the AJC that you can get it -- a coke and sugar-infused funnel cake concoction with cinnamon and whipped cream, served in a paper coke cup, this weekend at the Atlanta Renaissance Fair.

It's described by one food critic as "unequivocally disgusting." Aw, they said that about fried chicken and waffles, too.

Posted 4:25 AM by Rob
When we last visited New Orleans, in the middle of March, Mommy picked up a copy of Gambit Weekly and it contained a review of this book that caught my eye. It had only been out for a couple of weeks and I had some trouble locating a copy at the local bookstores. I finally found one (autographed even!) at the Garden District Bookstore on Prytania St.

It absorbed me immediately. We were in town the weekend before St. Joseph's Day, a big deal in certain ethnic communities in New Orleans, and nearly a whole chapter is devoted to the tradition of cooking and embellishing an altar to St. Joseph, who seems to be the Patron Saint of Just About Everything. While Mommy was at her conference, I visited the altar at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church on Louisiana Street, and it was like entering a time warp. Everybody around me reminded me of my Italian relatives. The altar at the cathedral in Jackson Square was also very impressive.

There aren't any recipes in this book, but there are lots of stories that revolve around food and the culture of the city, and the timeframe spans Katrina, so the losses make the stories even more piquant. Best book I've read in a long time. Next time you come visit, we'll have some Sazeracs.

The author's website is http://www.sararoahen.com

Posted 5:32 AM by Rob
As some of you know by now, I got a call from King's Bridge early this week and they have a two-bedroom apartment available for Granny and Granddaddy. It should be ready for them to move in at the end of the month, and the movers are now scheduled to pack them out of Texas on October 30. They will probably depart for Atlanta a few days prior to that, the end of the week of the 22nd, and stay either in a hotel, at our place, or in guest quarters which are apparently available at King's Bridge. We're still working on what the options are.

Those of you who might be called on to help in the transition know who you are and we've already talked to you. Now that we know they will be living in Atlanta during the holidays, we can better shape how things will look for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We'll be doing our usual Houston Quilt Market thing starting the 26th (flying out the evening of the 25th, probably), proceeding to San Antonio on Sunday, preparing for the moving van, then driving G&G's Honda (which we're buying from them) back to Atlanta (through New Orleans, of course!) We should be back around the 1st or 2nd of November.

More to come, of course.

Posted 6:39 PM by Geoffrey
We spent five hours in the Bayfront emergency room today, as Jennifer was experiencing dizziness and light-headedness. Stranger still was her tendency to lean to her left while sitting or standing.

The diagnosis? After ruling out stroke, pulmonary embolism and brain tumors, the docs decided it was vertigo.

I am convinced that this is the blanket diagnosis they use when they have no idea what is making someone dizzy.

Be that as it may, Jen was ordered to take two days off work, and to avoid driving. The hope is that this is a passing inner ear infection / hiccup, and that rest, fluids, and anti-dizziness meds will clear things up for her.

Personally, I think it stems from excessive Wii-ing.

Posted 6:37 AM by Rob


We had a very nice gathering at Benjamin and Ginger's last evening. They did a low country boil that was delicious. And I got lots of wonderful stuff, thank you all very much. I will be inflicting fish-eye and polaroid photos upon you all soon.



Unfortunately the day was not without its down side. I tripped while trying to clean up the basement and made a three point landing (one knee, two wrists), so that almost any use of my hands now involves pain. Tying my tie this morning was fun.

But more distressing was having to have Isabel put to sleep. She had some sort of major medical event (a clot, seizure, something) yesterday morning and became semi-paralyzed. We took her to the vet and they agreed that they could make her "more comfortable" but that she would likely not improve much at her age. So we decided it was time.

So now Fiona is the senior cat (though she still cries like a baby) and the rest of the group is figuring out the new dynamic. Unfortunately it probably won't mean any less marking. Pamela has suggested cutting out the five o'clock feeding in the evening. We'll see how that goes over.