boon boona

 Good morning one and all.

what I'm reading late 2022

We haven't talked about reading lately!
OMG!
I truly am that excited. I read some incredible (and so-so) books in the latter part of 2022, including:

Memoir
Scenes from My Life/Michael K Williams
--Tough to read knowing he passed away shortly after it was written. Honest and sadly unforgiving.
I was Better Last Night/Harvey Fierstein
--Also honest and unforgiving. I didn't know of his deep history in equality and AIDS work
The Family Outing/Jessi Hempel
--Brilliant. Outing is explored in so many facets and Hempel is a thoughtful, incisive writer
A Visible Man/Edward Enninful
--I wanted more. It was interesting but I felt EE was holding back and a little star-crossed.
Putting the Rabbit in the Hat/Brian Cox
--Same. It felt self-aggrandizing (and it KILLS me to say this about Logan mf Roy).

Nonfiction
Five Days at Memorial/Sheri Fink
--About the 5 days following Hurricane Katrina. It felt factual (?) and also frustrating because I'm guessing most of the problems Fink identifies have not been solved.
The Palace Papers/Tina Brown
--This felt like a hit piece on Megan Markle, unfortunately. Shame, TB.
Red Notice and Freezing Order/Bill Browder
--These cover the Magnitsky murder and surrounding political activities. Fascinating.

Fiction
Maud's Line/Margaret Verble
--Even though the ending is a little rom-com, this story of Native American love, life, striving and loss is terrific.
Our Missing Hearts/Celeste Ng
--Great writing and characters, as always, and the sad ending cannot be avoided.
Murder on the Red River/Marcie Rendon
--Another strong story featuring a Native American woman protagonist who is stubborn, does and says and sleeps with whomever she pleases (and fights back, if necessary).
Who is Vera Kelly/Rosalie Knecht
--I'm working my way through these and I adore detective VK. They remind me of the Sara Gran/Clair DeWitt detective stories only slyer and with greater depth.
Yellow Wife/Sadeqa Johnson
--Another thoroughly researched take on a tough setting, enslaved peoples living, loving, and losing each other among the horrors. Imaginative and impossible to put down.

Week 15: an extra heaping helping of humility

 Good-byes are hard for me and this one stings. I hope it’s only a see-you-later.

To back up a bit: on Monday we breakfasted at Elizabeth’s with a trio of determined bees that we temporarily housed in upturned water glasses, then drove out to Whitney Plantation. This is the rare plantation that tells its story from the perspective of its enslaved inhabitants, which is powerful and grim. I can only imagine the futile loneliness of living in the middle of the swamps. Dinner was at the Sneaky Pickle, buffalo cauliflower wraps and delicious fries and lovingly-prepared cocktails.

Tuesday was predicted to be stormy, an unsettled day of tentative walks and random meet-ups, card games, charging up phones, and waiting. When the afternoon storms fizzled, we walked to Frenchmen Street but nearly every venue was preemptively closed. Overnight, around four a.m., thunderstorms raged, with lightning so bright I couldn’t sleep.

Wednesday saw the departure of the Christmas Day arrivals. They came by with wine, leftovers and a palpable air of relief. We cleaned, packed and worked, and headed out in the evening to the Blue Nile to hear the New Breed Brass Band, and a glimpse of Kid Merv across the street. I felt happy watching these talented young players tear it up on their brass, and also deeply sad to be leaving.

Thursday dawned hot and sunny, and we ate leftovers, went for farewell walks, and eventually hopped in a Lyft driven by a talkative Cajun and headed to the airport.

*

Arrival on the west coast has been complicated. Illness, bad feelings from a landlord, rain, confusion. I’m trying to remain calm and focused but my stomach is in an uproar. Today, laying low, a few errands, a distant hello at ETG, and now writing.

C’est tout.

week fourteen: friendcation and packing

This week has been as unsettled as the weather.

*
Friendcation continued with outdoor brunches (Ruby Slipper, St. Coffee), outdoor dinners (Dat Dog, Pizza Delicious, Carmo), and some fabulous art and photo ops at Jamnola.
With mid-week departures came the very welcome arrival of my partner on a balmy night. We taxi'ed directly to Rosalita's for tostadas and margaritas, a quick drop off at home, and then a stroll around Frenchmen Street.
Friday was wet and stormy and we unfortunately had appointments around town. We pit-stopped at I-Tal for delicious vegan soul food, and Maison Bourbon to hear the incredible Kid Merv.
Saturday was New Year's Eve, a lazy morning of coffee and breakfast, then pre-NYE cleaning, changing of sheets and sweeping/vacuuming. A break to see a friend and visit the Kwanzaa market at Studio BE. And, the happy news that another section of my memoir will be published in May.Then at-home pre-gaming of cauliflower curry, beer and a cooperative card game. Then d.b.a. for an all-woman brass band, drinks in the alcove and the best people watching. Just before midnight we strolled outside with our midnight drinks, did a countdown with Gen Z kids on the street, then shouted Happy New Year as fireworks exploded overhead and bands played and people cheered and danced to a guy rapping on the back of his truck.
New Year's Day dawned muggy and foggy. I was pleased not to feel too hungover and shared a restorative joint on a walk alongside the Mississippi. We made an afternoon pit stop at a snow-ball pop up and then at Vaughn's, to drink Victoria beers outside while Saints fans cheered and sang indoors. We chatted up a Katrina veteran and self-professed cat rescuer (Mark) who talked and smoked and told stories. His wife arrived shortly, part of a Cat Lady Pub Crawl. It happens once a year on New Year's and included a dozen women in cat onesies and decor, drinking and wending their way around the neighborhood.
Welcome, 2023.