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City Park was so beautiful this morning. The crepe myrtles and the cypress are the only trees in fall color – and the crepes give an array of yellows to rust, but the cypress have turned an umber color that is just magical. As I rounded the bend to come back towards home, I noticed many pockets of people throwing bread to the ducks and then a clandestine circle of ducks holding an impromptu meeting under a large cypress. Here’s what they were saying:

Turkeys are in, ducks are out. We made it another year. Woo hoo!

Each day about 150 people read my blog. Interestingly enough most of those are unique visitors to the site. The areas that get commented on the most are my entries about loving New Orleans and being in love. But the entry that got the most comments was when I had my chemical peel and posted the day to day progress of the peel.

I started this blog in 2004 because I was going to write about my family – wow, did that ever take a detour – as I moved back to New Orleans in early 2005 after 16 years in California, my writing focused on what was happening to me: Katrina, my affair (btw: don’t regret much, but this I DO), a divorce, and rebuilding from scratch the LaLa in post-Katrina times, as well as falling in love with a woman, and now trying to adopt.

Move over family, Rachel’s in the house.

That chemical peel was symbolic as you can tell. And I’m overjoyed to think that New Orleans is still on the map, Obama was elected president, and I still feel as if I have not even gotten started writing about the wonders all around me.

Thanks for reading my blog and have a happy and fun holiday!

This is me as Pocahontas last Thanksgiving, my first in the LaLa – we had a ton of fun, but this year we are going for small and cozy with my high school friend driving in from Atlanta and mom and the zoo:

Our suitcases came after I went to bed so before I took Loca out this morning, I was trying to unpack and take care of a few things and was running late. I raced out the door, and Loca saw two of her friends, Louie and the white dog, playing off leash on the grass by the bayou. I let her off to run play with them and this could have gone on forever, but I knew I needed to walk.

So we quickly walked to the park and just seeing the Great Egret on the cypress knee crags of the lagoon, the Cormorants in the bare tree, as well as the lone big Pelican resting calmly on the surface of the glassy bayou made my heart warm. I realized how inspired I am by nature and how wonderful my life is here in this oasis of natural beauty.

November 26, 2008 – Daily Affirmation

Today, I open myself to be nourished by the beauty in life. My thoughts blossom and bear fruit.

J sent me a video of Palin speaking to the press in front of turkeys getting slaughtered. Yesterday, I went to Rouses and OH MY GOD there were millions of people there and I was standing over the cooler looking at Butterball turkeys (frozen Butterballs are best for deep frying) and all they had was small or huge, and as I went up and down the aisle buying the typical turkey feast ingredients, I looked around at my fellow shoppers and all of them had this glazed-eye look – almost as if we were moving on a conveyor belt towards our own slaughterhouse – lemmings, sheep – I felt like shouting why are we doing this?

But then my attention was turned to the riveting news on the magazine stands – at least three said Jen and Angelina are exchanging barbs.

Gobble gobble

United used to be the big airlines – the one I always wanted to fly – employees owned that airlines – and then. It SUCKS. Bags, not here. Oh now they call and say it is not 6PM to 8PM but 8PM till 2AM and they will call first. And I say, call at 1AM?

I asked the woman if she realized she is working for a moribund company. That UAL won’t make it this way? That they lost all of my luggage in the summer and that they suck beyond compare.

She said, there is nothing she can do. And I said, well, there it is.

I’ve been stressed again, too much on the to do list to be able to take a breath. What are we trying to accomplish? Everything today. More than is possible tomorrow. Super producer – it’s almost a lament now.

Try life.

Wake slowly. Deliberately.

Enjoy who and what you love intensely.

Underschedule.

It’s Thanksgiving – let’s give thanks for our abundance and promise to cut back on it.

Predators from the UK and Germany descended on the Spanish coast and chased out the Spaniards a few decades ago – they built pink stucco condos and basically destroyed the land values and culture of Southern Spain. I heard from someone in New York, they are now descending on Croatia. “Gorgeously unspoiled,” a guy tells me his friend describes Croatia this way and bought a $300K vintage stone house on the Dalmatian coast. “The Germans and Brits buy these houses and flip them,” the guy told me.

My stomach was flip flopping. The natural beauty, the unspoiled coastline, the stone houses. Have they no shame? The one good thing about New Orleans is we probably will never be economically viable enough to attract flippers and investors. We had our moment in the sun when Ann Rice and Linda Ronstadt and others bought old houses here, but most of those have gone now – only our Saint Brad is a stakeholder in our fair city. Absentee landlords are a nuisance.

Croatia – love it or leave it – but don’t buy it and spoil it. Shame, shame, shame.

I walked outside to throw away all the stuff that collected in this house while I was gone for what – one week? – where does this stuff come from? Anyway, Rudy, my mailman, was next door and he hollered over to me, “How ya doing Rachel?” and I said, “Rudy I just got back from Boston and I have to say, I am doing SWELL because it is gorgeous here (the temp is about 68 perfect degrees).” He said, “That’s why we live here, huh, yeah, my aunt and uncle are in from up north for the holidays, they arrived bundled up as if they were expecting 30 below.”

This is us in Boston:

Flew Jet Blue to NY – sit in leather seats, watch all sorts of TV, offered tasty snacks – arrived in a much improved new terminal at JFK – claimed luggage and caught cab with no wait – arrived at hotel.

Okay, flying back on UAL – are you kidding me? What has happened to that airlines? When I lived and traveled out of San Francisco, UAL dominated the air. I had all the perks of a frequent flyer plus I paid to belong to the Red Carpet Club just so I could get a free banana and use a spiffy bathroom before my flights.

Fast forward to now. Checked in and had to pay $15 for baggage. Then the woman who took my baggage said she couldn’t do anything about seats because the huge terminal UAL desk was just for checking baggage. Then get to the flight and it is delayed – no reason, no explanation – simply delayed. Get on the plane and we are packed in like sardines. Arrive in DC late, but we still have 45 minutes till our next flight takes off. Get on plane with seats that are broken while the Exit aisle which you pay extra for is completely empty. Ask to switch – flight attendant first scoffs, but we insist and finally get moved. Arrive, luggage doesn’t.

Really – why can’t all airlines be like Jet Blue?

I was going over in my mind all the ways I am lucky as I walked through City Park this morning. The grass looks like it was mown on the bayou, in the park, on the neutral ground – seemed like a coordinated event but I know how things work here and it was more like serendipity for me returning from a trip to see everything square inch manicured and lovely.

Okay, let’s look at how my day started:
1) woke up with someone I love
2) animals were all in their usual positions
3) bayou was gorgeous
4) saw two pelicans first thing
5) healthy in mind and body
6) looked forward to my work
7) have tremendous hope for a baby

Let’s see how I went to sleep:
1) delayed flight
2) lost luggage
3) urine stench in master bath with the rugs filthy
4) Loca down 3 pounds
5) mom scared because she heard Loca’s squeak toy being stepped on in the yard an hour earlier
6) a daunting to do list awaiting
7) not one prep completed for Thanksgiving