We had a delicious brunch at The Court of the Two Sisters while enjoying the music of a live jazz trio. A great way to start a day, the remainder of which would be spent at the Hyatt Regency working a trade show booth for the benefit of the American Amputee Soccer Association. Prior attempts to recruit players to the sport have been hit or miss. This year we decided to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) hoping these professionals could help us get the word out to top athletes who might be interested. Our “booth” was a small table which we used to display a banner, several action photos and a continuous loop video of the game being played. This strategy was a huge success. Not only did we distribute a thousand contact cards to prosthetists for display at their offices, we identified several promising prospects who were in attendance at the show. We shared the work with Eric Lamberg, head coach of the US National Team which allowed me time to venture from the booth to speak with potential sponsors.

Exhausted from all the standing and talking, we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at Pascal’s Manale followed by drinks in the French Quarter at a jazz club.

The first order of business this morning was a visit to Cafe du Monde to sample their world famous beignets. The bar was set very high. Next, it was off to the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, first for a short hike and then for a boat tour of the bayou (swamp). Spotting a bald eagle before even setting a foot outside the car was a good omen for the encounters with wildlife that would follow.

This armadillo, also known as a Texas speed bump, was our first sighting on the bayou.

Next an array of turtles and numerous birds (Snowy Egret, White Ibis, Blue Heron).

We did not see any of the five venomous snakes that are native to the bayou but we did find several alligators. The one pictured here is of a mother in her den with one of her babies. Only the tip of her mouth is visible but an interesting perspective nonetheless.

Alligators in Louisiana can grow to 14 feet in length but the largest we encountered were about half that. It does most of its hunting in the water, swallowing small prey whole and drowning larger prey by dragging it underwater. They have up to 80 teeth which are replaced when they wear down. Over an alligators lifetime, it may go through 2,000-3,000 teeth.

Not expecting to find any fine dining near the bayou, we were quite surprised to enjoy one of our best meals at the Restaurant des Families just outside the park.

Jeanine and I flew to New Orleans this morning for Mardis Gras. We arrived in time to catch two parades. The first was a bust. A vanilla flavored, family oriented affair with floats, marching bands, and fire trucks, something you might see anywhere in the country. The second was a jackpot. Dancers wearing huge feather clad costumes rhythmically moving and singing to the pulsating beat of their traveling percussion ensembles. Technically, the parade had ended but participants spilled over into side streets with no apparent intention of ending the party. The costumes were so intricate and large that it was often hard to find the human faces of the occupants. The New Orleans Police Department was out in force to redirect traffic around the numerous parades happening today.

We spent the late afternoon driving around the lower ninth ward where much of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina remains readily apparent. Spared by the storm were the two Doullut Steamboat Houses. In 1905, Paul Doullut, a steamboat captain, designed and constructed a home facing the Mississippi River. The captain wanted a home reminiscent of the steamboats he and his wife, who was, also, a steamboat captain, guided up and down the river. In 1913, he had a second, identical home built a few hundred yards from his for his son.

We finished the day in the French Quarter which eventually turned into a sea of inebriated and wildly costumed revelers.

By my count, there are 15 visible workers with 2 snow blowers removing snow from the roof of the riding arena across the street from our home. I suspect there are an equal number working on the backside. Record snowfall in the past few weeks has collapsed many a structure and it is very common to see folks clearing their roofs. Fortunately, our roof is both steep and covered in slate which prevents large buildups.

Another 16 inches of snow fell in Concord this weekend bringing the total to a record 90 inches in the last 23 days. The height of snow on our bedroom balcony gives a good sense of the resulting accumulation. At some point, even those who do not believe in climate change science will have to acknowledge the distinct increase in severe weather events all over the planet. After the snow subsided, high winds and frigid temperatures made this a day to stay indoors. For the first time I can remember since I have known her, Jeanine remained in her pajamas all day long. Interestingly, she had a most productive day, organizing and downsizing her massive collection of cookbooks, china, and teapots. We enjoyed a nice visit with both boys this evening. Nico has started a teaching internship and is thinking about pledging the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Kyle has adjusted to his new living quarters, is doing very well academically, and seems more organized than usual. Maya will be visiting Nico in Colorado next week, but after hearing about Kyle’s attempt at a Valentine’s Day getaway with his new girlfriend, I am wondering if we should send our little cupid his way instead.

Earlier this week Maya called into question the romantic integrity of “WBUR roses,” a Valentine’s day gift which Jeanine has received for several years now. For those outside the Boston area, WBUR is our local PBS affiliate. A portion of the price paid for the roses is used to support the radio station. To my way of thinking, the roses are a double gift since Jeanine and I both have our radios locked on WBUR and frequently discuss stories we have heard while driving. Not to let Maya’s accusation go unchallenged, I did not send roses this year but instead will be taking Jeanine to New Orleans for Mardis Gras next week. It is not clear whether this gesture will pass muster with Maya since I will also be attending a conference while there. To be sure, I also took Jeanine out for a romantic lunch and later we watched “When Harry Met Sally,” a movie we saw together during the early days of our courtship.

In the four years since his death, my father’s ashes have remained in the box in which they were received. I am very thankful to my sister Alissa who took it upon herself to transfer them to this beautiful raku ceramic urn, a befitting resting place for a man who so deeply appreciated the arts.

I spent the morning in Milford, NH visiting a contract manufacturer that iRobot is considering for future work. During the one-hour drive there, I paused in Townsend for a picture of this church. It is not immediately apparent from the photo but the pile of snow on the right is easily 15 feet high as was the mound on which I positioned myself for the shot.

A galette des rois (also known as a Kings cake) is a type of cake associated in a number of countries with the festival of Epiphany at the end of the Christmas season; in other places, it is associated with the pre-Lenten celebrations of Mardi Gras/Carnival. Pictured here is the upper layer during construction as Maya prepared the delicacy for a French class project (I remember no such treats when I was studying the language). French tradition holds that the cake is “to draw the kings” to the Epiphany. A figurine, la fève, which can represent anything from a car to a cartoon character, is hidden in the cake and the person who finds the trinket in his or her slice becomes king for the day and will have to offer the next cake.

At midnight I generally prefer to be asleep in my bed rather than napping on an indoor soccer field. My match this evening did not start until 10:40 pm and finished an hour later. We played with only one sub and ran out of gas by the end of the match losing 3-4 in the final few minutes. I scored our first goal but was relatively useless after that and even more so after knocking heads with an opponent. I was so tired after the game that I needed to rest before I could muster the energy to drive home. For reasons that now seem less than sound, I am playing in the over-40 age group this session rather than the over-50 age group that I qualified for 6 years ago.

A second record setting snowstorm has engulfed the Northeast in recent days and is still going strong. Snow depth on our deck (an area immune to drifts) now stands at 33 inches. School has been cancelled and most iRobot employees are working from home today. A FaceTime chat with Kyle this evening was the perfect antidote for our worsening cabin fever. He shared this photo he took of the meal he had just prepared for himself. He used the panini maker that Maya gave him for Christmas for the first time. He was in great spirits having completed some midterm exams and we were thrilled to see him eating so healthfully.

Surrounded, as I am, by magnificent cooks it is rare when my culinary exploits venture beyond the preparation of toast. Last night, when I proposed waffles for breakfast today, there was vigorous support but an absence of volunteers to prepare them. My offer to be the cook was met with laughter by Maya and Jeanine who view me as inept in the kitchen. Unswayed by this overt lack of confidence, I nonetheless prepared Belgian waffles for breakfast this morning. I used a formula which did not require yeast as this would have meant starting preparations last night. I measured ingredients with great precision unlike Jeanine who just eyeballs proportions. I separated eggs with only one post processing operation required to remove bits of shell. I beat the egg whites to within an inch of their life creating a wispy foam that I carefully folded into the rest of the batter. The first prototype is pictured here and full production was approved after initial customer sampling. I thawed frozen raspberries harvested from our garden to complete the offering. On a scale from “terrible” to “as good as mom’s” I received a very respectable “they are good” from Maya and her friend Fiona.

Maya knows that I am freaked out by her ability to spread her toes in cat like fashion. I believe that toes are meant to huddle cozily with their neighbors rather than spread out as if preparing to capture a small mammal in their grip. I do not recall how this topic came up in conversation but when it did, we learned that Maya’s friend Fiona, who is spending the weekend with us, also shares this ability. The picture tells the rest of the story and will no doubt impact my ability to sleep this evening.

The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists will hold their annual national conference later this month in New Orleans and have generously granted the American Amputee Soccer Association a free exhibitor’s table. The AASA will use this opportunity to enlist the help of prosthetists in recruiting players for the US National Team. Today I worked on several versions of a 4×6 handout that we will distribute at the show. This one was the most impactful and will also be used for a large banner that will be displayed at the booth.