The storm Sandy, formerly known as a hurricane, is visiting tonight. She's a little later than expected. But really: Sandy? Frankenstorm's name is SANDY? Doesn't this sound like a little blonde girl with pigtails and freckles? The name doesn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of coastal dwellers.

The Del Ray Halloween Parade was canceled today. ( Read more... )

As everyone knows, one of the most important tasks in preparing for a hurricane like the one coming through here today involves baking. Here is a chocolate cake I baked to look like a really big cupcake. So if the winds are blowing up to 100 mph, the power goes out, and we can't cook or keep food refrigerated, we can still eat dessert. In an ( Read more... )

Finally I'm posting more photos of my trip to New Orleans. These start immediately after my visit to the cemetery that morning. From there I headed away from the Quarter into the non-tourist part of the city. Here, the damage from Hurricane Katrina was still apparent. But I also happened upon a beautiful little Catholic church with mosaics I couldn ( Read more... )