I love my toe-toes!

I just had to snap a picture of my boy chewing on his toes. He loves to get them, even in the bathtub!

Our insurance adjuster was out last Saturday and took pictures of our damage. They didn't argue at all about any of the damage we were asking to have fixed. They told us they would send us a quote in three weeks with the amount that they'll pay. I guess that's when we'll have to roll up our sleeves and get into it. We had a roofer come out to measure our roof the other day and I got very excited thinking they were coming to start. Unfortunately, he told me he had no idea when he'd be back. Meanwhile, Joey got back up on the roof and hammered away at the tarps. Things in Jefferson Parish are very slowly returning to normal. A lot of businesses are still closed and most restaruants and groceries and other places of business still close at 6 or 7 PM. They just don't have the wage workers here to work the different shifts. There are "Now Hiring" signs all over the place. Burger King is offering signing bonuses of $6000 if you sign on to work full-time, $3000 for part-time. Our regular trash pick-up hasn't resumed so there are flies everywhere. There's also mounds and mounds of debris, from tree limbs to sheet rock and carpet everywhere.

Joey and I drove into the Lakeview area of town the other day. The devastation there is just unbelievable! The link Robbie posted to see pictures from Christina is of Lakeview. My former school, Saint Paul's Episcopal, is in that area. They are hoping to open a satellite school in January, but don't have a location yet. My building was just built three years ago and the gym building was just completed two years ago. They both had about 8 feet of water in them. Most of my students and families at the school lived in the area and lost their homes. I've run into some of the parents at Target (one of the few stores open). One parent has a three story home and said the top two floors are great so they gutted the bottom floor and will re-finish it. Another parent teared up and got very emotional when she saw me. She had a single story home and lost everything. She's living on the Northshore at her sister's house with her family.

Joey and the guys are trying to open John's Tuxedos by November 1. Most of the weddings in October and November have been postponed until next year. Although the officials have vowed that Mardi Gras will go on, most likely it will be just the parades. We believe that most of the balls will be cancelled, so this Mardi Gras season will probably be slow for us. On the bright side, if Joey isn't busy, then maybe we can finally take a skiing trip. I'm not holding my breath on that one!