No; not yet. Now is not yet the time to try to return to New Orleans.

Yesterday afternoon I reached my next-door neighbor by cell phone; and asked her whether she knew if our neighborhood had its power back. She says yes, it does; but the infrastructure still isn\’t good.

There are still trees down everywhere, and people who are in the city are asked to conserve water; for example, do not do laundry. The sewage system isn\’t working well, either.

Her house is all right, I\’m happy to learn; but I don\’t know about my place yet. I finally reached the management office, but had to leave a voice message.

My neighbor says somebody is checking on her home; and she\’ll ask them to check out mine and let her know. Then she\’ll let me know. But her advice is to stay away as long as possible. She herself is still away from home.

I check my employer\’s web site daily; and they also say not to return to New Orleans yet if we don\’t have to. At present, only the most essential employees are allowed in. So it\’s Spokane for me for the time being.

In order to get some exercise, I ride my sister\’s exercise bike. Even on that bike, I need real cycling shorts. Yesterday I was able to get to an REI store, and I bought a pair. I didn\’t use them yesterday, because I like to wash new cycling shorts before I wear them for a ride. I think I can get along with just the one pair, because the climate in Spokane is dry; and things dry out quickly.

Another purchase I made yesterday was a pair of leggings. It was about 53 degrees at 6:00 am; and that\’s too cold for shorts!