Cold Spaghetti

FINALLY a possibility for the return of curbside recycling! (We’ve been hauling recycling to Alabama since September 2005.) SIGN UP, NOLA FOLK! Information is below:

GOT RECYCLING?

Phoenix Recycling will offer curbside recycling service for a fee, once we have enough interested customers.

Hopefully early fall 2007.

Plastic – Glass – Metal – Newspaper

The fee is $15 per month, but could be lower based on neighborhood participation and density. Contact your neighborhood organization for group discounts.

We will provide the bin(s) and collect twice per month.

Sign up now to help us launch this long overdue service.

Please send Name, address and contact info to:

phoenix.recycling@gmail.com or call Steven O’Connor @ 504-914-0739

**UPDATE** The received email response is below:

Holly,

We are indeed on the verge of such a service, thanks for your interest. We are plotting now and hopefully we’ll be off the ground by mid summer.

We will send more formal information but for now, know that we are planning to collect plastic (#1 and #2), glass bottles and jars (all colors), bi-metal cans (aka, tin cans or steel cans), aluminum cans, newspaper, and corrugated cardboard.

I’ve added you to our email list and will keep you posted. Anything you can do to help spread the word is much appreciated.

Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.

Thanks,

David McDonough and Steven O’Connor

Finally, we’ve come to a decision about the camera. The repair cost to the 300D is high enough that it makes sense to replace it. So, we’re going to go for the 400D XTi (body only). We’ll be looking to purchase after the 19th of the month. If anyone has insider tips on coupons or specials, please pass them on!

My Dad bought a basic wide-angle lens for the boys’ upcoming trip into the hole (they leave in a week). I’ve been playing with the lens all weekend on his XT. With the 1.6x crop, the 24mm works out to about 38mm or so… and having that much more has been fun (usually I shoot everything with the 50mm lens Paul gave me for Christmas, which is fabulous). It gets soft as it gets wide open — I realized it more than ever in playing with this other lens. Although I truly believe that equipment does not make a photographer and all that is really required for anyone to be a talented photographic artist is one lens… the fun of playing with different equipment is very addictive. At some point I would like to consider another lens. But before all that, I think it’s time to go back to Mac. Until then, I need to hunt around for a copy of Photoshop for Windows…

We learned another New Orleanian insider’s tip: the little loops in Audubon Park are good places for kids’ birthday parties! (Don’t panic: Will didn’t ride a bike without his helmet. The bike was good and stuck in the grass, exactly how he wanted it.)
They are significantly smaller than the 1/4 mile loops on high school tracks, but big enough for kids to play ball in the middle and ride bikes on the pavement. Beautiful shade trees, duck pond, and park amenities (pavilion, playground) all available. The kids brought bikes, scooters, big wheels, push carts, and wagons — which gathered together and allowed for an open, pick-your-wheels situation where kids could get their speed on in a variety of ways.
Paul brought his juggling gear and put on a few demonstrations. His best moment was when he hijacked a tricycle and took off around the track, with a trail of kids chasing behind him. I was left with the other parents, who, one-by-one chimed up: “Look at Paul!” until everyone was watching Paul, knees to his chin, peddle around. It was my moment to shake my head and say: “Yes, ladies. That one is mine.” Kate was in usual hell-on-wheels form. Luckily, she can’t quite manage a tricycle, even when helped.
Our challenge was to keep her away from stinging caterpillars, who were out and about amongst the trees we were all clinging to for shade.We ate lunch, took giving kids wagon rides, watched bike races, broke a pinata, and ate cupcakes. The best part: the kids had a LONG afternoon nap! (Happy Birthday Alex and Ben!)
(Will did, however, ride a scooter without a helmet. Albeit, slowly, and walking beside it more than pushing with one foot. It didn’t even occur to question whether this should be a helmeted event.)

We enjoyed the Pfister Sisters at The Big Top late last summer. Since then, we’d not been for their Friday Night Music Camps, family-friendly music events held about twice a month.We returned on Friday (meeting up with many friends!) to enjoy Theresa Andersson. (That’s Theresa, up on stage behind Kate.)
The Big Top is a great warehouse-type space about a block off St. Charles on the CBD edge of Uptown. Big windows light up the place, which is filled with a large variety of artwork (pottery, sculpture, painting, prints, mixed media, wood, textiles) by local artists. They set up a kids’ craft table, open for kids of all ages to get messy. This week, the table held kazoos and an assortment of stickers and glitter glue.
Kate borrowed one a shaker and wandered around the front of the stage, occasionally staring up at Theresa to exchange a few winks, nods, and “hellos.”
There are a couple of areas to sit, but mostly, everyone mills around and stops to sit in an open spot to rest. The whole room is full of movement, causal munching on snacks, singing, and being a part of the fun performance.
There is also chalk in the alley — Will participated in the spontaneous art design.
Kate was more of a handful, since she is obsessed with electrical outlets (a little more easy to spot in this open environment) and stray cracker jacks or other sticky things that have made their way to the floor as the evening went on.
Will takes in some modern art (below).
My flash batteries died early on and I was left with just keeping the camera wide open to get what I could. This is okay with me, sometimes I prefer it and intentionally keep the flash off. I’m fascinated with movement in photography — particularly in such a dynamic environment. Although the actual photograph has “noise” that blur the subject(s), I feel it better communicates the energy of the moment.
Actually, I’m not as fond of the aforementioned effect in the image above. (But I do like it in the third one from the top, with Kate.)
Some shots from the back. Theresa gave Will a shaker (made from a Coca-Cola can) which he played for this final song. In the intimate environment, Theresa brought kids into the performance by recording them making a variety of sounds, “looping” the sounds together to form a background beat, and then playing with the recording. Before, during break, and afterwards, she mingled in the audience.
We are hoping to go the next Music Camp (two Fridays from now) when Charmaine Neville (yea, THAT Charmaine Neville) is performing.

After spending the day before reading about the extravagant (read: ridiculously over the top) birthday ideas and “tips from parents” in Parenting magazine (read: trashy rag), we had a completely non-eventful birthday evening for Kate that was perfect. We got the kids early from school, picked up a cake from what was available in the counter from our local bakery (chocolate buttercream; I’d have preferred almond), played together at home, walked up the block to the neighborhood toy store for Will to pick out a toy for his sister, and then invited the girls next door over to sing Happy Birthday and watch Kate smash cake in her high chair.
My regret is that we didn’t just do it outside and hose the kids down afterward. They would have LOVED it — and the pictures would have been better.
Both kids were pretty gooey when it was all done. Not that they minded: they LOVE playing together in the shower with their tub crayons from Clare!
Happy First Birthday to our Sweet BabyCakes!

Weight: 18 pounds, 3.5 ounces (fully dressed, with shoes) — 10th-15th percentile
Height: 28 inches — 10th percentile
Head Circumference: I have to look it up — but it was 75th percentile (where it’s always been)

— TB test (caterpillar head!), comvax, pneumococcal

— She looks great and is practically perfect in every way! We spent most of her appointment talking about Will, forgot to check “the list”, and did not ask about carseat or dairy. We’ve since proceeded trying to give her milk and called to see when we should consider moving her into Will’s carseat (and thus, Will into a new seat). Because she’s not the required weight (20lbs) she’ll be backfacing a little while longer. Will was also not up to weight at 1 year, but his pediatrician okay-ed an early turn-around at about 13 months.

(hat tip, BC4!)

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week… and Abeona is celebrating all week. Our director, Emmy, along with a parent who coordinates our Parenting Group, organized activities for the week. They put up a great display of bags for all teachers (subs and volunteers included!) where we have been placing love notes, surprises, and assorted pieces of fun all week. Parents came in and subbed for the entire staff on Tuesday so they all could go around the corner for lunch (Paul and I were supposed to be there – but so many other parents came to cover that they even had extra help!) Oak Street merchants donated food for staff, parents have brought in breakfast, and some parents have given gift cards to their businesses. One of our projects has been to write notes to Will’s teachers using his words. It works like this: I ask Will questions, like “What games does Ms. Sarah play with you?” and Will answers: “Chess.” I write down the whole conversation. So, while we were talking about his teacher, Ms. Sarah, with me frantically trying to write his responses, Will picked up a marker and drew a picture. I didn’t think anything of it until we were finished and I got a chance to see his work. Lo and behold! He drew HIS FIRST EVER DRAWING SHOWING REAL PEOPLE. Check it out (above). See those three people, so nicely represented by two lines and a circle? On the far left is Ms. Renee, the teacher in the 2s class and Will’s Music Together teacher, the next is Ms. Sarah, Will’s teacher, and finally, the tiniest one is Baby Kate. I practically levitated over it. Drawings like this are exactly why I had kids.
Continuing on the theme of how wonderful Emmy is, she made email contact with Johnette Downing, a local children’s musician who has several CDs, is seen on Nickelodeon, has written children’s books based on Louisiana culture… and lives right around the corner from Abeona House. Johnette offered to visit the school — bringing CD gifts for the school — and her guitar and talents for a performance. Parents were invited to stop in, too, for the fun. I brought the camera. (That’s Johnette, above.)
I took some fabulous pictures, but since virtually all of them heavily feature kids other than my own, I won’t post them here — save the one of Johnette above and the two of Will hugging Kate after the group performance of Happy Birthday Kate (one picture above, the other in a post below). It’s been a wonderful, inspirational week to be a part of Abeona House.

Sunday morning: plenty of playtime! Peek-a-boo with Will in his bedsheets…
And “sharing” Thomas the Train tracks.
We set out later than intended (the goal is to get in and out before the mid-afternoon sun intensified the humidity) to feed the ducks, observe the latest in this year’s egret mating, tire out the kids. Two outta three ain’t bad! (The ducks had disappeared!)
The baby egrets have hatched! You can’t really tell when they are in the trees, but when they take off from the nest, it is very clear — they are quite tiny compared to Mom and Dad.




Audubon’s most well-recognized fowl. He sounds worse than he looks.


“Mommy, take a picture of me being silly!”