Ruthie Monday XXIX

Ahhh....more beautiful weather.

Testing, Testing, Unh?

When I first got a new fancy camera, this guy, Ryan, wanted me to try it out taking these spontaneous and silly shots in the bathroom at the Circle Bar.

Apparently, there was another subject in the photo doing his business in the background.

I didn't even see him until, well...

Bird Omen

Yesterday, when I went to put the dogs out first thing in the morning, I saw this:

The bird did not stir when the three dogs rushed out the door. I shood them in immediately and went upstairs to get my glasses and grabbed my camera. When I returned, the bird had not moved. It looked dead, as though it had somehow been impaled on the fence post to my veggie garden.

I took a few more photos:




I crept closer. Its eyes were half-closed, and it was all squished in on itself. The flatness of its head struck me. I could tell that the bird was at least as big as my cat when stretched out. As I crept closer (mostly because I really was not eager to see the specifics of an impaled bird), it suddenly flew up and turned into the big bird I thought it might be. I let out a gruff little scream. It flew to a nearby tree.

It was a hawk. A hawk in my very urban back yard (close to the highway, close to St. Charles and a loud dairy factory). Now, I was raised with Native American beliefs; it would be said that the hawk could be my spirit animal and that it was there to say something to me. And so there is no question: this bird is an omen. With those deep-rooted thoughts in my mind, I was unnerved in addition to the elation I felt after I got over the startled feeling.

Well Ma, what do you think? Have I outgrown the spirit animal you gave me whenI was a kid?

Regarding the Election Results

Hooooooooooooooooo-yeah.

Yes.

Sara Roahen Goodbye

This is a bit overdue. Sarah left awhile ago, but I was too sad to post it sooner! She was the food writer for the Gambit and came back to New Orleans after the storm to focus on a book project, which had to end sometime. She now has joined her husband in Philly.

Sara and Sarah

Happy Sara, Katy and Hector

Katy R. surprised her with a going away second line band salute. They snuck in through my side yard and started playing for her. She was very pleased.

Good job, Katy!

I was so excited when they first arrived that I took a sloppy picture, but it shows her shock...

Scenes from the party:







Dancing shots:





Me dancing:

Miss you, Sara!

Ruthie Monday XXVIII

Ruthie went to a great dinner party Saturday night. Lots of crumbs on the floor.

Yay! Children's Masterpieces!

Dreamer, 1945

Some of my students finished Marc Chagall*-inspired pieces last night. They are really big and beautiful. Students looked at Chagall's artwork and created a piece inspired by his paintings. They used ink, watercolor and chalk pastels. The focus was on experimentation with media and color.

Are they wonderful?!

Artist aged 5

Artist aged 7

Artist aged 7

Artist aged 8

*The painting came from this website

Katrina Anniversary Pictures X

A Grey Gardens Halloween

Well, I forgot to get a picture -hell I forgot my camera, period (very worrying), but I DID go to Frenchman to Check out costumes.

I went as Little Edie, from the documentary, called Grey Gardens, about Jackie O's wacked out aunt and cousin, but only a few people got it.



NOTE: When you are walking through a crowd with a shirt wrapped around your head and nobody can see the pretty-splash-of-color-silk-nightgown you safety-pinned over your control-top hose, you get mistaken for a Muslim --which I found disturbing.

But it was worth it when people got it!

I posted a video on my blog for you all to introduce you to Edie, if you have not met her. Someone
made a nice little montage of scenes from the documentary set to a Madonna song.

Madonna is Hung Up on Grey Gardens

Karina Anniversary Pictures IX

Ruthie Monday XXVII

WARNING: Ruth-Anne is a "kisser".*






*photos of Miranda and Ruth-Anne taken by Billy Sothern. He also took some of the duster photos.

Katrina Anniversary Pictures VIII

Memorial T-Shirts III

Katrina Anniversary Pictures VII

Anniversary-Memorial T-Shirts II*



I used a zoom lense, from far away. Some people always see a camera.

Katrina Anninversary Pictures VI

Anniversary-Memoriam T-shirts

When people get shot or otherwise murdered in NOLA, it is a relatively new tradition (as in other places) to memorialize the dead on T-shirts. At the anniversary, there were TONS and TONS of people wearing these to commerate the death of those loved ones who died due to the storm or events that occured as a result of it.

Please look for them in future anniversary photos.

And FYI, if you click on the pictures, they get huge.

Katrina Anniversary Photos V

Normalization

Ruthie Monday XXVI-Finally

We discovered a new toy for Ruth-Anne. The duster-thingy that we use to clean our fans... it makes her crazy. She cries and whines at the spot where we store it because she cannot get enough.

Ho-yeah! Crazed puppy!