Carnival Season Has Begun!

I'm back! It's been a busy and super fun weekend, and a slow-starting week. We'll see how this goes. Now, to catch up!

Last Friday we attended the first parades of the Mardi Gras season. This photo just spoke to me... I love how the light came from below to illuminate her face and feathers. I'm still pretty amazed by what this camera accomplished in very low light at the parades.

Saturday evening we went back for two more - this time the Flambeaux were there leading the way.

Mia and her buddy Holly being goofballs and showing off the fruits of their throw-begging labor.

Sunday I went into town on my own to meet a photography student. It was a stellar sunny day, and I got a lot of great parade shots. In the next few, I saw fit to concentrate on the children standing and sitting (on the ladders) all around me. Most (once including myself) think that Mardi Gras = Girls Gone Wild, flashing breasts for better beads. For 98% of New Orleans (certainly locals) this could not be farther from the truth.  I'm sure there are some who get drunk enough and head to the Quarter for that...but this is such an amazing family event! Do we stand out there with our beers and cocktails? Absolutely! But it's a marathon, not a sprint - and almost all New Orleans parades roll through Uptown and the Garden District; areas where families with kids live. And kids really get the best stuff of all.

Early in the parade, this little one already had a hula hoop and a lot of beads. (These ladders with carpeted seats are a great way to get high enough to catch the stuff from the top part of the float!)

By the end of the Krewe of Carrollton parade, she had a giant giraffe and sunglasses.

This adorable little one was working her boots and her tutu. (FYI, the "neutral ground" is what one would call an island in the middle of the street; at least in NJ. It's where the street cars roll by on St. Charles. At the parades, you let people know if you're on the neutral ground side or the sidewalk side so they can find you.)

Possibly my favorite kid-shot of the day.

 This was as racy as it got - the couple wouldn't turn toward me (they were handing goodies to the kids on the neutral ground), but he had green panties on his head, and her glasses were shaped like glittery marijuana leaves.

Lastly - my first 610 Stompers photo of the year. These guys are the real deal! I am a die-hard fan of these "ordinary men with extraordinary moves". They worked it!

Monday, Mia had her last basketball game. They lost to Newman (yes, we do always say it like Jerry Seinfeld from the show...) - but they played their hearts out and improved so much throughout the season. Due, in no small part, to Coach Long, and of course,  Sarabeth (pictured with the girls) - who helped coach them and encourage them in the best possible way.

Tuesday was pretty tame - regular school day and then home for a snack. I picked up opal apples. They were new to me, and apparently in season. Delicious!

And today is Wednesday. Started with clouds that turned into thunder, wind, and LOTS and lots of rain. So dark the street lights came back on. But this should be it for a while - and thankfully, it'll cool things off just a tad.

I'll be avoiding the city this weekend thanks to Super Bowl craziness. We'll see what other trouble we can get into.

Struggling...

Little did I know that this would feel like an unpaid unwanted job... I'm shooting every day (almost) but I'm not posting. Weak, I know. Here are a few from the past week. (ugh. week. Maybe it's a 52 blog...)

Friday...I have nothing. We spent the evening with the kiddo since she was leaving for Mississippi with her friend the next day.

Saturday - went to see our beautiful friend and singer Meryl with her band the Reboppers at the Spotted Cat. It was so nice to be out and the show was great!

After that (bonus shot since I skipped Friday), we were just in the right place to catch Krewe du Vieux - the very, ahem, adult-themed parade (a lot of anatomy and such) that is one of only two that goes through the French Quarter. (The other is Barkus, a doggie parade!)

Here's a cool dressed-up made-up chickie on Decatur pulling out a giftie for someone watching. (Pretty much the only safe for public consumption photo I have for you.) This isn't a parade with real "throws" like the others have, but I did get a few stickers, a plastic cup, a string of beads, and a purple rabbit's foot.

(More family-friendly Mardi Gras photos to come, no doubt.)

Sunday I attended a king cake tasting party. King cakes are a tradition for Mardi Gras season - click here to learn more. MANY bakeries and restaurants and grocery stores, etc. make king cakes. Everyone has their favorite. This was a great opportunity to taste a bunch and decide for yourself. My favorites were the Nona Randazzo's and the Cake Cafe's goat cheese and apple king cake. YUM.

Fun little thing - the tradition is to put a baby or a bean inside to represent the baby Jesus. Whomever gets the piece of cake with the baby (or other such trinket) has the next party or brings the next cake. In the traditional French king cake had a porcelain figurine of a chicken inside. (Here is Meryl, posing with the trinket she nearly bit into.)

Monday was a holiday. Mia was still gone, and we met some visiting friends in the Quarter for brunch. We walked around for a bit afterward and I was enjoying the carnival decorations.

Tuesday I went to a Korean restaurant pop-up at Pravda. I'd met the chef recently at a benefit and really was excited to try his authentic food! This is a food shot - the spicy crispy Korean chicken wings. Everything was amazing!

Lastly, yesterday. Mia had a basketball game at her school. The opposing team didn't show up, so instead the 8th graders that had already played a game (and won) against the older kids, stayed and played our girls. We were shut out, but it was fun and great practice for them. No shots  yet - but Mia played better than ever and was aggressive and fast. I'm proud! Here she is with a few friends.

Tonight we have concert tickets for Calexico. I will not be taking my camera as the venue doesn't allow photos. I'll snap something with the cell phone I'm sure. Friday there are more parades - at some point soon, more photos to come - this season is rich with opportunity. Thanks for waiting!

Yesterday & Today

Yeah, skipped it again. But I have extras - to make up for it.

So let's see - Wednesday, another gloomy grey day. Snapped this of the kiddo walking back toward the car. I posed it, but it was still cute. This (not so) little 5th grade, eight-As and two-Bs having girl makes my world go 'round.

I had lunch with a friend who is a Metairie native. I took her to my favorite east bank Vietnamese restaurant. She's never had pho before, and that wonderful delicious soup - it should be eaten with a friend who has done it before. We enjoyed lunch and conversation very much. I'm not going to torture you with food photos. (Truth be told, I forgot to take out the camera and shoot the soup.) I give you the wind chimes, waving and ringing in the wind, outside the restaurant. It was a chilly but finally sunny day.

So. Extras. 

Not a day goes by that I don't think about Okinawa. This comes as no surprise to those who know me, or those who have lived there. It's cherry blossom season there now. I thought about it due to seeing some friends posting photos - but I know, I remember. Magnolias and even the crepe myrtles here don't come close to the beauty of the bright pink petals of the Okinawa cherry trees. It's such a welcome sight in the grey winter - so I'll share what's making me smile today. I hope it does so for you too.

Fog

Okinawa's weather was strikingly similar to New Orleans' weather.

The big differences:

• Winter is colder in New Orleans
• There are often thunder storms in New Orleans (not so often in Oki)
• Fog is a common occurrence in New Orleans (pretty much never in Oki)

I kind of missed the thunder storms and the fog while gone. There weren't thunder storms or fog to speak of in San Diego either, so I've missed them since 1998 when I moved to southern California. They're interesting. I think I've gotten my share of both in the past year. I'm good now.

This was taken with my Sony CyberShot on the Crescent City Connection at about 11:20am. The fog never left us today. It was misty and cool. Yesterday, today, and apparently until Friday when we may see the sun again. I'm ready.

Almost Winning

Mia had her first away game today. It was a little chaotic - the 5/6 grade team was playing in the gym right next to the 7/8 grade team. So every whistle, every buzz - our girls would stop playing when they didn't have to. It messed with them. Beyond that, they did the best they've done yet! They lost 12-6, but they played incredibly well and it was fun to watch. Even if my kid still won't shoot.

Her father is begging her to shoot at some point.

This Isn't Easy, Folks

Yesterday I forgot to take the camera with me. It pains me to put up iPhone photos just because I didn't take one with another better camera. And because that wasn't the purpose of this 365. People - I'm realizing that my life is just not that interesting - or maybe just not until Mardi Gras season starts here soon.

So...I got nothin' for ya. It's been a gloomy grey weekend and we've done nothing of note besides take in dinner, drinks & a movie. The kid was at friends' houses & sleepovers Friday & Saturday nights. Even if I had her as a subject, my guess is you'd get tired of seeing photos of her doing homework or reading books. (Not you, Mom. I know.)

So...I give you my fireplace mantle. In these items there are representations from four very special countries; Italy, Japan, Cambodia and the USA (specifically, New Orleans from Mardi Gras 2012). I'll have to find an appropriate small Thai offering, that country is pretty special to us as well. Of course, the photo - which I took at sunrise back in March of 2009 - is of our home in Okinawa. The Sunabe Sea Wall. If you walk just a couple of blocks down that blue sidewalk you see, and make a right, you'd be at my Okinawa home. We miss it every day.

I Had Hopes

Lunch plans for Galatoire's fell through today - my plan was to make everyone drool with envy over my gorgeous lunch.

Instead, I'll share with you the cover of the PAWS (Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society) coffee table book that I was so happy to be a part of. Proceeds from the book and calendar go toward this amazing no-kill shelter. If the spirit moves you, order one or both here. (The calendar cover is a photo of mine too, as a matter of fact.)

Rain.

It poured for the entire day yesterday. Big fat sub-tropical tornado watch and thunderstorm producing rain. So I didn't shoot much. I leave you with this photo of my sweet little shisa from Okinawa, protecting my and my home from the big bad storm. (iPhone photo, yes. But the camera that's with you is better than none at all.)

Not Exactly the Best Team in Town

Mia's playing basketball this season. She's having a ball, even if she isn't very good at it. The 5th and 6th grade team started practicing late last year. They practice three times per week. In their first game against Sacred Heart, they lost by about 30 points. They're showing serious improvement. They only lost 12-4 today.

(If you can see the banners back there, basketball isn't their strong suit at McGehee. They're generally better at volleyball, and last year, golf.)

Street Car Garage

Sorry - had this all queued up and never posted yesterday. I was in the area of one of my favorite photo spots - the place where the street cars live. It's off of Carrollton and it's just so photogenic.

Another later - out the door WITH my camera.

Hollywood of the South

Occasionally it's a hassle, but mostly it's kind of cool. I live in a town that I am now able to recognize in television and movies; one where I can spot locales and say, "I've been there!" And I don't even only mean Treme.

Day 6: Still Purging

The addition of holiday gifts and my family's addiction to books has inspired a little purging. A small sampling of the piles emerging from the kid's room and headed to the library as donations. Unless one of her friends wants to read them first.

Reunited

Oh the technology...it's such a blessing and such a curse. But most days for kids - it's just totes amazing. 

Mia and Jazzy, aka "Mizzy". And yes, I cheated, there are four photos here. My 365, I get to cheat.

Day 4 (Posted on Day 5)

I was out of the house for a lot of the day yesterday, and posted this shot on Facebook too - but anyway, here's Mia with two of her friends enjoying Little Big Planet on a chilly morning.

She's still at a friend's house now after a sleepover, but I'm taking the camera with me to pick her up. We'll see what I shoot. Must get used to dragging camera with me...

Days 1-3

Hey, strangers. Happy 2013.

I'm going to try to fling myself back into the blogging world a bit - and back into the shooting for fun world too. It's been a whirlwind of a 2012 - January first we moved into a townhome in Metairie, Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. In the course of the following six weeks, we received our express shipment, storage shipment from California (not seen since 2007), and household goods from Japan; respectively. We really weren't "settled" until March. Things have been very slow to start for me; I've done a couple of volunteer projects and taken my camera out a bit - but not nearly as much as I should have. So here we are a year later, and this will be one thing I'm doing for me. And, as it turns out, for any of you who care to follow along. Thank you, people - I couldn't have made it through this past year without MANY of you.

I've taken photos for January first thru third, I just haven't posted yet. So here's a big post for you to catch up, then I'll try to keep up from now on. No promises that this will be the only multi-photo catch-up post - starting off the year right, and lowering your expectations!

January 1: Mineki Neko
Hi, kitty ornament. Four and a half years in Japan and I found this at Cost Plus World Market in November 2012. Go figure. I hope he brings some happiness and success to us this year.

January 2: Braised Short Ribs
I love to cook. I'm definitely a foodie, and those who know me well enough - I've probably fed you at some point or another. It gives me great joy. Mia and I prepped this amazing meal during the afternoon and we enjoyed it for dinner. Carnivores, it's from John Besh's My Family Table cookbook. (I've met him already, and he has signed my copy, thank you very much.) It's a worthy investment, but if you just want this recipe - which is really alarmingly easy and delicious - it's here. (You're welcome.) I served it with fettuccine and it was loved by all.

January 3: Passion Fruit Plants

My friend Melissa was traveling for a bit and she left her passion fruit seedlings in my care. I thought, "FOOL! I have a brown thumb."
She said, "Just keep the soil wet, lots of sun." Well, I can do that - and I have a great window in the kitchen. They're thriving, and I'm proud - but as they're adopted I'm going to have to return them. She said she'll give me one - we'll see if they ever grow fruit. For now, they seem to like it here in their sunny window.

See you soon, followers. Tomorrow, in fact. I'll try to take some portraits too. And maybe even get out of my house with the camera.