Saturday, March 29, 2008

Abbey Road

Willa went to Mom Henske's house for an egg hunt on Easter. As it would turn out, the kids starting walking, perfectly staggered, in the same direction as they hunted eggs. Knowing that I had seen this image before, I quickly snapped the photo. It finally came to me: The Beatles! I'll resubmit the photo once I have the time to Photoshop some details in from the original image.

Little shiny hidden egg.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Yeah, It is a Whole Other Country

I was 13 or 14 the first time that I went to Texas. My Dad had moved to Austin the year before and invited my sister and I down for what became an annual summer trip. That first year, we nearly died from boredom! And, we probably would have had it not been for two things: #1, a whiffle ball and bat set that my Dad happen to have lying around the house and #2, my Dad's boat which we used for trips to Lake Travis. The next few years were more or less the same except my Dad put in a pool and we began to explore Texas a little more. Since that first trip, I have come to a three conclusions about Texas. First, Texas is geographically appealing. It has beautiful hills, deserts, lakes, rivers, shoreline, flora, fauna. It also has some cities and small towns that are, at least in part, quite attractive.

Second, the diversity of cultures found in Texas appealing. There's cowboy culture, rancher culture, agriculture culture, Mexican culture, urban culture, small town culture, beach culture.
Third, and most important, is that Texas is NOT appealing at all. In fact, it is down right offensive. This is in most part due to the "Texan culture" which trumps anything and everything that is remotely good, attractive, or sacred about Texas. So, what is "Texan culture?" If you've been to Texas and spent some time there among its inhabitants you know what it is. If not, here it is in a nutshell--it's an ego that's artificial, loud, flashy, larger-than-life, individualistic (as in "I'll do what I want without regard for you"), obnoxious. Yeah, it is a whole other country. My most recent visit confirmed this. I give you two quick examples. One, Austin is probably Texas' greenest city and while I was there (2 days driving around Austin), I saw only 2 hybrids. And, one had Pennsylvania plates. Seems like about every 1 outta 10 cars in STL is a hybrid! And, metro St. Louisians are not known as being particularly environmentally or socially concerned as a group. Okay. Enough. Example 2 (as illustrated in the photo below), Dodge, Ford, and other American made big-as-big-can-be gas guzzling trucks, SUV's, driving on the beach! Yes! As in a never-ending stream of gianormous vehicles coming at you the entire day. No matter the fragility and importance of dune ecology. No matter the health and safety of beach goers. No matter the shoreline aesthetics. Yes, just what I want with my vacation, a side of noise and pollution. Ugh.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Check Out My Peeps

A fellow STL blogger, Cathy at 49, contacted me a few weeks ago about using one of my Art Hill sledding photos. The St. Louis Post Dispatch, our local newspaper, was running a contest called "Peeps Gone Wild." Cathy wanted to use my photo as the backdrop for her entry. I'd forgotten all about it until today when my mother-in-law mentioned something about the Peeps contest entries. I don't know if Cathy won, but I thought I'd post her entry. It's Peep-a-licious!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

St. Patty's Fun




We're back from Texas. Photos and stories will follow. But, for now, here are a few from Mom Henske's annual St. Patrick's Day corned beef dinner. Willa found some gold coins (think end of the rainbow). Of course, they weren't actually gold--they were chocolates wrapped in gold foil. While Willa had her own St. Patty fun, Bill, John, and I couldn't resist turning the wrappers into gold teeth and grills. St. Patrick would be so proud.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Go Blue Devils!




We've had a big sports year at MRH. And, I'm not a sports fan at all but it's hard not to get swept up in the excitement when your team is winning. So, here's the MRH run down -- the football team went to state last fall and lost to Blair Oaks. Then, the girls went to division in basketball and lost to Metro. Now, the boys basketball team is playing Saturday at Mizzou for the state title after beating #1 Hogan Prep from St. Joseph, MO.
UPDATE: MRH WON! CLASS 3 CHAMPS!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Oscar Party



Colette and Dan's annual Oscar Party was a few Sundays ago on Oscar night. No Colette and Dan party is complete without either homework, a challenge, or both. FYI...Their Oscar parties require homework. This year, the guests had to submit ahead of time a list of their fave top 10 books that have been made into movies. Last year's request was a list of fave top 10 movie quotes. In case you're wondering, yes, Colette and Dan are teachers too! And, yes, you probably guessed it......English teachers!
I didn't take a lot of photos at the party but I did want to post these two. The first is of Willa rockin' the celeb gear--boa, glasses, party dress, pea coat, Dorothy shoes. Too funny! She'll be so glad when she's an adult to have this photo. One of my favorites of myself as a child was taken after some experimentation with my Grandma's make-up, wig, and high heels. I'm 5 and sitting, completely clowned up, in this totally 70's chair. I still have this Polaroid and always will. Hilarious!
The second is of a fabulously cool light/chandelier that is the focus of the dining room at Colette and Dan's. Colette has a very daring, bold sensibility when it comes to art. And, she is a talented multi-media crafter/artist to boot. Although Colette owns some really super art work, it is the chandelier that initially catches your eye. I always assumed that she made it but found out Oscar night that I was wrong.