Artist of the Week: India

Nate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week's artist is the ever so active Nate.

He has only two settings, on and off. The off setting only comes into play when he is truly wiped out. Conversely if he doesn't find some sort of outlet for his boundless energy he positively vibrates. Fortunately he is able to channel his energy into sports.

Lacrosse is an excellent fit for Nate, lots of running around and a waving a stick in air. And this picture is of him from the end of the year party for his lacrosse team. He went from being a rank amateur at the beginning of the season to a fairly good player. He really took a shine to being the goalie and shows a lot of promise in that position.

Another way Nate is able to redirect his energy is through his academics. He has laser-like focus and a phenomenal memory. As in sports, he wants to excel in school. Unfortunately his enthusiasm in the past has caused him to rush things and produce some rather messy creations. But this year he learned to throttle back and pay a bit more attention to the details.

India
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This map is what he can accomplish when he slows down.

The assignment was mapping India by heart. Nate had to drawn a grid denoting longitude and latitude and use point coordinates to make the outline of India. Then the points were connected while looking at a map of Asia. India's major cities, neighboring countries, and prominent geological features were then added to the map.

Nate had to use color, ink in all the lines, and create a map key.

I think his final product came out very well. It is far, far neater than anything he produced in third grade. The end result is very polished and complete. I was amazed when I found out it was entirely hand drawn. I always knew he had it in him, he just had to learn to take care of the details and slow down.

I think there will always be a bit of the rush through and just do something element in Nate's life, but it's nice to see that he can rein himself in when needed.

All Gone

My pretty, pretty flag cake is all gone.

It was so very, very delicious that it lasted for barely three days, two if you take into consideration that we didn't start eating until 7 pm on Sunday. By 4 pm today it was all gone.

I guess I'll have to make something else for my wee bairns to snack on.

BIG BANG BIG BOOM

Most graffiti is just junk, nothing more than vandalism by the unimaginative. Sometimes, however, you get art.


I've like Blu's work in the past and I'm so happy to see another film has been released.

Happy 4th of July

4th of July
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Here is the cake I made today featuring the American Flag.

And yes, it has all 13 stripes and 50 stars.

Patriotism never tasted so good.

Things To Do

This is what I have planned for Saturday:

1) Start making ribs for Sunday (it just ain't the 4th of July without ribs).

2) Get some fresh tomatoes from my favorite farm stand.

3) Watch some World Cup soccer. Today's game between Brazil and the Netherlands was outstanding. There was great game play and superior officiating.

4) Try to find all my lawn flags.

5) Decorate bikes for the parade on Sunday.

6) Go listen to Max's drum teacher perform at Grandpa Eddie's. Max is very excited that he gets to watch him perform.

Lazy Days of Summer

Me
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Yeah right.

So far today I have spent half an hour at my local hardware store sorting out replacement parts, drained the hot water heater, replaced it's drain valve (had an annoying slow drip), then replaced the shut off valve to the dishwasher's supply line (while cursing the cheap non standard valve originally installed), refilled the water water tank and tightened up the cold water supply valve to the tank, and then reassembled the outside hose to it's caddy so it no longer drips.

Oh and I picked up a few things for dinner when I was out and about and made the kids lunch.

All done before 1:00 pm.

So dang it, I deserve a trip to "For the Love of Chocolate."

Artist of the Week: Snake

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Ah, back to my old routine.

Rebecca ushers back the Artist of the Week in fine style.

At the beginning of June Jake had been invited to appear before the school board. It was to recognize all the students that participated in the Future City and their accomplishments. Jake wore a jacket and tie, Max wore his little suit (Which incidentally he loves wearing and cheerfully announces the he looks like "a miniature business man." He's just too cute for words.), Nate had on a polo shirt with khakis, and little Miss Rebecca selected a long blue dress with matching sweater.

She loves to dress up and never misses an opportunity to do so.

Once Jake's portion of the school board presentation was over we quietly left the building. There was no need for us to be there any longer and it was a school night. As Larry and I herded the kids to the van we decided to try to take advantage of them being in their finery and snapped a few photos.

snake
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

As for the art itself, it is from the art class Rebecca took way back in March. I have already featured a different drawing here.

When Rebecca made for snake drawing the media for the week was magic markers. I love the vividness of the colors and how the little red tongue "pops" out of the picture. I know that some people are put off by the subject matter, a snake, but I love how sinuous it is. The smooth application of color from the markers greatly enhance the image. I think it is a terrific drawing.

Popping Over To 14

Popping Over To 14
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Today is Jake's 14th birthday.

He has matured so much this past year, almost as though he had a Bar Mitzvah or something (Heee).

Today he got to celebrate in a low key fashion that fits him to a tee. He requested popovers and bacon for breakfast. His first choice was Yorkshire pudding, but I put the kibosh on that since it requires me to roast some beef. Not gonna happen in this heat or at breakfast time. Then it was pizza for lunch and takeout Chinese for dinner. Oh and the soda flowed all day long, much to the delight of his younger siblings (soda is such for Shabbat dinner, holidays and parties).

Nate asked if there was going to be a party and we said no. Once you have your B'nai Mitzvah big parties are a thing of the past. Jake was fine with that and after a bit of thought Nate understood the reasoning.

So happy birthday to my first born child.

Life in the Fast Lane

Yeah it's a Volkswagen ad, but you have to admit it looks like fun!

Illusionary Lego

While checking out Epic Win FTW I saw this wonderful Lego creation.

If you look very carefully you can see it is just a very clever illusion, no photoshop was needed or done. I think I'm just going to have to try to do this one for myself.

One Week In

Phew, I have survived the first week of summer vacation.

The first two weeks are the hardest. I have to readjust to no longer having stretches of quiet during the day. The kids have to readjust being together all the time and no longer having the structure of school. And to cap it all off, it's really, really hot outside- as in way at least 90 if not 100.

So far it has been all working out.

The kids elected not to do tennis this summer, which means we are now free to go to Family Movie Festivals (ie free kid movies at 10 am) in the local theaters. This week we got to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The rest of the day is spent just mucking about the house. They are now old enough to entertain themselves without my assistance. It wasn't until today I had to intervene when when sibling rivalry was starting to be a bit out of hand. I declared it movie time and we got to watch Back to the Future, a big hit with the older two.

Hopefully this bodes well for the rest of the summer. If it gets to be too much there is always Aunt Meryl or duct tape.

Buffy vs Edward: Twilight Remixed

Admittedly I haven't seen the movies or read the books (but I will read them at some point), however I find the whole teen romance vampire thing a bit off putting. I'm more in the Buffy camp, vampires are something to be staked.

So, you go Buffy!

Gooooaaaalllll!!!!!!!!!!!

Even though a bunch of us were feeling under the weather today, myself included, there was dancing and high-fiving when Landon Donovan knocked in the winning goal.

I had thought the US vs England game was exciting, but it didn't hold a candle to today's US vs Algeria match-up. Even with questionable calls and a denied goal (once again we were robbed) the US team never gave up and was able to win at the very end of the game.

I would throw in a link to the game winning goal here, but FIFA's servers are overwhelmed and the YouTube offerings are being pulled down as fast as they go up (once again-stupid FIFA). So you'll just have to trust me, if you didn't see it live, that it was an incredible game to watch.

Artist of the week will be back in action next week.

Bountiful Basil

bountiful basil
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Or the lazy gardener.

I'm not much for gardening, especially because we have very bold deer in our backyard that can and will eat everything. The only safe place is up on our deck. I have a few large pots with assorted plants that I barely care for.

Which works well for my basil and chives. They go to seed and come back year after year. I even had my tomatoes come back the past two growing seasons, but sadly not this year. I even have a couple of flowers that come back every year, a nice purplish blue balloon flower and the moss rose from Jake's bar mitzvah.

The moss rose was a pleasant surprise this spring. It was clearly marked as an annual and after this winters cold temperatures I did not expect to see it again. It has just started to bloom and I'll take a few pictures sometime soon.

Love and Hamburgers

Happy Father's Day!

Larry plus 4
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This an old picture, but it's one of my favorites. My best guess is this was taken in 2002, about mid-year judging by Max and Rebecca.

As always Nate is a goof and I just can't get over his short hair. I've become so accustomed to his long curly locks that I'm always surprised by pictures of him from just a couple of years back.

Anyhoodle, I love Larry's confident yet relaxed expression. He really is a great father to our brood and I think it shines through in this picture.

So happy Father's Day to all of the men that are helping mold and create tomorrow's generation.

Lesson Learned

Nate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Nate found out the hard way today that even though school has ended there are still things to be learned and you should listen to your mother.

Today was the big end of school pool party in our subdivision and Nate wanted to be away from me and with his friends as soon as possible. As he raced out of the changing room I buttonholed him by the pool and told him he needed sunscreen. He rolled his eyes and said "Why? I don't need it."
"Um, no you do." Was my oh so witty reply.

With a sigh he held still and asked if at least he could do it himself. I handed over the bottle and watched him do a totally half-assed job, at least I was able to wrest the bottle away from him and take care of his back.

So of course he got a blotchy sunburn. You can see all the areas he missed as they are glowing bright red. Nate noticed his bright red shoulders first as he readied for bed. As we surveyed the damage I noted that his back, the one place he grudgingly allowed me put on the sunscreen, was completely undamaged.

I hope he isn't too miserable, but I think I will getting a bit more cooperation from Nate this summer in regards to sunscreen.

Happy Indeed

bluebeard
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Happiness is on the next to the last day or, as Jake so loves to point out the, penultimate day of school your parents take you to a minor league ball game. There you get to eat cotton candy, have some french fries, go squirrel hunting, and cap it all off with watching fireworks.

So yes it was a late night and a school night at that, but really is there anything as useless as the last day of school?

Artist of the Week: Pop-up LEGO

I originally espied this brilliant piece of Lego engineering over at Epic Win FTW a few weeks ago. I've been vacillating when to post this and decided in the end it was truly worthy of artist of the week. So please watch the video, you will be amazed.

For the full story check out The Brothers Brick. There you will find links to the Buddhist temple of Kinkaku-ji and some details about the build.

I'm just in awe over all the incredible details. The fact that the whole thing neatly folds into a box is a wonder onto itself, but the the box was constructed to look like a Lego set puts this over the top. Details like the recommended age (16+), the logo, a detailed picture of the final build, and I could just go on and on.

Well done faceless builder, well done.

Pigeonholed

pidgeon holed
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

I rather like this picture. I snapped it last weekend on our way out of services.

Our temple has this rather unique architectural detail on the outside and the kids love to sit inside the spaces. I know my children are not the only ones attracted to these spaces.

The other thing I like about this picture is that it represents a little achievement of mine. The picture itself is not of the greatest quality because it's from my cell phone. Today I successfully Bluetooth enabled my rather geriatric computer, thus making it possible for me to get the pictures out of my camera without incurring obscene data charges from my phone's service provider.

Victory (and my photos) is mine.

Sorry About The Mess

We've been following World Cup action this weekend and I'm really getting into the games, to the extent that I've stuck yet another widget onto my sidebar. Sadly FIFA is obnoxious and has locked the size of the widget so the sidebar got a bit blown out.

Stupid FIFA.

Anyway, it'll just be a temporary mess until the whole thing is over.

As to which teams I'm following, USA (natch), followed by the Americas, and not France. The French team has a history of poor sportsmanship and extreme overacting. Soccer is a physical sport and players can and do get injured, but please quit the fake rolling around on the ground in "extreme" pain because the other guy may have brushed by you. My favorite moment was when one French guy garnered sarcastic applause from Uruguay's Forlan over his dramatic flop on the field.

In contrast, the US Vs England match-up was refreshing due to the lack of dramatics. Just good solid play on both sides. If a player got knocked down it was genuine and he was usually ready to play in an instant.

Update: I hated how my sidebar was blown out. Instead I've decided the widget will just have to be cut off on one side. Stupid, stupid FIFA.

Let's Go to the Animated Movies

I'm shamelessly stealing this from Jordana. She found it over at First Things where last Friday's topic was The 15 Best Animated Films. In the post was a list of 240 animated films and the question, which ones have you seen.

CLASSIC DISNEY
——————————-

[X] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
[X] Fantasia (1940)
[X] Pinocchio (1940)
[X] Dumbo (1941)
[X] Bambi (1942)
[X] Song of the South (1946)
[X] Cinderella (1950)
[X] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[X] Peter Pan (1953)
[X] Lady and the Tramp (1955)
[X] Sleeping Beauty (1959)
[X] 101 Dalmatians (1961)
[X] Mary Poppins (1964)


DISNEY’S DARK AGE
——————————-


[X] The Sword In The Stone (1963)
[X] The Jungle Book (1967)
[X] The Aristocats (1970)
[X] Bedknobs and Broomsticks [1971]
[X] Robin Hood (1973)
[X] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[X] Pete’s Dragon (1977)
[X] The Rescuers (1977)
[X] The Fox and the Hound (1981)
[X] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[ ] The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
[ ] Oliver and Company (1986)


THE DISNEY RENAISSANCE
——————————-

[X] Beauty and the Beast (1991)
[ ] The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
[X] Aladdin (1992)
[X] The Lion King (1994)
[ ] A Goofy Movie (1995)
[ ] Hercules (1997)
[ ] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
[X] The Little Mermaid (1989)
[X] Mulan (1998)
[X] Pocahontas (1995)
[X] Tarzan (1999)

DISNEY’S MODERN AGE
——————————-

[X] Dinosaur (2000)
[X] Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[X] The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
[X] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
[X] Lilo & Stitch (2002)
[ ] Treasure Planet (2002)
[ ] Brother Bear (2003)
[ ] Home on the Range (2004)
[X] Chicken Little (2005)
[X] Meet the Robinsons (2007)
[X] Bolt (2008)
[ ] The Princess and the Frog (2009)

PIXAR
——————————-

[X] Toy Story (1995)
[X] A Bug’s Life (1998)
[X] Toy Story 2 (1999)
[X] Monsters Inc. (2001)
[X] Finding Nemo (2003)
[X] The Incredibles (2004)
[X] Cars (2006)
[X] Ratatouille (2007)
[X] Wall-E (2008)
[X] Up (2009)

DON BLUTH
——————————-

[X] The Secret of NIMH (1982)
[X] An American Tail (1986)
[X] The Land Before Time (1988)
[ ] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[ ] An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)
[ ] Rock-a-Doodle (1991)
[ ] A Troll in Central Park (1994)
[ ] Anastasia (1997)
[ ] The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
[ ] Thumbelina (1994)
[ ] Titan AE (2000)

CLAYMATION
——————————-

[ ] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[ ] The Puppetoon Movie (1987)
[X] The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
[X] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[X] Chicken Run (2000)
[X] Corpse Bride (2005)
[X] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
[ ] Coraline (2009)

CGI GLUT
——————————-

[ ] Antz (1998)
[X] Shrek (2001)
[X] Shrek 2 (2004)
[X] The Polar Express (2004)
[X] Madagascar (2005)
[X] Happy Feet (2006)
[ ] Monster House (2006)
[X] Over the Hedge (2006)
[ ] Beowulf (2007)
[ ] Shrek The Third (2007)
[X] Kung Fu Panda (2008)
[X] Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
[ ] How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
[ ] Shrek Forever After (2010)

CARTOONS FOR GROWN-UPS
——————————-

[X] Fritz the Cat (1972)Biggest money maker for my college's film society
[ ] Street Fight (Coonskin) (1975)
[ ] American Pop (1981)
[ ] Heavy Metal (1981)
[ ] Hey Good Lookin’ (1982)
[ ] Cool World (1992)
[X] Beavis & Butthead Do America (1996)
[X] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
[ ] Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)
[ ] Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
[ ] Waking Life (2001)
[ ] The Animatrix (2003)
[ ] Lady Death (2004)
[ ] Final Fantasy: Advent Children (2005)
[ ] A Scanner Darkly (2006)


OTHER ANIMATED MOVIES
——————————-

[X] Animal Farm (1954)
[X] Charlotte’s Web (1973)
[X] The Hobbit (1977)
[X] Lord of the Rings (1978)
[ ] Ringing Bell (1978)
[ ] Animalympics (1980)
[X] Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1982)
[ ] Rock & Rule (1983)
[ ] Care Bears: The Movie (1985)
[ ] He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985)
[ ] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)
[ ] Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986)
[ ] My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
[ ] Transformers: The Movie (1986)
[ ] G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)
[ ] Bravestarr: The Movie (1988)
[X] The Brave Little Toaster (1988)
[X] Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
[ ] Fern Gully (1992)
[ ] Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992)
[X] The Swan Princess (1994)
[X] Balto (1995)
[X] Space Jam (1996)
[ ] Cats Don’t Dance (1997)
[X] The Prince of Egypt (1998)
[ ] Wizards (1977)
[X] The Iron Giant (1999)Terrific
[ ] Quest For Camelot (1999)
[ ] The Road to El Dorado (2000)
[ ] Powerpuff Girls: The Movie (2002)
[X] Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)Saw this at the pediatrician's office
[ ] Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie (2007)
[ ] Superman: Doomsday (2007)
[ ] Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
[ ] Wonder Woman (2009)
[ ] Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
[ ] Batman: Mask of the Phantasm


IMPORTS
——————————-

[ ] Arabian Knight
[ ] Back to Gaya
[X] Yellow Submarine (1968)
[X] Watership Down (1978)
[ ] The Last Unicorn (1982)
[ ] Light Years (1988)
[ ] When the Wind Blows (1988)
[ ] The Triplets of Belleville (2003)I want to see it
[ ] Persepolis (2007)
[ ] Planet 51 (2009)I'll be seeing it Wednesday!
[ ] Waltz With Bashir (2008)

STUDIO GHIBLI/MIYAZAKI
——————————-

[ ] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
[X] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)Loved it
[ ] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
[ ] Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
[ ] Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
[ ] Only Yesterday (1991)
[ ] Porco Rosso (1992)
[ ] My Neighbor Totoro (1993)
[ ] Pom Poko (Tanuki War) (1994)
[ ] Whisper of the Heart (1995)
[ ] My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999)
[ ] Princess Mononoke (1999)
[ ] The Cat Returns (2002)
[X] Spirited Away (2002)Wonderful movie
[X] Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)Very different from the book, but still very good
[ ] Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea (2009)
[ ] Panda! Go Panda!
[ ] Tales from Earthsea
[ ] Horus, Prince of the Sun

SATOSHI KON
——————————-

[ ] Perfect Blue (1999)
[ ] Millennium Actress (2001)
[ ] Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
[ ] Paprika (2006)

SHINKAI MAKOTO
——————————-

[ ] She and Her Cat (1999)
[ ] Voices of a Distant Star (2001)
[ ] The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
[ ] 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

OTHER ANIME FILMS
——————————-

[ ] Galay Epress 999 (1979)
[ ] Arcadia of My Youth (U.S. Title – Vengeance of the Space Pirate) (1982)
[ ] Space Adventure Cobra (1982)
[ ] The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983)
[ ] Unico and the Island of Magic (1983)
[ ] Lensman (1984)
[ ] Macross: Do You Remember Love (U.S. Title – Clash of the Bionoids) (1984)
[ ] The Dagger of Kamui (U.S. Title – Revenge of the Ninja Warrior) (1985)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D (1985)
[ ] Fist of the North Star (1986)
[ ] Neo-Tokyo (1986)
[ ] Project A-ko (1986)
[ ] Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987)
[ ] Urotsukidoji: The Movie (1987)
[ ] Robot Carnival (1987)
[ ] Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force (1987)
[ ] Akira (1989)
[ ] Patlabor the Movie (1989)
[ ] Silent Möbius (1991)
[ ] Ninja Scroll (1993)
[ ] Ghost in the Shell (1996)
[ ] End of Evangelion (1997)
[ ] Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1998)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust (2000)
[ ] Metropolis (2001)
[ ] Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2003)
[ ] Appleseed (2004)
[ ] Steamboy (2004)
[ ] Robotech: The Shadow Chronicle (2006)
[ ] The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
[ ] Appleseed: E Machina (2007)
[ ] Sword of the Stranger (2007)
[ ] Origin: Spirits Of The Past

ADDENDUM
——————————-

[ ] The Chipmunk Adventure (1987)
[ ] Feli the Cat: The Movie (1988)
[ ] We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story (1993)
[X] The Rugrats Movie (1998)
[ ] Pokemon: The First Movie (1999)
[ ] Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)
[X] Ice Age (2002)
[X] Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
[ ] Shark Tale (2004)
[X] The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004)
[X] Hoodwinked (2005)
[ ] Valiant (2005)
[ ] The Ant Bully (2006)
[X] Flushed Away (2006)
[X] Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
[ ] Open Season (2006)
[ ] Bee Movie (2007)
[X] The Simpsons Movie (2007)
[ ] Happily N’Ever After (2007)
[X] Horton Hears a Who (2008)
[ ] Space Chimps (2008)
[X] Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
[ ] The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
[ ] 9 (2009)
[ ] Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
[ ] Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
[X] Robots

Well it looks like I need to watch more Anime and other non-Disney and non-Pixar films. However, I refuse to watch the Care Bears Movie.

Some Mighty Fine Pie

Mmm pie
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Last week, on Memorial day, I made a pie. And it was a mighty fine pie.

I had a big box of strawberries, I'm talking 4 pounds of those delicious red jewels, and I needed to do something with them before they got all nasty. I decided that a pie would do the trick and not just any old but, but strawberry rhubarb pie.

The crust came from here at Allrecipes.com. It's a straight forward Butter Flakey Pie Crust that I have had very good luck in making.

As for the filling, well it was the very same pie I made back in July of 2007, right on down to the monstrously huge box of strawberries from Costco. The only difference was this time I made my crust from scratch and the pie was all the better from it. In fact it was so good Larry and I had two slices apiece.

Pretty impressive since we just had a big dinner of marinated flank steak with little red potatoes.

Well That Was a Bust

A few weeks ago we sent Dell off to a five day cluster of dog shows. His breeder was unable to show him so we ended up hiring a professional handler. Dell needs major (wins that result in 3 or more points) and historically this cluster pulls in large enough entries for majors. All I had to do was send in the entries and arrange for the hand off.

Everything started off well, there were majors all five days and Dell was able to get to his handler.

The first day he got second place, which I felt was completely understandable. Mr. Dell was with a new person and odds are this was their shake down outing. I had confidence that he was in good hands and the judging panels were pretty good for the rest of the cluster.

Unfortunately things did not improve.

I don't blame Dell or the handler, she really did put in an honest effort. We were hoping to finish Dell (that is earn his championship) but, competition was stiff and it just wasn't Dell's time in the spotlight. However, it's going to be a long time until I considering sending him off like that. We all missed Dell terribly. He is such a sweet silly goofball and the house seemed to be less than what it should be.

Artist of the Week: Two Cents

Jake
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

It's that time of the school year when all sorts of projects get carted home. Jake was the first one, so he gets to be the artist of the week.

I'm not exactly sure who took this picture of Jake. His soccer coach emailed it along with the team picture he took at the end of the last game of the season. My guess it was not the coach (since he was busy coaching at the time), but possibly the coach's wife or some other family member. Either way it is a nice shot and I appreciate the picture being sent to us. It was a nice surprise.

I didn't get very many pictures of Jake in action this year, my time was often split between his and Rebecca's soccer games. Since his games were far longer I tended to stick with his sister.

piggy bank
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Anyhoodle, take a look at the cute little piggy bank. Jake made it in his shop class along with a few other items and they all came home last week.

If you look carefully you can see the two pennies that Jake put inside. They give a bit of scale. The money is held inside by a clear sheet of Plexiglas that is just barely visible. It get the money out all you have to do is remove the two screws holding the plastic in place.

I think Jake did a terrific job. It is a very nice looking pig from it's stubby snout to it's perky tail. He cut and stained the wood himself under the direction of his teacher. The side opposite the window is separate panel of wood the Jake nailed on. The slit on the top is where the money is placed to drop inside.

It is such a proud little pig and it makes me smile.

Such a Cutie

Sofia
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

I just got a new batch of baby pictures from my sister in law via email.

And oh my, little Sofia is getting cuter and cuter. I think she's the world's prettiest niece, but then again I am just a wee bit biased.

I can't wait for the next round, at least with email the parents don't have to make multiple copies and schlep things to the post office.

Cells Are Suspect

A deceptively simple short film featuring two characters, siblings, during a visit in a mental hospital.

A Skink I Think

Skink
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

We had an unexpected house guest today in the form of a five-lined skink. I'm not exactly sure how it got inside. Possibly it scuttled in when the kids left the door open, I'll never know. I do know, however, that its discovery caused a great deal of excitement this morning.

I was puttering about, doing dishes when an excited chorus of "A skink! It's a skink!" filled the air. I found the children clustered about the dog couch straining for a view of the errant lizard. I couldn't see it, but I believed them without question. Our yard is filled with skinks and it is not unusual to find them on the deck.

I knew I would eventually see the critter, I just hoped it would be before the dogs. On the upside it was a pretty good form of vermin to have about the house. Skinks are nondestructive, nonpoisonous, not aggressive, odorless and eats bugs. Full of win on all counts. I'll note here that Jake strongly objected calling it vermin, the skink was far too likable to be classed as such. I kinda agree with him, but it is far too much fun to call it Vern the vermin to stop.

So for the rest of the day we kept our eyes open.

I spied it shortly after dinner, but it darted under the dishwasher before I could nab it. At around quarter to 10 Jake saw it dart under his trumpet case. I had Jake stand on one side of the case as I readied my colander. We moved aside his trumpet and shooed the skink into my colander. It was a fairly mellow little creature that did not seem to be too disturbed by its capture. I took a few pictures and then released it into our backyard. Hopefully it will not return to inside the house.

Hot Weather Fun

Hot outside?

Time to break out the hose.

Meow!

Just a bit of silliness.

Hat tip to AMCGLTD.

Artist of the Week: Collage

Max
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

It's Max's turn to be Artist of the Week.

Larry took this picture of Max early last month. Originally the picture had all three boys with Rebecca just peeking in on the edge. I thought it was a terrific shot of Max and the pose is so utterly Max. I just cropped the image down and tweaked it just the slightest bit.

I love the lighting and it's such a classic snapshot of Max. He is so very focused on what he is doing with a hint of a smile dancing across his face.

It's not the highest quality of pictures, grainy and a bit blurred. However, I like it and it makes me happy and in the end that is what really matters.

Max's poster
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

But enough about the picture, instead take a gander at Max's collage.

In late February or so the second grade had a take home project that had to be done on a historical American. They had a short list (I think it was just four or five names) to choose from and along with a choice of three different projects. Max, obviously, selected Abraham Lincoln and a collage.

The collage proved to be very challenging for Max. He likes things to be orderly and a collage is decidedly not. I had to push him a bit to let go and allow some overlap. Together we worked out what images he would need and he picked them out from the resulting search. Then he did something I thought was very impressive, he did freehand lettering of the collage's title. I thought he did an amazing job for someone nearing the end of second grade. All I did was make sure he had the name correctly spelled.

I think the whole thing looks terrific as did his teacher.

Getting a Little Squirrely

Maybe a strike
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Yesterday we decided to celebrate Memorial day in style. We grilled out, talked about the difference between Memorial day and Veterans day( Which interestingly enough, both are doubly significant dates in our family. Our wedding anniversary is on May 30th and Nate was born on Nov. 11th.), and caught a baseball game in the evening.

We were able to snag some great seats that morning, right behind home plate. Meryl came along with us and we marveled out how we could almost call the pitches. If you look carefully in the picture on the right you can see the ball on its way to the batter.

Nutzy
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

As for who was playing, it was the Bowie Baysox versus the Richmond Flying Squirrels. We had been to numerous R-Braves games before they decamped to Georgia, but this was our first Squirrel game. The Squirrels may be just AA as opposed to the R-Braves AAA status, but the feeling in the stadium was a whole lot more fun. The mascot is Nutzy the Flying Squirrel and he was all over the place. Climbing the backstop, dancing on top of the dugout, and climbing up on the railings. Maybe he wasn't the best role model for kids at the game, but he was certainly gungho and happy to interact with the crowd. Only Rebecca was willing to approach Nutzy and she got a big hug for her bravery.

The game itself was pretty good. We saw several double plays and a really heart braking catch that robbed the Squirrels of a win at the bottom of the 10th (yes we got extra innings). Sadly, the Squirrels didn't win the game. The Baysoxs surged ahead in the 11th and held off he Squirrels for a win.

memorial day fireworks
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

However, the loss didn't affect the post game fireworks. That was one of the big draws for me. I like baseball, throw in some fireworks and I'm there. It was well past 11 when we finally got home last night. The kids had a great time and didn't seem to suffer too much today from a short night of sleep. Normally I wouldn't have them up so late on a school night, but the school year is almost over and there isn't much going on now.

And hey, there were crazy squirrels and fireworks.

Memorial Day

flag
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

To all of those that have fallen in service to our great nation, at home and abroad, we thank you and remember you.

18 and 25

College sweethearts
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

As of today we have been married for 18 years and as of this month we have been together for 25 years.

I found this picture of us from the late '80s. It could be as early as fall of 1985, but it is most likely from our senior year. We met the end of our sophomore year and started dating on May 4th, 1985. I can remember the date because Larry asked me out after our college's big spring party, Floralia, which is held on the first Saturday in May. Since then we have pretty much been inseparable.

Not bad for a couple of college sweethearts.

Happiness

happiness
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Happiness is a getting a new, geared bike before the start of summer.

The bike is courtesy of eBay and my most favorite bike shop, Bunny Hop.

I don't think I'll be seeing much of him this summer.

This Is Why I Stay Home

silly
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Today was second grade's big field trip to the zoo and as always it was hotter than heck. Normally I would be a chaperon or, at the very least, tag along in my own car. The kids love that I volunteer all the time and with Max's need for digestive enzymes, it makes it a whole lot easier as well.

But not this time, I had other things going on this morning. I couldn't reschedule and I was a wee bit relieved that I wouldn't be out in the 90+ temp. foretasted for today.

Around mid-morning I was back at home, puttering around and collecting trash for a dump run when the phone rang.

It was Rebecca's teacher.

Rebecca was not feeling well. Her face was flushed and she was crying. I instantly new she was suffering from heat exhaustion. Unfortantely Rebecca has inherited my inability to cope with hot weather. I have gotten a bit better over the years, but honestly I wouldn't last very long in the South without ac in the home. I told Rebecca's teacher to take my little petite flower to the gift shop and give her water, after about 15 minutes in the air conditioning she would perk right up. If needed, I could drive over to the zoo and bring her home.

Her teacher thought I probably did not need to come, she would give Rebecca some time to recover and call me back.

Not ten minutes later Mrs. T called back. Rebecca was inconsolable and needed to talk to me. I tried to cheer her up via phone, but it was no use. She wanted to be with her mommy. So I ended up making my first ever "emergency zoo run."

By the time I got there Rebecca was feeling much better and lit up when she saw me. I spent the rest of the day strolling about the zoo with Rebecca.

I'm glad I was able to be there for her and I think just the knowledge I was coming helped her recover, that and the fact I was there for her and not Max.

Artist of the Week: Origami Hats

Nate the hatmaker
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week's artist is Nate who ironically wore his Ninja monkey shirt today.

As part of his gifted program, Nate is exposed to different languages and the associated countries throughout the school year. This semester he has been learning about Japan, Japanese, and a little bit about the culture. A few weeks ago they had a Japanese food day and I went in to help dish food out (This was one of the very few times I haven't brought in food. I figured the other parents could pick up the sushi and tempura.) I learned all about proper chop stick etiquette (don't stab the food) and that I have a talent for opening funky Japanese soda bottles. Instead of a cap there was a plunger with a ball blocking the mouth. Very odd and very Japanese. As for the soda... well it tasted like fizzy liquid candy. Not at all my thing, but the kids loved it.

So anyway, the students are learning about Japan and one of the things their lessons is the art origami.

Paper Samurai hats
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Nate came home today from school with the cutest little origami Samurai hat. It was roughly four by three inches, just the right size for a cat. After showing off his creation to me, which has since disappeared, he immediately asked for some newspaper so he could make a people sized hat.

His siblings were all suitably impressed and were very interested in Nate's creation. So much so that in the end Nate made hats for everybody. I even got one. They fit rather well and are a rather fun bit of paper folding.

Perfection

Perfection
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

In attendance that is, certainly not in picture quality.

Though I will point out in the photographer's defense (i.e. me) it was the evil trifecta of poor indoor lighting, a bit too far away for effective flash, and a fast moving target that pretty much ran up grabbed the award and sprinted back down to his seat.

Ahem

Anyhoodle, Max was one of three, yes three students, to receive the perfect attendance award at Hebrew school this year. Which I think is pretty darn cool considering he has CF and we had not one but two strains of flu floating around this winter. He had a good winter and I hadn't realized his perfect attendance until I got the letter in the mail about his award.

The rest of our brood were a bit disappointed that they were not recipients, but then again their absences were genuine and not the result of slacker parents. So yay us and a big hooray for Max's good health this past winter.

Take This Waltz

The poem was recommended to me, particularly this interpretation by Leonard Cohen.

As always it's a delight to listen to Mr. Cohen and he truly enjoys this piece.

Geese on the Go

Goose crossing
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

You know you live in a fairly suburban, almost rural, area when traffic regularly comes to a stand still for the local Canada geese population to cross the road.

Every year the geese nest across the road from the pond they like to feed in. It's busy four lane road, but everybody waits for the geese to cross. Remarkably there is almost no honking from either the cars or the geese and in the 10 plus years I've lived here, only a handful of geese have been hit by cars.

I find them to be a bit of a nuisance, but they do add a sort of rustic charm when you see all the little goslings marching along with mom and dad. Heaven knows my kids love seeing the the goslings grow up each year.

Seriously Cute

If you don't already read the Daily Coyote, you should start now.

Shreve Stockton is an excellent photographer with her main focus being the coyote, Charlie, that lives with her. That being said other animals can and do appear, such as this heart meltingly cute lamb.

Seriously, you have to be dead not to be at least a little bit charmed.

Only Dog

John
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Dell is off to a big five show cluster over Memorial Day weekend. I did the drive up to Freddysburg to transfer him to his breeder today and this weekend he'll get handed over to his handler. Majors are hard to come by now and I don't have the time nor money to enter him willy-nilly, so he's in the hands of a professional. Hopefully out of the five shows he'll do some winning and finish his championship.

Meanwhile poor John is an only dog, stuck at home. He'll miss his buddy Dell. They spend a lot of time wrestling, chasing and sleeping together. Although I will point out at times even John gets exasperated by Dell's dimness.

John has discovered he get Dell all hetup to go outside by barking at the door or window. I'll open the door, Dell shoots out and John strolls away.

Dell falls for this every single time.

And sometimes Dell will do it to himself.

They were looking out the window when something caught Dell's eye. He started wildly barking and I swear John rolled his eyes and calmly sat down. Dell rushed to the door, I let him out and John serenely watched Dell careen off into the woods in hot pursuit of... nothing.

I think things are going to be a bit quieter around here for the next week and a half.

Artist of the Week: Spring Recital

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The irrepressible Rebecca is this weeks artist.

This past weekend was the spring piano recital. Sadly, I couldn't go because I had to motivate certain members of our household to finish their respective projects. Instead Rebecca was escorted by her father and got to go to a fancy Chinese restaurant after wards. Which was a pretty good deal for her, special daddy time and her favorite food. But don't feel too bad for the rest of us, I used Five Guys as a carrot to finish up their work.

Anyhoo back to the concert.

Larry was able to record her performance and I will share it with you. She did a wonderful job, playing with confidence and poise. She looks so grown up.

Rebecca keeps muttering about not playing piano, but I think it's all drama. Secretly I think she likes playing.

Our Three Sons

three boys
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

For the most part I take the bulk of the pictures in my family. Once in awhile Larry is able to liberate out camera and take a few shots himself. Most of the time I'm unaware of his picture taking, it's not until I download them from the camera do I see what goes on without me.

Larry took this picture about two weeks ago. I love the lighting. very warm and soft with a bit of brightness at the edges. I think it's a hoot that the boys arranged themselves by height and color. Even their hair color follows a gradient.

Larry has an excellent eye for noticing great shots like these.

As to what the boys are doing, I have no idea. I think they were creating a very long picture using multiple sheets of paper. Either way it is a treat to see them so obviously engaged and delighted by whatever it is that they are doing.

Mini Cannon, Big Fun

I found this over at Epic Win FTW. I don't know if it is for real, either way I think it is utterly amazing.

Photographic Reality

Jake's camera 025
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

For every nice photo of my kids I get a dozen or so of pictures like this.

I actually like this one. It captures that classic bunny ear pose that pretty much everybody has done at some point.

As for the sculpture (it is a multi-element work), it's Barbara Hepworth's "The Family of Man." And of course it's at Pepsico's Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden. For another picture of this sculpture and a few others check out Urban By Design Online.

Crunch Time

The school year has just a hair over a month left so it's crunch time for all sorts of big projects.

Nate has been working hard on a big family history project. He had to interview his oldest and most accessible living relative and come up with a display project for family history day. My mom, his Nana, was chosen to be the interview subject. He had a big list of questions and spent almost an hour on the phone with Nana. It was obvious that the two of them were having a great time talking about Nana's life and times. From that interview he was able to assemble a small book about his Nana. I gave him a goodly number of pictures of my mother from when she was an infant up to when Max and Rebecca were new on the scene. As for the project, Nate decided on family heirlooms. We took pictures of 10 or so items (most were too bulky and/or too valuable to be dragged to school) and displayed the captioned pictures in my Grandmother's suitcase.

Both projects turned out quite well and I'm kicking myself for forgetting my camera when I went to see the big display at school. Ah well, you'll just have to trust me, I'm just glad I was able to pop on over to the school on Thursday.

Artist of the Week: Faces

Elizabethian Jake
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week's artist is Master Jake, our Renaissance man.

A few weeks ago his class put on a Shakespearean festival. They had been studying the Taming of the Shrew for the past few months and at the end of the unit the students preformed a sort of ad hock version of the play. The students were divided into small groups and had one scene to memorize and interpret. There was a fair amount of overlap and the cast was continually changing.

Parents were invited to attend the performance and I was able to snag this picture of Jake on stage.

faces
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

As to his art, well this is yet another sample of last semesters work.

It is a series of faces that are in reality self portraits. A picture was taken of his face and his assignment was to create multiple image portraits. The teacher was looking for quality finished portraits, unique ideas of alterations, the basic features must still be visible, a neat application of pastel, and a precise presentation.

She pretty much got all of that in spades. Her only quible (and I tend to agree) was that the pictures should be closer together on the black paper.

I think Jake did an outstanding job. Pastels can devolve into a big smeary mess, but he was able to maintain control over the medium. He has a very confident hand and was not afraid to really lay the color down. As for the portraits themselves, they are indeed unique. The top has a very bold use of color with clean lines. The middle one is somewhat menacing, but has an amazing amount of dimensionality. However, I think the robot on the bottom is my favorite.

Well done Jake.

Hanging Out

hanging out
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

No, Max is not stuck.

He got up there all by himself and he was able to get himself down without tearing his clothes or suffering bodily harm.

Why he was doing it?

Well this is what you do when you are dragged to your sister's soccer practice after you have finished your homework and are bored out of your mind.

At least when you are 8 years old.

Gogol Bordello - Pala Tute

A little bit of fun in Romanian no less!

I know they are not saying "llama, llama, llama, Paula Tute," but sure does sound like it.

Happy Mother's Day

swag
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

To all of you mothers of all stripes out there, I wish you a very Happy Mother's day.

I got to loll about in bed, get some lovely cards and presents (including the handmade tray from Jake), have some time alone, and lots and lots of hugs.

Even the weather was a gift, sunny and mild. Perfect weather for having ice cream outside at our local ice cream stand. It was a lovely day.

Feeling Handy

I like the fact that I'm willing to take a crack at minor repairs, a good thing considering we are home owners.

I've patched a hole in the wall, replaced a light fixture, and replaced all manner of belts on our vacuum cleaner. My latest accomplishment was replacing the blades on our lawn tractor. According to out mower repair guy the mowing deck was not off kilter (when I mowed the left side of the swatch would be significantly lower than the right), instead the right blade was bent. He would have been happy to do the job, but he didn't stock the mulching blades in the right size on his truck and he couldn't come back until next week. He asked if I was up to the job and I was. Part description in hand I ordered the new blades from the dealer and picked them up on Wednesday.

Nigh on 9 years ago I had converted the tractor into a mulching mower, so I knew I was up to the task. The hardest part would be wrestling the mower deck around because it is a fairly heavy chunk of steel. The only catch was I needed to find the service manual. After a bit of digging I found it and then I was ready to go.

The whole process went surprisingly smoothly. A successfully avoided dropping anything heavy on my appendages and I didn't break anything on the mower. It did, however, take a fair amount of effort to loosen the bolts holding the blades in place. In the end I had to kick the handle of my socket wrench to get the bolts undone. Then it was full steam ahead.

Once the blades were on I had to wrestle the mowing deck back in place. Things weren't as smooth at first. It was hard lining up everything and on the first go around I skipped an important step. Luckily it was no big deal to try again.

So now I have a properly equipped mower and it even works. Not a bad day's work.

Artist of the Week: Wire

Great Grandma and Nate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Nate is this week's artist.

I decided to go way back to spring 2001 (I think) for Nate's profile picture. Nate has been doing a family history project at school and as a result we have been going through a lot of old photos. I came across this particular photo of Nate with his Great Grandma and I just had to share it.

I love the obvious delight in both of their faces. Nate was a little unsure at first with G. Grandma, but as you can plainly see he did come around in the end.

And just look at how utterly adorable he was. Nate is still a cute boy, but he looks so huggable in this picture, at at all the wiry athlete he has become.

lacrosse back
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

As for this week's art it is of a much more recent date. and is wiry like Nate is now.

Nate, like his sister, had a piece of art selected for the school district's Arts and Sciences festival. It is a wire sculpture of a lacrosse player holding his stick. I like how he used two different colors for the sculpture, it makes it far easier to understand what you are looking at. Nate did a nice job creating the firgure and bending it into just the right pose.

If any of y'all are interested in a front view of the player, click on through the picture to my Flickr photo sets. There are aspects that are better in front view than in the back view depicted here, but there was a bit too much going on the background and the wire figure gets lost in the shuffle.

Dell's Big Weekend

Dell and his ribbons
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The Delly belly had a busy weekend.

Friday late afternoon I met up with his breeder while she was on her way to a dog show over in Chesapeake, VA. I had a full weekend so I couldn't bring himself, which was fine by me. Diane and her daughter (who by the way is a far, far better handler than I ever could be) were going and it was easy enough for them to meet up with me on the way to the show.

Dell was entered both days and as you can see he got lots and lots of pretty ribbons.

On Saturday he got first in his class, winner's dog (best of the winners in his gender), best of winners (best class dog of both sexes), best of opposite sex. There was also a bred by exhibitor competition and her garnered best of variety (smooth dachshund) and went onto group competition and got a group 4 (fourth place in the hound group- the big silver rosette).

On Sunday he did even better. Not only was he best of winners, but he got best of variety! I think he defeated a special (finished champion) and therefor picked up an extra point.

So now all Dell needs are his two majors and then he'll become a champion. Way to go Dell!

Because Sometimes You Need a Giant Piñata

Cinco de Mayo comes a few days early.



It's not the most exciting footage, but you do get to see the candy pour out of the piñata. The whole thing is absurd. I still have no interest in going on a cruise, but I do like this particular stunt.

The Last Paper

For the past three years Jake and I have had been on a mission to find interesting professional level musical performances that are ideally free. Part of his band grade has been based on papers (about one per quarter) written on outside activities, hence all the concert going.

Fortunately we live near Richmond which has a thriving arts scene and two universities. Virginia Commonwealth University has been our go to source for free concerts. We have discovered that at VCU there is a very good Jazz program and there are all sorts of Jazz concerts to attend. Jake has a marked fondness for Jazz so the concerts were generally a positive experience.

As for low points, I would have to say the Nutcracker was it. I was scrambling to find something at the end of the semester and found out the hard way that there is almost nothing between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the end I had to shell out cash for what turned out to be decent seats for the Nutcracker. Jake really did not want to be there, but he was stuck. It was a good production (not as good as the NY City Ballet I grew up with, however not many are) and I tried to get him interested... In the end he endured it and banged out a paper.

Since then we kept our eyes open and discovered the Richmond Folk Festival (free!), musical events at area synagogues (reasonably priced), and University of Richmond (free with the bonus of parking and a gorgeous campus). And today for his last middle school band paper the Greater Richmond Children's Choir.

Originally we were going to attend a senior guitar recital at VCU, but I saw a blurb about GRCC in the Richmond Times Dispatch. We hadn't attended any choir performances and this one was reputed to be quite good. Two years ago Jake would have dismissed this out of hand, but he has learned since not to be so choosy. We both thought it would be a nice change of pace and decided to check them out.

GRCC was outstanding.

They have four different choruses ranging from the beginning level Treble chorus, to the more experienced Concert Choir, then the Pro Arte Choir (unchanged voices), the Cavalieri Choir (changed voices and male only), and the Cantare Choir (Pro Arte combined with Cavalieri). They did a broad range of music from Mozart and Bach, to gospel, and Ugandan folk music. There were some moments that were absolutely breath taking. I'm so glad I found out about the performance in time for us to attend.

It has been a chore tracking down suitable performances, but it was been well worth the effort.

Simplicity

dogwood
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

There is a tendency for some people to never just let a picture be.

They are always fussing away, adjusting tint and contrast. Doing a whole host of actions, but never just stepping back and leaving the image alone. I admit I will pretty up a picture, but I always try to do the minimum amount.

Take for example this dogwood blossom, it is straight out of the camera. Jake took it a while ago when the flowers were fresh, with little droplets of water sprinkled across the petals. I thought the image was stunning and all that I did was download the picture from Jake's camera and then title it dogwood. I didn't even have to crop the picture. Jake was able to compose a lovely picture through the viewfinder.

Passage

Passage
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

We have had some utterly gorgeous weather lately.

On last Friday Jake, Rebecca, and I took a flight up to New York. The weather was stunning and Grandma took us to the Pepsico headquarters to tour the gardens. I already featured one sculpture here and I have a few more to share.

Today's work was created by Richard Erdman and is titled Passages. I love the stark contrast of the bright white stone against the cool lush green of the grass. Unlike most of the larger works that rest directly on the grass, It's set in a little isle on crushed white stone.

The sunlight was at just the right point in the sky so that the shadows weren't too distracting, instead they emphasize and define the shape of the sculpture. I usually gravitate towards more classical forms, but this one really grabbed me. Something about just made me happy. I would love to see it at different times of the year and see how it looks as the seasons change.

Artist of the Week: Pouch

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week's artist is the very lovely and talented Rebecca.

We were away this past weekend at a Bat Mitzvah. Larry has known the father for years and years and our two families enjoy getting together. Sadly Larry couldn't come due to all sorts of obligations, but I was able to literally fly away with Jake and Rebecca up to the NY metro area. Grandma and Grandpa picked us up at the airport and opened their home for our visit.

We had a great time seeing the sculpture garden at PepsiCo, attending the Bat Mitzvah (and accompanying party), and spending time with Nanci, Frank and cousin Evan. I know Rebecca had a great time at the party because there were a ton of girls. She really hit it off with another friend's daughter and she was not shy about joining in with the karaoke.

exhibit
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

However, Rebecca did suffer some disappointments.

Namely she missed her class's pizza party and the school district's festival of arts and sciences.

Parties are fairly frequent and she was attending another in its staid, so she was able to overcome that disappointment with relative ease. But the festival was a whole other story.

pouch
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

It's held once a year and each school in the district has a tiny little exhibit space. The restricted area means that only a select few pieces will make the cut. The art teachers make their selections and just a few days before the festival send an invitation to those students along with the general flier that is sent to all the families. So it really is a big deal to have your child's work selected.

So of course one of Rebecca's in school art projects was selected.

She was so very, very proud and excited when she handed me the invitation. I congratulated her and was about to say how I was looking forward to the festival when I saw the dates. The festival was scheduled the same weekend we would be away. Rebecca was devastated that she would miss the show. I was only able to get her to stop sobbing when I promised her that her father would go and take plenty of pictures.

And that he did. On the right you can see her school's exhibit. It really is a tiny space. The actual artwork is on the left near the bottom. It is a type of Native American pouch, Rebecca was a bit sketchy on the details. For a cloer look you can see it here on the left. She did a very nice job on the pouches construction and fringing. The design on the pouch features a turtle and two very stylized animals. I think the drawings are very cute and she did a great job overall.

It's All About Good Customer Service

So far this week:

1) Riding mower is essentially fixed, all it needs is a new blade. Our new mower repairman, waived the service fee, because he didn't have the part with him on his truck and I said I could pick it up and do it myself. He then told me to call if I have any problems and he'll come out and help. He was a real find.

2)The front tire on Larry's bike has been replaced (It was the victim of a very unfortunate car backing up mishap). The best part was when I was dropping it off at my favorite bike shop, Bunny Hop. As I stood there discussing what needed to be done with Jake's bike I was asked by one of the guys in the shop if he could jump on the tire. I thought it was a decidedly weird request, but since the wheel was toast (It was Pringle shaped) I handed it over. He carefully laid it on the floor, considered it for a bit, and then jumped on it.

SPRONG

The wheel was back to normal shape.

All present were dully impressed. The wheel was still messed up and not salvageable, but it was somewhat usable if I had been stuck far from home on my bike. I had never seen that done before, it was educational and entertaining.

3) Jake's bike has been fixed up with wonky gears and rear derailer replaced. It should be much better now and will hopefully not need constant readjustment. All for less the $50. With quick turn around and outstanding service, that is why I have a favorite bike shop.

So yes, good service at more than fair prices still exists. You just have to look around.

The Third & The Seventh

An animated piece that finds beauty in architecture, light and perspective.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

I found it to be quite lyrical.

Gap Tooth Cutie

Gap tooth cutie
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

I go away for two nights and look at what I come home to.

Admittedly the tooth had been loose for... I don't know, months. Max had no interest in speeding things along and I saw no point in pushing it. I knew at some point it would drop out. I just didn't expect it to happen when I was up at Grandma's for a Bat Mitzvah.

When it did happen Max was at Meryl's and after the initial shock wanted to give either Larry or I a call. While Max was on the phone with me, Meryl took this unbelievably cute picture of his gap tooth smile.

Of course now I owe Meryl big time for so calmly dealing with the bloody mess.

Refreshing

Pepsi hq 006
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

After flying to New York today, my inlaws took myself along with Jake and Rebecca (the rest are stuck at home with Daddy) to the Pepsi World headquarters.

Sounds less than exciting, right?

Wrong!

Turns out that PepsiCo has a gorgeous sculpture garden open to the public. From the NY Job Source I lift the following description:

PepsiCo World Headquarters is located in Purchase, NY, approximately 45 minutes from New York City. The seven-building headquarters complex was designed by Edward Durrell Stone, one of America's foremost architects. The building occupies 10 acres of a 144-acre complex that includes the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens, a world- acclaimed sculpture collection in a garden setting.

And might I add wow!

I don't really care for the drink, but the garden was incredibly maintained with some truly spectacular pieces of art. If you ever have a spare hour or two on a sunny day and are in the area, go and visit.

Update: I neglected to credit the artist and give the title of the sculpture pictured above. It is "Girl with a Dolphin" by David Wynne.

Azalea and Wisteria

azalea and wisteria
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The spring flowers really run riot here in the south. I'm just not used to everything having some sort of outrageous bloom.

I love the flowers that wisteria produces, but I hate how the vines snake all over the place. I need to hack them back, but only after they finish blooming. They kind of make up for my poor beleaguered azaleas.

My poor, poor azaleas.

I have both the pretty pink ones pictured and the plain white varietals. Unfortunately the deer like them as well and have pretty much decimated the poor things from about 4 feet and lower. There is one large bush, but the rest are struggling along. Just when I think that it's almost big enough to produce flowers the deer move through and nibble everything away, leaving behind the few buds they can not easily reach on the top.

I'm jealous of all the other homes I see with huge azaleas awash in bright colors. This is the price I pay for living in a neighborhood adjacent to a park.

Ah well, at least I get a few flowers here and there.