Saturday, February 28, 2009

A mystery solved

About a year after Katrina blew through here, I first noticed this sight in the community of Northshore on my daily commute to the spaceship factory.





I never could figure out how or why it was there until earlier this week when I read an article in the local newspaper


Sticking out of a pond in front of a large green building is the tail section of a small plane, looking as if the plane took a nosedive and got stuck in the mud at the bottom of the pond.

No, it’s not a plane accident, it is actually a work of art created by local contractor Bruce Sauer.

Sauer is a pilot and owns the Beechcraft Serria four-seater plane that sits in the middle of the pond. He built the building and pond in 2001 and his company used to work out of it, but now he leases it to Superior Construction Co.

Sauer bought the plane about 1989, and he flew it all over the place. But then his wife, Missy, who did not like to fly, asked him not to fly so much.

So, Sauer parked the airplane at the Lakefront Airport in New Orleans, and there it sat for several years.

Then Hurricane Katrina blew into town, and destroyed the plane. Sauer didn’t have any insurance on the aircraft, and he discovered that it wasn’t worth it to sell the plane for scrap metal.

“So I decided to make some pond art out of it,” Sauer said.


The building that sits behind the plane-in-a-pond rode thru Katrina as if it were a thunderstorm. It's well-built.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Northshore Saturday

Having a WHOLE day off recently is rare for me, so when I decided to take Saturday off, Hubby and I ventured out looking for stuff to buy at the local Farmers' Markets.

Our first stop was Slidell's Camellia City Market, where I purchased the "official" poster of the Market, created by Vivian Hava, Northshore High School Freshman.






Actually we were on a mission: We were looking for the dynamite Mediterranean food from Nur's Kitchen. A take-out-only restaurant, Nur's Kitchen used to be at all of the local Farmer's Markets, but we didn't see their food in Slidell, so we ventured on to the Mandeville Farmers' Market. There we found some delicious BBQ Sauce and a praline type brownie, but no Nur's. One more market on the northshore: the Covington Farmers' Market. No Mediterranean food there, either. But they DID have a good crowd and lots of produce and homemade goods to choose from. We decided to take a walk down to the Columbia Street Landing and visit shops along the way.



One of my favorite shops on Columbia Street is Art on Columbia , a gallery and store where you can buy wares from local artists. I purchased a very nice item for my fireplace mantle (love that overtime $$).

Columbia Street is full of boutiques, galleries and PLENTY of lawyer shops. One of my favorite sites is the old General Store.



We made it to the Landing, and enjoyed the quiet sitting by the Bogue Falaya





Getting hungry, we decided to look for food (seems like we're always looking for food, doesn't it?) So we walked towards the old Courthouse on Boston Street. Up New Hamshire Street we saw this hilarious site



This guy was trying to see if his brake lights were working. We assured him they were.

Further up New Hamshire, we spied some new construction and what looked to be a park, so we decided to check it out. Turns out we discovered the newest Trailhead for the Tammany Trace.



Newly opened last April (where've I been??), this Trailhead marks the end of the Tammany Trace's 40 mile trek.





I didn't bother reading the plaque, but I discovered a huge statue of Ronald Reagan keeping watch over the park





We noticed that this Trailhead didn't yet have full time rangers yet, so we decided to do some snooping around to see what else was there.

Then we noticed this flyer



So we tried the door, which opened, and wandered into the model train room. What a treat.









Hubby works for Amtrak, so he got a hoot out of this.



This display is so intricate. The owner of the trains paid so much attention to detail in this setup. I even spied a hooker hanging out by the auto shop!!

I asked the owner how long his Model Railroad display was going to be there and he said forever. So if you love Model trains, or have kids that do, I suggest you head to Covington to see this. You won't be disappointed.

We never did do lunch in Covington. We ended up at Fazzio's in Mandeville



They make the BEST tartar sauce in the world!

Bottle Tree

click on image for full size version



I first saw a bottle tree last year at some Mississippi Gulf Coast festival. I think it has a very interesting history

Think I'll get me one this year.

Bay St. Louis Lives

I left work about 11 last Friday and Hubby and I decided to search for a good burger in one of your favorite cities, Bay St. Louis, Ms. Last month we found one at the Buttercup Cafe near the gulf.

Click on images for full-sized versions

This time around we wanted to try a restaurant suggested by a friend who works in BSL called The Mockingbird Cafe.






Located about a block from the Buttercup, the Mockingbird is located in a very old structure that has been restored beautifully inside. The Mockingbird is also home to The Serious Bakery and all of their sandwiches are made with the bread from this bakery. The best bread I've ever eaten. Our sandwiches were very good and when our bellies were full, we decided to make use of the Bay St. Louis map we picked up at the 'Bird and check out some of the shops in the area.

Our next stop was The Shops at Century Hall. Century Hall was originally built by Woodmen of the World . Incredibly restored, this building houses some ecclectic shops such as Seams like yesterday (antiques, furniture, glassware, hand sewn items) Ke International (South American imports,hats, ornaments) Bohemian Sky (vintage/retro recycled apparel, incense oils, etc) and Paper Moon & Eclipse Gallery (cards, gifts and gallery of local artists). What an awesome place! Everyone in the Shops was super friendly and helpful and more than willing to give us the history on items. My favorite part was the gallery.








It was sunny and open and the art - all mixed media - was hilarious. I learned that the owner's daughter had done these pieces.

In Ke International we met a great lady that mentioned that the wooden angels we spotted on the front porch were likenesses of a tree that was carved after Katrina.



The tree that inspired this carving is right near the Bay and our hostess told us that this tree is where seven people and a dog spent Hurricane Katrina and lived to tell of it. According to her, Bay St. Louis experienced a 34 foot wall of water, as the town was pretty damned near the storm's eye. She told us where to find the tree, so after purchasing some pretty earrings and a great photograph, we headed out to find the tree.



We found the tree about three blocks from the shop. An old live oak, that tree still stands facing the gulf





We found it on this street (in case you're ever looking for it)



We still had a few hours of the afternoon left, so we decided to trek back to the Tourism Center in Bay St. Louis to see if it was open. We've been trying to find out the date of the Bridge Fest, so this was a good place to start. NOT.

Located in the Train Depot, the BSL Visitor Center is chock full of info about this sweet little town.



The hostess there was awesome. When we got there she was taking care of a busload of seniors from Meridian, offering them popcorn and coffee, giving them ditty bags full of local info. When she spotted us she asked us if we'd signed the register and then realized that we weren't with the tour bus (which made me feel good, because I didn't think I looked 78 years old). We asked her about Bridge Fest and she offered to find the date and started tearing thru brochures looking for the date. She then offered to look it up online, but was side tracked by another busload of seniors.

Well, we still didn't find out the date of the festival, but we had a good time looking for it.



Outside we decided to see what else was going on, so we strolled on over to the Alice Mosely Museum. Mz Mosely was a folk artist and lived in BSL in a sweet little cottage that's been restored (EVERYTHING's been restored in Bay St. Louis). Although her type of art is not my cup of tea, it was interesting touring her home and observing her art.



Bay St. Louis is undergoing major infrastructure repair due to that 34 foot wall of water, so the streets around the Train Depot are mostly unpaved and very dusty. Walking back to the truck, we noticed a beautiful green area that is slated to become a park



It's gonna be nice.

It was an enjoyable afternoon, far from the madness of Mardi Gras. I think this shot mirrors the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast



Beat up by Katrina, it lives. Happy to be alive and continuing to grow.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

iko......iko

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HAPPY MARDI GRAS,Y'ALL !

I'll be working,
but not EVER forgetting the spirit!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Update ~ St. Genevieve Church

I first posted about Bayou Liberty's St. Genevieve Church about two years ago when it was being demolished as a result of damages sustained from Hurricane Katrina.

Recently I've found some updates on the status of rebuilding the Church. Last week's T.P. ran an article about parishoners' efforts to raise the $1.5M necessary to rebuild the church.


An architectural rendering of the new St. Genevieve Church, Slidell, provides a sense of its elevation – nine feet off the ground. The church will have seating for 500, about 200 more than the building destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
From the clarion herald dot com



From the clarion herald dot com:


When the tides of Hurricane Katrina washed through Bayou Liberty, six feet of water went into the church, and four feet flooded both the rectory and CCD
building, Deacon Haggerty said.

The new church will be elevated nine feet off the ground, making it 16 feet
above sea level, and will have an elevator and some type of elevated ramp. Deacon Haggerty said the church will be about 13,900 square feet and will seat 500 – 200 more than the former church. The exterior will be stucco and metal with a metal roof.

the design committee and building committee then met with architects from Argus Architecture and Engineering, LLC. This work gave rise to a design reminiscent of the wooden mission church on brick piers with a steeple that pre-dated the storm damaged church, which was built in 1958. That edifice had served as a mission for many decades.


I have a myriad of pictures of the church here

Stay tuned for updates.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Why FEMA sucks

Close to four years post Katrina, FEMA continues to demonstrate their unending ineptitude.

Recently Jim Stark, assistant administrator for FEMA's Gulf Coast Recovery Office, did not mention Slidell specifically when he told a newspaper this week that officials in communities impacted by Hurricane Katrina are wasting time "trying to wring more money out of the federal government" when funding might not be available.

Stark told USA Today on Monday that rebuilding projects related to public safety, health and education are not proceeding as quickly as people in southeast Louisiana would like.

Slidell Mayor Ben Morris is seething over a top FEMA official's criticism of local governments for delays in repairing hurricane-ravaged municipal buildings.

"That is the most incredible bull---- statement I've ever heard in my life," the Slidell mayor said Thursday afternoon at a press conference in the trailer office he has used since Hurricane Katrina destroyed Slidell's City Hall almost 3 1/2 years ago. "I'm not trying to wring any money out of the feds that's anything more than we deserve."

FEMA recently has given a new reason as to why it won't pay to demolish and rebuild the building.

The agency told him that it believes the flooding in Olde Towne resulted from a rain event, and not the storm surge that is widely considered to have destroyed south Slidell, and, hence, FEMA isn't required to pay for the rebuild, he said.

However, the seven minute video at this link clearly shows Lake Pontchartrain's waters in downtown Slidell on August 29, 2005.

People affected by Katrina know how dysfunctional FEMA is. After reading the above referenced article, I hope others understand as well.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Something nice for a change

From New Orleans City Business dot com:


NEW ORLEANS - With the nation in a recession, a Mandeville man will give people in Louisiana a little economic stimulus of his own.

Rare coin dealer Paul Hollis plans to give away 1 million pennies in public places throughout Louisiana starting Thursday to commemorate the bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln's birth and the centennial of the Lincoln cent. One public place will be the Argus Parade Feb. 24.



The pennies, totaling $10,000 or 5,500 pounds, have been a challenge to get to Louisiana.

Hollis needed an armored car service to get 500,000 pennies shipped to New Orleans from Philadelphia.

It cost $2,000 in transportation fees to get $5,000 worth of pennies, he said.

Abraham Lincoln has always been one of my favorite presidents and this is my small way of remembering his extraordinary legacy, he said, adding, "How many people can say they gave away tons of money and really mean it?"•

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Scuzzbucket (and perhaps stupidest one) of the week


(Courtesy Kenner Police Department)


Twenty year old Ciara Craig who confessed that she threw her newborn baby into Lake Pontchartrain, with the umbilical cord still attached.

Ugh.

From WAFB dot com

was trying to hide her pregnancy from her parents. She has been charged with first-degree murder. An autopsy is set for Wednesday on the baby girl.

Police say Craig told them the child was moving when she gave birth and that she felt a heartbeat. The baby was found face down in the shallow water in Lake Pontchartrain near the Kenner boat launch Tuesday afternoon. Craig was taken to the hospital and will be booked when she is released.

Several witnesses at the park saw the woman carry a black plastic bag to the edge of the lake and dump the contents into the water, then calmly walk back to her car and drive away shortly before 2:00 Tuesday afternoon.



Screw the ACLU. People who do things like this should be IMMEDIATELY sterilized.

Scuzzbucket without a soul


Rich McKay/rmckay@ajc.com

Stewart Parnell, CEO of Peanut Corporation of America. A man apparently without a soul refused to testify for Congress about his complete disregard for human beings.

Invoking his fifth amendment rights Parnell, along with the plant manager from the Blakely plant, Sammy Lightsey, (below) were dimissed from the hearing, and quickly left a House office building refusing to speak to reporters or others.


Rich McKay/rmckay@ajc.com
Sammy Lightsey, plant manager of the Peanut Corporation of America’s Blakely plant, listens to questioning.


From ajc dot com:

E-mails between Parnell and Lightsey, manager of the company’s Blakely plant, were released as part of the hearing opened by U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of a House subcommittee on oversight and investigation.

• In one e-mail, Lightsey wrote Parnell discussing positive salmonella tests on its products, but Parnell gave instructions to nonetheless “turn them loose” after getting a negative test result from another testing company, according to testimony.

• In another e-mail, Parnell expressed his concerns over losing “$$$$$$” due to delays in shipment and costs of testing.

• Parnell in another company-wide e-mail told employees there was no salmonella in its plants, instead accusing the news media of “looking for a news story where there currently isn’t one.”

Even in the heat of the nationwide outbreak that has killed nine people and sickened hundreds more, Parnell seemed more worried about his company’s profits than with food safety, according to regulators and congressional investigators.

On Jan. 19, Parnell sent an email to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pleading with the agency to let it stay in business.

He wrote that company executives “desperately at least need to turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money.”


Because of their greed and lack of ethics, nine people have died because of their outrageous actions.

Rot in hell, boys.

Friday, February 06, 2009

"Uninvited" Celebrity

From NOLA dot com
Less than 24 hours after announcing that comedian Carlos Mencia would be one of three celebrity guests in this year's parade, the Krewe of Orpheus uninvited the Comedy Central star.

Doesn't NOLA dot com own a thesaurus?


The reason: a tape of a December 2005 broadcast that shows Mencia making a series of controversial Hurricane Katrina-related jokes at the expense of African-Americans and Hispanics.


My take on it — black people, you’re f**kin’ funny, you’re hilarious. You will get on a bus to go to Million Man March, but you won’t get on a bus to get away from Katrina. It’s funny to me. That is hilarious.”

According to Wikipedia, Mencia’s also the comedy giant behind these steamers:

• “Why are we rebuilding New Orleans? Whose idea was this, Aquaman?”
• “Hurricane Katrina was caused by political correctness. I said it!”
• “I’m glad Hurricane Katrina happened. It taught us an important lesson: black people can’t swim.”


Based on those remarks, "we thought it was best for all concerned -- best for him, best for the club, best for all the citizens -- for him not to ride this year, " Orpheus Captain Sonny Borey said Thursday. "We want to put the best positive light on the city."

Borey said Thursday that he and other Orpheus officials had no idea the explosive tape existed when they announced that Mencia would ride in the parade.


Maybe Orpheus should use Wikipedia to research their picks for celebrity riders in the future.

Finally

1,258 days after Katrina, FEMA publishes its NOLA area flood maps.

Well, it looks as if they just published old data if I'm reading it right.
It is early.

Check it out for yourself


From the Orleans Parish map site
The Orleans Parish flood maps were last updated in 1984. New maps are being prepared using state-of-the-art mapping technology and they will be presented for adoption by the parish upon completion.


Unbelievable.

Monday Morning Smile