New pretty

Mom and I finally got our calendars coordinated to take some old rings up to the jewelry shop and have this lovely created. 

Ode to Benedryl

Ode to Benedryl

Oh, you little pink pill
Magical and wondrous
In twenty short minutes
My airways clear
Breathing in and out
With nary a sniffle to be heard
Glorious scents of flowers and trees
Without a single sneeze

My eyes no longer itch
My nose without a twitch
And then comes the price
A deep long sleep
Right here would be nice
My head nods and bobs
My mouth starts to yawn
My sinuses may be clear
But my mind is a fog

Other Cakers

Happy Fall!  I'm completely consumed with yardwork (what oh what shall I do when it's too cold outside?) that my brain can't seem to compose a blog.  You do know that these posts hit my brain a couple of days or hours before I actually sit down to the computer?

Anyhow, someone posted a blog post of another caker.  She has cakes I haven't reached yet, but soon I will get there.  So far I am at 109.  That's rather impressive yet nowhere near what I thought I would have at this point in the year.

http://tempestinapot.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-summer-caking.html

18 years ago

September 16 was Mexico's Independence Day.  I know this because 18 years ago I was in Cancun with my friends sitting in Senor Frogs.  All of the bars were filled to the gills with locals watching El Presidente on TV give a speech.  At the end he declared VIVA MEXICO and the crowds erupted with their own VIVA MEXICO!!!  We could hear people on the streets cheering.  It was crazy.  Fun, but crazy.

Two days later we returned home.  It could have been Montezuma's Revenge, but it started to sneak into my mind the possibility that, um, maybe, seven years after my last child that I could possibly be pregnant.

That little guy in my header walking on the beach in Destin Florida was my Montezuma's Revenge.  It makes me a little weepy to see him so little.  He's a senior this year, working, contemplating college, tall enough to touch the ceiling, strong enough to lift big heavy things, mature enough to understand, compassionate enough to care... sigh... none of that matters, though.  He will eternally be that little boy walking on the beach in my eyes.

18 years ago was one of the coolest vacations I ever had and it was the turning point of a major life change.

¡VIVA MÉXICO!

Proven Technology

We had another two trees cut down and I guess a little friend found his way inside, a tiny black beetle.  It was an insignificant insect, tiny, but the crunchy variety and if you know me, crunchy is ICKY.

My son spotted it earlier but it scampered under something.  When it reappeared I was barefoot.  I grabbed an empty cup sitting next to me and popped it on top of the beetle.  The look on my husband's face was priceless.  I explained this was a process used at another house when big ugly waterbugs made their way inside.  He expressed concerned about the ability of cup to contain the bug.

"What do you mean?  This is proven technology!"

:)

I put on my shoes, removed the cup, and squished the bug.

Oh no no no no... Karma had to rear her head.

The next day I am in the bathroom at work.  As I turn on the water to wash my hands the biggest damn cockroach, the ickiest of crunchy bugs, came charging out of the drain.  I didn't quite scream, it was more of a yelp.  Somehow I managed to rinse the soap off my hands and skeedaddled out of that tiny room as fast as humanly possible.  Had a cup been available I could have contained the situation, maybe found a dustpan to scoop up the whole mess and escort it outside - no death necessary.

No, I didn't leave him there for someone else to find but I also wasn't capable of killing it myself.  I reported his existence and how he was escorted off the premises was blissfully not in my presence.

Prayers for his family

Jonas passed away this morning at 12:32 am with his family around him.

Prayers for Jonas

Let's just start the day by saying cancer sucks.  A lot.  Figuratively and literally.  A whole lot. 

I don't know what words to say.  My heart aches for Jonas and his family.  I was friends with his mother in high school and we reconnected on Facebook a few years ago.  She is a bright and happy person with a brilliant smile that she has clearly passed onto her children.  As I troll through their pictures there is nothing but genuine love.  It's always great to see a family that likes each other.

Her Facebook posts have remained optimistic as she has shared her son's journey with Ewings Sarcoma.  Her pain is understandable as she has carted him to and from the hospital many times.  Anyone who has ever had a child in the ICU not just feels a twang of "how horrible to have your kid in the hospital" but KNOWS.  My son's stay was only a few days, not week long jaunts multiple times.  Seeing your baby, your tall man sized little boy,  laying in a bed with wires and tubes dangling out of him, weak and scared... it takes every ounce of your existence to think straight, hear what the doctors say, and put on a good face for his benefit.  You have to dance that fine line between letting him be his teenaged self and knowing when he wants his mommy with reassuring hugs everything is going to be okay.  You have to be able to discuss medical issues about his physical body and help clean up little messes yet step out of the room when the nurse checks his catheter.  These are the realities of your teenaged son being in the hospital.

It is all very scary.  There aren't any classes to prepare you for this shit, maybe a support group but each situation is so unique that it's all very lonely.  And scary.  Your maternal instinct to scoop him up in your arms and tell everyone to stay away sits forefront all of the time.  Oh, and those other kids in your house?  The ones needing to go to school?  And have you sign permission slips to go to the zoo?  Yeah, they need you too.

Kristen and her family are at a very frightening juncture right now.  Fifteen year old Jonas has exhausted all of his treatment options.  His last surgery to relieve the fluid from his lungs led to the discovery of fluid around his heart.  No more chemo, no more radiation, and no more surgeries.  He is now in hospice to control the pain as the only therapy left is prayer.  And man oh man are we praying for this guy. 

When a Movie Strikes a Nerve

Out of nowhere - watching a movie, hearing a song on the radio, flipping through pictures, talking to a friend - and BAM you're transported to somewhere in your past.  The smells and sounds and feelings all come rushing back.  This isn't deja vu, it's just a memory.  Sometimes it's a bad memory, sometimes it's a happy memory, and sometimes it just "was".

Yesterday I was watching Saving Mr. Banks, the story of how Walt Disney finally convinced P. L. Travers to sign over movie rights to Mary Poppins.  Overall it was a sweet story despite some controversy as to how closely, if at all, it was from fact.

There are parts in the movie meant to tug the heartstrings, others that would reasonably stir old emotions, but the moment it hit nothing on the screen was deep or spectacular.  Walt was standing in front of Disneyland welcoming Travers to the park.  Suddenly it spilled over me not just being in THAT park but also in that time frame.  Okay I wasn't even alive in 1964 but at some point in the late sixties I was taken to Disneyland.  I remember the perfectly manicured hedges shaped into characters and I definitely recall standing on the bridge to Sleeping Beauty's castle.  By the way the castle was HUGE.  At the same time I was remembering my first experience there I was also struck with a simultaneous track of the last time I visited.  Sleeping Beauty's castle, by the way, had shrunk.

Nine years ago I took my kids on an awesome west coast road trip that included a day in Disneyland.   If I had any doubts niggling in the back of my mind about blowing my retirement on that trip it was all erased in one flush, sitting in my livingroom, watching this movie about the making of Mary Poppins.  Did I mention that I love and adore Mary Poppins?

It was all just so... happy.  The tears trying to escape my eyes were not mournful, just happy.  Something right happened in my life and this little segment on screen reminded me of it

Caking - May 13

May 13th was another night time cruise through downtown. 

I jumped out of the car across the street from a police officer to get the one at the corner in front of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

 

Then we cruised to mid-town.  This was at the Sheldon Theater, an awesome little stage with great acoustics. 

 

 

Around the corner, but sharing the same lot, is the Fabulous Fox Theater.  This is where all of the big theater productions play.  I've seen Mama Mia and Jersey Boys here.  It is so gorgeous inside I could spend all day admiring architecture and design without ever watching a single play.

 

It was sheer accident that I saw this cake, I believe it's Big Brothers/Big Sisters.  It is at the other end of the block from the Fox Theater. 

 Then we managed to get back downtown.  Seriously, this was the most meandering drive ever.  There is a street between Busch Stadium and the new Ballpark Village.  I was so dazzled by he lights at Ballpark Village that I barely noticed the cake in front of the stadium.  Not that it really mattered because all of my shots are small and grainy and never really captured the cake.  My mom got a much better shot of my brother next to it a few weeks ago.  That's what happens when you actually get out of your car for the picture instead of looking like a stalker.

The next drive-by cake is in the Grove neighborhood, south of downtown.  It is the LGBT cake in front of the LGBT Center that evidently has since lost its lease or something so it is now considered a traveling cake?  It did make an appearance at the Pride parade earlier this summer.  By the way, this is not the only cake that has been featured in a parade and I am learning that others "migrate".

Back to downtown and the cake at the City Library.  This building is by far my most favorite to visit.  It is as glorious and beautiful as your imagination can take you for an old library.  It has grand stair cases and wood-carved features and the best old-book library smell.

Finally, the Peabody Auditorium.  This used to be the Kiel Opera House and stood unused for many years.   I have never been inside this building but it sounds as if it has a lot of the old architectural features I seem to like.  To get this picture I pulled up in a no-parking zone behind several taxis whose drivers watched me closely from parking, departing my car, running up the stairs, taking a picture, back down the stairs, into my car, and drive off.  Not everyone is aware of the cake phenomena around town and certainly not the weirdos stopping at random places to get a picture of said cakes.  Oh well.

Cakeway - End of April

Many people have wondered about the placement of the cakes around town.  I wasn't part of the group making suggestions and definitely not among the deciders as I think they have missed a few key locations.

The cakes are not restricted to the city of St. Louis.  They are all over St. Louis County and the surrounding metropolitan area.

As Lewis and Clark started their journey west, St. Charles, Missouri was their official starting point moving up the Missouri River.  The town celebrates Lewis and Clark Days and has a big statue on the riverfront.  This cake was at a little known museum of sorts that showcases the types of longboats they used for the trip.  On April 30th, we had dinner with my mom and sought out the riverfront cake in St. Charles.  I love the lighting on the Lewis and Clark statue in a neighboring park.  Walking back to the car my son spotted a mangy dog.  Nope, that was a COYOTE!!!!  I was a little surprised to see one in such a busy area. (sorry no pictures of the coyote)

Across the Mississippi is Alton, Illinois.  There is a great highway that skirts the river northward to Pere Marquette Park.  I don't have that cake yet, but will sometime soon.  On May 2nd we captured the cakes at the visitor center and the Piasa Bird.

The Piasa Bird was originally painted on the cliffs overlooking the Mississippi river by an ancient band of people.  There are supposedly mystical powers/good luck associated with it so it has been restored.

Sharing an open letter

This was posted by a classmate from highschool.  It is poignant and reflects my opinions exactly:

An Open Letter to Ferguson-Florissant....and the rest of the planet!!

I was born and raised on these streets, played outside all day and night. I was in elementary when the Kinloch merger [desegregation] came, I went and hung out on Scudder and West Florissant, worked a job at River Roads Mall. I saw and heard the fear in adults eyes as they talked of bussing and changes in the neighborhood. I heard the disappointment in the voices of young kids who became afraid to attend a white school.

I also saw the playground, a place in which the fears and unforgiving opinions of our parents couldn’t touch us. We built friendships and played together, grew together and became adults together.
Now I wonder what happened. When did we become so afraid again? Our generation is the one that should end this game of fear. What are we teaching our kids by taking to the street? What do we allow them to learn by holding up violence in song then act that way to solve a problem? Both sides are WRONG. Authority must act with the MOST RESPECT humanly possible. The people must act with faith and security. Do not blind yourself to the most minimal view. This is not about argument and endless examples of what has happened to one of us or several of us. We create our world. If yours is unhappy and violent it is YOUR fault. If you want more and have less that is your fault. Go become better, earn more, join the paths that allow for success. NO one makes it without effort. EASY is for losers no matter who you are.

What do you follow what do you teach what do you embrace? IF you live a stereotype you will be that person. Be HUMAN. We can have groups you join to celebrate heritage, background and race. They all have a place AFTER being brothers and sisters. Every word and action now is about divisions. This must not be about them and us. This world will NEVER ever be ok until it is only about WE……………..

We need to stop. We need to teach. We need to lead. Not by past standards, but those of the future. We come so far and turn around into the sad fear of yesterday. LET IT GO……

Shape a new tomorrow. Go out and make your world BETTER. WE can never make our world better when WE hold anyone down.

Time to listen, time to vote away the fear mongering leadership in all areas of our lives.
Our playgrounds in childhood proved WE can do this and be just fine.
Do you want to be ruined, sick and sad?

LEAD. LOVE. WE!!! Make it your motto!!!

Riot in Ferguson

Last night as I watched the evening news a story started to unfold that I watched until 2am.  On Saturday a black teen was killed by a Ferguson police officer.  Yesterday's protest and then prayer vigil deteriorated as the group started to disperse.  It was a horrid mob scene as local businesses were looted, the worst of which was a QuikTrip that caught fire.

I have lived in this area for most of my life.  The Walmart they are showing is the one where I get my prescriptions and routinely shop.  Many of the stores are in areas that I drive by, if not visit, multiple times a month.  This doesn't hit close to home, it IS home.

Was this a racial issue?  Of course Al Sharpton and the media are spinning that, but my God, how simplistic.  As a young teen I recognized that the powers-that-be would spout off about race but I could see so clearly that it was more a divide between the haves and have-nots.  Granted most in the "haves" are white and the "have nots" are black, but neither group is 100%.  So when a police officer drove through a particular apartment complex known for criminal activity (I lived behind that complex 25 years ago and it was seedy back then) and saw three kids, regardless of their race, he suspected trouble.  What transpired after that is up for debate.  He said one of the kids lunged into his car, the kid's friends say the cop pulled him in through the window.  There isn't video to say which is true.

The investigation is already under way.  Regardless, a young man is dead and his family is grieving.  The community has rallied together to express their frustration over police brutality and to pray.  What transpired afterwards is not related to Mike Brown's death.  The looters did come from the crowd at the prayer vigil but they were not praying for Mike's family or his memory.  They jumped on an opportunity to express indignation, they wanted to make noise.

And then all hell broke loose.  Local businesses were hit and they were hit hard.  Windows were broken and shelves ransacked.  The man who owned the shop selling rims says he probably lost over $100,000.  Of course the entire world saw pictures of the QuikTrip that burned to the ground (I believe from some idiot shooting off fireworks indoors).  Crowds then trolled north, closer to my home.  More businesses hit, more damage.

This is just so devastating.  North St. Louis County has had its share of problems.  As homeowners aged, their working class houses sold at lower prices than elsewhere in the county.  This has paved the way for poorer people to move into nice, quiet neighborhoods.  I mean, come on, who doesn't want to live some place where you can raise your children in peace, where they can play on the street without worrying about driveby shootings and roving gangs?  Isn't living in a little two bedroom bungalow an improvement over a third floor apartment? 

Oh my God, they were black.

And then as people my parents' age reached retirement they started looking to "downsize" and sought condos twenty miles away, usually across the river in St. Charles County.  We have all called it "white flight".  It sounds racist, but why not?  They are the ones who talk in not-so-veiled phrases such as "the neighborhoods have changed".  Of course they did, but was that a bad thing?  Was integration so evil?  I've gotta say, last year when I returned to North County I came into a fully integrated neighborhood and it is glorious.  I love it here.  I have neighbors of various races (not just two) and everyone is friendly.  We all spend inordinate hours tending our yards and caring for our homes.  We are the same and have the same concerns.  We are also in similar economic situations.  These are the people, sorry WE are the people, who will keep our communities alive and vibrant.

I don't live in Ferguson but I have in the past.  It is a fabulous century old community with tree-lined streets.  Many years ago there was a revitalization effort to keep the old time charm while attracting new businesses.  My older son owns a shop in downtown (not where the rioting took place last night).  Ferguson has been one of the many communities working hard to make North County a desirable place to live, shop, visit.

All of that said, all of the beauty and efforts to make these areas desirable, there is a poverty issue.  There is plenty of section 8 housing, lots of foreclosures, rental homes.  Even the duplexes where I once lived many moons ago are cheaper housing than a full-fledged house.  This brings an "undesirable" element, and I don't mean black.  New residents don't have an invested interest in upkeep of their properties or the development of their community.  They are temporary and transient.  With them comes crime and chaos. 

The police are put in a precarious position.  They are residents who DO have a vested interest in the improvement of their communities.  They face crime and stupidity on a daily basis.  They know this is dangerous to other residents but also deteriorates the value of their own homes.  How nice it would be if the hardest part of their jobs was just to issue traffic tickets?   But that is not their reality.

So three teenagers are walking down the street in an apartment complex where crime is routine.  My guess is the cop gave a command and the boys talked back, probably in defense that they were on their way home.  He decided to take no shit and things escalated from there.  I would also guess the cop focused on the biggest kid in the group, aren't they always the leader?  Having spent a lot of time with the "big guys", um no.  They tend to be gentle giants, frequently targeted by smaller guys trying to prove a point.  Now there is a death and the community is upset.  Was this police brutality?  Was this yet another set of thugs spreading crime?  As people wrestle over these questions and a desire to bring light to known problems, idiot thugs took the opportunity to fill their cars and their pockets.

Knowing human nature last night's hostilities were not over.  I stayed home from work and kept my son home from school.  Sure enough, a ten a.m. demonstration got out of hand.  My other son lives just blocks from that area so his family spent the day with me.  Tonight he went to his father's house.

More violence is erupting tonight in front of the burnt QT.  Another bumpy night is ahead.  Hopefully the vandalism will quickly cease so we can engage in the more important conversation.  How do we address the economic disparity in our communities?  How do we keep all of our citizens safe?  How do we control crime without slaughtering innocent people?

Caking at Night

A good portion of our trips out to visit cakes are at night.  I'm hoping that my night time shots are the more unique ones of the people trying to collect all 250 cakes.  This is not 100% possible as some cakes are indoors or not accessible "after hours"... note to anyone setting up something like this in the future, not everyone is available to visit your sculptures during business hours!

Okay rant over

We're still on the journey from April 19th.  We really covered some ground that day/night.  Here we arrived at Laclede's Landing.  It is the ultimate tourist destination with a casino and hotel and several bars and restaurants all within a few blocks.  It's on the riverfront next to the Gateway Arch.   This cake is under Ead's Bridge.

     

 We ventured through the Grove neighborhood (near Tower Grove Park).  There was a cake on this street but we captured it on another trip.

Then we headed north to Forest Park.  There are a TON of cakes in and around the park.  This is at Turtle Park just on the other side of the highway from Forest Park.  There are several HUGE turtle formations?  statues?  Whatever they are, kids can climb and play on them. 

     

Inside Forest Park we headed to the Art Museum.  This statue of Saint Louis captured with the sunlight almost out of sight and the floodlights reflecting off the base.  I really enjoy how the light played in these pictures.

   

       

Down the hill is the Grand Basin, a leftover relic from the 1904 World's Fair.  The hill between the Art Museum and the basin lake is the best known sledding hill, "Art Hill",  in all of the metropolitan area.

     

At the furthest north part of the park is the Missouri History Museum.  They have recently completed major renovations and I really need to walk around to see what they've done.  Did you know that you can visit both the art museum and the history museum for FREE?  Yes, of course there are featured exhibits that cost, but please note all of the various places around this city that you can enjoy for FREE.

     

The Muny is our outdoor stage.  I have actually never been to a production at the Muny and that is just downright criminal, isn't it?  This summer had some really great weather with fabulous shows.  While it isn't free to visit, there are super cheap tickets if you bring a blanket and park on the lawn.

And in the winter you should visit the outdoor Steinberg skating rink.  I've been there once and managed to bash my head into the ice for a fabulous little concussion.  In the future I will have to park on the sidelines and sip hot cocoa.

And finally, the Jewel Box.  I visited this location two years ago after Christmas.  It was sooo gorgeous after a snowfall.  Indoors is a conservatory, basically a bigass greenhouse with all sorts of tropical plants including palm trees that reach to the ceiling.

      

Big Day Caking

Evidently April 19th was a big day for caking (that's what us "professional" cake visitors call it).  I knocked out 15 in one day!  We started out early in the evening which were the cakes I posted yesterday.  Here are the ones I caught around sunset...

Soulard Market - it is an open air farmer's market.  Every weekend vendors, and I mean LOTS OF THEM, are selling all sorts of things, best of all fresh veggies and fruit.  It's a great start to the day as you tool around the rest of the area.

                         

 Trinity Lutheran Church - just down the street from Soulard Market.  It was a pretty church and great for pictures.  It looks like maybe there's a magnolia tree in the way!

        

The Sweet Divine - again, just down the street from Soulard Market.  I'm pretty sure this is a cake shop of some sort but I didn't bother peeking inside.

       

Anheiser Busch - Coming to St. Louis?  Check out the brewery!  It's a free tour which is actually pretty interesting. 

      

Drury Plaza Hotel - Amazingly good shot for a drive-by

Caking April 19

Back in April I posted about the birthday cakes popping up around St. Louis.  The city is celebrating 250 years - woot!  Just a couple weeks ago they finally got all 250 cakes out and it turns out unofficial cakes are rolling out as well.  In my regular geeky fashion I have a spreadsheet of all of the locations as well as the unofficial ones.  So far I have visited 80 cakes.

I figured I would take you on my journey in chronological order in my next few posts.  Back in April I posted the first few cakes I found so I will pick up where I left off....

Ted Drewes, the iconic frozen custard stand.  It is mandatory that all visitors to St. Louis visit the Arch and Ted Drewes.  I just found out that mom has NEVER been to Ted Drewes.  We will be fixing that in the coming weeks.

The Shrewsbury Metrolink station.  This one is ridiculous that it wasn't the first cake I captured.  I work literally less than a block away from it.