Monthly Archives: September 2009

Sep 30 2009

The Swamp Witch Tackles the Green Monsters

We’ve been back in our flooded house for just over a year. The place is very different since we changed some rooms and went with a different style for the interior. The windows are new thermals that look nothing like the 70 year old casement types that used to be here. The kitchen is a study in solid Maple, Green-Black granite and stainless steel. The pantry is no longer a laundry room… it is now 14 x 7 ft of food storage. Geo-thermal heats and cools the place and the hot water is almost free. Wood paneling lines one end of the Living room and the Game room is still awaiting a pool table and furniture, but all in all the place is sweet for the time being.

In many ways I’m at peace with things here, at peace until I look out of the windows.

Four plus years post-Flood the yards resemble Dresden after the bombings. The contractors’ machines churned up the fountains, ponds and flower beds raising the house. The side yard has taken a year to stabilize since the geo-thermal well was drilled down 250 ft.  The Flood killed the citrus and pecan trees (One bizarre citus tree remains, but it needs a ton of sugar to become edible). The massive vegetable gardens are gone, and I can’t bring myself to plant food stuffs in the soil. I don’t know what the presents were that the Flood delivered to us that fateful day and I am not about to injest them.

Some trees, an elephant ear plant and one old rosebush survived the Hell that was our wonderful little place. Those are the treasures.

And then the Green Monster decided to occupy the destroyed landscape. Yes… weeds have come to claim this place as their new headquarters in their attempt to overgrow the entire city of New Orleans. They have come to assimulate us in their chaotic frenzy of  luxurious growth and the insect menagerie that call such areas home.  It looks like the Triassic Era as there are large amphibians and reptiles swarming across the terrain. Dinosaurean-like egrets walk the yards hunting the the little green lizards. Squirrels mock me as they chomp down the few plantings I have tried to establish. Giant bugs demand entrance to the house as if it was their due.

The “Wild” thinks it owns this place. There seems to be nothing to stand in it’s way of total domination of the area. It will reclaim that which Humans have lived on for almost 200 years, but there is a problem…

I AM the Swamp Witch, and I am now mouting an offensive to corral these little sprites, cast my vision upon the ground and create a place of harmony within the center of New Orleans. The Witches’ Garden is now taking form.

There will be no tactical chemical assaults. No massive burnings scorching the landscape. Instead there will just be me coaxing the Monster to hold to it’s own spaces and allow me mine (“one person’s weed is anothers flower”).  Anarchistic chaos will be replaced with my own brand of chaos.  There will be raised herb and veggie beds, shrubs and exotics, trees from all over the World.  My waterfall and ponds will be rebuilt as one watercourse with my own little railroad. There will be arbors and container orchards. This is my little island of insanity surrounded by Modern brainlessness and angst. I will win, and yes the Green Monster will have it’s place in the whole scenario. This is the way it must be.

This whole crazy scenario concerns 1/3 of an acre in Suger Hill, the stepping off point for Gentilly (which didn’t exist until 1909, 100 years after this place was inhabited)… a place I’ve named the Lost Neighborhood since I-610 cut us off from everything else. A small hamlet of 60+ homes, mixed folk and income. It is also peaceful and safe. Though I have lived many places haflway around the globe, I am back home and have staked my place, and this is the last place I will ever call home in this Life. And this place in the Future is a gift to our neighborhood, and I want folks to be able to enjoy it.

This is Part One of a continuing (unless the Kudzoo strangles me first) series of essays about re-landscaping a destroyed parcel of land that I wish to return to a place of meditation and connection.

I will go in depth on all of the things that will be done here, including pics and products, as I move forward.  These are techniques I have either used or studied since the Mid 60′s. The technologies involved will also be explained as well as tips from others as the project moves forward. And there will be tales of insanity since I tend to attract that genre.

There will also be a meditation labyrinth to build and info of how to do a greenhouse properly. (that’s a nightmare in itself, but winnable) There will be datails on rainwater collection/storage that will help with things around your yard.

I hope to shed some light on the geology and history of the area as part of this project. It will sort of round things out, and for the folks not from New Orleans it will illuminate the possibilities one may encounter when re-doing their own yards. So with all that said, next month should be about planting trees. shrubs and breaking down the old water toys. The little railroad will be a joy to explain, and the NOLA Bloggers all have places on it (that’s right).

‘Til the next post, I should be planting some Maples and shrubs and maybe starting the meditation area. I’d like it if you followed along. This could be fun, or just the Kudzoo will get me and you’ll get a thrill. Who cares? It’s just about living and enjoying your surroundings.

BTW- I don’t do lawns. Boring stuffs. (and if y’all are nice, I may  be a sharin’ my recipes with ya’s from stuffs from the garden. Okay?)

Blessings!

P.S.- I will take suggestions Darlin’s.

Sep 30 2009

Loup Garou: Howl To The World!

Loup Garou: A new performance by ArtSpot Productions and Mondo Bizarro

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Former A Studio in the Woods artists-in-residence ArtSpot Productions, Raymond “Moose” Jackson, and Monique Michelle Verdin have collaborated on this amazing production – be sure not to miss it!

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ArtSpot Productions and Mondo Bizarro present Loup Garou, a new environmental performance that explores the deep interconnectedness between land and culture in Louisiana. The outdoor performance runs October 8-25, 2009 in the abandoned fields of City Park’s old East Golf Course. Performances are Thursdays at sunrise (7am) and Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 5pm.

Every half hour, Louisiana loses a football field’s worth of wetlands to the Gulf of Mexico. Six major hurricanes in the last four years have exacerbated an already dire situation. What will become of Louisiana’s rich cultural traditions and industries as the land that has nurtured them disappears?

Performed by Nick Slie, written by Raymond “Moose” Jackson, directed by Kathy Randels, and designed by Jeff Becker, Loup Garou is part performance, part ritual, part howl to the world about southeast Louisiana’s plight. We invite you to join us as we sing a song of love and hope for our precarious homeland.

Presented In collaboration with the Gulf Restoration Network and New Orleans City Park.

What is a Loup Garou?

He is a wild and dangerous entity (some say a werewolf) well anchored in the folk traditions of southern Louisiana. His story comes from France through Acadia down the Mississippi and numerous inland routes to Louisiana.

When: October 8-25, 2009
Thursdays at 7am; Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays at 5pm
Where: City Park old East Golf Course on Filmore near Wisner
Tickets: $15; $10 Artists, Students and Seniors.
Seating is limited. For reservations, please call 504-826-7783.

For more information visit www.artspotproductions.org

Sep 26 2009

Event to Kick Off Banned Books Week 2009

The ACLU/ American Civil Liberties Union has organized an event to kick off Banned Books Week 2009 to be held at The Bridge Lounge this Sunday afternoon. Stop by to see a panel of local writers read from works that have been banned.

My husband, Billy Sothern, is scheduled to read at 1:40 pm from Charles Baudelaire’s previously banned works. Other writers scheduled to read include Lolis Eric Elie, Thomas Beller, Patty Friedmann, Gerod Stevens, Roberts Batson, Fred Kasten (WWNO announcer), James Gill, Louis Maistros, Tom Piazza, Poppy Z. Brite, Paula Morris, Ken Foster and Anne Gisleson

From the ACLU Louisiana website:

2009 Banned Books Week Kick-Off Event
Sunday, September 27th, 2009 from 1 PM to 4 PM

Bridge Lounge
1201 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA

FREE and OPEN to the public :: Menu and Cash Bar will be available

Sep 20 2009

Do Your Part

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Nola FeMMES Do Your Part
by Shercole

As 2010 approaches us, it’s getting close to an important time in New Orleans future. One where one election will determine the next turn in recovery efforts and what will be the “NEW” New Orleans. The mayoral race is upon us and it is now time for the ladies of New Orleans to get involved.

Recently, I read a book called “Closing the Leadership Gap: Add Women Change Everything”, by Marie C. Wilson. This book talks about the important role women must play in our world to create an effective change for the better. This made me think of how important it is for us Nola Femmes to do our part. The main roles I feel we can do right now are:

1. Be informed 2. Support each other. 3. Volunteer 4. Take a chance & make a difference.

Be Informed. You have to take advantage of the resources around you. Yes, there are many resources in this town for you to take advantage of, we must seek them out. If something is going on in your neighborhood, or you heard about a new law or new building on the radio or television, or maybe just want to find out what’s going on with local political races; Don’t just jump to conclusions, do your research so you can get the facts and be able to pass them on to others as well. Not only do we have to be informed, we have to make sure that those around us are informed about what’s going on in New Orleans. Hold neighborhood meetings, dinner nights, do what you need to make sure everyone knows the facts in order for them to make informed decisions on their future and the future of New Orleans.

Some Helping Resources to get you started

A. Google whatever you want to know.
B. Community Data Center
C. Nola Public Record
D. Good Nola News
E. New Orleans Tech.Net
F. City of New Orleans
G. Preservation Resource Center
H. New Orleans City Council
I. Reach out to local nonprofit organizations for information

Support Each Other. The only way for New Orleans to make a better N.O. is for us all to work together and support each other. All it takes is for you to care what your friend or your neighbor is doing and support them and encourage them to get involved to help make New Orleans better. Every small action contributes to the bigger picture.

Volunteer. Not only must we understand everything going on we must get involved. Now is a time like no other for us women to get more involved in what’s going on in the city. Take some time out and volunteer with local agencies for your favorite cause or even maybe something you want to know more about or get the word about. Volunteering is truly important to the recovery of this city. We must work together to continue to grow not only the infrastructure but the community. If you need a starting point try out Hands on New Orleans (http://handsonneworleans.org/AboutUs/index.php/projectcalendar1217.html_), many opportunities for you to volunteer in the city. Even think about helping out on campaigns of your favorite local politician.

Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, “She doesn’t have what it takes.” They will say, “Women don’t have what it takes.” ~Clare Boothe Luce

Take A Chance & Making A Difference. We are living in important times. It’s now the time for ladies in this city to not only seek out decision making positions in local government and organizations, but also make a stand on what’s important and what we value. We must unite regardless of race and help each other create a new destiny for New Orleans. It is now time we work towards putting more women at the table and no longer leaving decisions up to the “good old boys club”. It is time for us! New Orleans own, Donna Brazille once said; “We have to hurry history, we can’t wait for men.” She is right we must not wait we must help and assist and be equal parties at the table. Former Governor Kathleen Blanco recently said “I was shy, but I have powerful thoughts”. It is now time to make our powerful thoughts heard. Let’s help create an New Orleans and a America with no limitations to what we all can do in our lifetime.
~~~
Shercole is a native New Orleanian, activist, consultant, avid Tweeter and high priestess of the positive. ;)
Her blogs and websites include Good Nola, Minority Weirdos, and SK Consulting and Ventures.

Sep 10 2009

Can We Talk Clothes?

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So girls, have ya been lusting after Miss Malaprop’s NOLA Love fleur de lis tee as seen in the pic on our “about” page? (Over there to the right –>>>>>)

I’m happy to spread the word that the NOLA Love tee is now available for purchase on an Alternative Apparel unisex Eco-Heather tee with the heart design printed in eco-friendly ink. Huzzah!

I have a thing for soft grey tees and I most def will be adding this one to my collection. I think it’ll balance out my flaming skull tee nicely. :)

Here’s where to get it!

Sep 8 2009

Women’s Yoga & Holistic Wellness Class in NoLA

Yoga_by_XiasiaDeigo

Come Join Us for Women’s Yoga & Holistic Wellness Classes!

Celebrate Life, Joy, Women, and Healing in a Gentle, Nurturing Atmosphere…

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7pm – 8pm
Uptown Holistic Center
723 Hillary Street
Teacher: Jennifer A. Sachs
504*400*2171
jenniferasachs@gmail.com

Session i: September 15 – December 15
Session ii: Mid-January thru Mid-April, TBA

*BYOM ~ Bring Your OM & Your Own Mat *!*

Class is full at 10-12 students. First come, first serve.

New Pricing ~ FREE! ($5 Suggested Donation) / BYOM!

❀ Please, share this invite with others
(Image from Deviant Art.)

Sep 7 2009

Sunday Postscripts

NOLAFemmes got a really nice email a few days ago from Tanya Gullliver of Toronto2NOLA’s Blog and I want to share it with y’all:

I’m a student from Toronto Ontario who loves New Orleans. I’ve just started a PhD looking at the differential impact of Hurricane Katrina and how communities (particularly Lower Ninth and St Bernard Parish). In May I brought 23 students down for two weeks to some rebuilding in those two communities, as well as wetlands restoration. Last week we launched our fundraiser “Toronto2NOLA 4NOLA” raising $15000 for the St.Bernard Project.

I just came across your blog and blogged about it at http://toronto2nola.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/nolafemmes/

I look forward to reading it and hopefully meeting some of you when I am down over the next few years

(Emphasis is mine.)

Wow! I’ve done some reading on the blog and it’s clear Tanya and her students made a significant contribution to rebuilding our city. Here in the May archives is an excellent recap with photos of where they went and what they did .

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Also she writes about on-going issues in the city such as the Save Charity Hospital movement and reviews of Katrina-related books by local authors. (Including “Down In New Orleans: Reflections from a Drowned City” by Billy Sothern, husband of our own Nikki Page Sothern.)

Clearly, Tanya is a trumpeteer of this city we love so much and we thank her and her students for everything they’ve done and continue to do. Please visit Toronto2NOLA — you’ll be glad you did.

Speaking of the Save Charity Hospital movement, I’d love for y’all to go take a look at the photo’s of last Monday’s Second Line here. The photographer is “New Orleans Lady” and if you’re into photography and live in NoLA then you surely know about her. I’ve been an admirer of her beautiful photos and unique perspective for years.
So clicky-clicky the link and sit back for a great slide show of New Orleanians marching peacefully together in a common cause. A couple of pix below:

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That’s it for this Sunday, kidz. Once again the kitchen is calling me to get the rice cookin and make the gravy.
Take care, y’all.

Sep 5 2009

Hollygrove Market

I was in upstate New York recently and my friend made the most delicious dinners.  She puzzled over what to do with white beets.  I thought to myself, “You buy things before knowing what you’ll cook with them?” But then she explained that she’s part of a Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA.  Each week, she goes to a local farm and buys a pre-filled box of local fruits and vegetables.

The salad she made with those beets was the best beet dish I’ve ever eaten.  I was inspired.

I returned to NOLA and sought out our own CSA.  Alas, we do not have one.  But, we do have something similar at Hollygrove Market.  Every Saturday morning, the market sells CSA-style boxes (or bags) of local fruits and vegetables from several local farms for $25.  I’ve been three Saturdays in a row.  They open at 10am and usually sell out of boxes within 2 hours.  They also sell other fruits and vegetables, fresh breads, and dairy products.

Here’s what was in this week’s box:

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Three pears, six satsumas, a bag of brown jasmine rice (instead of white popcorn rice), a bag of black-eyed peas (my choice of peas or beans), two ears of corn, a zucchini, a yellow squash, two patty pan squashes, two tomatoes, two green peppers, a bag of okra, and a container of white button mushrooms.

I’ve never cooked with patty pan squash.  And I have found that I love the thought of being given the opportunity of working with something new, something that’s not too daunting.  And I love even more that most of the what’s in each box are things I’m familiar with, even if some are things I’ve never cooked with before.

And for the last two weeks since we started getting the boxes, we’re eating more fruits and vegetables.  We’ve eaten out just once in the last two weeks, and that includes having had company in town to feed!  THAT is a big deal.

So, are you looking for fresh and delicious local fruits and vegetables?  With maybe a slight twist that pushes you to try new things?  At a price that is more than worth it?

Then get to Hollygrove Market next Saturday and get in line for the best kept secret in the city right now.  I’ll see you there!

Sep 4 2009

Then God Created Gumbo

Two years ago, on August 22, 2009, I arrived in the South, wide-eyed, enthusiastic about all the change around me.  I came down to New Orleans from a small town in Wisconsin – a town where I was a big fish in a little pond, surrounded by other fish that looked like me, spoke like me, and behaved like me. It was comfortable, life in Wisconsin, knowing what to expect and not having any unusual activities to throw me off guard or create a sense of urgency or panic. Some may even call my life in Wisconsin idyllic. I packed my car with only the essentials – photos, movies, books, clothes, DVDS, an awesome sound system and my fiance. We left not knowing what was ahead for us – except that we needed change.

I remember well driving into New Orleans for the first time, pointing out to my husband all of the things I had never witnessed in real life, only read about in books or seen in movies. Look at the trees! Look at the houses! Look at the buildings! Look at the people! I was a stranger in a strange land, breathing it all in, embracing it, ready to call it home. The first time someone called me ‘baby’ at the gas station, I thought they were hitting on me. It took me a while to figure out that you could make U-Turns on the streets down here without the red and blue lights of a police officer following you and giving you a scolding at best, a ticket at worst. The rain even fell different down here.  This small town girl experienced life in a big city – thee city – for the first time. Even with the enthusiasm I had towards New Orleans and it now being my home, I still felt different, like I didn’t belong. No one made me feel unwelcome, but there was just something that made me different – something other than my mid-west roots. It bothered me for a long time. At times, it made me anti-social, conscious of my differences, of how I wouldn’t belong. I took pride in living in New Orleans, but, well, I wasn’t from New Orleans. I’m a survivor, but I didn’t have the built-in quiet strength found in people from New Orleans. I didn’t have the ability to just forget about my problems, if even for a little bit, and enjoy life. I hadn’t yet figured out how to dance and sing at a funeral, instead I wept and mourned and took pity.

It wasn’t until recently that I felt like I belonged, that I could take great pride in being from this region, and not end every sentence telling people I live in New Orleans with “but I am originally from Wisconsin.” It was over my first bowl of gumbo.

I had been invited to the home of a new friend, a woman I met in a community of writers that got together once a week and sat in silence and wrote. We didn’t share what we were writing with one another, nor did we engage in conversation -  about writing or not – we just all congregated to the same place and spent three hours a week doing nothing but writing. After that three hours were up, we would tell each other we would see one another next week, and we left. After one of these sessions, Rosa, a smart sixty-something native approached me.

“Child, come over to my house. Every fourth Thursday, my friends and I get together and make gumbo and catch up on life.”

I thanked her for the invitation, not sure if I would go or not.  By the time Thursday came around, I was curious and had told myself I could always leave if I wanted to. I arrived at her house, surrounded by women of different ages and colors, but the youngest of the mix by far. The women were kind to me and saw my shyness. They tried to pull me out of my shell, to engage me.  We were all assigned tasks in the kitchen so when we were done, we could put it in the collective pot and wait for it to simmer and cook. We gathered around, chit chatting about our lives, what we wanted, concerns for our children – for the city. I found myself in a scene from a movie, surrounded by good strong women, women who had seen too much tragedy in their lives but still put one foot in front of the other every day.  As I ate my first bowl of gumbo, I realized that we were alike. We had the same worries, insecurities, and outrages. We wanted the same things – to ultimately have peace and be happy. I no longer felt like a stranger in a strangeland. I felt like I belonged, I could get rid of “from Wisconsin but moved here two years ago.”

“How yuh gumbo?” I was asked by Miss Dorothy, a seventy-something staple in the group.

“This is the first time I have ever had gumbo,” I confessed.

“Get used to it, child, you one of us now.” Ludy chimed in.

Thank God for that night, giving me a feeling of connection when I really needed it most. Thank God for gumbo.

Sep 3 2009

Hey, NoLA Foodies!

There’s a new foodie website in town called NoLA Eats recently launched by NoLA native Leslie J. Almeida. I discovered it today via Miss Malaprop, a great local website dedicated to Indie design and eco-friendly living.

Apparently Leslie has been hosting monthly NOLA Eats dinners and events in local restaurants for several years. On her About Page you’ll find quite an impressive listing of past dinners in New Orleans and other mouth-watering information.

A dinner is scheduled for this Saturday at La Côte Brasserie. Yum! My Twitter friends and I who lunch frequently at local eateries may have to plan making a gumbo of the two groups one day soon.

Good luck with your new site, Leslie!