We made it!

It's 2005. I have no exciting fireworks photos or party photos.

My New Year's Eve was ever so exciting: I fell asleep on the floor in Enzo's room, Julian woke me around 11:50, I wandered out half-asleep and managed to open the champers without putting anyone's eye out, blowing a hole in the ceiling, or spilling a drop.

We each had a glass and settled in on the couch to watch the appendices on the extended version of Return of the King. Now he's returned to his station at the computer and I to mine. I've been on a bit of a drinking thing today...2 glasses of wine and I'm on my 3rd glass of champagne. Back in the old days, that would have been nothing. I could literally drink my guy friends under the table. Nobody messed with Carrie. Since I've become a responsible adult (ha!), my drinking has tapered off to the point that it's practically non-existent.

I have another resolution to add to my previous list:
Don't save champers for special occasions. It's fun to drink, and the buzz you get is better than beer or hard liquor. It's gotta be the bubbles.

I'm sitting here listening to Aaron Copland -- Rodeo. This is something that I would definitely recommend if you haven't heard it. I love Copland. His music has a touch of Americana without feeling kitschy. My favourite movement from this work is #3 - Saturday Night Waltz. If you've watched much TV in the US in the last few years, you'll recognise #4 - Hoe-Down. Beef. It's what's for dinner.

I hope everyone survived their New Year celebrations intact. Here's to a great 2005!

The year is drawing to a close...

can you believe it? 2005 is almost here.

Looking back at 2004, it's been a pretty good year for me and my family.

The big things:

• Julian and I are both employed (we weren't at this time in 2003).
• We have a roof over our heads.
• We have food to eat.
• We've all been healthy.
  

The incidentals:

• Enzo seems to be more like a person every day. It' s been amazing to watch him grow from the helpless little being that emerged from my belly to this independent, walking, talking toddler.
• Julian finished his book!
• My relationship with Julian just keeps getting better. I guess this is what marriage is all about.
• I've met a lot of new people through blogging, and although I've yet to meet anyone face to face, there are several that I am proud to consider friends.

My resolutions for 2005:

• No more resolutions! :)
• Be a great role model for Enzo.
• Get Julian's book published.
• Get more involved in community service/volunteerism.
• Be happy with myself.
• Move to Buenos Aires.
• Do my part toward ensuring world peace.

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, peaceful, fulfilling 2005!

Besos!

que triste...

My heart goes out to the families of the victims of that horrible nightclub fire in Buenos Aires.

To read about it in English, click here.

En español, aquí.

Why didn't we have crayon colours like this when I was a kid?

I finally cracked open the big box of 96 crayons today. Amid the old stand-bys are colours like "Cyber Grape," "Razzmatazz," and "Denim."

And this one:



Wild Blue Yonder? What exactly do you colour "Wild Blue Yonder"? And how do I explain to my toddler that no, this isn't blue, or even blue-grey, but is wild blue yonder?

Am I just getting old?

Spanish Word of the Day 30 December 2004 -- vino

Today's word is vino. This is wine.

Compré vino hoy. I bought wine today.

Milestones of the Millenium: The Clarinet

I may be a little biased, as a clarinet player myself, but this is an interesting programme. There's a button at the bottom of the page to listen to the audio of the entire show. Very nice.

In case anyone's interested, that Bernstein Sonata is what I played for my sophomore jury selection. My favourite work to play. It's so fun, with all the odd meters and frequent changes.

I went out for a bit

I went out to get lunch. I never actually got anything to eat, because I couldn't decide what I wanted. I guess I wasn't that hungry.

I did go to the liquor store, though, and bought some champers for tomorrow night and a bottle of wine -- a Malbec from Mendoza.



I also went to the Little Rock visitors center.



They have lots of neat brochures, and very helpful staff. Too helpful, maybe. They wanted to know where I was from so I could sign a guest book. I felt kind of stupid saying that I was from Little Rock, so I lied. Is that bad? Maybe. I got a whole bag full of brochures and maps and was off on my merry way.

Just down the street, like a block or so, from the visitors center is Trapnall Hall. It was built in the mid-1800s. It's the Governor's official receiving hall, and can also be rented for parties and receptions. I attended a wedding reception here and it was gorgeous!



Those are my only two photos for the day...so far. I just haven't been in a fabulous mood today. Maybe it's the weather. It's pretty overcast, and a little warm. It's currently 68°F here. Wow. And to think, a week ago we had snow on the ground. It's supposed to be pretty warm the next few days, with a little rain in the forecast, and then next Friday, another chance of snow. What's up with this weather?

I also coloured my hair again today -- a little darker brown than before. My blonde roots were starting to show.

Today's Activities

I have edited some of my husband's book. Being the editor kinda sucks. It's nice since I get to put my Grammar Nazi skills to good use. On the other hand, I can't really read it like I would normally. If I'm just reading, I tend to get caught up in the story and pages go by uncorrected. Even blatant errors. Ugh. Not a good thing.

I took out the trash. This is a task I hate. It involves going down a flight of stairs, around the building and then back up a flight of stairs, up the hill in the parking lot to the dumpster. But I did it -- twice this week. I guess it's the least I can do since I'm at home.

Speaking of being at home, this holiday thing rocks! I could get used to not going to work. If Julian made enough to support us, I would probably stay at home with Enzo. Maybe find some type of job I could do from anywhere. I'm just sad that the week is winding down, and that I have to go back on Monday.

I also ordered a book for myself: Santa Evita by Tomás Eloy Martínez.

I started reading my php books today, and even successfully wrote a script. I still haven't figured out how to solve the problem that prompted me to read about php in the first place, but maybe I will eventually.

Now I'm going to go get some lunch and come back this afternoon for more fun book editing.

My afternoon trip with Enzo

I picked Enzo up a little early today. I went out to Barnes & Noble to check out their selection of Argentina/Buenos Aires travel guides. Nothing worth bringing home. I then wandered across the store to look at the foreign language section, to see about getting something to help me with my Spanish. On the way back, I passed the "libros en español" section. I was mesmerized. I've been thinking about getting a/some book/s in Spanish to help me learn and here I was confronted by a pretty good selection to choose from. Heaven! So I called Julian and asked if he had any recommendations for me. No, he says. So I ask about Borges. He says that's too deep for me. That I'd probably like it, but I need to read it in English first. "But that doesn't help me choose a book in Spanish NOW." So I browsed around for a bit and selected a book. I chose Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read the back cover, decided this was the one I wanted. Then I flipped through the book and noticed that nearly every page was foot-noted. I decided this was a little too much for me, at my beginner/intermediate level of Spanish. I ended up coming home with The Hobbit -- in English. I'm going to look online for a libro en español, and I've also enlisted Julian's help. But if anyone has any ideas for a good book in Spanish that's a fairly easy and straightforward read, I'm all ears!

After the bookstore, we went to the River Market area downtown. Enzo loves walking around there because of all the neat things to see. And I had my camera, so here are some more photos.

This is the River Market building. There are food stands inside where you can get a quick breakfast or lunch. I don't think they're open for dinner. Lots of variety. Mexican, Asian, barbecue (BBQ!), just about anything you might want they probably have. Each stand is independently operated, and most are run as extensions of local restaurants. Behind the building is a large pavillion where a farmer's market is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays during the warmer months. The family of one of my high school friends has a farm and they set up at the market. Great asian veggies and herbs!



Here's one of the crosswalks in the area. The first time I saw this, I was a little...shall we say inebriated...and I thought that there was a malfunction. I guess it's supposed to represent the river.



This is a building a couple of blocks from the River Market. It began its life as the Tuf Nut blue jean factory, and was renovated a few years ago and is now lofts, with some retail space. I like the neon Tuf Nut sign.



A decorative window grate on one of the shops.



This is the side of a gift shop next to the market. The sign says "Come set a spell ya'll." Classic Arkansan.



The River Market area is also home to several restaurants and bars.

I didn't take any pictures of it but one that's more upscale is Sonny Williams. It's a steakhouse and piano bar. It's easy to spend well over $100 for dinner for 2 with wine.

Most of the others are a little more down-to-earth (read: affordable).

There's the Flying Saucer, again, not pictured here. I spent way too much time in this place when I was single.

There's also the Underground Pub. Fun to play darts here, and yummy fish and chips. I understand that a recent addition is free wi-fi access.




A newer addition is Boscos. I haven't been here since they opened. It's in a location that in the past has experienced high turnover. I've been in the physical space where the restaurant is located, but it was a different place at the time and there was a guy playing Jimmy Buffet covers and blowing kisses at me. I think that was too much information. Moving along...

Sticky Fingerz Rock-n-Roll Chicken Shack. Bar with live music.



There's also the Flying Fish. It's owned by the Flying Saucer people, and is more of a restaurant than a bar. As the name suggests, their specialty is seafood.



The outside of their building is decorated with outboard boat motors.



And our trip is wrapped up with another photo of the "Big Eagle" at Enzo's request.



Oh, and last but not least -- it's Enzo!

After failing miserably

on my Art Deco quest, I decided to seek solace at the cemetery. Mount Holly Cemetery.

You know you're in an old place when there's a sign like this:


Here's the map from inside their brochure:



The numbers on the map correspond with burial locations of notable Arkansans. These are listed elsewhere in the brochure.

An example: #72 is W.B. Worthen, an early banker.
He got an obelisk.



Here are my other photos from my excursion:

The fountain, dry for the winter...



Inscription on this tombstone reads:
SALOME DEXTER
Wife of Rev. Geo Pierson
Misshionary to the Choctaw Indians
Died
Sept. 24, 1852
Aged
21 years



The Watkins memorial:



And finally, the public mausoleum. I like the glass work. From a distance, I thought those wreaths were hanging as decoration, but they're actually part of the glass on the doors. Neat. The doors were open, but I didn't go inside. Partly because I was alone and all the scary movies I've seen with people getting trapped in places like that, partly because of respect for those interred inside, partly because I was getting some weird vibes like I wasn't welcome there.



My camera stopped working. The last photo I tried to take turned out entirely white. I also saw figures of people down one of the cemetary lanes. It's been said for a long time that this cemetery is haunted, and after what I saw and how I felt today while I was there, I believe it.

After the feeling at the mausoleum and the white photo, I decided not to press my luck and promptly exited the cemetery.

I went on a mission

To find and photograph Art Deco buildings in Little Rock. Ha. I was disappointed, but I promised I'd post the pictures. So without further adieu...

First up is the Nelson Auto Company - Southside Garage.
It was built around 1911 as a garage serving the early automobile owners of the neighbourhood. The building was also used as an auto painting company, a bakery, an electrical supply store, and an auto glass company, before being rehabilitated into loft-style apartments in 2000.
All of the historical design elements, including the brickwork and the original industrial windows, have been maintained. The original service bay openings have been fitted with windows that match the design of the original building's garage doors.



My next example is the former Samuel P. Taylor Service Station.
It was built in 1938. It no longer sells gas, and has functioned as an office building as long as I can remember.



This one doesn't really count as deco, but I thought I'd throw it in for good measure.
It's the Arkansas Arts Center. When I lived in the apartment whose photo I posted yesterday, we were only about 2 blocks away from the AAC. I love the front of the building, and it's really nice when they have the fountain on.

Procrastinating...what I do best

Update on my husband's activities

His review of Pirates has finally been posted over at Ars Technica. I'm going to be good and resist the pirate-speak.

It is a very nice review. I even get a mention in the anti-adultery disclaimer. How sweet.

But the big thing: his book is finished! He finished it last night, after slaving away for years. The first half has been complete, edited/proofread, for a while. Now that the second half is finished, my work begins anew. Once I complete my read and correct any blatant grammatical errors, it's time to find an agent and hope we can get this puppy published. Woo-hoo!

Aquarius at a glance

Symbol: the Water Bearer
Ruling Planet: Saturn / Uranus
Ruling House: Eleventh House
Element: Air
Quality: Fixed
Body Parts: ankles
Keyword: FRIENDS
Date with destiny: Gemini, Libra
Run for the hills: Taurus, Scorpio
Where you glow: in a picket line
What makes you tick: philanthropy
Fitness forecast: yoga
Play date: attending a technology fair
Perfect jobs: environmentalist, computer whiz
Best accessory: a time machine
A sure thing: being original
Destination: Costa Rica
Pleasure: innovation, originality, friends
Pain: conservatism, being categorized, emotional outbursts
What's my line? Think outside the box.

I also checked out a 2005 generic Aquarius reading...seems that my plans for next fall/winter fit into the horoscope.

Overview:
During fall, you may be so ready for a break, in fact, that you'll be looking longingly at your passport. The solar eclipse of the 3rd of October may put you in the mood to travel overseas -- but if you don't have to go alone, don't, and make sure you're home in time to enjoy the holidays with dear ones.

Career:
Restlessness sets in with a vengeance when autumn comes around. You're looking for an escape of some kind, and you might not feel especially choosy. Try not to go overboard completely, or you'll risk a much bigger change than you had anticipated at a time when you'd rather be making slow but steady progress. Education might be the answer to your needs, especially around the holidays.

Love:
Fall usually gives you that itchy feeling that you'd rather be somewhere else, doing something else or perhaps with someone else, and denying it only makes matters worse. Singles can soar through this season, while couples might plan a great escape together. By Thanksgiving you'll be more grounded, and ready to recognize how thankful you are. Get yourself under the mistletoe the weekend of December 23rd, and prepare for a very happy New Year.

Other assorted photos from this morning

I had some time to kill after dropping the kid off before the library opened, so I went on a photo-taking mission to get the photos I couldn't take before because of darkness or the angle of the sun in the sky.

My former apartment building:



We lived on the top floor on the right. I miss that apartment.

I captured some monuments from the Capitol grounds. You know you're in the South when there are 2 different Confederate Civil War monuments on the grounds of your state capitol.

This is for the Confederate soldiers of Arkansas:



And this is for the Confederate women of Arkansas:



There's also the eternal flame of freedom:

My morning at the Clinton Presidential Center

I went to the Clinton library today. Care to join me vicariously?

These first images were taken while I was walking from the car or waiting on the queue for the library to open.

Bike racks:


Old railroad bridge, reflected in one of the pools in front of the building:


The pool on the opposite side, with an image of the queue forming:


While I was waiting, I started talking to the man behind me. It turns out that he's from around New York City, on the Jersey side, has lived there for 28 years, and is from Pennsylvania. I asked why he was in Little Rock, and he said that he was driving his daughter to ASU in Arizona, and this was about the midpoint of their trip. His daughter was still asleep in their hotel room.

When you get inside, the first stop is at security. I emptied my pockets, but my handbag on the conveyor, and shuffled through the metal detector. I was clean. That's a good feeling. There's nothing worse than holding up a long line at security .

Next stop, visiting your ticket agent. I discovered that the people working at the ticket counter are federal employees. I need that job. Most of the representatives of the library that you see are volunteers.

My ticket:



You get your ticket, a sticker, and a map of the building.




And it's off to the exhibits. I wish I could have taken pictures of everything, but I would have run out of time as well as memory on my camera.

There are several "pillars" made of these book-looking things throughout the exhibit area.



And here's the view of the lower level from above:



And now we come to the good stuff. There were lots of letters to the President and First Lady on display, along with their responses. Some notable letter-writers: Paul Newman, Whoopi Goldberg, Arsenio Hall, Elton John, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama. I wanted to take photos of some letters, but they were under glass and the angle gave me a horrible glare.

There were lots of little bays each chronicling different achievements of the Clinton presidency. One dealt with the budget, and in the display had the bound budgets for 4 years. They were huge!



Aren't you glad your budget isn't that big?

All of the "inside" things that you don't normally see were interesting. There were drafts of speeches, travel plans, and gifts from other countries as well as individuals.



A set of nesting dolls depicting world leaders. If I remember correctly, this was a gift from Boris Yeltsin.


A Euro coin:


A piece of the Berlin Wall. Sorry about the glare. It was in a glass case within a glass case.



More assorted state gifts:



And even more gifts. One thing I'd like to point out about this photo: The book was a gift from Carlos Menem, then-president of Argentina.



Signed by Lance Armstrong:



Here's a table set for a state dinner:



One of the Crystal Trees of Light that were displayed at the White House for the millenium celebration:



There's also a full-size replica of the Oval Office:



I like the ceiling:



There's also a full-size replica of the cabinet room. You can sit at the table, and there are interactive exhibits built into the table. I got to be POTUS!



There's also a Presidential Limo on display. Pretty cool.



Campaign buttons and memorabilia:





Okay, the Ohio button seemed especially relevant, considering what happened last month. I also like the "In Socks we Trust" button.



Wow! What a hat!



And finally, a view of downtown from the upper level:



It's really nice inside. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in politics, an interest in Bill, or if you just happen to be passing through.

I signed up to be a volunteer, so if you come on a weekend, you might see me in uniform. :)