Popsicle Test and Halloween in OTR

"A neighborhood works if it is possible for an 8-year-old kid to get a Popsicle on his or her own and return before it has completely melted." - Scott Doyon, more here

There has been some discussion on urban parenting blogs about the above described popsicle test. I have to admit that we thought 8 was too young for our son, at least in OTR, to walk to the corner store. One of the bloggers also brought up the issue of Halloween. It seems to me that a good neighborhood for Halloween is a neighborhood with mostly single family houses relatively close together, with sidewalks, lampposts and trees with freshly fallen leaves etc.

I was talking today to a friend who grew up on Republic Street in the 50s. He said back then there were a lot more small shops on Vine Street and that they would dress up and walk around to all the different stores. He said the church/school organized a kind of parade too in the daytime. In the 90s, before we had kids, when we lived on Elm Street, my wife used to sit out on the front stoop and hand out raisins and peanuts to kids. There were more kids than you might think venturing up and down OTR streets. But many of the buildings are apartment buildings without easy access, and there are fewer stores than there were 50 years ago. That combined with the abundance of vacant buildings, this is not a great place for Halloween. Tonight, we are headed up the hill to Fairview Avenue. We have friends there and it was a lot of fun last year. But next year we may try to stick it out here. 

This blurry photo is from Halloween last year on Fairview Avenue. Some people in that neighborhood really make an effort to give the kids a treat.

St Francis Seraph Nativity

At the corner of Vine and Liberty daily 1-7pm:

 

 

 

Ultimate Squash Picture

 

Halloween Options for Downtowners

When I was a kid Halloween was a second rate holiday consisting of a few hours of fun on the last day of October. Today there are whole stores dedicated to costumes and decorations and tons of events for kids. In a way I don't like it, but since trick-or-treating door to door in Over the Rhine is not really a fun time, I do appreciate that there are plenty of other options for our children in the next 10 days. The events we are choosing from include the Zoo's Hallzooween, the Cub Scouts' Spook-a-ree, and Halloween Nights at Parky's Farm. Instead of going to a farm to pick a pumpkin, this year, I think we are just going to Findlay Market. What other events are there?

NOTE: posting will continue to be very light for the next couple weeks as I work through a busy schedule.

Soda Bread Recipe

 

It tastes better than it looks...

8 c flour
2 tb baking powder
1 tb soda
3/4 c sugar
1 tb salt
2 tb caraway seeds
mix dry ingredients

3/4 c shortening or butter - rub this into flour with hands

then add:
2.5 c currants
1 qt buttermilk

form into 6 one-pound loaves
Bake at 350F about 30 mins

Let cool, then slice and serve with with butter or with stew.

If you do not want to make loaves to hand out to all your Irish friends: halve or quarter this recipe.

Nightime at the Zoo

Walkway across Vine Street to Zoo is fun:
 

Madcap Puppets always put on a great show. This one with black light on the puppets and the puppeteers all in black and invisible.
 

Merry Bootsy Christmas

Sheep in OTR

What are sheep, goats and donkeys doing in the heart of OTR? They are part of the live nativity at St Fancis Seraph at the corner of Liberty and Vine. They are open every day until January 6th, 1-7pm:

 

St Francis started the Nativity Creche tradition in 1220 AD:
 

Model Train Display

Been having a great time this season downtown, especially skating. Here are a couple of shots from the CG&E (Duke Energy) Train display:
 

model railroad 2 

Santa Lies

When my five year old looked up at me with big eyes and says sincerely "Daddy, does Santa really come down the chimney?" was I right to answer with a simple "yes"? She is figuring that our fireplace is pretty small, and Santa is pretty big...

Lego Advent

This is a calendar with a little perforated doors in the cardboard. Your kid opens one door every day for 24 days, and inside are small Lego assemblies, like an evergreen tree, a sled, a boy with snowballs, a snowman. Great alternative to the traditional chocolates or candy canes:
 

Halloween in Westwood

Westwood Library, 1930 

frankenstien 

 

I talked with a couple of the homeowners who had Democratic signs in their yards, and they all seemed almost apologetic about it! They all knew the candidate personally and said they were good people, but "we usually don't vote that way".

On an election note, I found it very funny the mailer that the Dems mailed out specifically against Winburn to certain neighborhoods like ours. On the front it shows Obama, and says "If Winburn's party had it's way, Obama would not be president", and on the back is a picture of Winburn adjacent to pictures of McCain and Palin. Priceless.

Happy Mother's Day!

Because moms are the sexiest women of all.

AJ and Shorty Black Always

Today we had the most beautiful weather. Crisp, very cool air. Not a cloud in the deep blue sky and a strong, hot sun. In the shade, it was so cold you needed a coat, if you were wearing black in the sunlight it was too hot.

They had an Egg Hunt on Fountain Square. I really don't like this trend of having egg hunts in the days and weeks before Easter, but whatever. I noticed this one was not an Easter Egg Hunt, just an plain egg hunt. So we attended for the first time, and saw lots of downtown friends. I introduced myself to Greg Harris, who was with his son next to us at the starting line. Nice guy, but busy with family stuff. They divided the hunt by age, and as each age group ran out onto the square, I would say all the eggs were gone within 20 seconds. Even the three-year old kids were pretty quick, (with assistance from some pushy parents). Not the best run event, and not a lot of good hiding places on the Square. But we had a good time.

Even with the great sunny clear weather, I didn't take many pictures today. I just didn't feel like it. Here is one from the playground at Findlay Market (a place you can often find me on a Saturday afternoon):
 

More Sacred Lego

Good Friday is a sad time for Christians. Sometimes the right toy can be the right medium to illustrate a powerful message to kids. Toys and sweets will be plentiful on Sunday, as Christians celebrate their most solemn and joyful day of the year.

Happy Pesach (Passover) !

Whether you're celebrating a Seder, or The Last Supper, or just gathering with friends, all of us here at CityKin wish a blessing upon your house during this sacred time.

For an explanation of the Jewish tradition, click below...

Being Santa

Posts have been minimal here, because Christmas preparations have been grueling.

The only thing my son wanted for Christmas was a tetherball set. At first I said no, because we don't have a yard in which to install it. Then my dear wife thought of a wonderful idea that I could make a portable one with a pole and some concrete in an old tire. This way it would be portable, and we could take it in and out and eventually maybe take it permanently to one of the grandparent's house.

Fortunately old tires are easy to come by in this neighborhood. I found one on the sidewalk a few blocks away. I rolled it home, and put plywood in the bottom. Then I filled it with concrete mix and stuck a pole in it. I drilled put an eye-hook at the top, and presto we had a tether ball pole. Now the problem was that I had put over 120-lbs worth of concrete in this tire, and I could barely move it. Add to this that the concrete was still curing, and at 2am last night, I was starting to picture an extremely disappointed son waking up in five hours to a non-functional tetherball pole.

But, I got it together, and set it up in our vacant first floor storefront. I made it so a 1 1/2" pole was permanently attached to the tire, and 1 1/4" pole slides inside of it to make a tall pole. I brought the longer, skinnier pole up by the Christmas tree with the rope and ball attached. I put a note on the pole from Santa, saying the base was downstairs. The boy loved-it, and later in the day he challenged all his cousins, and even some aunts and uncles.

He is so happy, and I must thank my wife for making me build it.

The best part about Christmas for adults is not the anticipation, but the rest afterwards! I think we all will be hitting the sack extra early tonight. Good night and Merry Christmas!

...what exceptional gift did either you or your child get?

Santa Claus is coming and the kids are getting greedy...

With a week to go till Christmas, the opening line to one of my favorite Christmas songs comes to mind. "Santa Claus is coming and the kids are getting greedy". It's a song called Christmastime by the late Larry Norman. If you never heard of him, he is considered the father of Christian rock, but don't hold that against him.

The entire song is a lament about Christmas from Larry's perspective, I am sure you are familiar with the "put Christ back in Christmas" theme. But that is not the focus of this post, it would not fit with the theme of this blog. I want to focus on the opening lines. So this post isn't about the religious aspects of Christmas. I value them, and hold them important, but my focus is on the wider cultural Christmas.

As a new father (it's the boy's second Christmas) I am concerned about what he will learn about Christmas from his parents and extended family. I think the holiday season quickly spirals into more of Giftmas than Christmas. At the risk of giving the post TOO much of a soundtrack, local musician Ben Gulley's song I WANT MY PRESENTS is not a bad reflection of what the holiday can spiral down to. (I don't know how to link directly to the song, so you have to click on it in the music window.)

So, I have some ideas of what I will try to do to prevent this, but I am curious what approach and suggestions others have. Again, I am not looking for the religious aspects, I know what I will teach him of the story of Christmas, and many folks will have different approaches depending on their religious views, including Hanukkah, Kwanza, and other winter solstice festivities. The fact is, we are in a culture where Gift-Getting is a big deal. As the second line of Larry's sing laments "They know it's in the store because they seen it on the TV".

Our first strategy is to plea with the grandparents, uncles and aunts to go easy on the gifts. We are not Mr. & Mrs. Scrooge on this, but we are committed. This has been only moderately successful to date, but at the boy's age, it is not a huge issue. Frankly he is still in the stage where a wrapped box of tissue paper would be one of his favorite gifts. And importantly, we are setting the precedent on presents.

My next strategy, when he gets old enough to understand it, is an idea I have stolen from friends in the past. I plan on having him select at least one of his old toys to give away to a charity. I like the idea of him giving away something of his own to people who are more in need. Obviously at 18-months he can't process that yet.

The other idea is an extension of the last. I don't feel giving away his used items is quite enough, so I look forward to when he is old enough to go shopping with us for gifts for needy families. You know, the ornament on a tree program.

So what have you done for the holiday season?

Oh, and you have to at least click on the Christmastime link to see the album cover. It wasn't a Christmas album, and was released in 1972. Hey, they did the cover without Photoshop.

Live Nativity OTR St Francis

Begining this Friday Dec 19th and continuing until Jan 6th, 1-7 pm daily, St. Francis Seraph will have their first annual Live Nativity at the corner of Vine and Liberty.

Trolly in Snow

A rare event in New Orleans. Photo via an email list: