Our Lady of the Palm

When I first moved to Southside Park I was walking around and saw this statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a front yard on T Street.

It was a four-plex across 7th Street from Our Lady of Guadalupe church so assumed it was where the nuns lived.

On another walk around the neighborhood I met Helen, the owner of the apartments and she set me straight. Her story was much more interesting. There was a large palm tree in their front yard that was diseased. The removal price was too steep so her husband decided to take care of it himself. This work of art was the result!

I love her face, the stars on her cloak, the man kneeling to her and the roses surrounding her. But most of all I love that she is firmly rooted in our neighborhood.

TaPiGami

Do you have any idea what this is?

Did you think it was shells like I did?  It is ..... TAPE! Discovered on Saturday's Art Walk inside the Fuller Building on R Street.

Visiting artist, Danny Scheible, makes these wonderful pieces.

Yep, this one is tape, too. Unbelievable.

Here are some of his creations in the window of Arareity Jewlers in the Fuller Building, 1021 R Street. He's been doing this full time for well over a decade. He is a mad man!

Tapigami is on Etsy and at dannyscheible.com. Yet another surprise discovery in our hood.

More Park Improvements

There are a lot of big trucks at 6th and T these days. Apparently, in 2008 the city received a federal grant to rehabilitate the Southside Park picnic area.  Funding terms required completion by December 31, 2011. The recent rush on this project reminds me of my kids waiting til the night before to write their term paper that was due the next day. They finally caught on that life is a lot less stressful is you don't wait til the last minute.  There must have been reasons this took so long but can cities be taught that lesson?

The sign indicates they will make the deadline, just in time for winter. The timing could have been better but we are lucky to live in an area where there might be some warm winter days so we can try it out before official picnic season begins.

Street Corner Surprise

Walking past the corner of 9th and S Streets I saw something hanging on the fence.

Getting closer I saw it was on hangers.

Bok choy drying in the sun.

It's a Beautiful Day

Quick, get outside and go to the park before these glorious colors fall to the ground.

This one is on 6th Street in front of the (closed) pool.

New Year's Resolution Help

CNN reports that the number one New Year's Resolution is to loose weight and get fit. Time Magazine reports that it is also the first resolution to be broken.

If getting fit is on your 2012 resolution list, Southside Park has FREE HELP for you to stick to the plan. Four FitCore stations circle the park just waiting to be used.

They are all in great shape and soon you will be, too.

One

Two

Three

Four

While you're at it, you could walk or run the track around the park or play tennis, basketball or bocce ball. I hope that soon you will also be able to swim in the gorgeous pool.

Waiting for the Caffeine

My husband and I have been watching the corner of 8th and S for a few months. A little sign on the front of this building seemed like the answer to my prayers. Ever since we moved here I wanted a neighborhood coffee shop. The sign said INSIGHT COFFEE.

I'd check back occasionally to see if the paper was off the windows yet. Then one day I met Lucky and Ben - the bucks, braun and brains behind the bar - and they gave me a tour for some BEFORE photos.

The Bucks

We started in the back room with a visit to the just-installed massive coffee roaster. In addition to roasting coffee, they also plan to offer classes in this space.

The Braun

They are  repurposing materials from Sacramento sites and doing all the work on the space themselves. These 1908 theater seats salvaged from the basement of the Masonic Temple on J Street will get a coat of wax and serve as cafe seating.

This board from a 100-year-old redwood tree was about to be discarded from a Sacramento garage. Ben and Lucky rescued it and are transforming it into a redwood bar for the front window. I can't wait to be sitting at it sipping a latte.

This is the main cafe. I love the shiny new copper espresso machine sitting on the hand made cement counter.

Here is a closer look at their craftsmanship.

The Brains

If they make their coffee with as much love and attention to detail as they are putting into transforming this space, my dream will have more than come true.

And the big surprise bonus is their offer to host our monthly neighbor meetings! With these beans and pastries from Freeport Bakery and Doughbot - our neighborhood gourmet donut shop - I'm pretty sure our attendance will increase...

I can barely wait til Insight Coffee's grand opening.

Vibrant Verge

There is an abundance of art in Southside Park but some of it is kind of hidden. We'll start at 7th & S. You'd never believe the creativity in the artists studios behind these fortress-like walls.

Last night Verge Center for the Arts hosted a Mini Golf fundraiser with each of the 9 holes created by an artist. There was food, drink, a rocking sound track, hot pink argyle golf socks and lots of golfers of all ages.

Here are two examples of the course: 

Hole # 5: Tiger Woods by Liv Mo

Hole # 6: Occupy Dry Land by Amanda Cook

These young golfers were decked out for the night:

This is my team, also decked out for the night:

And here is our score card with two mistakes - the spelling of my name and my score. Turns out you can't have a score that contains a point five...

It was a very fun and clever event and I hope they raised a lot of money. If you missed it and want in on the action you can donate and see your name here:

***This just in: Verge is hosting another round of ART GOLF this Saturday, November 12, 6-9 PM. Don't miss it!***

Lantern-lit Clubhouse

Sounds romantic, doesn't it? Don't be fooled.

This is the scene that greeted us at our monthly neighborhood association meeting:

And this was the scene inside. Everyone's arms are crossed trying to stay warm.  Too bad I can't replicate the smell and the temperature here.

Paul Trudeau, our fantastic and thoughtful president, swept the place out and brought tables, chairs and hot tea for everyone. We all laughed as Susan tried to read her handwriting as she was taking notes. It was rather fun but certainly labor intensive for Paul hauling all that stuff in. And it would not have been fun had it been raining or even a degree colder.

Item #4 on the agenda is what to do about no access to our actual clubhouse. We thought about an occupy movement for it and then an occupy movement for our closed pool. We decided to try more traditional means. I'll let you know how that goes...

Neighborhood Association Meeting

When I moved to Southside Park a year ago our neighbor association met here:

Imagine my surprise to see a banner announcing that this is where our next neighborhood association meeting would be held. When I was a kid I would have been thrilled to have a clubhouse that looked like this. But I grew up. 

The South Park Clubhouse was apparently dedicated to our use in more affluent times.

Now the city can't afford to keep the lights on and has leased it to a non-profit. Just one of many city cuts to our gorgeous park.