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The Good News and Could Be Better News

Hi all y’all,

I will start with the good news. It seems like everyone had a fun time at our party. We got to meet some new people. A few of the new people live in our neighborhood. Some were soccer buddies of my son-in-law or people he builds for. Teachers from Harriet Tubman “represented” (as they like to say). Many of the guests were friends and family. My 80 year old uncle Anthony  drove in from St. Gabriel. He looked at every picture for a long time and left me a check for a Giclee of Heart of the Hurricane. He is such a sweet man.

Heart of the Hurricane
Snoball for Miss Ashley
Snoball for Miss Ashley

I painted this picture for Ashley Hansen unsolicited. I was happy to hear she likes it.

A collage of the party.

If you picture if not here, I apologize. This is just a sampling and I didn’t get pictures of everyone. Katy darling, you are not here because you stuck your tongue out at the camera.

Miss Michelle is in the bottom right. She made everyone’s night fun. She entertained the 3 and under crowd at my daughter Angela’s house. The little ones were thrilled to have their own party. Michelle is an angel.

If you couldn’t make it to our house. There is always next time. I hope to see you then, if not before.

OK. The not so great news for us, but great news for Harris Park. The Allstate Foundation and the Drew Brees Foundation in collaboration with the Injury Free Coalition for Kids chose  Harris Park in the Gentilly Woods for the park grant. This wasn’t the first time Harris Park applied for the grant. Two schools and a church will also use the playground. Since Angela and I have already written the grant, it will be easy to tweak for the next round of applications. Friends of Samuel Square Park had great support from the community in letters, money and the promise of volunteers. It is just a matter of time.

Sincerely,

With a heart full of gratitude.

Gator Girl

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Open House

 

Hi all y’all!

You are invited to our house. So please mark your calendar. It will be a perfect night for some good food and good friends.

Invitation
The Front of the Invitation

You will see what is new at Gator Girl Art.

10% of all sales go to NOLA Groundswell to renew parks and green spaces in New Orleans.

Currently, we are raising money and awareness for Samuel Square Park.

Expect to:

eat great food,

have sparkling conversations,

drink a variety of beverages,

bring your kids.

2317 General Pershing Street

August 11, 6:00 pm

My youngest daughter, Katy, will be here from California. Antonia will be visiting from Austria. This seems like the perfect time to have a party.

Update on NOLA Groundswell. We met with some people from All State on Friday at Samuel Square Park. This is a picture of me picking up the application from. I have a good feeling about our chances.

That’s me talking about our grant possibility.
This is Angela talking with the people from NORD and All State.

The meeting was scheduled at the exact time a huge rain storm was coming through New Orleans from the Northshore. I think that is why many of the people coming to support us didn’t come.

Why I think people decided not to meet us at the park Friday.

One of the really great things about New Orleans is that people use their initiative to make things better  for everyone. When Angela and I decided to improve the park we found several organizations that are interested in working with us. This is all very exciting.

I hope to see y’all on August 11th. I am testing out some mini pecan tarts today.

With an Open and Optimistic Heart,

Gator Girl

 

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Blue Dog Camp

Hi all y’all!

Summer is sure heating up. Record highs in so many places. I am on a road trip to Memphis. It is an extremely cool town, but I don’t have a travel blog, so I am sharing Maggie’s Blue Dog Art Camp adventure.

Maggie had an opportunity to go to a super well-staffed art camp put on by the Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. Her class had about seven 3-4 year olds. She had so much fun and learned about different media and techniques.

Maggie coloring an alligator.

I sat in the class one day to see how they ran things, secretly hoping George Rodrigue would pop in.

Maggie’s Class on the last day.

Next year, Raffi can apply.

Resort Life in Uptown New Orleans

I like the grittiness of city life. Kids don’t get too soft or entitled when they only have 8 feet until the sidewalk.

NOLA Groundswell, our non-profit set up to rebuild the parks and green spaces in New Orleans, received an email from the New Orleans Recreational District last week. Samuel Square Park might be chosen for a big grant! I envision a refreshing water area where the kids can play, accessibility for everyone, cool climbing structures, drinking fountains… Dream big if you are going to dream. Why not?

Last, but not least, we are combining a Gator Girl Art Open House with a Nola Groundswell Party in early August. Antonia, a guest from Austria, is a video blogger. She is going to capture the evening on video. Sometimes dreams are bigger than I even dreamed possible.

Until next week,

Take care and stay cool. If you can’t’ stay cool, drink some water.

Unending love,

Gator Girl