Just in time for Mardi Gras:
our new backyard

Well, two years later I finally have the tropical garden I've always wanted, complete with our own little Japanese hot spring. The plants come from Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and beyond. The patio was once a neighbor's chimney and the lily pond is an old clawfoot bathtub that I salvaged from the gutter. Surely there is no better town for architectural recycling.

Hail Orpheus! (Does this picture make me look like a muppet? Say, Elmo?) Anyway, all of the beads I threw in this year's parade were recycled ones. A sweet little old lady gave me her longtime collection. As I sorted through it I found a few strands of the glass variety from decades ago. I don't intend to toss them.