How is it that we know so many old people?! :). Today we celebrated Paul’s big birthday with him and his crew. It’s getting hot out there!!!
Happy Birthday, Paul!
Category: Life
Mmm, crawfish!
On our way home this weekend, we stopped in a small town called Eagle Lake when we passed a meat market that was boiling up some crawfish. Maxwell’s Meat Market cooks them up on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays when they’re in season. We indulged. The crawfish were big and perfectly seasoned. Purty dang good! I got my fix for a while.
John Boy live.
Today I ushered for the final two shows of the Broadway in Austin play, To Kill a Mockingbird. Richard Thomas, formerly John Boy on The Waltons, played the lead of Atticus Finch. He doesn’t have the physical presence of Gregory Peck, who played in the film version released in 1962. But he made a great Atticus. I really enjoyed the show.
Fun fact: the actress who played Scout in the 60’s movie version had a different role in this production. Pretty amazing that she’s still involved with the show and its message, 60 years on.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Across the bar.
Saturday afternoon the rain behaved better than expected. We attended a memorial for a friend who recently passed.
He was a builder, a sailor, a musician, a skydiver, a car guy, a hooligan, and more. He fought the good fight. Cheers, Wiz.
New trick.
When I was a kid, the zipper on my favorite pair of jeans broke. Back then, my solution was to cut and sew buttonholes in the inside of the top zipper placket, and sew buttons on the inside of the bottom zipper placket, ala button-up Levi’s 501 style. It worked, and my favorite jeans lived a while longer.
This week, I mended a pair of waterproof rain paints. The zipper had essentially corroded onto the zipper teeth and was permanently stuck in the down position. I considered the button-up solution again, but that wouldn’t be great for waterproof pants. So, I decided to go for it… replace the zipper. I’ve never done it before. So I stared at it for a very, very long time. There are like 10 different sets of stitching on a zipper placket. I had to figure out which ones to rip out to get the zipper out, which ones to leave in place, and figure out the right order of steps to sew the new one in. So, after mentally reverse-engineering the entire zipper placket assembly, I decided I could do it.
In the end, the amount of time I spent staring at it took much longer than the amount of time it took me to rip the necessary seams, remove the old zipper, and sew in the new one. I used a little waterproofing goo on the inside to waterproof the new exposed seams. And voila!
It’s not exactly Saville Row work, but I learned a new thing. #proudofmyself
Time warp.
This afternoon I went to a movie theater with several girlfriends to watch the film Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. I think Diana suggested we go, but what a great idea!
I don’t think I’ve been inside a movie theater for over 5 years. Probably a lot longer. But the new cinemas sure are comfy. Monte and I need to get back to it. Plus… bottomless popcorn!!!!
I didn’t even know this movie was made, but when I heard about it, I knew I had to see it. Judy Blume’s book came out in 1970. It’s about a 6th grade girl, ~12 years old, spanning one year of her life, going through puberty, moving schools, and making new friends.
I read this book when I was 11 or 12, myself, a few years after it was published. It struck a chord with me back then. And, it struck that chord again today in the theater. I enjoyed the movie. It even brought a tear to my eye as it brought up feelings from nearly 50 years ago. I can’t understand why anyone would have a problem with this book, let alone ban it.
Go see it!
Heeling.
Monte and I crewed on Camelot for Kurt & Kevin this weekend during one of the Austin Yacht Club Summer Series races. It was a hot and steamy day on the water but we had a great time.
Graduation on the 40 acres.
I ushered for two University of Texas graduations this weekend at the Bass Concert Hall. I need to remember to wear earplugs next time. Wow. One ceremony had about 500 grads. As each walked across the stage, their friends-and-family-posee cheered. Very loudly.
It’s all good; it was a special day for each of the graduates. Well done Class of 2023!! Go live your best lives!
Tax relief.
I just finished and submitted this year’s tax return. Yahoo!!! I do our taxes myself, and take the time to read the IRS documentation to understand it as best I can.
I saw this in the documentation on calculating and sending in quarterly estimated taxes. I guess I’ll have to break my payment up into multiple checks. 🙂
Throwback.
I worked the Easter Sunday matinee of Riverdance – the 25th anniversary show. 25 years ago I was knee deep in work projects, so I wasn’t a huge fan the first time around. My mother had all the DVDs, though – Riverdance AND the Three Tenors. So I signed up as a nod to my mom…and my Irish dad.
The show was pretty toe tapping good!
We got hitched.
Again. We just got the trailer hitch installed on our new Outback. We’re back in business to haul things!
Wishing everyone a most happy Easter with family & friends.
It could happen.
After two decades in hibernation, my potter-self may make a reappearance this year. The control board on my wheel needed replacement (AMACO part # 22103G). Monte ordered one and installed it yesterday and it is operational again. Now…. to get a kiln and some clay!
Thanks, sweetie.
Musical.
I’ve started volunteering at the Bass Concert Hall as an usher. Today I worked the matinee for the Broadway musical “Ain’t Too Proud,” the story of the lives of the members of The Temptations. The venue was full of music, dancing, and lights…. a great story and show.
I got home from the show in time to watch the FAU Owls play in the Final Four. Sadly, we lost. Should have won, but a great game played by all.
Two more parks.
We drove straight to Colorado on the way north, about a 15-hour drive, and stayed with Julie in Denver for a night. Then we headed to Gene and Jo’s for two nights. We made a side trip to Estes Park as well. The family get-together was very special.
On the way back south we had another nice visit with Julie.
Then we broke up the long trip home into a couple of days including stops at two national parks.
We stayed in Ft. Davis for a night with a reservation to attend one of the McDonald Observatory’s star parties. The skies were not cooperative for viewing at the observatory, but we had fun.
We left Ft Davis on Wednesday well before dawn, and on the drive up to I-10, I noticed that the clouds parted, opening up a clear, starry sky. So we pulled over in the middle of pitch-dark range land with coyotes howling all around and enjoyed a full-sky view of the Milky Way.
We enjoyed the view for a few minutes and then resumed our drive. A few minutes later the skies were filled in with thick clouds again. It was a treat to get that brief moment of star gazing.
A successful road trip, but it’s always nice to get back home.
Sheila365 