Category: Life

A fun, full, first weekend of Fall!

We’ve been busy!  This past weekend, we made a roadtrip out to west, stopping first at William Chris Winery, where we caught up with a friend of ours that we ran into, by chance;  then we hopped over to Wildseed Farms to pickup a bunch of seed; then made it over to one of our faves, Becker Vineyards, where we had a tasting, a picnic, and checked out their new field of zinnias.  Just beautiful.

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On the way home we headed over to the Real Ale Brewery in Blanco.  We took the river road south/southeast from Hwy 290 to Blanco, and stopped along the way several times to check out the now lazy river that was uncontrollably raging just 4 months ago, tragically sweeping away homes and families over Memorial Day weekend.IMG_9158

At Real Ale, Monte sampled a flight, and I sipped my favorite – Hans Pils.

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Then Sunday rolled around, and we headed out to see the Anderson Mill historical site, near its original location at Cypress Creek on Lake Travis.   The Anderson Mill Gardeners do a wonderful job of preserving the site and its history.IMG_9183We made it to the boat in time to cheer the Seahawks on to their first win of the season, enjoying the recently repaired air conditioning on Nirvana (yay!).

About an hour before sunset, Kurt, Barbara, Dakota and little Leila joined us on the boat, and we motored out to the body of the lake to drift and watch the supermoon lunar eclipse.

Have I mentioned taking photos of the moon and stars on a moving boat is hard?  I didn’t get any good shots.  But I thought this one was kinda cool… you get the idea.

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It was a great weekend, indeed.

Lovely blooms.

I happened upon these beauties while running an errand after work yesterday.   Just have to share…

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Fantasy Footballin’.

I have followed football all my life.  And with the Seahawks’ great performance for the last several years, it’s all the more enjoyable for me.  The 2014-2015 NFL season was my first foray into fantasy football.  My sister invited me join to her all-ladies league.  I also joined a random league on-line with a bunch of guys.  My goal was to learn more about the current players across many teams.  Over the last few years I have had blinders on, only watching my team.

And I think it worked!  I also had alot of fun.  It sure makes for a different fan experience when you find yourself rooting for someone on a team that is one of your favorite team’s rivals.

Last year I didn’t fare too poorly.   In the all-ladies league, I just missed the championship game by 1 point (thanks SO much, Andrew Luck, for taking a knee 3 times in a row on tht last drive, losing just enough yardage to drop a point or two), so I finished with an 11-3 record, coming in 3rd in a 16-team league.    In my other league, i finished 7-6, finishing 5th out of 10 teams.

We use ESPN’s fantasy football platform.  They also have a great iPhone app, which makes it very easy to track and manage your team.  Learning the ropes on how to draft and what the league rules is pretty easy, and you can find most of what you need explained here in their FAQ.

This year, in week one, I had a lopsided win in one of my leagues and lost (by 1 point again!) in the other.  I mis-managed my bench in the game that I lost.  And in the other, one of my wide receivers was injured and will be out for about 6 weeks.   I’m going to have to make some changes between tonight and Thursday night.

Back in the real world, sadly, my beloved Seahawks played an ugly game and lost.   My heart is still with the boys in blue and green.

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A great day for a sail.

Yesterday was pleasantly windy – 15+ knots.   So we set out for the lake and met up with Lori & Joe on Camelot, and Kurt & Kevin on Dancer, for a long sail towards the dam.  We managed to weave our way through the Austin Yacht Club regattas, and made it to Mansfield Dam Park and turned around.   What a marvelous day!   We had a slip up and talked all night with Lori & Joe.  Just like old times.  I miss the rest of the gang! 🙂

Here’s a shot of Camelot on the way back.

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Quiero mejorar mi español.

In addition to my lifelong, ongoing quest to learn how to play the guitar well, I have been nursing my Spanish along for a the last 30 years.  In both cases, though, it just takes practice – which I never seem to be able to sustain for long periods of time.  My Spanish is ok, but I would really like to become fluent.   And that means broadening my vocabulary and hardening my grammar.  And practicing.

I have two Spanish novels on my bookshelf that I have started to read several times over the years, and with my spanish-english dictionary in hand, have made my way through a couple chapters.  It is hard work.  Not just for my brain, but for the manual back-and-forth effort of putting the book down to pick up the dictionary, then putting it down to pick up where I left off in the book.

So, for the umpteenth time, I picked up one of them again last week, a novel called Nada by Carmen Laforet.  I started at the beginning again.  After about 2 pages I paused and experienced a moment of inspiration:  wouldn’t it be great if I could read this book on an e-reader that would look up a word for me on the fly with the mere touch of a finger?  What a great idea, maybe someone has thought of that already!  😉

I have a five year old 1st generation Kindle Fire with a kindle e-reader built in.  So I downloaded a sample of the e-book version of Nada for free from Amazon and tried it out.  But, alas, the device only has an English dictionary built in.  I found a helpful document that explained that, unlike later Kindles, the 1st generation Fire does not support changing the default dictionary.   Strike one.

I also have a Kindle e-reader app on my Mac.  So I tried the same thing with it.  But switching dictionaries was also not possible in that scenario.  Strike two.

I understand the kindle e-reader for iPhone and iPad may support what I want to do, but I’m really not interested in reading a book on my phone – too small.  Nor buying an iPad – too expensive.

So, then I began to research whether what I wanted to do would even be possible with a new e-reader device, like the Kindle Paperwhite.  And it appeared to be.  There were two ways I could do it.  One requires being connected to wifi to look up each word, by using the built-in “translate” feature, but that was not what I wanted.  I don’t want to have to be online to lookup words.  The other method requires downloading a Spanish-English translation dictionary to the device, and then making it the default dictionary for spanish e-books.   Bingo.  Sounded like a plan.

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I am typically slow to embrace new technology and gadgets.  But when I find a use for them that is important to me, I don’t waste time!  So, I splurged and ordered the Kindle Paperwhite, which arrived yesterday.  And in a matter of minutes I was in business.   As of this morning, I am 10% of the way through the book.  And I can almost feel my brain expanding.  🙂  Home run!

By the way, this is the Spanish-English translation dictionary I’m using.  Seems to work great for what I want to do.  Even better, I downloaded it for free by using the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library perk that comes with my Amazon Prime membership.

I also found a great free app for my iPhone called Duolingo, which seems to be a very decent tool for practicing and learning.  I’ve even started trying to learn French and Irish with that app.   Now THAT’S going to take a looooong time, but what the heck.   Anyway, if you have any interest in learning or polishing your foreign language skills, check it out.

Never forget. 

Fourteen years.  So much has happened.  In each of our lives.  In the world. 

But in an instant I am taken back to that day.  That morning.   Aren’t you?  The sunny, stunningly clear blue September sky.  Getting ready for the day.  

I have tried before, unsuccessfully, to write what I felt on that day.  I cannot.  It was a powerful mix of emotions.  Anger.  Sadness.  Pride. Fear.  Uncertainty.  ANGER.  Pain. 

But here is what I can share….

I watched the planes hit and the towers burn.  I called my family. I prayed. I went to work.   I talked with colleagues in NY.  TVs in the hallways were tuned to the news.   We were glued to them. Three planes.  Maybe more. The pentagon was hit. One tower collapsed.  2 towers collapsed.  Heroes on Flight 93 gave their lives to stop even more carnage. 

Flights all across the country were grounded – a business trip the next day and a flight to Seattle for my mom’s 70th birthday celebration were put on hold.  And I was ok with that. 

I went home from work.  Put a flag up in the window.  Mostly I remember the numbing, profound sense of national mourning – and pride – watching what unfolded for weeks. 

We must hold this in our hearts and Always Remember. 

  
There are so many memorial reminders today.  A friend shared this with me today, and it touched me.  So I share it with you here. 
Hug your loved ones, ya’ll.  

Labor Day weekend.

We had alot of fun with Fran and Rachel this week.   The house is guest-free again.  Well, except for the parrot we are house sitting. 🙂

We enjoyed a fun weekend on the lake – Saturday’s sunset:

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We spent Labor Day down by Zilker Park and paddling on Ladybird Lake.  A friendly swan:

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The paddling scene:IMG_4823

Then we threw some lambburgers and hamburgers on the grill to celebrate the holiday.

A short work week is a busy work week.  I didn’t make time to post til now.  I’ll try to not be so slow with my updates.  Have a great weekend!

Here comes trouble!

The latest wave of visitors are enroute to Austin.  My sister and my niece.  I’m looking forward to a fun, long holiday weekend!

I’m off to the airport…. 

  

 

Blue Bell fix.  

It was April 20th when Monte and I last picked up a pint of Blue Bell ice cream at Walgreens on the way home.  We each had a scoop or two and then read the news about all their products being pulled from the shelf that day due to listeria contamination, and, sadly people had died. 

Well a long 4 1/2 months later, and after a lengthy cleanup and with FDA approval, Texas’ favorite ice cream is back on the shelf.  We should probably wait a while, but we couldn’t stay away.  

  

The river giveth, and the river taketh away.

Well, mostly the river taketh away.

It’s a risk we deal with, spending so much time playing on the water.  And, it so happens that this past weekend I lost yet another pair of prescription sunglasses.   I was helping put up a friend’s wind scoop on the bow and the wind whipped things up and the next thing I knew they were sinking below the surface of the lake.  I summarily jumped in to try to grab them, but to no avail.

I lost a different pair of prescription Raybans on the San Marcos rapids a few years ago.  Monte lost a pair of prescription glasses there, too.  A friend lost their wedding band on the same rapids.  I’ve lost three favorite hats, a towel, and know of at least one bathing suit top and diamond earring sitting at the bottom of the lake.   And, amazingly, we lost our entire flag and flagpole that was flying off our transom – on the Fourth of July, no less!  It happens so frequently that we keep a Lost Sh#t Log on the boat.

But every once in a while, the river gives back.  About 10 years ago, I lost a pair of prescription eyeglasses in the lake.  One minute they were sitting on the cabin-top while I tightened my pony tail.  The next minute they were gone.   Over the following few years the lake alternately rose and dropped.   Until, about 3 years after I lost them, the lake was finally low enough that the place where we anchored the day I lost my glasses was high and dry.  So one Saturday morning, I announced that I was going back to that part of the cove to look for my glasses.   And I did.   I combed that dry cove for an hour or two.   I found a snorkel, swim goggles, a swim fin, numerous pieces of fishing tackle, several pairs of sun glasses, a hat, an anchor, lots of trash, AND my lost-for-three-years eyeglasses!

They were sun-bleached and cruddy and one ear piece had broken off.  But there they were!  I can’t bring myself to throw them away.  So they sit in a drawer until I take them out for a chuckle every once in a while.

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iPod wars. 

When rafting up with friends on Lake Travis, we invented this game to amuse ourselves – everyone takes turns playing a song from their iPod that they think is awesome.  We pass the plug from one person to the next.  You strive for a song that others will agree is awesome.  Some songs take people down their own memory lane, some are just funny, some songs everyone sings along to, some are songs other people never heard before.  It’s a great way to pass the time, under the stars, on a boat, with friends, slightly impaired, at anchor, off the grid, into the wee hours of the morning.   Here’s the typical scene.  

 

Awesome!  🙂

A busy two weeks and a new find.

I have been challenged in posting the last two weeks.  We are in the middle of a 3 week set of back to back visits from family.  Which we absolutely love, but it means a little less time to tend to my photoblog.   The real challenge though is that the WordPress for iOS app that I use primarily for quick posts is broken and completely useless since the last 2 updates (both updates ver 5.4 and 5.4.1) of the app.  So I’m using the browser version of the app for this post.   I hope they get it together and fix the problem in the next update.

One set of guests were unaccompanied minors, so I had to get a pass to go through security and accompany them to their gate to pick them up and drop them off at the airport.   As I was strolling along the concourse on the west end of the ABIA terminal, I spotted some lovely, colorful prints on display from a Texas artist that I hadn’t seen before.  The artist is Margie Crisp, and her prints are simply beautiful.   I took a picture of one – couldn’t avoid the reflections from the lights in the airport.  This one is called In the shadow of Buchanan Dam.   Inks Lake is in the foreground, with images of all the things I love about the Central Texas Hill Country.

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I googled her to learn more about her and found that she has produced a book called  River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado, which features many of her river prints.  As I’ve come to love the Colorado myself, I’m going to order one.

You might want to check her out, too.

As for me, i need to get moving… we are headed to the lake to raft-up overnight.

Little buddy.

Last year I went on a girls’ trip to Washington, D.C. and we walked EVERYWHERE!   One of my friends had a fitbit One (electronic fitness / health tracking gadget) which intrigued me, and I ordered one for myself before I even got back home.  I’ve been using it for almost a year now and I love it.

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As you can see, it is small, it clips onto your clothes (bra, waistband, etc) and Along with its dashboard tracks calories expended, distance walked, vertical steps climbed, sleep pattern, food (calories in), weight gain/loss.  I found it to be a good tool to incent, remind, and update me on where I am versus where I want to be.   It doesn’t work magic – when I don’t expend more calories than I take in, I gain weight.   But my experience has been that if i use it that way I’m supposed to (i.e., keep the food tracker updated and actively try to achieve my daily targets, every day) I am a better fit-izen  🙂

My 2 cents on why I love my fitbit:

  • Usability:  It is easy to wear and forget about.  I clip it onto my bra (sports or frilly) and it usually is undetectable.  It is very easy to keep continually on my person 🙂  I’ve even forgotten about it and worn it through a TSA checkpoint at the airport several times – without getting stopped.  I tried using the little wristband it comes with to wear the fitbit at night but gave up and now just clip it to what I’m wearing to bed.  I don’t even know it’s there.
  • Durability:  It’s water-resistant.  It’s definitely not bothered by lots of sweat.  It is not advertised as being water proof.   BUT it did go through the washing machine once and still works.  My washer is a High-Efficiency one wrt how much water it uses – maybe that’s why my fitbit thankfully didn’t drown.  But, you should have seen the number of steps I logged during the spin cycle overnight!
  • Battery life:  I have found that the battery lasts two weeks or more for me on a given charge.  It warns you when it is low.  And to charge it just requires using the short cord in the picture above – USB on one end, and attaching to the end of the fit bit with the adapter on the other end.
  • Ease and flexibility of uploading data from the device:   You can choose to sync the bits of data from the fitbit device to the dashboard for viewing by either (or both) of two methods.  The fitbit One can talk to/sync with the fitbit Connect application (that runs on your laptop) via the smaller USB wireless sync dongle thingie in the picture above.    And/or it can talk to/sync with the fitbit mobile app (that runs on your phone) via a bluetooth-enabled interface with your phone.  I use both.  I like that if i go on a trip where I don’t want to lug my laptop, I can still sync with my phone for the time I am gone and view the dashboard from there.   Syncing is where things might get a little less intuitive, but there are lots of FAQs to explain the ins and outs of syncing.
  • User interface:  The web dashboard can be accessed via either a web browser on a laptop, or through their mobile app.  Both are easy to use, customize, and display lots of info to glean. 
  • Customer service:  I have found most of my questions are easily answered by info found in fitbit’s online help, or the fitbit community forums.   I did have a problem recently where my wireless syncing dongle simply stopped working.  I quickly found the phone number online – it’s posted on their twitter feed:  (877) 623-4997.  (I’m old fashioned – there are online methods to get support here).  After less than 10 minutes on the phone with the support person I had an email in my inbox documenting that a replacement fitbit wireless sync dongle was on its way to me – free of charge.  I was back in business a few days later.
  • Value:  for me, it’s worth it.  I’ve worn it pretty much every day for almost a year.   I’ve actively used it the way I should for probably 75% of that time.  I fall off the wagon from time to time.   I think I paid a little under $100 dollars for my fitbit One.  But I struggle with my weight, and any tool that helps me stay on the path to fitness is worth it.  And that’s what my fitbit One helps me do.

Oh, one more thing….I did misplace my fitbit once.  I knew it couldn’t have gone far, though.   I googled online for an app that communicates with bluetooth devices nearby… and it was able to pick up the signal from my fitbit One and eventually zero in on its location under the couch about 10 feet away.  The free iphone app I used was called Bluetooth Smart Scanner, but there are others out there that should work as well.

Perseids show. 

Pre-dawn today was to be the peak of the annual Perseids meteor shower.  So last night after work, and after the rush hour traffic had subsided, we headed to the marina.  We anchored in the cove after sunset and made comfy spots on deck to lay down and watch the stars.    

   
The best time is typically between 1AM and 4AM.  There was no moon to interfere.  We just had to wish away the partly-cloudiness that arrived with sunset.   And the clouds did clear up and we saw the first burner by about 10:30.  More clouds came.  And then the sky became crystal clear around 12:30.   We were treated to a nice show – dozens this year.   Star gazing on a boat does not lend itself to photographing meteors, so I have no awesome pics to share.  

Even if we hadn’t seen any meteors, sleeping under the stars and this morning’s sunrise would have made it all worth the trip out. 

  
Now…off to work!