Ace & Deuce.

Our friends Teri and Jim are visiting us this weekend – some of our good sailing buddies who moved out of state a couple years ago. We had a fun reunion party last night. Today we went to the lake and anchored out for a few fun hours. We made it back to the marina in time for a pretty sunset sky. The moon is the nearly full Cold Moon.

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Reflection.

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Decked.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….. Tree up, stockings hung, halls decked, cold outside, rum in the nog, Christmas tunes on pandora….

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Twinkly.

Tree in the house!

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Christmas at Zilker.

I was in south Austin today, and just had to drive through zilker park on the way home. They lit the Christmas tree on Sunday and this weekend the trail of lights opens, after which it will be nearly impossible to make it through the park.
I got a shot from underneath and another from about 100 yards away. Christmas is in the air….

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I’m on vacation, …

I’m off work until the monday after thanksgiving ! Can you feel the joy?!
Monte baked a lovely birthday cake today. Do the maracas, cactus and sombrero look a bit familiar? We have recycled them for a few occasions, lately.

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Viva amigas!

I went out to dinner tonight with a bunch of my girls.   We went to one of a kind Rainey Street in Austin – my first time there.   I had a wonderful time.  We ate at NO VA Kitchen & Bar.   The food was delicious.  Their white sangria is amazing.   The service was great.   I highly recommend it.   Afterwards we hopped around to a few other places and enjoyed sitting outside on the patio, with the sky flashing with the lightning of the cold front approaching from the northwest.

A cool light fixture above our table at NO VA:

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And a shot of part of their menu.   The ingredients listed for their white sangria include:  armagnac / aged rum / spiced pear / sage / vino blanco

delish!

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Orange you wishing you were here?

Saturday on the lake. Raftup with Kurt & Kevin on Dancer. What a glorious sunset sky.

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The full moon rose as the sun set.

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If the clouds break we might get a glimpse of the Leonids meteor shower or the comet ISON.

Fire time.

Day 2 of cold front in town. We finally lit the fireplace this morning to warm things up. Julie came over last night for dinner and some family time and stayed the night. Mom was admitted to the hospital again yesterday so we’re keeping in close touch. She’s quite the trooper. We’re keeping the home fire burning.

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Four month high.

We rafted up last night with Lori, Dave & Jake on Camelot, and Rory & Greg on Sapphire.  It was a fun night in the cove, as usual.   It’s a treasure, to me… time spent with friends, just sitting outside, on a boat, on a pleasant evening, playing music, dancing a little, and chatting and making one another laugh.

After the rain of the last month the lake is actually up about 7 feet.   The bulk of the deluges that hit Austin missed the basin that feeds the lake, so we are up only 7 feet instead of 20 or 30 feet.    At 625.5′, Lake Travis is back up to what it was 4 months ago.   My blog post on July 6th included a shot of the cove at the same level as it is today.  On that day, 625.5′ was a 50 year low, and dropping.   Today it’s a 4 month high.   I’ll take it, though.  Keep praying for rain.

This is a shot I took of Nirvana at anchor, as I was paddling around the cove this morning.

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Embrace the weekend.

I love weekends. This was the sunrise outside my front door this Saturday morning.

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New dawn.

I woke up this morning extra early – given the time change yesterday.  This was the glorious sunrise sky that lay right out side the front door.  I was prompted to go out and take a look when i noticed that the light coming in through the windows was making the entire inside of the house glow pink.

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And, what is that sparkle on the horizon?  Could it be something new coming my way….?

Happy Halloween!

Back home (yay!).   Before dinner, we carved our pumpkin, and hung inviting lights out front.  But it’s already 10pm and we’re woefully low on trick-or-treaters.   C’mon, people!!!

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Workday – part II.

On the road ahead of sunset.  A long evening work session awaits.  Ni ni.

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