Oct 9, 2010

Wing on wing

On Saturday afternoons we race in a informal regatta with friends — aka the Beer Can regatta.   This is a shot of the field today.   Left to right – Dancer, Caribbean Hug and Spike (and far right is another b-docker, Dave,  that wasn’t racing, can’t remember his boat’s name at the moment).

Oh, why are we in the front, you ask?   Well, each boat has a different start time, slowest boats first, fastest boats last.    We didn’t stay in front.   The finish order was Caribbean Hug, Spike, Dancer and Cupholder.

A nice day on the lake.  Devin, the son of a good friend of Monte’s was visiting from Cincinnati, and joined us for the sail.

Oct 8, 2010

 

Caught my eye

 

This light fixture caught my eye — Art Deco-y.  It is about 4 feet tall, in a stairwell at Sax 5th Avenue in the Arboretum.

Oct 7, 2010

Bye bye birdie

It seems that as Fall has arrived and the sun sinks lower in the sky, the little birdies have flown to other climes.  My fleet of hummingbird feeders have fallen ominously silent.

 

Oct 6, 2010

 

Bountiful harvest

We have lots of large oak trees in the front and back of our yard.  We’re used to them dropping acorns in the Fall.   This year, however, there seems to be about 100x the number of acorns falling.   I guess it’s due to all the rain we’ve had.  For the last few weeks we’ve been listening to them hit the roof and roll down onto the patio, table and chairs out back.  They make a loud pop when they hit the roof or the skylights.   In the 4 years we’ve lived in this house, I don’t recall there being this many, making such a racket.   You can hear one hit the roof from across the house.  They hit pretty hard!  I’m starting to wonder if our homeowner’s hail-damage policy will cover the damage these little babies are making.  🙂

It’s going to be a big year for the squirrels.

Oct 5, 2010

Just because...

HAPPY TUESDAY!!!

What better reason to open a bottle of bubbly?

😀

Oct 4, 2010

Pho: It's what's for dinner

Haven’t gone grocery shopping since coming back from vacation, so no food in the icebox tonight.   We went to our local pho place for dinner… #53 for me and #32 for Monte.

Nom nom 🙂

Oct 3, 2010

The deafening silence...

We slept on the boat last night, but came back early this morning.   This is our last day of vacation so we’ve been getting some things done around the house today – with the windows open!   This is the ever so brief time of year when the neither the A/C nor the heater is on.

I’m going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

Oct 2, 2010

Peanuts!

When traveling through different places in the south we have tried and come to enjoy boiled peanuts.  We’ve been wanting to try our hand at making some ourselves.   The other day Monte found some green peanuts at a local Indian food market, and brought home several pounds.

We made a test batch last night and are making more today.

You start with pound of green peanuts.  Wash them well and soak in cold water for about 30 minutes.  Drain and put in boiling pot with about 2 quarts of water and 1/2 cup salt and boil for about 4-5 hours.

Oct 1, 2010

Vortex

We’re still enjoying the roses that Monte gave me for our anniversary.  They are still big, red and beautiful.

Sep 30, 2010

The long way home

We spent the morning in Port Aransas and headed back home around noon.  We weren’t in much of a hurry so we stopped at just about any place that caught our eye.  We hit several antique stores along the way.   Stopped in Goliad to see several historical sites from the fight for Texas’ independance.  I don’t know how many times we’ve driven by these places and never stopped in – a fort and a mission from the 1800’s.   We also stopped in Gonzales and Cuero.  It was a great day to take a lot of side trips, with temps in the low 80s and a clear, beautiful day.

This is a shot from the restored Mission Espiritu Santo historic site outside of Goliad.

Sep 29, 2010

In flight

After seeing the sights today in Rockport, we got ready to leave and decided we weren’t ready to go home.  So, we headed a bit farther south to Port Aransas and checked into a little hotel that we stayed at once about 10 years ago.

We spent the day fishing on the jetty.  We fed a lot of fish, saw a lot of sea birds and ships coming in and out of the bay.

We stayed til after sunset when the mosquito hoardes drove even the hardiest of fishermen away.

Sep 28, 2010

Shrimpers

Today is our anniversary.   We had a fabulous day.  This is a shot of the shrimp boats right outside the restaurant where we had dinner.   I’m eating my fair share of shrimp while I’m down here.

Sep 27, 2010

Vacation!!!

We’re taking a week of work, FINALLY!  We packed up the car this morning and headed for the coast.  First stop Rockport.  Nice breezes, nice views, fishing and crabbing.

This is a shot of one of the palms outside the hotel.

Sep 26, 2010

What a difference a day makes

The temperatures were cooler today, and the wind showed up.  We spent the afternoon sailing up and down the lake.   We made a quick stop to pick up Joe and Wally at the dock.  Kurt was dragging several kids behind his boat and Marty & Sue showed up to play as well.

This is a shot of Caribbean Hug getting ready to wash the decks.

It’s fun to be on the lake on a day like today, but it’s even better with friends.