Jun 19, 2010

Sweet

This morning we worked slavishly in the yard – mowing, edging, weedeating, trimming shrubs and low hanging branches.  Whew, it was hot!   I was tuckered out by about 1pm.   So, what to do?  Go to the lake!

We loaded up our motor (again) for service.   Then we put up the shade on the catboat,  and we just sailed the slip for the rest of the afternoon.

We played with some of the usual suspects – Marty, Sue, Joe, Sonya and friend, Robert, Nick, Isabelle, Laureen, Morgan and Dimitri.

Late afternoon I noticed a skywriting plane had left some streaks in the sky.   We had to step out from under the shade on the boat to see it, but someone had put a big heart up for all to see.  How sweet!

I ♥ sailing

Jun 18, 2010

TGIF

Long week.   Chili’s for dinner.   Cheers!

Jun 17, 2010

Peace out

This week is flying by…I can’t believe tomorrow is Friday.

I have 2 potted Peace Lily plants.   Both came from the same original plant, which I’ve had for over 14 years (wow!).   When I first moved to Austin, my mom sent me a plant basket as a house-warming (or at the time, apartment-warming) gift.   In it were 3 small plants — a peace lily, an ivy and a fern.  The last 2 are long gone, but this guy has stuck with me.

With the great light in the game room and foyer in this house, they’re thriving.  I love the blooms.

Jun 16, 2010

Pesto!

For dinner tonight Monte decided it was time to make pesto.   He went out back and thinned our basil garden by about 3 plants.  The result is what you see here.  It was delicious.  We tried it on some pasta a little later and it was even better.

Here’s the recipe we used:

Fresh Basil Pesto (makes ~ 1 cup)
2 c fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 c freshly grated parmesan-reggiano or romano cheese
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic,  minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine basil with pine nuts in food processor.  Pulse a few times.  Add garlic, pulse a few more times.

Slowly add olive oil while food processor is on.  Scrape down sides of food processor several times.  Add grated cheese and pulse again until blended.  Add salt/black pepper.

Can’t wait to try it on pizza!

Jun 15, 2010

Nice white

I went to take some shots out back tonight — I saw a hummingbird at one of the feeders in the backyard for the first time.   But, alas, my camera battery was dead.    I went to get my spare, and it was still in my backpack from the lake trip, and it too was dead.

After recharging both, it was getting a bit late in the evening to be really creative.  So, I took a picture of one of the first things I saw — this bottle of Snowline Pinot Gris.   It’s my current favorite white wine.   And, it’s inexpensive.

Jun 14, 2010

Trail's end

After work today I met Monte at the marina to help schlep the remnants of a 4-day weekend back home.

Joe was awesome to tow Porter Belle and the kayak up and down the lake for us.  It sure saved time for the catboat to not have to drag those behind us.

This is a shot of our awesome trailer and the 2 littlest members of our fleet, after returning home tonight.  The boat on the bottom is a wooden sailing dinghy, called a shellback-dinghy.   We built it as our practice boat before building the catboat.

Here’s to a quick week and fair weather for the weekend.

Jun 13, 2010

Floating fun

Day 3 – This morning the plan is to head downriver to Cow Creek at mile marker 32.    Kurt will head out today and join the raftup there.

I have to work tomorrow, so I am catching a ride with Tony and Michelle back to the marina.  Monte will come back with everyone else tomorrow night.

This is a shot from this AM.   The kayaks got a lot of use this trip.   Monte and Alex sailed around the cove in Porter Belle.

The winds are still blowing.   It will be another long day on Caribbean Run back to the marina.   But for now, it’s nice to enjoy the water.

Jun 12, 2010

Cast of characters

Day 2 of the trip.  Another windy, sunny day on the lake.   Today the plan is to pile on 2 boats and head even farther up river for a daysail.   The part of the river at Mile marker 55 is called the Narrows, and is about as far as a sailboat should venture up the lake.   We’ll anchor there, swim a bit, eat lunch and head back to the raftup at mile marker 47 for a second night.

This AM Mark and Pam drove to the park to spend the day with us.  They brought 100+ pounds of ice with them to replenish the coolers, which was AWESOME!

7 boats, 5 kayaks, a rubber dinghy and a sailing dinghy.

This is a shot of the boats rafted up outside Krause springs.

From left to right:   Pat &  Dave on Va Bene, Robert & Tasha on their latest Beneteau 34, Bay on Red Sky, Tony & Michelle on Caribbean Run, Joe & Alex on Prelude, Marty, Sue & Koko on Caribbean Hug, and Monte & me on Cupholder.  The sailing dinghy on the far right is our homebuilt Porter Belle.

Jun 11, 2010

Mile marker 44

Day 1 of the annual Up-the-river-cruise with a bunch of sailing friends.   The winds were strong today (gusting to 30), which is both good and bad.  Good because the catboat doesn’t sail well in light winds, but bad because it makes for quite the workout.

We left the marina at about 11 AM and made it to our destination 33 miles upriver at about 5PM.   By 6PM all 7 boats were rafted up deep in the cove near Krause Springs, across from Grelle Park.     It was a great sail, but we’re glad to get on with the swimming/eating/playing part of the trip.  Everyone was in the water as soon as possible.

This is a shot at mile marker 44, a bunch of trees growing in the middle of the river — we know them as The Floating Hallalujah Trees of Lake Travis.

It’s a treat to be able to see this part of the river.   With the lake 50′ higher today than it was in September, alot of what we are seeing was probably dry for some time.

Looking forward to the next few days on the lake with friends.

Jun 10, 2010

Oooh Ooh Ooh Oooooh Ooh - I LOVE sangria wine!

Tomorrow we are taking the day off and joining our favorite bunch of crazies on a 3-4 day up-the-river-cruise.  The lake is still full, which means we can get pretty far up to see some beautiful scenery.  Our marina is at mile marker 14 and we’ll anchor at mile marker 47 tomorrow night.   We’ll make our way back to the marina over the course of the next few days.  It’s gonna be FUN!!

One of the staples of any overnight raft-up on the lake is sangria.  I made a batch tonight to put in the cooler in the morning.    I have found a recipe I really like:

Sangria (I usually double this recipe)

1 bottle red wine (I use a Spanish tempranillo)
1/4 c brandy
1/4 c sugar
1 apple, 1 orange, 1 lemon – sliced (try to remove the seeds)
several friends

Shake everything up together and chill
Right before serving add about 1 – 2 cups chilled club soda.

Oh, by the way, if you’re going to make this recipe, it is also mandatory that you sing the B-dock anthem while you’re sipping on a glass.  Here’s a youtube  link so you can start practicing!

Jun 9, 2010

Elusive little bugger

It was about a month ago that I put out the hummingbird feeders.  Three in the backyard, and a new one in the front — right outside the kitchen window.

I haven’t seen any in the backyard yet, but the feeder in the front is very popular with the little birdies.

I’ve been trying for almost a week to get a picture of one of them.  They’re funny birds.  The problem with having the feeder right outside the window is that they have a better view of me than I do of them.  Whenever I try to creep up with the camera they fly away.  As a result, I’ve gotten several hundred shots of the empty feeder.

Yesterday I tried modifying my stalking approach.   I put the camera on continuous shoot mode and closed the blinds as low as I could, yet still be able to see if they’re there.

This little guy would take a sip, then fly off and look for me.  Then take a sip and fly off and hover again.  This went on for about a minute today.  This shot isn’t great, but it’s the best of the bunch.   If I’m able to improve my stealth technique  and it yields a spectacular shot, you’ll be sure to see it here in a future post.

By the way, here’s the recipe I use to fill the feeders:

Hummingbird Nectar
1 part sugar : 4 parts H2O
Bring to a boil for several minutes.
Let cool completely.
Probably shouldn’t leave in the feeder for more than a week or so.

Jun 8, 2010

At a crossing

I’ve recently changed jobs — not a new company, just moved to a different organization.  I’m working to ramp up as quickly as I can, but there’s much I need to learn quickly about this part of the business.   Time to stretch, again.

On the way to work this morning I hit the railroad crossing on Duval just in time to wait for a reeaaealllly long train to pass.     This is going to be one of my less interesting photos, but it does capture a moment (well, several minutes really) from my day.

Hopefully, like the RR crossing that slows you down until the train is past, the learning period associated with this new job will pass soon and I’ll be able to move through this latest career transition and carry on my way.  (…a little philosophical musing from my time waiting at the tracks this morning).

Jun 7, 2010

Flutterby

The butterflies have been fluttering around quite a bit lately.  As I was walking out back this evening I was able to snap a few pics of this butterly on one of the zinnias.

Jun 6, 2010

Hobie fun

Whooooweee, what a fun-packed weekend.   We hung out at the marina on Saturday, floating and fishing around B-dock.   Today, we came out with Jen to take their Wellcraft out to the cove, since the catboat is having its motor serviced.   We anchored and floated for a while.

Then Lori, Dave, Jake, Irene, Laura and Arnie came out on Camelot and joined us in Arky South.

Lori let us bring her Hobie cat to the lake today.  So, after we got back to  B-dock, Monte put it in the water.   The guys flocked to it.  Wally sailed it off the trailer.  Then Tony took it out.  Then Marty took it out several times, giving Kurt’s grandkids a ride.  Then Monte took it out.   Then I took it out, with Monte aboard.   Finally, the winds died;  which was good, because we were pooped.

Afterward, a bunch headed to Los Pinos for some dinner.

It was a very fun weekend… it was great to play with everyone!    Also saw Michelle, her niece Michaela, Robert, Joe, Nick, Isabelle, Morgan and Dimitri, Kurt, his daughters Jessica, Jennifer, hubby Lewis and grandkids William and Wesley.  Whew!