Noreen and I went on a walk today through the greenbelt and to the nearby park. Along the way we came across this turtle. Seems he was taking the path of least resistance.
Apr 24, 2010
Apr 23, 2010
It has been very humid for the last few days… getting ready for a front to blow through tonight. Right around sunset this evening the clouds started building up into thunderheads ahead of the front. This is a shot of the sunlight from the setting sun coming from behind one of the clouds. We didn’t get too much rain, but got a nice lightning show after dark.
Apr 22, 2010
Today we drove down to visit my Aunt and Uncle — my mom’s brother — in San Antonio. We got a great visit in with them and my cousin, her husband and adorable daughter. We picked a great day to go sailing yesterday, it was beautiful. Today was drizzly and overcast all day — a good day for a drive.
My aunt is a wonderful gardener and she gave us a tour of her lovely backyard. This is a picture of one of her St. Patrick roses… it was even more beautiful in person.
Apr 21, 2010
I’m very excited that Noreen and mom arrived last night for a week long visit. Today we spent the afternoon on the lake. Mom is a natural sailor, and Noreen quickly mastered sailing the catboat. We ended our cruise by motoring up the creek and feeding the ducks.
Afterward we went to the Oasis to experience the traditional sunset ritual. This is a shot right before the sun dipped below the hills. Windy Point is the land jutting out on the right. Some lucky soul below has the best view — all to themselves.
It was a beautiful day on the lake, one of many we’re fortunate to have. I’m happy that mom and Noreen got to share it with us today.
Apr 20, 2010
Earlier this year we spent time preparing the planting bed along the fence in the backyard. We’ve planted zinnias, basil, morning glory, and transplanted a few other plants to the bed. This little specimen, however, was not planted by us, but I’ve let it grow from a little seedling into this big leafy bush. We’re not quite sure what it is yet. I’ve tried googling images on the web and think it’s a green pepper. It has some tiny white blooms on it, and I’ll wait to see what they turn into. Several years ago I did have green peppers planted in this bed, so it very well could be a volunteer.
When and if I get confirmation of what this mystery plant is, I’ll post an update.
Apr 19, 2010
This was one of the best years for wildflowers that I can remember, but they have peaked and are starting to fade. I’m going to miss going out back every day to look for new arrivals. This is a closer look at the indian paintbrush that showed up. I think these flowers have one of the best names — the leaves/petals really do look like they’ve been dipped in paint. I can’t wait until next year to see how they’ve multiplied.
Apr 18, 2010
I was pleased today to find a tiny poppy that had just bloomed in the way back. It couldn’t be more than 1 1/4″ across, but it’s there because we sowed the seeds!!!
Apr 17, 2010
Up early this morning to get Laura and Lori to the starting line. Maybe one of these days I should ride with them…. but then again, his sherpa thing is not a bad gig.
Apr 16, 2010
A Toyota being pushed through the lobby of the Houston Omni Hotel. Today is the Friday before the MS-150 bike ride weekend, which is a 2 day bike ride from Houston to Austin, raising money for fighting Multiple Sclerosis. For the last 8 years or so I’ve been driving my cycling friends to the event in Houston, helping them with their gear and driving their truck back to Austin the next day. I call it being a “sherpa.” It’s alot of fun with my girlfriends, and a great deal – as they treat me to a wonderful dinner.
This year Lori and Laura are riding, and Irene has joined again for co-sherpa duties. We were walking back to the hotel room late at night and saw them pushing this Toyota official MS-150 support vans through the lobby. I guess they didn’t want to start the engine. It was amusing though because the guy in the drivers seat kept putting on the brakes.
Anyway. I could have taken lots of pictures of bikes, but this moment caught my fancy.
Apr 15, 2010
I made a batch of almond biscotti tonight for a road trip tomorrow.
Almond Biscotti (makes about 2 dozen)
2 c flour
1 c sugar
1 c slivered almonds
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 eggs + 1 egg white
vegetable cooking spray
Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in separate bowl, and then add to dry mixture, stirring until well blended. The dough will be very dry.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly 7-8 times. Shape dough into 16″ long flat loaf. Place loaf on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Flatten loaf to 1″ thickness.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins. Remove loaf to cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Cut loaf into approx 24 half-inch thick slices and place, cut sides down, on baking sheet.
Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees and cook 10 minutes each side (cook slightly less on each side if you like softer biscotti). Remove from sheet to wire rack and let cool completely.
Enjoy!
Apr 14, 2010
It’s that time of year. If you paid any Federal Income Tax at all for 2009 you are one of the 53% of American households that carry 100% of the tax burden (ref).
I waited until just about the last day to put mine in the mail.
The following is worth reflecting on this Tax Day Eve…
The 10 Cannots (William Boetcker, 1916)
- You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
- You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
- You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
- You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
- You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
- You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
- You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
- You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
- You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
- And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.
Apr 13, 2010
I had a flat from a nail in one of my tires last week. I took it in and had it fixed. Then this weekend I was running some errands and about half-way through discovered the same tire was flat again (grrr). So today I took it back and they talked me into new tires all around, as they were pretty worn and someone used the word “dry rot.” Hard to believe it had been about 6 or 7 years since I bought new ones. How long are they supposed to last?
I love my Audi… it’s 13 years old and going strong.
Apr 12, 2010
Well, suffice to say that some days provide more exciting moments than others. Today is Monday. Kind of a dreary one. I took a moment this morning to load up some new ammunition for the next iPod wars opportunity that presents itself.
Apr 11, 2010
Wrapping up the psycho-killer reunion weekend, we headed to the lake today. We took Cupholder out. On our way out of Hurst Cove we saw Joe and Ken & Chris and their grandkids.
Lori and Dave took Camelot out with Wendy, Denyse, Lisa and Laura on board. We sailed a bit and rafted up in Arky south cove for several hours. On the way home we tied up to Joe on the mooring ball for a bit and fed the fish.
It was a good end to a fun weekend.
Sheila365 