Sheila365

What is it?

The ladies will know what these are.

(Hint: this morning I made my annual visit to mammogramland)

We went for a sail today on Lake Travis. It is almost the end of June and temps haven’t hit 100 yet (!*!*!) Lori and Doray went out on Camelot, we sailed along on Nirvana. We had a great day, with steady winds around 20 knots past Anderson Bend. We coasted back and made it to our marina’s cove about 5 o’clock. But at that point, Camelot radioed in that they couldn’t get the main down.

Ruh. Roh.

We sat a spell, and then talked them over to side tie on one of the far docks at the marina, which allowed them to come in pointed windward. We tied them off and then hoisted Doray to the top of the mast to loose the main. She wasn’t able to free the halyard, but we secured it below with a tether line that she attached and then got her and the mainsail safely back on deck.

Just another day on B-dock. 🙂

Fair winds, friends…

SoCo birthday night.

I went downtown tonight to celebrate Laura’s birthday. We ate at Perla’s, and strolled up and down South Congress til it was time to call it a night.

champers night cap at Hotel San Jose…

the (blurryish) soco view towards downtown… A reflection of the Frost Bank Tower on the building next door… Happy Birthday, Laura!

1st weekend of Summer: 630′

Summer arrived yesterday morning at 5AM central time (or thereabouts). Yesterday we set out for a raftup to mark the occassion. Marty & Sue joined us on Nirvana. We met up with Dancer, Kalliopi, Voodoo, Solace, Sapphire and Karma. It’s been a very long time since we enjoyed a raftup with that many other crazies. We had a fun evening, and a nice, relaxed day today. Fair winds and non-stifling temps. All is well.

Uh oh.

As I walked down the hall on my morning commute, I saw thus:

So I looked out the window and then I saw this:

All is well here, but, sadly, not so for one of our neighbors. Seize the day, folks.

A pair of old boys.

Drove by a house today that has a pair of majestic century plants going into bloom, one on either side of their driveway.

They say these agaves bloom, and then die, after 100 years. Google sez it takes more like 20-40 years. Either way, it’s a sight to see.

Both of these must have been planted when the home was first built about 35 years ago.

What is old shall be made new again…

I postponed my hair appointment during my extended out of town trip. So, this was way overdue. One day, I’ll leave it gray. But not today.

Thanks Mario!

Nice windmill, but……

I wasn’t born in Texas, but I’ve lived here a while. Long enough, apparently, to notice when the state flag is not quite right….

Should I leave a note ? 🙂

Same hiker, different woods.

I took a walk through a nearby park today. Different scenery than the shaded, lush, tall forest paths up north. But nice to be here.

Lots of gaillardia (aka Indian blanket) around. Another one of my favorites.

A look through the window, on my way home.

I’m headed home today, after a nice, long visit in the Pacific Northwest. I’ll share a few of the sights I took in along the way…

Roadsters on the way to the airport:

On the plane I chose a starboard window seat, expecting the normal fly by with Mount Rainier on my right. It turns out we flew south of Mount Rainier, so instead I had a view of its neighboring Cascade peaks Mount Adams (in the foreground) and Mount Hood (beyond and to the left).

The Columbia River gorge, with the Miller Island to the left, where the Deschutes River joins the Columbia, and beyond it, the Dalles, and then Mt Hood in the distance.

It rained a bit while I’ve been gone, and I could see the 630.5′ high Lake Travis through the steamy haze.

We flew over my neighborhood, and I got a shot of our house! Funny.

And Big Blue’s Austin offices… quickly being swallowed up by the Domain and other new development. Looks like noone works weekends anymore.

Home sweet home.

Shrinky dinkies.

The afternoon was filled with family stopping by to see mom and aunt Ellen. Rebecca and Aaron brought some shrinky dink paper… an arts and crafty kind that you decorate and then put in the oven to shrink and harden. We made lots of doodads. These that I made are destined to become keychains…

How?
You can buy the sheets of paper. Google sez #6 recyclable plastic can also work, but I haven’t tried that. Make sure to use permanent markers, and allow for 3x or 4x shrinkage. Punch a hole before shrinking, if you want to make into a keychain. Bake at 325-350 degrees for less than a minute. They will ball up and then flatten out again as they shrink. I put them in the oven on foil with a little flour or cornstarch to keep from sticking to the foil.

Paddling around.

My mom’s sister is here visting, another is arriving this week. Today they’re spending the morning together catching up. So, I headed out to go kayaking near Hood Canal with Noreen, her friend Tammy and her son, Matt. I think I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but it was a BEAUTIFUL day. The water was flat and calm, and the tide wasn’t fighting us too badly.

My front row seat: