What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday we spent the night on the boat and enjoyed a sunny weekend with temps in the 80s. This week the temps are in the 30s with lots of wind and rain. This morning I took a walk in the rain through the greenbelt at the end of our street. A creek cuts through the woods there. But it is dry most of the time, due to the endless drought. Today there is a creek where one should be.
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.
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:
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!
Sunday, funday.
The skies never cleared last night. So, even though the Leonids might have been shooting across the sky, and the ISON comet should have been visible before sunrise, we didn’t get a chance to see them. Another time.
We sailed a bit this afternoon, but the winds were slacking during the day. Made it home in time to listen to the Seahawks win their game against the Vikings. 10 & 1, BABY! 😀
This is a shot of Dancer, today, as she dropped sail and headed for the marina in light winds.
Orange you wishing you were here?
Saturday on the lake. Raftup with Kurt & Kevin on Dancer. What a glorious sunset sky.
The full moon rose as the sun set.
If the clouds break we might get a glimpse of the Leonids meteor shower or the comet ISON.
Greetings.
I took the day off, and Monte and I made a trip to South Austin. You may be familiar with the “Greetings from Austin” mural. It was first painted in 1998. It only took me 15 years, but I finally got down there in August to see it myself. When I did, i saw how deteriorated the mural had become. Here is a link to the photo I took back in August. Since then the building owners raised money to restore the wall behind the mural and repaint it. They started the renovation about a month ago and just finished it. Below is a photo of the brand-spanking-new version that I took today.
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.
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.
Embrace the weekend.
I love weekends. This was the sunrise outside my front door this Saturday morning.
Pizza artistry.
Friday. Yahooty!
Monte made some pizza dough and we slung a few pies while we visited with Joe tonight. It was nice to see him. Our visits with b-dock folks have been too few and far between, lately.
This was one of four perfect pizzas tonight. A thing of beauty:
Reverse.
Temperatures outside have dipped into the forties. The cold weather is now here. You know what that means. Switch from AC to Heat in the house. And [drumroll] time to reverse the ceiling fans!
But, which way, you ask? Conventional (aka google) wisdom says the blades turning Clockwise (when viewed from the floor) is what you want when you’ve got the heat on. Counter-clockwise when the AC is on.
Also, you should celebrate with a seasonally appropriate beverage. 🙂
Midweek medley.
Venus was next to the moon and in clear view tonight. Kind of blurry, but you get the idea:
I had a lovely dinner with girlfriends tonight. My fortune:
Election night.
Today is Election Day. This is what i elected tonight:
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.
And, what is that sparkle on the horizon? Could it be something new coming my way….?
Sheila365 
