How is it that we know so many old people?! :). Today we celebrated Paul’s big birthday with him and his crew. It’s getting hot out there!!!
Happy Birthday, Paul!
Tag: life
Celebrate.
This week we drove down to Houston to celebrate the birthday and anniversary of friends of ours, Asha and Shekhar.
I’ve known Asha for over 35 years, which seems strange just typing that. We were roommates way back when. We ended up moving to the same state, though different cities. She’s always reached out to remain connected over the years, and for that, I am thankful. I’ve enjoyed her family as it grew over the years, attending her wedding, and getting to know her husband and her strong, successful daughters as they’ve grown up.
Happy Birthday Asha, and Happy Anniversary Asha and Shekhar!
John Boy live.
Today I ushered for the final two shows of the Broadway in Austin play, To Kill a Mockingbird. Richard Thomas, formerly John Boy on The Waltons, played the lead of Atticus Finch. He doesn’t have the physical presence of Gregory Peck, who played in the film version released in 1962. But he made a great Atticus. I really enjoyed the show.
Fun fact: the actress who played Scout in the 60’s movie version had a different role in this production. Pretty amazing that she’s still involved with the show and its message, 60 years on.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Heeling.
Monte and I crewed on Camelot for Kurt & Kevin this weekend during one of the Austin Yacht Club Summer Series races. It was a hot and steamy day on the water but we had a great time.
Enduring.
Unfortunately, I have a full calendar of dental work appointments in my near future. As the 5th of 5 kids born in 5 years, I got the short end of the stick in the tooth department – tiny teeth, missing lots of them, deficient enamel. I spent too many years in the dentist chair as a kid. It’s been pleasantly uneventful for about 40 years, but I need to once again sit in the chair and endure it.
My old dentist office of 25 years has left town. So, I found a new one. When they ask me questions with numbed lips, I just mouth questions about the technology. They have software for 3-D modeling of a new crown, designed and created in the office while I wait in the chair. No more temporaries. Just pop on the new one out of the kiln. Not how I want to spend an afternoon, but pretty cool.
Throwback.
I worked the Easter Sunday matinee of Riverdance – the 25th anniversary show. 25 years ago I was knee deep in work projects, so I wasn’t a huge fan the first time around. My mother had all the DVDs, though – Riverdance AND the Three Tenors. So I signed up as a nod to my mom…and my Irish dad.
The show was pretty toe tapping good!
We got hitched.
Again. We just got the trailer hitch installed on our new Outback. We’re back in business to haul things!
Wishing everyone a most happy Easter with family & friends.
Two more parks.
We drove straight to Colorado on the way north, about a 15-hour drive, and stayed with Julie in Denver for a night. Then we headed to Gene and Jo’s for two nights. We made a side trip to Estes Park as well. The family get-together was very special.
On the way back south we had another nice visit with Julie.
Then we broke up the long trip home into a couple of days including stops at two national parks.
We stayed in Ft. Davis for a night with a reservation to attend one of the McDonald Observatory’s star parties. The skies were not cooperative for viewing at the observatory, but we had fun.
We left Ft Davis on Wednesday well before dawn, and on the drive up to I-10, I noticed that the clouds parted, opening up a clear, starry sky. So we pulled over in the middle of pitch-dark range land with coyotes howling all around and enjoyed a full-sky view of the Milky Way.
We enjoyed the view for a few minutes and then resumed our drive. A few minutes later the skies were filled in with thick clouds again. It was a treat to get that brief moment of star gazing.
A successful road trip, but it’s always nice to get back home.
It’s GREAT…
It’s GREAT to BE an FAU Owl!!
We are rooting for Monte’s school in the College Men’s Basketball Championship. We watched them at a local watering hole. Florida Atlantic made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Fingers crossed!
Out with the old.
And in with the new! We are firmly in the Subaru camp. The outback is a fantastic car.
We are knee deep in user manuals. Stay tuned. But we are again imminently Road-Trip Enabled!!
Spring break.
We took our friends Tim & Fiona and their three kids sailing on Nirvana today. We’ve done it many times over the years during their Spring Break holidays.
The kids are now 13 or 14, and 19 years old. It’s amazing to watch them grow up. They all have an intuitive feel for the helm. Monte and I didn’t need to steer much at all. It was a beautiful day for a nice long sail. I’m glad we got to spend it with them.
Old dogs learning new tricks.
Monte and I both hang on to the cars we buy a long, looong time – one is 26 years old, the new one is 13 years old. It’s time for some new blood in the garage.
We’ve been thinking about getting an electric vehicle, as much of our driving trips are less than 70-miles roundtrip (to the lake and back) and much shorter errand-trips around town. We have been shopping for a month or two. Last week we found one we were looking for in San Antonio. So on a wild hair, we hopped into the fossil-fuel vehicle (ironic, right?) and drove 75 miles to see it, sit in it, test drive it. We liked it, so we brought it home!
We picked a Chevy Bolt EV. Pretty roomy. It’ll hold our boat loads to and from the marina (ice chest and our bags) and lots of room for groceries and other things.
Nice!
Big year.
It’s hard to predict because of the seemingly endless droughts and freezes, but the Texas bluebonnets are blooming early and it looks like it will be a big wildflower year.
Monte has been grooming our front yard bluebonnet patch for years. Looking good! More photos to follow.
Flying by.
Wow, that was fast. January and February flew by – only 8 months til Halloween. 🎃
After the brief ice age a few weeks ago, our temps are in the 80s here. Seems strange when the latest arctic front is hitting another part of the country. But I’ll enjoy it because we’ll be back in the 100s in no time.
Speaking of ice storms, our wall of broken tree limbs were thankfully hauled away this week. I can see the street again!
I’ve been craving fish tacos for a week. Last night the universe aligned and I finally made a batch. They’re so delicious. Here’s a link to the recipe I start with. Or you can just google ‘best fish tacos’ and it’s the top result. They’re that good. The sauce is amazing. And the cotija cheese makes them muy auténtico. I like to use mixed corn/flour tortillas, which Doray turned me on to years ago. They’re sold by H‑E‑B here in Texas as Mixla tortillas. They tend to hold together better than plain corn tortillas.
Sheila365 