photoblog – Page 112

Toobin!

A float trip down the San Marcos – we do it at least once every summer after the temps hit 100, and today was the 39th day this year that qualified.

While googling for info on 100 degree days in Austin, I found an article from about this time last year that said it still hadn’t hit 100 yet. Wow. I don’t remember it being a (relatively) mild summer last year. This summer has been a scorcher. No worries, though, we have many ways to beat the heat.

Toobers in attendance: me, monte, lori, dave, jake, laura and dolia. Even with the drought the San Marcos was flowing fine – the fact that it’s a spring-fed river has a lot to do with that, I think.

We stopped at the official take out point at the rapids, played a while, ate lunch and then continued on to our favorite take out point farther down the river. At the portage point with the waterfall, we stopped and played for a while – squeezing our way in underneath the falls.

We definitely have to come out another time this summer. It’s always a great time. And this time, I’m happy to report, I didn’t lose anything in the river.

We saw many kayakers on the river today and a couple of SUPs, too. Maybe we’ll make one of our next trips with kayaks, and see how much more of the river we can explore.

Teach your children well.

072111 — My first ride - it wasn't much but it was all mine.

Yesterday a friend called for help with a car that wouldn’t start. I hopped into my car and headed over to meet her. Diagnosis was dead battery. We had her up in running in under 5 minutes.

As I was driving home, my mind drifted back in time…to a memory… from the summer of 1985… I had just bought my first car. It was a 1975 VW Rabbit – neon green (the picture doesn’t do the color justice).

The day I brought it home, my dad came out to the driveway to take a look. The first thing he said to me was, “do you know how to change the tire?” I nodded yes. He said, “show me.” I proceeded to root through the trunk to find the jack and spare and got down on the ground to look for where the jack was supposed to be placed under the chassis. When I wasn’t sure of the next step, he gave me a little help. After about 15 minutes I had it jacked up, the nuts off and the tire changed. Dad inspected it and then said, “do you know how to jump start a dead battery?” I said no. He proceeded to open the hood and show me the basics, which I’ve carried with me through the years since and many a dead battery – including yesterday’s.

He also showed me how to check the fluids and change the oil and filter, which I did myself on my cars for many years.

Afterwards, he turned and walked back into the house.

My dad was a man of few words and little emotion. I didn’t understand him back then. With the help of time, I have come to appreciate his intentions. He just wanted to make sure I knew how to take care of myself. So far, so good 🙂

Thanks Dad!

P.s…. here’s a youtube link to a little CSNY that came to mind as I wrote this post.

Armadillo #3.

They’re everywhere! Saw this guy walking towards the gate at the end of the driveway as I pulled up to the house this evening. I got this shot as he scurried along the fence line.

I’ve lived here 15 years and never saw a live armadillo until about a month ago. They’re tearing up the back. Varmits!

Limin’

We enjoyed a lazy Sunday at anchor. One definition of limin’ is to relieve from attention or effort; relax.

We definitely had that down today. Red Sky peeled off first thing in the morning, Va Bene left about lunch time. This is a shot of the 5 boats that were left. Joe joined us later on Prelude.

We floated for quite a while. This is a shot of a family of what we think are swan geese that was hanging out with us.

We all eventually ended up in Ramon’s cabin, which is air conditioned, has satellite TV and a big flat screen to watch the US women’s soccer team lose the world championship to Japan 😦

We saw Sue, who had been out on B-Dock for several hours when we pulled back into our slip.

We only spent about 24 hours on the lake, but it seemed like 72 or so after schlepping all our stuff back up the ever-steepening walk from the dock to the parking lot. We’ll do it again at the drop of a hat, though 🙂

Full Moon Raftup.

The moon is full, so it’s a full-moon raftup weekend! We joined the raftup at about 6 pm in Arky South – Rory & Greg and their friend Jane (who has her own boat on c-dock) were on Sapphire, Ramon on Y No Hago Mas Na, Robert & Tony on Voodoo, Kurt & Wally on Dancer, Pat & Dave on Va Bene, and Monte & me on Cupholder. Bay & Donna arrived on Red Sky right before sunset.

I can’t take a decent full-moon picture with my camera on a boat that’s rocking. I know this photo is blurry, but I posted it so you could see how beautiful and bright the moonlight was. We had a stern line to shore, so our bows were pointed east and we had a great view as the moon rose above the horizon.

The anchorage was nice, had a good breeze all night long. Amazingly, we did not play iPod wars on this raftup. That didn’t stop us, however from staying up until the wee hours. The party started on Ramon’s boat, and moved to Rory & Greg’s.

The lake is at 643+ and dropping fast. Both Ramon & Kurt’s boats got hung up on the emerging wall at the entrance to the cove on their way in. The sheer pin on our propeller broke right as we were coming in to tie up, so we had to drop a quick anchor ourselves so that we could fix it.

A little excitement, but everyone was rafted up in time to watch the sunset, which was beautiful, as usual.

It’s a jungle out there.

The heat is taking a toll on the animals. I mean, they’re acting crazy. The other day I woke up and walked to the patio door to take a look out as I was drinking my coffee, and a squirrel was about a foot from the door. He looked directly at me, froze, and then flattened himself out on the pavement with all fours (and tail) spread out. He kept staring at me and kind of making a hissing noise. I opened the door to shoo him away and he just laid there. Finally he ran up into the trees. What was that about? Note to self: make sure rabies shot is current.

Well, the next day that same deranged squirrel (i assume) was standing on one of the catboats on my beautiful wind vane and was tearing up the sail! I had to get a stick to push him off it. Damn varmits. Those sails were a pain to make. For now I’ll have to store it in the garage til I have time to fix it – which might be around the end of 2015….

We also have had some more armadillo excitement. I mentioned a couple days ago that we’re down one armadillo. Well, last night monte saw another one digging in the front yard in the daylight. They are supposed to be nocturnal. I guess they are driven out during the day to look for water or food.

I’m seeing lots of facebook statuses that complain about the rain people are getting in their part of the country. All I can say is: You’ll miss it when it’s gone!

My country for a decent vacuum!

We have three (3) upright vacuums from different decades in vacuum cleaner history. They are old, in various states of disrepair. Each has its issues… doesn’t suck (in this case, sucking is good), difficult to maneuver, weighs a ton, louder than a jet engine, etc, etc. We’ve been schlepping these vacuums around since we combined our households. They have done their share of cleaning up remodel debris, sheet rock dust, etc, etc. As of late we don’t even use them. But we can’t seem to part with them.

So, we have resorted to alternative devices… the Roomba, which works pretty well, but I spend as much time watching it vacuum for me as I would have if I had done the vacuuming myself. So much for being a time saver. Lately we have resorted to using the shop vac in the house. A bit of overkill, but at least it cleans. And the hearing protectors we wear while using it make quite the fashion statement.

Today I decided it was time to get a new vacuum cleaner. A good one that will work really well (hopefully) and last a long time. So I logged on to Consumer Reports to do some research. Turns out the highest overall rated one (which also has the best rating for noise) is a Kenmore canister vac. Hmmm. Sears? I haven’t shopped at a Sears in a looooong time. I don’t even like the idea of going into a Sears store. But I was determined to buy that vacuum.

So…. I did. And I even bought a bunch of other stuff I found there that I would usually go to a Bed Bath and Beyond for. Note to self: Sears is alright! I’ll probably be back again when I want other housewares stuff.

It only took me a few minutes to put the vacuum together. I’ve used it now for about 30 minutes. My first impression: I love it! It is very quiet, can do wood floors w/o the beater bar, or carpets w/ the beater bar, lots of good attachments, even one designed to clean ceiling fan blades – haven’t tried that one yet to see if i can do it from the floor, so we’ll see.

So, now I’m off to play domestic goddess for a bit this afternoon. But, let me leave you with this…. a shopping cart with a cupholder… what will they think of next?

Looking back through time

One of my never-finished projects is doing research on family genealogy. I have had a lot more luck tracing monte’s ancestors than mine, as there are many more documents that I can view online for 18th & 19th century USA than for Ireland. So, between reunion activities last weekend, we took several drives to family grave sites across the area to visit relatives’ graves. We had been to all of them before, but this time I’m taking photos for my records. This is the gravestone for monte’s great, great, great grandfather, born in 1758 — the oldest one we’ve visited.

Tonight I’ve dusted off my subscription to ancestry.com and logged in to tend the family tree. If you have done genealogy research you know what I’m talking about when I say that you can lose several hours at a time as you crawl through the past. I’ve been absorbed in searches and downloading of newly found records documenting land ownership, census information, military service, etc.

But, it’s getting late. That’s enough for tonight. It’ll keep.

I see…

I’m determined to take one last day off before going back to the grind. Monte worked til noon. I took the entire day off.

I do not like wearing glasses all the time. But in the last 5 years or so my eyes have been changing so much that my glasses alone don’t do the job. I can’t wear one pair of glasses because I can’t see up close and far away with a single pair of glasses. I can’t wear my contacts anymore because I can’t see close up. The logical next step are bifocals or progressive lenses, but I’m looking for an alternative to glasses.. The latest thing I’ve tried out are mono-vision contacts – one lens is for close up, a prescription for reading; and the other lens is for distance. You put both contacts in and your brain has to figure everything out. I have used this set of trial lenses for a week or two and I like them (!) I made an appointment for this morning to have one last fitting so that I can order a supply of them. I am so ready to not have to wear glasses (multiple pairs) during the day.

This morning Noreen called to tell me that mom is back in the hospital today, this time for several bloodclots that have developed. I’m waiting to get an update tonight.

In the mean time… while I was on the phone with Noreen, I heard a terrific racket out back. It turns out that monte found the culprit that had been tearing up the backyard for the last several weeks – an armadillo that I suppose was foraging in the daytime for water. Suffice to say that this particular armadillo will not be a problem anymore.

Later on, we took advantage of a free afternoon to cut down the remaining dead trees in the back yard. Large brush collection is next week so this is an opportunity to get all the brush carried away, and we don’t want to miss it. By the end of the day we have a huge pile of brush on the curb. Let’s hope they cart it all away next week.

At the end of a busy day, I have mixed feelings. I’ve had lots of sleep on vacation and am rested. I am tired from working in the heat of the day. I’m worried about mom. I’m happy to be home. I’m remembering the fun times at the reunion over the weeked. I’m looking forward to next weekend on the lake. For now, i’ll say goodnight.

No place like home…

We had a leisurely morning getting ready to check out. Breakfast at Jacks. Then we stopped at the store — the home base for the family. Got in one last visit and said goodbye to Uncle Raymond, Judy, Gary, David, Marla, Lauren, Laken, Bryan and Dorothy.

We had no problems on our flights. We were able to package the power tools that Monte bought and send as checked baggage.

We had a wonderful time at the reunion, but no matter where you’ve been or how great it’s been, there’s always that special feeling when you’re back home. This is a picture of the giant Gibson guitars that decorated downtown Austin for a long time. Several are now on display at the airport.

We came home to the uninterrupted drought. I hope we can catch up on watering enough to keep things alive. I took a long walk around the neighborhood before dark, and monte is still out in the shop, playing with his new toy, I imagine.

I can’t wait for the next big reunion – Lanny & Mica will be hosting in 2013!

Happy July 4th!

I was bummed that I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Susanne, she left without waking us up this morning…we had gotten in very late last night from Madison. But, I’m so glad we had a great visit.

Today we headed to Cincinnati again to visit a friend of Monte’s from many years ago, Gwen, and her son Devin. We met at her house and after a quick chat I found out that Gwen and I may be related (!) Her dad was born in Ireland and some of her people come from the same town where my dad grew up. Small world!

After putting away the family trees, we walked down the street to watch the Northside 4th of July parade. A very funky affair indeed. This is a shot of the Northside Men’s Drill Team. Get it? DRILL team?! 🙂

We had a great walking tour of the Northside neighborhood and got a chance to check out some beautiful restored homes, and a former, old time can factory which is being renovated for apartments.

After a great visit in Cincy we headed back to IN and made the obligatory stop at Skyline for a 3-way. Then we drove to Gary & Judy’s to visit with them. As (fantastic) hosts for the reunion they were pretty busy all weekend, and we didn’t really get a chance to spend time with them. So I’m very glad that we were able to do that tonight.

For now, back to the Courtyard, getting ready to pack everything up for the return flight tomorrow.

Goodnight!

Backroads

Today started with a bunch of people piling into the restaurant at the Courtyard. We kind of took over the place. Some people peeled off in the morning. The rest of us headed to yet another reunion celebration. This time a combination of Monte’s mother’s and father’s sides of the family. There were so many people there, and so much food! We had many wonderful visits over and over today.

Monte made plans to hook up with a high school friend in a town about an hour away. We took another drive through the back country roads of Indiana. It was another humid, sweaty day, but it ended with a thunderstorm, which will hopefully dry the air out a bit.

We met up with Charlie and Kathy at their house in Madison, and had a really nice visit with them, and their son, Lou.

A remembrance

Family Reunion Day 2. Today started out slow and foggy. Appropriate, given the festivities last night. We made several pots of coffee and the various Copeland’s staying at the Courtyard popped in to say good morning.

Monte and Lanny ended up heading out to check out some wood working tools that were for sale by a friend. Lanny bought 2 truckloads (luckily they are driving home), and monte got a few things that we’re going to try to see if we can ship home.

Everyone met up at Gary & Judy’s for the afternoon. We walked down to the creek to look for fossils, and I found some keepers. Susanne aired her radio show live from the reunion. Several Copeland’s got on the air to share stories.

We had a special moment when Susanne led a remembrance for all those that we have lost since our last bi-annual reunion… my dad, Marla’s dad, Patricia’s grandmother, Nora’s uncle Jim, Aunt Hazel, and our angel Amanda. Then everyone was handed a balloon and we gathered together under an opening in the trees and released them skyward.

Amazingly, we had even more festivities planned for the evening at Josh and Mary’s. Even though it was in the 90s, people gathered round the campfire to roast weenies, brats and s’mores (after dark).

The kids have been amazing. They are so sweet and have been running around, playing outside all weekend. No indoor gatherings for this crew. I especially enjoyed watching them chase (and catch a number of) lightning bugs.

It’s great to be a part of this family!

Fly like an eagle

We had a great day. Got up early to watch the sun rise over the Ohio River. Coffee on the riverwalk. A stroll through town. Finding a barbershop on a side street. Lunch for 20 or so at Jack’s.

After lunch we all went our own ways… and Monte, Susanne and I took a drive through southeastern Indiana for a couple hours to drive by things not seen for many years: old towns, homes grown up in, schools attended many years ago, neighbors’ homes, store fronts, side roads, covered bridges, state parks. Old stories retold.

Then we met at the community pool for dinner. 40 or so people sharing a family connection. Gary & Judy and Josh & Mary were fabulous hosts. Josh makes the best pulled pork. All the kids, big and small ended up in the pool for the better part of the evening.

We were treated to an awesome aerial diving exhibition (..competition?…) by Monte and Dan. This is one shot of many. Gotta love the height, form, synchronization and all out gusto of this one.

Afterwards we all crammed into Suite #2 for margaritas, and more fun into the wee hours.

Happy birthday Egan!

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