Park Perfection

Chris Park in San Antonio was built by Linda Pace, major art patron and heir to the Pace Picante Sauce empire as a memorial to her son Chris Goldsbury.

Public parks are an important part of our lives and this graceful acre of exotic and native South Texas landscaping, contemporary art, fountains and creative play space tops the charts.

Urban Cowboy, Weimaraners and Bamboo
Nod to William Wegman
Future Cowboy

Looks can be deceiving

Under my slouchy mama uniform of yoga pants, Dansko clogs and well worn (boyfriend now husband) T and Flannel shirts lives the heart of a fashionista. Fashion can be indulgent and elitist and vain but it is also interpretive, visually stimulating, theatrical public art.

For inspiration see mom and daughter Dallas style bloggers at Sea of Shoes and Atlantis Home.
The Sartorialist is also worth a gander. Photo below titled "On the Street... Raspberry Beret, Paris"

The Odd Couple

Zito is Felix to Mookie's Oscar.

Zito always on watch
Mookie looking for a fight per usual
Bath time

Blue Ribbon

More blogging and bragging. Ella Rae won 1st place for her Sea Shells and Creatures Science Fair project this evening!

West Coast Potty Tour 09'

After many months of hits and misses Cy is finally potty trained. He is very proud of this accomplishment and of his vast under garment collection. He often models his "chonies" for guests and sometimes wears them backwards just for fun. "Chonies" is Spanish slang for panties. We picked the term up eons ago from Ella's Mexican-American wonder nanny.

Cy's much anticipated developmental leap provided ample opportunity for Ella and I to practice patience on our recent trip to California. Like when he squirmed away and climbed under a strangers stall during our layover in San Diego or his scary potty themed fever dreams that required some pretend janitorial services in addition to Tylenol and a cold cloth to calm him down. Or the insistence of going to the bathroom minutes before the plane took off and the subsequent stalling tactics used to stay in said lavatory. Ella and I have learned that Cy means business when he sees a "pee pee tree" and/or bush that requires his attention. The alternative is much worse. We are still getting used to a boy person in our lives. Our trip was trying at times but mostly joyful and we already deeply miss our West Coast beloveds. Here are some highlights....

The Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park is a must see. Here is a picture of Ella and her favorite person (and cousin) Zach in front of the penguin exhibit. The new Academy has a phenomenal aquarium, planetarium and a"living roof." The bathroom has a built in step stool for easy access to the sink for the short folk and good soap but the industrial strength greeny air dryers are way too intimidating for a newbie like Cy.
Fairy Land, the famed inspiration for Disney World and the Oakland Zoo, with its expanded critter collection are always noteworthy. The bathrooms are unassuming and cleanish and the paper towels vs electric dryers were welcome.

The loo at the Lutheran church where we proudly watched Zach's piano recital was a hit. The toilet was silent but I can't say the same for Cy. See pictures of Zachary playing flawlessly and taking a bow.
And back at the ranch Mr Mooks entertained his pickle posse. Ella explained to Grandma that there were "seven or nine mans coming to my house" and that she was "okay" with one of them sleeping in her bunk.

Speaking Up for East Austin

GivingCity is a local Austin blog and magazine about philanthropy and volunteering. Its mission is to "inspire, connect, and recognize donors and philanthropists - novice and experienced - and raise awareness about the needs of Central Texans."

Mr Mooks, aka Christopher Jones sat down with three "Austinites, African-Americans and social entrepreneurs" to discuss the complicated issues related to East Austin and its community. It's a good read and a stellar publication!

Keeping up with the Joneses

I try not to wear that catchphrase out but it's hard to resist. Some images from our holidays 08'...

Parties and cheer and many discussions about Santa and Elves and baby Jesus and the importance of being nice.
An extra special party at the Bartlett's in San Antonio
The Nutcracker at the Long Center was delightful as was Ella's repeat performances
Hulk gloves under the tree to channel boy energy
And a Big Boy Bike
Commence gulf coast excursion...
Lotsa jumping, running, chasing, crawling, catching, spinning, rolling, sitting and staring at the ocean from (and on) the sand dunes -- or "moon dunes" as Ella coined.

Texas Beaches are considered open highways for motor vehicles. So beware of the Portuguese man-of-war, sting rays, rattle snakes and big trucks. This is our humble mini van.
Self portrait
Buckets

Donut Party

If I stand very still outside the door of Ella and Cy's bedroom after "lights out" I may catch a snippet of a scintillating conversation. On one such occasion the popular topic of Birthday Parties was being discussed. Cy, continually carb obsessed, expressed his interest in a Bagel Party. Ella was unsure about the bagels but was certain that she would be in charge of opening his presents.

So in the days and weeks to come we got to talking about Cy's 3rd Birthday Party and bagels and circles and other things that are round, like pizza and Frisbee's and Cheerios and DONUTS!!!! Bagels were soon usurped by donuts as the central theme.

Voila! Donut Birthday party featuring....

Birthday Boy and DIY Donuts

Good friends and beverages

Girls

Trains

Requisite Pinata

My Pack

Mo Garbler developed a theory about people and their associated animal archetype. For example, I'm a cat (shocking I know). Mr Mooks is a big cat. Ella is a horse and Cyrus is a dog -- actually a puppy. Mo is a cat but also a dog and J Garbler is all dog where as little Finn Garbler is a puppy and maybe a cat too. I like to think there is a little dog in us all. That must be why it felt so good to have my pack together this holiday. Muchas Gracias Garblers!

Sample of J Garbler's 2008 Thanksgiving pic's

It's Her Thing

Nothing like some funk and a sparkly pink leotard to get your cartwheel on. Ella Rae's gymnastics team, appropriately called "Hot Shots" performed their routine to the Jackson Five's version of "It's Your Thing" for the school carnival/fund raiser. I was proud as a peacock.

Our cheeky Hot Shot had another chance to strut her stuff recently at the The Biscuit Brothers performance and recording for the Austin City Limits TV show. In addition to enthusiastic dancing, clapping and general noise making Ella was prompted by Buford Biscuit to spice up the lyrics to a well known tune. According to Ella, "she'll be eating pepperoni pizza when she coooommmmmessss... " The show will air in the spring on PBS.

And down doheny way

Thanks to my old gal pal Sharon (and Facebook) and her talent for documentation at a tender age, I'm posting pictures from one of my favorite times and places. The first two shots are of Doheny Beach, California, circa 1984. The summer before Junior High School. Doho, as it was affectionately known, was the location of many firsts -- first real ride on a long board, first fried burrito, first drag of a clove cigarette, first taste of Kahlua and cream, first kiss.

As it happens Doheny Beach is also mentioned in that sweet anthem to California surf culture, Surfin USA by the Beach Boys. And if you've ever been curious about the real genius behind that band check out the documentary Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of 'Smile'.

Sharon also shared pictures of her birthday pool party. I'm the one wearing the light pink one piece that barely passed Big Daddy What Mookie Thinks inspection.

It's about time

I've been periodically choked up over the past few months when thinking about the impact of this election. Ella Rae, my sweet six year old girl asked me yesterday "why is it so important to vote?" After a confusing answer about democracy and freedom my eyes began to sting and I squeaked out, "if Barack Obama wins then it will mean that our country is getting better." She hugged me and said, "don't be sad Mama." I then delivered a very confusing and tearful diatribe about equal rights, racism and how sometimes you cry when you are happy.

Calisphere, created by the University of California is a good resource to help develop less confusing answers to complex questions regarding race and culture. This overview of the African American experience in California from the gold rush era to the present is a good place to start on this historic election day.