Heavy Equiptment

What luck! Cy's imaginary play featuring tractors, dozers, cement mixers, excavators, backhoes etc. has come to life in his front yard!

Kid Soup

The final birthday bash. Ella had a record number of celebrations this year -- here are pictures from the infamous "friends birthday" -- which turned out to be a gay ol' time.

The “Wall-E” Affect

In an ongoing effort to beat the heat, Grandma, Ella, Cy and I went to see "Wall-E" at the South Austin Alamo Draft House. Between multiple trips (ala Cy) to the lobby to see the planes and spaceships that hang from the ceiling and the enthusiastic noshing on fresh, real-butter popcorn and a pitcher of root beer, I watched and warned off gloom. I'm sometimes prone to melancholy and taking my kids to see a movie the NYTimes describes as "a G-rated, computer-generated cartoon vision of our own potential extinction" was enough to plummet me into the doldrums. YEsh! Not to discourage anyone from seeing the movie -- it is a classic but despite the tender love story I didn't leave with that good vibrations feeling that summer movies can elicit. Good thing for Kung Fu Panda. I loved this line, "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a Mystery but today is the present... a gift" says the Yoda-like turtle. Words to live by.

Chihuly Channels Dr Seuss

San Francisco Chronicle art critic Kenneth Baker complains that Dale Chihuly's glass work is not worthy of a de Young exhibition. Chihuly's baubles don't compare to the deep ponderings of 9/11 or Abu Ghraib like Marlene Dumas' latest show -- which I hope to see in Houston this Winter -- this exhibition is for regular folks who like to be visually tantalized with big, bold, colorful Dr Seussy swirls and twirls. Maybe it is a stretch to consider this work an exemplary representation of 'decorative arts and crafts' which the de Young is known for but it sure does feel good.

Chihuly at the de Young

Marlene Dumas

The Painter Painter

1994

Trouble Town

I'm sorta homesick. Maybe it is the heat but I'm missing Northern California -- and Oaktown in particular. Which reminds me of another blog I should tout, Meaningfulpursuit- the second on my list of top10 blogs (in no particular rank) that capture special micro cultures. The creator of this blog is a journalist and will have a memoir out soon about her urban farm experience. Another blog turned book deal success story (see Half-Assed, the memoir based on the blog Pastaqueen).

This Meaningfulpursuit sample entry says a lot about Oakland and what it means to live in the lowlands there. Other posts are about cute, fluffy animals.

Trouble Town

I hate this weed.

Mostly it grows in pathways, but occasionally the burmuda grass and foxtails get into a garden bed, and that sucks. So I was outside pulling up these weedy grasses, which have invaded the parking strip even though I covered the parking strip with straw then wood chips up to six inches thick. Weeding can be satisfying work. Passers-by say hello, chew the fat, ask me for a quarter. Because remember, I’m not living some rural lifestyle with baby goats and rabbits. I’m living some urban lifestyle with baby goats and rabbits.

A reminder of my urban farm: gun fire. Two shots, very close. Somehow muffled. Now, it IS firework season, but I knew those were bullets. Eventually the cops came.

I went upstairs to take the photos, because I think the police don't like cameras.

Then I went back downstairs and kept weeding. “What happened?” A guy in a reggae hat asked. I had been eavesdropping on the cops, so I knew a man had been saot, not killed, upstairs in the apartment across the street. I became the town crier. A family who frequents the goat area drove by and asked. I grew tired of telling the news.

Then a guy named Kilo who squats in the big brick building came out and asked what happened. He seemed shocked, in awe. Since I had absorbed the information for over an hour, I said, “No big deal, it happens all the time.” Kilo and I have a strange relationship–he wants to hate me, but he can’t quite. But my casual observation set him off. “You say that–that it’s no big deal because they’re black,” he said. He sneered and looked at me with disgust. “Oh please,” I said.

He walked away, and for the rest of the day, I was haunted by his accusation. At first I was in denial. Shootings DO happen all the time here. But that I had become so casual about it–that IS disturbing. And those who die, shoot, and kill are 99% black. But was that why I was being cavalier? In my heart of hearts, I don’t think so. I think I’ve just become desensitized to the violence. I mean, how could I say a man getting shot isn’t a big deal? I pledged to apologize to Kilo, and waited for him to come back.

I weeded all the burmuda grass in the two parking strips. I overheard one of the cops, a woman, say “Happy Mother’s Day,” and then she sped off. Then I put down more mulch. I heard more gunfire. Kilo never came back.

Before and After

When I need inspiration for cleaning and organizing the house logically I start by sitting down on the couch with my computer. Apartment Therapy and other such sites have motivated me to do some basic re-org.

Home again home again jiggedy jig

A few highlights from our trip...

Fourth of July and one of many bday celebrations for Ella. Thank you Bartlett's!

Beach party reunion fun. Isle of Palm SC.

I'm proud to say that my Grandaddy is 96 years old. He is so cute and always the most charming and insightful gent in the room. My Mom (*Grandma Liz) takes after him.

Delightful walkways and secret gardens in Charleston.

Sailing on the Neuse River. Oriental, NC.

Celebrating Mr What Mookie Thinks 40 th bday in Beuford and Morehead City. Thanks Roberta and Larry! And a shout out to Cafe Zito!


Tractors and boats O joy!


Giant hug from Ella after getting off the bus from Camp SeaFarer. She is still in NC for another week of camp. Sure do miss her.

Best family vacation to date!

Sailing Away

Lucky for Ella and Cy, Grandpa Larry and his gang of woodworking fairies built them and the new youth sailing program in town these adorable dinghy's called Optimists. Ella chose to have hers painted yellow. She is also contemplating names -- so far Pixie is the front runner, Clara is a close second and Honey Bee and Zeppelin are pulling up the rear. Cy wants to call it Gorilla.

We'll be heading to Charleston, SC and then to Oriental, NC for summer vacation and Ella's sailing camp. Be back soon with some new pictures and tales of our adventure.

Whack!!!

Ahhh the sounds of casual summer birthday parties -- the best kind.

Companions Ch.3

Our beloved summer time nanny was so taken with Mookie and Zito's stunning appearance and quirky personalities that she decided to get a bengal cat of her own. You must be a true cat lover to absorb the impact of life with a bengal. If Stacy's magic touch with our children is any indication of her ability she'll raise one sweet pussy cat. She's still deciding on names.. so far the list of options include: Scout, Lola, Lulu, and Lyla.

I Can Relate

Naturally working from home and living within walking distance of a market and cafe has made the circumference of my world very small. Small in a good way, most of the time. The part of me that craves a big, big world has found some solace in the clever and insightful blogs I've come to love. It is not surprising that my favorites are intimate accounts of people and places that are similar in scope to my own.

I'll share my top 10, starting with Gwendomama's quirky-cute (and at times heartbreaking) life in Bonny Doon -- that stunning patch of California. Her most recent posts chronicle the Martin fire, which was dangerously close to her home. I felt an immediate bond with Gwendomama when I saw her banner picture and tag line "Pooping with an audience since 2001."

Sustainable Home Design

Mr What Mookie Thinks wrote this article and took the photo's of these super clean energy homes. Too bad they are way out in the boondocks otherwise I'd be packing my bags. I adore our ancient house and proximity to downtown but I often feel like I'm on an extended camping trip. We're working on patching all the crevices and such -- but those darn critters keep finding their way in. More on that in future posts.

Bikes and Beef

Last week was a blur. Our sweet girl had her first trip to the ER. Thankfully she is going to be just fine! That is my excuse for not knowing that the ROT Biker Rally had taken over Austin for the weekend. We'd never have ventured to 6th street on a Friday night had we known. But ignorance in this case was bliss. From the front booth at Parkside restaurant, directly in front of the 'Best Wurst' bratwurst vendor, we slurped oysters and martini's, dipped toast in beef marrow bones and watched the stellar parade of bikes, brawn and broads. The chef/owner David Kinch is known for his eclectic menu which caters to his chef friends. I can't wait to go back for a fried egg sandwich and donut holes.

Senior Sotol

...also known as Desert Spoon has been a long time resident of our block. Once we threatened to move this handsome beast and his spiky leaves away from our busy walkway he protested with a sprout. "Sprout" as you can see is an understatement. We've heard from some native Texans passing by that the old boy will surly die away now. I'm not too sure tho. I've read that this variety is a cousin of Mezcal and Tequila. The Chihuahua Indians were said to have discovered the intoxicating properties of this plant over 800 years ago. Perhaps we'll harvest the prickly chap and have a toast. Just kidding Ol' fella.

Rock On

Asked, "Now what does Mr What Mookie Thinks do for work?" Answer, "Um, he writes about man toys and more serious stuff too." Last month he wrote outdoor speaker reviews for the July 2008 issue of Wired Magazine.

Neighbors forewarned he went to work. Like bee's to honey -- men came buzzing toward the house. Obscure musical tastes usurped by Led Zeppelin -- "Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move....", the boy-man anthem played, the volume increased, balls came out of hiding (bocce, wiffle), Big and Li'l Mr Mookie Thinks were in their element.

Deadline complete -- on to the more serious stuff, Toxic Ten List Targets U.S. Companies on Matternetwork.com.

The Old Oak Tree

The big storm last week took some major branches off the cherished oak tree. This one missed my office by a hair. We consider ourselves lucky compared to some of our neighbors that had limbs come through their windows.

Cy and Sam

This is Cy's new best friend Sam. Sam is older than Cy by 1 year. Cy can't believe his good fortune to have an older boy to play with. Sam's stash of tractors, trucks, trains and swords doesn't hurt either.

Personal Pet Portraits

We love our pets! According to an article on MSNBC, "Two-thirds of American households (about 71.1 million) have at least one pet. That number was an increase from the 56 percent of households that owned a pet in 1988." I know our family is desperate to add a dog to the mix but the time and costs prove prohibitive right now. Sigh.... Atleast we can continue our cat obsession with portraits of Mookie and Zito. Check out all the personal pet portrait options on Etsy.com.