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.

Kidos not Condos

University of Texas plans to sell or move the Family Housing development that brings nearly 1/3 of its students to Mathews Elementary. The diversity represented in this population of children makes Mathews a rare and beautiful place on earth. The community is trying to fight this proposal but it doesn't look good.

Sadly two other schools are being pushed out of thriving, urban areas in Central Austin.
Escuelita del Alma named best of Austin 2007, faces an ongoing battle between Las Manitas Avenue Cafe and the Marriott Corp. over the restaurant's and preschools site on Congress Ave. Its existence as the only Downtown preschool, multi-ethnic at that, has always been precarious, but it continues its nurturing commitment under the threat of the developer's wrecking ball. Habibi's Hutch Preschool and Natural Childlife Preserve will be relocating (further out of town) to make way for a project including 45 townhomes, 360 apartments, 20 live-and-work units, and 18,000 square feet of retail. The change would allow Cypress Realty to take advantage of VMU development incentives, which include relaxed requirements on setbacks, building coverage limits, and maximum density. I'm all for Urban Density but not at the expense of the children and hard working families. Huufff... huff....

Photo's below were taken at Mathews International Festival, where we enjoyed a delicious potluck, flag ceremony and dance performances. Ella Rae and her Kindergarten pals performed the Hawaiian Hookie Lau... that song is still stuck in my head.

Auntie and Ella

Hair today gone tomorrow

Sniff.. sniff...

The Big "D"

I adore Austin’s honky tonk arts culture but for an infusion of mature urban delights Dallas delivers. Once we passed the roadside porn trailers, fresh turkey buffet, and I do mean fresh, like in the pen behind the restaurant, and an accidental and delightful detour through Bell Branch, where blue bonnets, indian paint brush and buttercups lined the road, we were greeted by the Dallas skyline. Norman Mailer said the skyline looked like “a bunch of Kleenex boxes stacked on their ends.” True enough – but under those Kleenex boxes lies these treasures…

Dallas Museum of Art

We gravitated toward the European Masters, Van Gough, Picasso, Manet, Monet, Gauguin and the Texas impressionism, including a massive collection from the Blue Bonnet Landscape tradition.

York Street
You are looking at a whole roasted barramundi. We shared this dish, boar ribs, sun choke and brown butter soup, beats, spinach, oysters and wine pairings. Critic, Bill Addison wrote this about chef Sharon Hage's restaurant, "...such are the enchantments at York Street, which is housed in a building so lithely modern and discreet that you might mistake its exterior for a small graphic design firm. Ms. Hage purchased the 42-seat East Dallas restaurant in 2001, allowing her the freedom to cook in a perpetually evolving and personal style. Her food isn't Texan, and, though intensely fresh, it isn't Californian, either. Yet its soulful individuality registers as distinctly American."

We met Chef Sharon after our meal. Emboldened by the Syrah I gushed to her, "that was the best meal I've ever had. Your restaurant is Che Panisse evolved!"

Balcony Club
Live jazz and an intimate booth at Balcony Club rounded out our night in Dallas. A mixed clientele, we've not seen the likes of since our dates at the 5th Amendment in Oakland, superior music, friendly and professional service and an extensive yet affordable bar left us giddy and wishing that Austin had a comparable venue.

Bread Winners Café and Bakery

Continuing our charmed rendezvous in Dallas, we sailed into this coveted brunch spot where we were seated in the atrium. We cured our hangovers with eggs benedict, chicken fried steak and Italian roast coffee. Yum! To top it off we had our first Texas star sighting. That is right, just across the room sat Ron Livingston of Office Space and Sex in the City fame with his Standoff co-star and possible love interest Rosemarie DeWitt of Mad Men , a must see show on AMC.

Heart Mama

Mothers Day is coming up -- May 11. HHmmmnn? ??? ? What would a Mama want? Breakfast in bed with the NY Times is always a winner. Gift certificate at her favorite Spa is also a can't fail option.

As a shameless promoter of all things etsy.com take a look at these gift options...

Modernmama can customize silver jewelry with kids names and dates or whatever else you can think of that might delight Mama. One example is this 'pea in the pod' necklace with names stamped on the sides of the pod.
Check out Forty-Two Roads too. These portrait's are such a nice alternative to the ubiquitous photo option. If you act fast you may be able to commission Ms Forty-Two Roads to make a portrait from your favorite photo. Mama like.
I'm inspired by these handmade flowers from TheRussian too. I think I'll try to make my own version for my Mama and Mama-inlaw. I'll need to treasure hunt for vintage vessels to put them in. Fun.

Little April Showers

If my girl Ella wrote a letter to Bambi this is what it might say….

Dear Bambi,

I saw the movie about you at my Grandma’s house almost everyday when my brother was first born. I really like watching you and your friends having fun. My Mom liked it too – although she cried hard the first time we saw it – and then she talked to EVERYONE at the park about the music and animation. She especially liked the “Little April Showers” part. She showed it to me on the computer. You can watch/listen to it in French too.

I think those hunters that killed Bambi’s Mama and started the forest fire are real jerks. Me and my brother never ever ever play with guns or matches.

Now I watch Princess Mononoke every weekend. It was scary the first time I saw it but not now. I'm sure you would want to be her friend because she protects the animals and forest. I pretend to be Princess Mononoke. I even have a mask and cape like hers. My Dad explained about how the movie was Japanese and kept telling me the name of the director. I like Japanese because my other favorite movies are Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle and I always eat rice.

Stay Sweet.

Ella Rae Jones

For more on the making of Bambi -- including a delightful sequence (in Part 2) of Thumper talking about "Eating Greens....."

Bambi - The Magic Behind the Masterpiece (Part 1)
Bambi - The Magic Behind the Masterpiece (Part 2)

To read about Bambi's influence see this article "Walt Disney cartoons 'contain secret messages on the environment'. Dr Whitley singled out Bambi, which was released in 1942, as particularly influential, saying that many green activists had credited it as the inspiration that first made them interested in environmental issues."

Resident Tourist

The article in the NY Times, Sisters in Idiosyncracy touches on two ideas I identify with -- the draw to the D.I.Y aesthetic credo and living like a "Resident Tourist." Highlights on these two themes:

"IF there is an aesthetic credo to Brooklyn and the Bay Area, it is Do It Yourself, which connotes more than using an Allen wrench from Ikea. D.I.Y. can mean everything from wearing locally designed T-shirts to attending concerts staged in someone’s warehouse apartment, to riding a bike to work," explains NOAM COHEN, NY Times.

He goes on to say....

Danny Hoch, a Brooklynite, recently performed “Taking Over,” a one-man show about gentrification, at the Berkeley Rep Theater in California. “What I see as the reason for so many NYers having come to the Bay, and so many Bay folk moving to Bklyn (tens of thousands literally),” he wrote in an e-mail message, “is that each group has become accustomed to the alienation or perceived impossibility of staying where they are.”

Someone leaving Brooklyn for the Bay Area, he said, gets “a nicer climate, laid-back vibe, better produce, California’s nature close by, and a job scene where you feel more in demand as a NYer.”

The reverse, he said, is also true.

But Mr. Hoch predicted that the transience that allows people to hop between both places so fluidly would eventually lead them away.

“Although I think each side sees the other as an amazing place to live and spend time, neither sees it as a place to actually stay forever,” he wrote. “Both are nostalgic for home.” “Each becomes the new ‘resident tourist,’ as I say in my play.”

Perhaps Austin will begin to feel like 'home' in time and we will come to embrace the D.I.Y. aesthetic credo Tejas style.

"Delightfully Frothy"

..says Salon's review of Miss Pedigrew Lives for the day. I'll pay to see anything that features two woman that actually like each other. I'll need to start a list of gal pal movies for my collection.

Hhmnn... Thelma & Louise, Walking and Talking... others?

Think Small

The Modularean Eco House dollhouse is such a dream. Not sure this one is for sale but there are other modern dollhouses and furniture out there. For all things related to this hobby see the Mini Modern blog.

Two Years 11 Days

....since our family of four moved to Austin, Tejas. This is my short list of the good, the bad and the undiscovered.

Good:
Breakfaste Tacos
Hot weather, cold water (Deep Eddy and Barton Springs)
Our front porch
Mathews Elementary
Feeling like you live in the Country in a City

Bad:
Bugs
Heat
Traffic
Feeling like you live in the Country in a City
Bugs

Undiscovered:
Hill Country (Texas Wine Country)
Music
Border Towns (starting with Laredo)
The Stitch Fashion Show and Guerrilla Craft Bazaar (every fall)
Canoeing on Town Lake (recently renamed Lady Bird Lake)

Brangelina. Tomkat. What about Marpah or perhaps Opratha?

Talk about a power couple. Perhaps after Obama turns the White house around (after multiple terms), Oprah and Martha will share a ticket.

Marpah News:

Oprah begins her biggest EVER bookclub/web caste today. The book is A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. Tolle aims to guide people toward "a saner, more loving world by rejecting egotistic ways for a new form of consciousness." I am a big fan of Eckhart Tolle although I find his style of spirituality difficult to practice without a lot of practice. I'm not a fan of web castes, however I would make an exception for this one if it wasn't scheduled to begin at 8 pm CST. Check it out if you are free. I'll be actively rejecting my ego by reading Good Night Gorilla, The Tractor Book and Sam's Potty for literally the hundredth or so time.

In other news, Martha had an interview on her show last week with Rob Kalin, a fellow that need not attend Oprah's web caste, having already been Awakened to his Life's Purpose. Rob is the founder of Etsy.com. The 27 year old took a leap of faith in 2005 when he founded the website etsy.com, a Brooklyn-based on line marketplace for all things handmade. In just three years, he has seen some remarkable results from his hard work and dedication: Since Etsy's launch, it has gained more than 750,000 members and currently has about 100,000 sellers from around the world that have opened up Etsy shops. On a given day, 15,000 items are sold and 20,000 new items are listed. Watch this exclusive video that gives the inside scoop on the creation of etsy.com, how people can get involved, and some of the success stories behind the company.