Saturday Night on Sixth Street--January 29, 2011

Here we are with our friend Pam Cirkiel.  (Her husband Marty is the photographer).  Their son Sean owns the Back Space, a restaurant at Sixth and San Jacinto.  Incredible Italian food!  Yes, that's a pizza box, but not just any pizza box.  It contains some of Sean's arugula pizza, as well as pizza made with sausage that is made with a hand-turned sausage grinder on the premises.  Sean also imported a real Italian pizza oven that bakes at 900 degrees!  And he has Italian beer on tap.  As if that isn't enough, one of the three desserts (!) we tried was a chocolate mousse with hazelnuts and whipped cream.  Tom and Marty first met in 1981 in Kansas City, when Tom was on a road trip and stopped in at an Indian food restaurant that was owned by Marty and Pam.  A few years later, Marty and Pam moved to Austin, and Tom ran into Marty, who was a social worker (he's now an attorney).  Pam, a real estate broker, is the person who sold Tom our house back in 1984.  The shefflera in our kitchen was a gift from her at closing (it was much, much smaller back then, of course).  Good to spend an evening with friends.

Upstairs at Seans' other restaurant, Parkside.  Outdoor area closed due to rain forecast.

View of Frost Tower, my favorite Austin building, from the Parkside upstairs area.  I wish the photo were in focus....

Happy 60th Birthday, Lee!

That's Lee on the bottom row, far right, at age 12.  Do you see a bit of him in Ryder, Skyler, Tyghe, and Janae?

Guitar challenge: wow!

So much inspiration in Austin!  Papa Tom has requested that I learn Alan Haynes' version of "Parchman Farm" (catch video below) for his 60th birthday.  I'm hitting guitar playing full tilt between now and August.  Great to have a goal and a deadline! Tom and I used to listen to Alan Haynes at Joe's Generic before the venue closed in 2004.

Papa P. Tom's haircut

P. Tom gets a trim at Bird's Barbershop.

Video from Castaway

One last day in LA

Lunch at the Castaway in Burbank; overlooks back side of the Hollywood sign hill as well as downtown LA

Oz!

Bye-bye for real.  Waah!

Golden Globe day in Hollywood

Martin, Ramzi, and Katy at the Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House

Metal art at the Hollyhock House:  that's Griffith Observatory way off in the distance.  Remember "Rebel Without a Cause"?

Martin at Griffith Observatory

As seen from Griffith Observatory through telephoto lens (this is as close as we got to the Golden Globes)

Saturday in Los Angeles

The owner of the guest house loaned us his orange picker (the tool, not P. Tom).  We had fresh, very fresh, oranges every day.

Mama sabertooth cat with her kitten.  So cute!

Millions of fossils, including remains of saber tooth cats (not tigers), have been recovered from the La Brea tar pit in downtown Los Angeles.  Tar still oozes up in the pit and in some places around the pit, marked by orange cones.  Unfortunately the photo doesn't show the statue of the mastadon stuck in the tar; you can only see the other mastadons watching from the edge.

Saturday afternoon, we picked Martin up at Union Station and browsed through a market in China Town.

We met up with Ramzi and his girlfriend Katy for California Mexican food.  Not your Tex-Mex!  Every meal on the menu started with the soup of the day:  split pea!

Finished the evening at the Dresden Room.  No idea who the people at the table are, but that's Marty and Elayne in the background, playing "Staying Alive,"  just like they did in the film Swingers.  Actually, finished the evening with a stop at Trader Joes and Blockbuster to rent "Swingers."

Los Angeles: Friday evening

Malibu beach bird

Malibu sunset

Dinner at the Desert Rose in North Hollywood, I think.  All the neighborhoods run together.  Roasted eggplant soup, fire roasted vegetables, Moroccan spinach and carrot salad....too good!  And yes, that's a giant red rose on the patio.  And we thought everything was bigger in Texas!

No healthy Mediterranean meal would be complete without a chocolate raspberry tart for dessert

Los Angeles: Friday afternoon at the Getty Villa

Here we are, about to land in Phoenix for a layover on our way to Burbank

An afternoon at the Getty Villa in Malibu has renewed our interest in antiquities.  Who knew Cleopatra was the last Greek Pharoah of Egypt?  Or that when Rome fell, the eastern part of the empire continued to flourish in Constantinople?

Check out the lion head spouts.  Love it!

Looking east, toward the villa, a replica of a villa that was buried in 50 feet of ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and uncovered  by archeologists in the 1800s.  Hundreds of papyrus scrolls of  the writings of Greek philosphers were preserved in the ash, indicating the Roman master (dominus) was an educated man

Getty Villa, looking west.  Pacific Ocean visible through arches; fawn (young satyr) resting on rock

The satyr as a young man.  On the left, on the left!

Bye-bye for now

Skyler, LaWanda, and Otis flew back to Portland on Monday, January 10.  But, as is the tradition, Otis had his photo made with Stevie Ray Vaughn before leaving town.  Oh, and with Mia.  Next time....

Yes, Otis was here.  We miss you!

Meeting for the First Time

On Saturday, January 8, we all met in Georgetown, where both Skyler and Emma were born.

At the Creative Playscape in Georgetown

Emma's gift to Skyler, her very own framed art

P. Tom with Otis and Emma

Shanana and Emma

Emma and Otis

Here we are!

More fun

On Saturday, January 8, we all met in Georgetown, where Emma and Skyler were both born.

Uncle Amon is strong!

Skyler under the arbor, mimicking his self-portrait

Otis is ready to play

The Christmas ornament changes colors:  Otis could name them all

The last Tex-Mex for awhile!

Wearing Daddy's soccer shirt from 1986

All a boy needs:  Thomas the Tank Engine, He-Man Nerf sword, and stylin' cap

N'Awlins Night at the Nutty Brown Cafe

We of course made the Chuy's/Threadgill's circuit, but all-you-can-eat catfish is a good option too.  LaWanda's grandfather was from Louisiana and made great catfish; she said the catfish at the Nutty Brown Cafe compares.  Not that's high praise!

Catfish and jalapeno-cream cheese hush puppies go better with Zydeco

Playing chase with Anjanette on the outdoor stage

Skyler, LaWanda, and Otis flew south for part of the winter

Train!

Skyler, LaWanda, and Otis arrived in Austin around 12:30 a.m. January 5th, in time to celebrate Amon's 24th birthday.  Amon and Anjanette met us at the house; we visited in the sunroom until, well, until the sun came up! 

Move over Jerry Lee Lewis!

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