Strange stuff in the 'hood

When Tom first showed me this photo, I thought it was an owl on a wire.  Not so!  How on earth does a tree branch grow around a power line?  Or why would you run a power line through part of a tree branch?  Hmmm.  Have you seen this in your work, Skyler?

Shreveport: September 26-27, 2014

This guy's business, according to the sign on his truck was as a "Dehoganator."  Caught my eye due to "Hogan" in the name. Tried to get a close-up photo of the truck ahead of us on 49, a toll road that allows you to shoot south from I-20 to Hwy 31, avoiding the Tyler area and saving about 30 minutes of travel time for us between Shreveport and Austin.

Turns out he has a Facebook page.  He's a professional hog hunter.  Or maybe I should say professional hunter of hogs.  He doesn't hunt professional hogs.  What's a professional hog?  Porky Pig perhaps.

Papa's haircut: Thursday, September 25, 2014

Waiting at Bird's Barbershop for Papa Tom's haircut

Papa Tom caught up on the news while waiting

Papa Tom's turn

Jade and Talking Tom on the Kindlefire

Dinner at El Mercado: Tuesday, September 16, 2014

We met Sarah, Jim, Kirk, and Evelyn at El Mercado for dinner one Tuesday night.  I walked over from the house: 1.6 miles on a very hot and humid afternoon.

Amon picked Jade up at school and meet us there.

Amon!

Jade and me

Sunday, September 21, 2014: Mayfield House, Laguna Gloria, and Mount Bonnell

Koi in the pond at Mayfield House.  I wonder how groundskeepers keep the raccoons from catching the fish?

Lily pads at Mayfield House

Closer look at what appeared to be a chain link fence at Laguna Gloria but is actually an art installation

Connie at Laguna Gloria

View from Mount Bonnell, the highest point inside Austin's city limits.  Did you know that General Custer and his wife picnicked here?  (Yes, the Little Bighorn General Custer).

Sunday, September 21, 2014: Connie and Amon

Amon's probably very tired of me reminding him about how Connie was among the first people to hold him after he was born at Georgetown Hospital in 1987.  She brought him some very cute little panda bear booties, which I think I still have somewhere.  The might fit on the end of his little finger now!

Dinner with Connie and Sharon: Saturday, September 20, 2014

We met our friend Sharon Reed, who worked in advertising at the Williamson County Sun, for dinner at Jo's on Second Street in Austin.

Right after dinner, Sharon and Connie were off to the Paramount Theater for a concert by The Flatlanders (those Lubbock guys Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, and Joe Ely).

Our triple selfie

Saturday morning coffee and scone: September 20, 2014

Amon joined us for coffee Saturday morning at Thunderbird, just around the corner from our house.

Amon, Connie, and me

Esther's Follies with Connie: Friday, September 19, 2014

Connie wanted to do "Austin" things while she was here.  Nothing is more "Austin" than Esther's Follies, a local comedy show that been running for about 30 years.  Here we are with Shannon Sedgewick, one of the troupe's founders.

Inside, some of the décor reminds me of Mardi Gras floats.

Connie and Tom on the patio.

Connie and I waiting on Esther's patio for the show to start.  In case you haven't guessed, the troupe is named for Esther Williams, a Hollywood actress who is known for beautifully choreographed swimming scenes in films from the 1940s and a biographical film called "Million Dollar Mermaid," released in 1952. 

Papa Tom and me on the patio.  It was a warm night but I brought my jacket because it's generally cold inside theaters!


 

With Connie at Spider House: Friday, September 19, 2014

Our friend Connie flew in from El Paso on Friday.  She was my editor at the Williamson County Sun in 1986 and 1987.  She moved to Arizona in 1987, served in the Peace Corps in Aizerbaijan for 2 years, and now works for the federal gov't in El Paso.  She gets to Austin as often as she can.

At our favorite Austin coffee house: Spider House.  They have very entertaining poetry slams on Tuesday nights.

Our triple selfie.

Comic Con: Sunday, September 14, 2014

Emma, as the Vocaloid GUMI, complete with green hair, headed to Comic Con with her friend Jordyn.

 There's our girl! 

Emma and friends at Comic Con in Waco.

Catching up with Trish: September 13, 2014

Childhood friend Trish Cowart Krulin visited from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday.  We were astounded to realize we've known each other for about 50 years!  We first met as children in Morgan City, Louisiana, where both our fathers were in the oil business.  Over the years, both our families moved.  We reconnected in New Orleans and went to high school together.  We were at the art gallery because Trish very much likes the work of John Petrey, who makes dress sculptures out of everything from license plates to wooden rulers.  Three of his creations are behind us.

And we couldn't believe that several original Salvador Dali etchings were on display and for sale!

Takin' out the sunflowers: all this week

The August heat and time turned the sunflowers into dried stalks.  Papa Tom cleared them from the front yard with his trusty machete.

Bob Schneider and Lonelyland: finally! September 8, 2014

We've wanted to catch the Austin musician Bob Schneider for a long time.  Finally met our friend Sharon Reed on Monday for the 8:30 p.m. show at Saxon Pub.

There's a banana on the keyboard.  Why?  Question remained largely unanswered except for when guitarist briefly used it to play slide blues. 

Throwback!  Sharon Reed, Susan Ney, and I all worked together at the Williamson County Sun in Georgetown in the late '80s.  Susan is a huge Bob Schneider fan; catches his show every Monday.  Sharon and I ran into her there.

Austin afternoon: Saturday, September 4, 2014

Papa Tom at Thunderbird Café and Taproom, around the corner from our house.

 

An apartment complex in the 'hood, complete with 1960s Ford Galaxy parked out front.  Where do we live?  When do we live? 

Kickin' back at Thunderbird Café and Taproom, around the corner from our house

"Sin City: A Dame to Kill For"-- Friday, September 5, 2014

Catching the Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller film at Alamo Drafthouse.  The film is based on Miller's graphic novels:  rather dark, in the 1940s Sam Spade style.  We like to support the work of Rodriguez, a local filmmaker.  His "Spy Kids" films are suitable for all ages; Danny Trejo (Rodriguez's cousin) plays the part in of a lovable inventor uncle in "Spy Kids" rather than the over-the-top hit man type he usually portrays.

Catching up with Lara: September 6, 2014

We met Lara for lunch at Spider House, our favorite coffee shop.  The food is good too!  She's back at UT, as a junior pre-med student, after spending the summer shadowing a surgeon in Houston and a vacation in Cancun with her boyfriend Mark and his family.  Good to see you again, Lara!

Emma's new look: August 22, 2014

Tres chic!