Almost Christmas: June 2022

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Power Rangers Improv at the Hideout (June 12, 2022)

Fox and I caught the improv show for kids at the Hideout Coffee Shop on Congress Avenue on Sunday afternoon. here she is post show with the cast. Lagniappe: raspberry mocha coffee for Fox and Dirty Chai for me. What's dirty chai, you ask? Chai tea with a shot of espresso. Interesting enough that I made a pot at home this morning using two scoops of coffee and one of chai tea in the coffeemaker. Then frothed vanilla whipping cream for the top. Voila! I'm my own coffee shop.

We have to do better! (June 11, 2022)

The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club invited Farmers Market shoppers at Republic Square (Austin) to petition the US Army Corps of Engineers to meet with Gulf Coast residents before approving the approximately 61 pending permits for additional oil refining and pipelines.

Y'all, this is serious. We only have until 2030--less than 8 years!--to reduce carbon emissions by half worldwide to keep Earth's overall temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees, the tipping point for life as we know it. I'm here with fellow Lone Star Chapter executive committee members Richard and Brenda.

Early summer in Austin (June 10, 2022)

Yep, 108 degrees at nearly 7 p.m. on June 10, our 27th wedding anniversary. We'd just been highly entertained by Tom Cruise's return as Top Gun Maverick in the cold, air-conditioned Alamo Drafthouse at the Village, only to swelter in the parking lot. Pavement radiates heat. In our shady driveway, the temperature was 'only"100 degrees. Thanks, elm trees! Triple digits predicted for June 16-23, the limit of my phone's weather forecast....Can July and August be far behind?

Ghosts! (June 8, 2022)

We met ghost tour leader Jared outside the Speakeasy on Congress Avenue for an evening of ghost stories and Austin history. The Driskill Hotel remodeled the fifth floor to get rid of the Suicide Bride suite after two jilted brides killed themselves and their ghosts were regularly seen.

The weirdest story was about the Austin serial killer who was never caught. The main suspect, a butcher, hightailed it to Galveston and sailed to London. Curiously, after his arrival, the Jack the Ripper murders began. Coincidence?

Dungeons and Dragons (June 3, 2022)

Amon, Fox, and I have begun playing Dungeons and Dragons. Amon is the Game Master for Kitsune and me, Teruko Dandelion. Kitsune, Japanese for "Fox," is an elf. I am half-elf, half-human. I am descended from Akai Teruko, a real-life Japanese woman (1514-1594) who at age 70 commanded an army of 3,000. In contrast to her famous granddaughter, Kaihime, who was known as "The most beautiful woman in east Japan" (東国無双の美人), Teruko was known as ''The strongest woman in the Warring States Period'' (戦国時代最強の女丈夫). My elf name is "Dandelion," for the weed that spreads on the wind, cannot be easily killed, springs up from nowhere, and seems harmless. Cue the Rolling Stones "Dandelion."

Renee presents her art work (June 2, 2022)

On June 2, 2022, Renee gave a 20-minute talk about her work as part of Epilogue, the MFA/BFA Showcase happening in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University. I tuned in via Zoom.

I'd love to have a closer look at Renee's art but the Zoom camera operator never zoomed in. But I'll be in Portland June 21-July 13 for an in-person look.

TC the Destroyer (June 2022)

One cat wrecking crew, proud of scattering the stack of boxes. How on earth did he knock over the chair?

View from near the top of the elm tree

"I see you."

The kittens were secured in the bathroom while Camille and her large dog Valerie visited on June 16. After Camille and Val left, I opened the bathroom door to find the kittens chillin' in the sink.

Happy anniversary, Max! (June 2, 2022)

We'll always miss the Zoomer, but for the past year Max has proven to be perfect for hauling our beekeeping suits and tools to Cornerstone. Max might be our last internal combustion engine vehicle with an electric car in our future. Or not. Amon has me eyeing Toyota's manual transmission, rally ready GR4 Corolla.

Monday, June 6, 2022

Congratulations to Craig and Mia! (May 17, 2022)

Craig and Mia were married on May 17 in New York City. Welcome to the family, Mia! P.S. You have a great name!

T.C. makes himself at home (ever since he joined us in September 2021)

T.C. captured Olaf from the toy box.

He's been helping himself to Zephyr's food.

Road trip! (May 30-June 6, 2022)

Tom and high school buddy Cary are heading west to Amarillo and Red River, New Mexico, for camping and hiking.

Safe travels! Updates from Tom: they hung out with two high school friends in Amarillo, listened to live music in Red River, hiked in the Rio Grande gorge, and visited Taos and Santa Fe. Most hiking options were closed due to wildfire risk, including the Santa Fe Ski Area. When Tom and I were there in mid-June 1995, snow was still on the ground.

Joyce and Danny! (Sunday, May 29, 2022)

Joyce and Danny buzzed down in to Austin in their red Mini Cooper convertible. Was so good to spend time together! Danny's on schedule to graduate from college in 2023.

The Adorables: Joyce, Danny, Fox, Anjanette. Danny and Joyce were leaving to meet friends for dinner at about the time Fox and Anjanette arrived. We'll have to get together another time!

We have a fifth grade graduate in the family! (May 27, 2022)

To celebrate the transition from elementary school to middle school, fifth graders circumnavigated the Hill Elementary school grounds to cheering onlookers.

Bye-bye fifth grade! River is next. And in a week or so, Mya and Otis will be leaving the eighth grade for high school in the fall.

Last hurrah in Nashville (Sunday, May 22, 2022)

The WhatLiftsYou mural is probably the best-known Nashville mural but there are at least 100 more around town.

Makes me think of Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground."

Flight from Nashville to Austin was delayed due to thunderstorms and high winds in Baltimore, where the aircraft was coming in from. I found out what goes on at ABIA at 4 a.m. on a Monday. The guitars get dusted and the TSA lines are long for the dawn flights.

The revered Ryman Auditorium (Sunday, May 22, 2022)

Elvis is in the building.

The Glass Tower, regular crosswalks, and diagonal crosswalks. I wasn't sure which signal light to watch for the diagonal path so just followed the crowd. Figured those bachelorettes on the pub crawler couldn't run over all of us.

Bill Monroe and me outside Ryan Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry,

Loretta Lynn and me outside Ryman Auditorium. The king himself, Elvis Presley, played the Opry one night in 1954. And in 1956, Johnny Cash was added to the cast. Cash met future wife June Carter for the first time backstage at the Ryman. Upon their meeting he told her he’d marry her someday – he kept his word and they were wed 12 years later. Honky-tonk angel, Patsy Cline, became an Opry member at the Ryman 1960. Cline’s biggest hit “Crazy” was written by a young up-and-coming songwriter, Willie Nelson.

Sunday in Nashville (May 22, 2022)

Buckshot Red was right! Nobody was in line for Tootsie's Orchid Bar at the alley entrance. Lots of people in line out front. We proved we were 21 or over and walked right in.

Live music from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily on three stages.

Had to pay tribute at the Johnny Cash museum.

Deep fried Oreos at Jason Aldean's rooftop bar. Because.

More bachelorettes in the background.

Super-talented 20-year-old soloed on Hotel California downstairs at Jason Aldean's. That's his brother grinning at him.

Moon pies and moonshine (Sunday, May 22, 2022)

Our original plan was to visit Nashville for Donna's birthday in November 2021. But flight cancelations and below-freezing temperatures had us re-thinking our travel dates. Still, we enjoyed morning coffee in our commemorative cups. Or was it wine?

Yes, there's a Dukes of Hazzard museum in Nashville. We didn't go inside but had to check out Cooter's tow truck.

Tiny chocolate moon pie.

Moonshine tasting, a thimble full at a time. Who knew it comes in so many flavors?

Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar (Saturday, May 21, 2022)

I'm guessing these guys are session musicians? They were that good! Thanks, Brandy, for recommending the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar, located in Printers Alley.

Traditionally the center of Nashville’s nightlife, Printers Alley was, in its earlier days, a series of posts where men bound for the courthouse hitched their horses. By the turn of the twentieth century it had become the center of Nashville’s printing industry; in its heyday, circa 1915, thirteen publishers and ten printers were located in the area serviced by the alley. Nashville’s two largest newspapers, The Tennessean and the Nashville Banner, had their offices here at one time. The street contained hotels, restaurants, and saloons, many of the latter becoming speakeasies when Prohibition went into effect in 1909. Nightclubs opened here in the 1940s, and the alley became a showcase for the talents of performers such as Boots Randolph, Chet Atkins, Waylon Jennings, Dottie West, The Supremes, Hank Williams, Barbara Mandrell, and Jimi Hendrix. Today’s nightclubs are the descendants of the saloons, speakeasies, and clubs which developed into the entertainment district still known as Printers Alley.