Early Christmas dinner with Roy and Camille (December 20, 2024)

Camille was in town from Los Angeles. She and Roy were headed to Dallas on Saturday to see Roy's son and grandson, so we celebrated early at Jack Allen's Kitchen.
 

Much better, Roy.

Christmas card assembly line (December 20, 2024)

 We hope you get yours in time. If not, Happy New Year!

Meanwhile, back at our house (December 18, 2024)

"Bwa-ha-ha! We're on the forbidden island!" 

Used to, just showing them the water bottle kept them off the island. Now they must be at the rebellious teenager stage of cathood. 

 

Not a partridge but Mylo (December 14, 2024)

 Somehow Mylo can climb from branch to branch without knocking the tree over. Such a talented boy!

Gingerbread houses (Saturday, December 14, 2024)

It was too cold, rainy, and windy to go anywhere 

so we tried out our construction skills. 

 

Papa's making an A-frame gingerbread house, to be held together by a lot of icing.

The Grinch admires Piper's house, as do we all.

River meticulously slices candy to outline the window frames.

Beautifully done, River!

The sad gingerbread house is mine. Okay, I've never claimed to be able to do anything that's on Pinterest. Anjanette saw a photo of it and said it reminds her of the haunted house in the old Mickey Mouse cartoons. It's okay to laugh. I did.

The best part of making gingerbread houses is making them disappear!

Quick trip to Moraga (December 13-15, 2024)

 We arrived in time on Friday for movie night. Given the recent earthquake in Northern California, we decided to watch San Andreas with the Rock. Totally action from start to finish! I think River is taller than Papa, and Piper's catching up with me. I'll soon be the shortest one in the family. Unless we get another grandbaby? Anyone?

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas (December 9, 2024)

The Christmas cactus is loaded with buds for the third year in a row. Thanks, Martin! The rest of the year, it's green with no flowers. How does it know when to bloom?
 

The story of Lucky Lizzie (December 8, 2024)

 Big Boy was so proud of his gift to us! He mewed at the front door until we opened it to celebrate his hunting skills. Lizzie was bruised and barely moving, maybe because it was cold out, or maybe because Colette was taking interest. 

We brought Lizzie inside to warm up. He/she turned from brown to green inside the paper cup.

The next morning, we took Lizzie outside.

We hoped she'd scramble up the tree and into the neighbor's back yard, where there are no cats.

You'd better hurry, Lucky Lizzie! 

"If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all." from Albert King's Born Under a Bad Sign.

A truly happy Thanksgiving for the Cornerstone turkeys (December 1, 2024)

We were at Cornerstone after Thanksgiving to winterize the beehives and were happy to see that the local turkeys hadn't ended up on anyone's table. Now, if they can just make it through Christmas dinner....
 

Taking care of Leeloo (Nov 29-30, 2024)

We took care of our grand dog Leeloo while Amon and Fox went to the Renaissance Faire in Houston with some of Amon's Dragons and Dungeons friends. She had the run of the back yard and the house except for our bedroom and bath where the cats were quarantined. They usually dive off the front porch and disappear for hours whenever Amon brings Leeloo over.
 

This beautiful girl is named for Leeloominaï Lekatariba-Lamina-Tchaï Ekbat de Sebat, one of the Supreme Beings in "The Fifth Element." Amon can recite the full name. She's half pit bull, half rotweiller. She's very sweet and almost never barks.

Happy Thanksgiving! (November 28, 2024)

Otis on Thanksgiving Day with Aunt Sonja and her grandson Aden, and another auntie who I haven't met. Thanks for the photo, LaWanda.

We did the easy thing here in Austin. Got Costco's prepared TG dinner and a pumpkin cheesecake for lunch with Amon and Tom's best friend Roy. Tom imagines Otis (now 6'1") playing for the Oregon Ducks, currently the nation's #1 ranked football team.
 

You know it's a big airport when....(November 24, 2024)

 The newly remodeled Portland airport supports your daily 10,000 steps goal. If the wheels had fallen off my suitcase I would have been in big trouble. The walk from baggage claim to the rental car area is about 20 minutes. Another plus: the emotional support llamas and therapy dogs in the terminal to de-stress passengers. I didn't see them but love the idea.

Quick trip to Portland (November 22-24, 2024)

 Micah's bathroom remodel is done but for the doors. That's Moto.

Micah keeps a BB gun near the back door for target practice in the yard. 

The guy bigger than a bear is Otis. Why am I in Micah's fuzzy bear suit/Halloween costume? I was cold and the suit is very warm. The bear (bare) feet are mine.

LaWanda's new ride, a very cool 1990s Buick LeSabre. So much trunk space!

Two points! In the 40s and rainy and Otis is in a T-shirt. Yep, he's a Lewis.

Grilling chicken outside and staying toasty near the fire pit.

Naptime (November 20, 2024)

Papa and Colette. Since cracking his rib at the end of September, Papa's either been sleeping sitting up or on the couch to minimize pain when getting up. Doctor predicted 8 weeks until recovery. Getting there!
 

New haircut (November 20, 2024)

Brittany at The Room, the only organic salon in Austin, always makes me happy. The 71st birthday hike face plant scar is fading.
 

Peppers in November (Nov 2, 2024)

 Papa's still harvesting beaucoup serrano peppers. What we can't eat, we give away or freeze. They add so much to Papa's black beans. For me, too hot to eat raw, but yummy sauteed with garlic and onion to add to chicken, fish, shrimp.

Happy Halloween! (October 31, 2024)

 

So many families with young children have been moving into the neighborhood. We had at least 100 trick or treaters this year.

Most kids were done by 8 p.m. Maybe their bedtime? We turned out the lights and took everything inside. Around 9 p.m. some middle schoolers pounded on the front door. Luckily we still had about 5 pieces of candy to give them. 

House of Dracula (October 28, 2024)

 Witches at the House of Dracula interactive performance inside a historic house in Waco. 

We imbibed in garlic-free sustenance before the show.

I think Joyce is the good witch.

Scary Al and Papa Tom. I think he's the hitchhiker in Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Danny, as Quincey Morris, helps one of Dracula's brides out of her coffin.

Danny, Joyce, Al, me, Papa Tom

Otis is driving! (October 25, 2024)

Look who has his provisional permit! 

 

Annual STAR Board retreat (October 26, 2024)

 Before the meeting, Marla Smith, Joellen Peters, and I took a nature walk at the LCRA's McKinney Roughs Nature Park near Bastrop. Later, we met in the park's community center with Board members Joyce (yes, our Joyce!), Amy Gregorcyk, Noel Johnson, and our lobbyist Kathy Grant.

8 weeks of cracked rib recovery (October plus)

Poor Papa Tom cracked his rib when he tripped on a break in the sidewalk and fell on an electrical something or other sticking up in the grass. Laughing, sneezing, deep breaths all hurt. To avoid pain, he sleeps sitting up, for now.  
 

40 years in the House of Light and Joy (October 2024)

 Papa bought the house in October 1984. See the asbestos siding? He was delighted to find ship lap underneath, in perfect condition. See the elm tree in the front yard? Insects killed it and it almost killed Papa!  He was headed up the walk when it dropped a gigantic branch a few feet in front of him! What you can't see is the gravel driveway. Nobody in the neighborhood had paved driveways.

The back of the 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1200 square foot house. Tom and Roy (then his roommate) added the third bedroom on the left. See how there was no deck? The picture window is now the open doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

The classic 1948 kitchen space is now where our master bathroom is.

We voted after four tries! (October 23, 2024)

 We visited the Shriner polling place twice on Monday, and once on Tuesday, as well as the polling place at the Northwest Recreation Center. We wondered if we should opt for mail-in ballots. Not just anyone in Texas can use them. You must be absentee; 65 or over; sick or disabled; within 3 weeks of a pregnancy due date; or in jail but eligible to vote. 

Wednesday, October 23, was our lucky day. We arrived just before the lunchtime crowd. I'm shading my face because the doctor said no sun for 6 months as a way to prevent the scar from darkening. Not trying to be the mystery voter. Anyway, my cap identifies me as a Cloninger Cellars fan so maybe not so secret. That was a California winery that has closed since our visit about 20 (?) years ago.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Day (October 11, 2024)

 Anjanette, Fox, and me with Leatherface. Mayor Watson declared October 11 as Texas Chainsaw Massacre Day, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the film's release. It is credited with starting the Texas film industry. Micah assured me that a chainsaw without the chain can't cut you. He says you can hear the difference. If Leatherface was chasing me with a chainsaw, I wouldn't pause to listen for the sound. But I WOULD kick off my red stilettos so I could run away faster. 

The inviting two-story home in Kingsland, Texas is a popular restaurant and bar called Hooper's (after filmmaker Tobe Hooper) but it has a terrifying past. In the 1974 original movie, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” this was the home of Leatherface and his mentally disturbed family. I used to drive past the house in Round Rock, where we lived when Ryder and Micah were born. The house was moved to Kingsland to make way for ... a subdivision? A highway? Don't know. It was a farmhouse.

Fox and Anjanette with Teri McMinn, who played "Pam," the girl on the meat hook. I had to be told. I've never seen the film. But it's Fox's favorite horror film and Anjanette is a fan too.

The original van from the film, refurbished. Franklin (taxidermied? a mannequin?) was inside in his wheelchair.

Leatherface served "pulled pork" sandwiches. We hope!