Finally! To Lewis & Clark School of Law ( March 26, 2025)

Before starting at UT Law in 1991, I was accepted at both Tulane in New Orleans and Lewis & Clark in Portland. I was all set to move to Portland to become an environmental lawyer when UT moved me from the wait list to the acceptance list. 

Some 34 years later, I finally visited the Lewis & Clark campus as part of a hike on Terwilliger Trail along Tryon Creek.  LaWanda introduced us to the trail, not knowing my Lewis & Clark connection. 

Pacific Trilliums, a woodland wildflower, heralded Spring.

Papa, Otis, and me under one of the giant moss-covered trees in the 658-acre Tryon Park in Southwest Portland.

How tall is Otis? (March 26, 2025)

 Is he taller than Papa yet? 

He grew past me a l-o-n-g time ago!

Lockbox fiasco in Portland (March 25, 2025)

 We arrived close to midnight on March 25 but couldn't get the lockbox open for the key to our VRBO. VRBO helpline couldn't advise us or reach the owner. We couldn't reach the owner either. Turns out he was on a flight to NY at the time.

We found a boutique hotel on the east side for the first night. At 6 a.m., we heard from the owner, who had arranged for a locksmith to meet us at the VRBO.

Turns out the error was ours. The lockbox opened just fine. We were trying to remove it from the stair railing rather than slide it open. (Slap to forehead!) Turns out we had the correct code but needed a lesson in opening lockboxes. 

To gray or not to gray? (March 2025)

Okay, I tried going gray in hopes of being my favorite Marvel heroine Storm for Halloween. Big thumbs down from friends and family. But the two deciding incidents were (1) TSA at the Oakland Airport asked if I had metal body parts (!) and when I said, "no," sent me to the "over 75" line; and (2) I was reaching up for a 3.5 pound bag of cat food at the grocery store and a 20 something man ran over and offered to get it for me. Did I really look like a decrepit little old lady??? I was gracious, of course, and observed that he must have a short Mama who taught him well.

At the very next hair appointment, it was back to espresso!

 

Fox is 14! (March 23, 2025)

We celebrated Fox's 14th with Indian food, her choice. So delicious! Happy 14, Fox!

Fox and me on her 14th birthday. Time has flown!

 

Tax season (March 22, 2025)

Colette points to the correct line on the Schedule 1040 for Papa.

 

Meanwhile, back in Austin (March 21, 2025)

Hop, from the floor to the bathroom counter.

Skip, to the top of the sauna.

Jump, to the top of the armoire across from the sauna.

 

Rock climbing (March 17, 2025)

Piper tackles a rock climbing wall.

Mya's on it too!

 

Heads up, my descendants! Some of this is your DNA too. (March 2025)

 MyHeritage updated my DNA results on St. Paddy's Day just in time for me to find out I'm not 76% Irish. But in better news, I do have a dribble of French DNA, as hoped for. The results are updated because MyHeritage has way more data to draw from than when the original test was done. Before, north and west Africa as well as Central America were in my profile. Made me think the ancestors were world travelers. Now, it appears crossing the English Channel (or La Manche as the French call it) was about as much sailing as those ancestors did. The Dutch call it "Die Canael tusschen Engelandt ende Franckryct" or The Canal Between England and France." 

St. Patrick's Day (March 17, 2025)

 You can't have St. Paddy's Day without bread pudding!

Piper and Brandy have their own special bread pudding recipe: 

with chocolate chips!

Fresh from the oven. Yum yum!

Tuckered out (March 16, 2025)

 Play hard, sleep hard. That's Willoughby!

The Prom (March 16, 2025)

 The Campolindo High School choir presented The Prom, a play based on the true story of a gay girl who was banned from attending the local with her girlfriend. The happy ending is that everyone got to go to prom, thanks in part to some assistance from a couple of Broadway actors. (Mya is a junior at the high school).

Sunday brunch with Camille (March 16, 2025)

 Camille was in town from Los Angeles and met us at the Town Bakery & Cafe in Moraga. 

Happy 14, River! (March 15, 2025)

 We celebrated River's 14th with video games and go-kart racing at K-1 Speed. 

Ryder converses with River while Papa watches the sisters play.

The guys have it.

River's on it.

I think this is Piper, River, and Ryder heading out. I did one of three races, and came in last. Piper sideswiped me and crashed me into the wall. I'm too careful a driver for speed racing!

Ryder came in first in two out of three races. Earlier in the week, OpenAI had a coworker bonding event at the go-cart track. Ryder came in first there too!

Mya the artiste (May 15, 2025)

 Mya's focused on one of her many art pieces. She draws. She paints. She makes pottery. She sews. She draws tiny flowers, shamrocks, whatever on her manicures. She and her friend Jojo once created a gingerbread Alice in Wonderland for the Grove Park competition in Asheville. She wants to be a veterinarian. I've told her she could do pet portraits for her clients. (She does realistic pet portraits, BTW).

Mya outlined every single cobblestone. Details matter!

River's 14! (March 15, 2025)

 Job one. Choosing donuts for the birthday boy.

The sisters are ready to party!

Happy birthday, River!

For posterity (all future generations of people). Caveat: who have access to digital media.

Dog park in the rain (March 14, 2025)

 Willoughby is ready to chase the ball as soon as Mya hurls it. Jojo was with us too, hopefully not rolling in the mud.

Visiting the Moraga Lewises (March 13,, 2025)

 

Wind farm as we're landing in Oakland. The farm covered much more ground, similar to the wind farms in West Texas.

Cats (March 2025)

The twins safe in the sunroom on the lookout for Leeloo, who's watching them from the kitchen.

Big boy is guarding my novel papers.

Why lap fresh water when you can have tasty ivy water?

No box is too small. 

 

Max dodged a falling tree (March 4, 2025)

 Timber! This sapling at the edge of the driveway barely missed Max.

Let the resistance begin! (March 1, 2025)

Doing my tiny part to resist. A fellow Costco shopper and one of the sample people complimented my shirt.

The phrase "Vive la Résistance!" translates from French to "Long live the resistance!" It historically refers to the French Resistance during World War II, a movement that opposed Nazi occupation in France through acts of sabotage, espionage, and guerrilla warfare. I only plan to march, sign petitions, and vote.

STAR Advocacy Day at the Capitol (February 25, 2025)

Support Texas Adoptee Rights (STAR) is back at the Capitol. Joyce and I both serve on the Board. Rep. Will Metcalf (tall guy in the suit) introduced HB 1887, which would give Texas-born adopted persons access to their original birth certificate upon reaching age 18. Upon adoption, the original birth certificate is sealed and a supplemental birth certificate with the names of the adoptive parents is issued. Currently, an adopted person either must obtain a court order or provide the names of their birth parents to Vital Statistics to get their OBC.  The same bill passed overwhelmingly in the House in 2021 and 2023. We expect it to pass again this year. The Senate is the holdup.
 

Colette helps Papa with the crossword puzzle (February 18, 2025)

 Colette is sharing answers with Papa.

Cup holders in public restrooms? (Saturday, February 15, 2025)

What do you do with your 32 oz of soda if you need a restroom stop? At Rudy's, you take the cup with you! Not only are there cupholders next to the sink, there are cupholders in each stall. At least in the women's room. I dared not peek in the men's room.