Home grown tomatoes: May 16, 2015

Hurry up June!

We've had so much rain that Papa Tom has put a tarp over the garden to give the soil a chance to dry out.  Otherwise, the tomatoes on the vine will rot before they ripen.  And rain is expected all next week.

Lucy on the porch

Lucy lazing on the porch on a sunny Friday afternoon

Training for John Muir Trail

So the serious training has begun.  I walked home from work four days this past week, two days when it was drizzling.  Was invigorating!  The rain was pouring too hard Friday morning for me to bus to work, so I drove.  But when I got home, I did 200 kettle bell swings (okay, in increments of 25 with a breather in between) and only a 15-pound kettle bell. 

Mother's Day: May 10, 2015

When Anjanette was 4 years old, she met Farah Fawcett at the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens.  Anjanette said she was impressed by how beautiful Farah's hair was.  Here, we are at Polvo's, for a Mother's Day dinner with Jade.  Thanks, Amon!

Jade gave Mama a chocolate/orange candy bar and "The Very Hungry Zombie," a parody of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."

Muscles!

Jade's been working out!

Prepping for the JMT hike in July 2016

Amon's got enough space for the 60,000 calories of food he's planning to carry on the trip: 211 miles, 20 days (we're hoping) from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney.  Papa Tom and I plan to carry smaller backpacks and stop along the way to resupply.

You are one stylish hiker, Amon!

Mother's Day Eve: May 9, 2015

Since Papa Tom works Sundays, we celebrated Mother's Day with Grandma Evelyn on Saturday at Twisted Root Burger, which just opened in our neighborhood.  The franchise started in Shreveport and will soon open in Waco.

Amon with the Kevin Bacon burger.



Recycled lighting

Celebrating the pending arrival of Lucy and Jake: May 9, 2015

Oh my!  Here's Sarah with cute little clothes for the twins, Lucy and Jake, who should arrive in early July.

Happy 7, Otis!

Here's our birthday guy, when he was still 6.  You are so handsome and sweet, Otis!

Austin Blues Society Jam at the Skylark Lounge: May 8, 2015

We're members of the Austin Blues Society, whose members jam once a month or so at the Skylark Lounge.  (We hung back and listened: someday!) This was the real deal, an Austin dive bar smack dab in the middle of a junk yard surrounded by chain link fence with razor wire on top.

Seriously.  I told Papa Tom maybe we should drive the truck over next time, instead of the Zoomer.  The music was outstanding:  heard one of the best bands ever after the blues jam: Soul Supporters.  Also, the food was incredible.  The cook studied under Emeril in New Orleans and is currently on the culinary staff at the Governor's Mansion.  We had pizza with a garlic sauce base, topped with Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese.  Delish!

More classical guitar: May 7, 2015

Papa Tom and I attended a UT doctoral student's classical guitar recital.  Added treat:  he was variously accompanied by a flautist, celloist, and another classical guitarist.  The accompanying classical guitarist was Celil Refik Kaya, from Turkey, who first performed when he was 6 years old and has performed all over the world, including at Carnegie Hall.

We're thinking the Tower was orange in honor of the 2015 graduates?  We parked a mile from Jessen Auditorium so got in a 2-mile walk and didn't get rained on.

Looking away from the Tower, across the fountain toward the State Capital.

Dinner and yoga at the Triangle: May 6, 2015

I walked to the Flying Saucer at the Triangle (a little over a  mile from home) to meet Tom, Amon, and Jade for dinner.  Afterward, couldn't help but admire the flexibility and strength of this couple doing yoga in the park.  Could that be Papa Tom and me next year???  Or at any time in our lives???

I've never lost that healthy fear of falling that all of us are born with.  I probably would never want to try this: she flipped from the first pose to land in an airplane pose, balanced on his feet (see photo below).



Here's that airplane pose I was talking about above.

OK, I would do this one.  Papa Tom?

Mya is 7! Piper is 2!

Here are our recent birthday girls right after Mya's birthday:  Mya is 7 and Piper is 2.

Cinco de Mayo!

Papa Tom, Amon, and I walked over to La Mancha to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with $2 tacos.  This was the first of our John Muir Trail preparation walks: very short, only a little over a mile each way.

Look out for grackles!  One nervy grackle swooped down to the table full of people next to us and helped himself to a claw full of chips.

On the mend

River made a flying leap off the couch to retrieve a balloon from the ceiling and fell on his arm, breaking it in two places.  So sorry, River!  Get back to running, jumping, and playing as soon as possible!

Hanging out: April 29, 2015

Jade's graduated to a booster seat.  We offered the infant seat to Sarah and Kirk, who are expecting twins in July, but Sarah said once car seats are more than 6 years old, they aren't safe any more, due to metal/plastic fatigue.  I was not aware of this!



Hanging at Crestview Station after dinner at Fuzzy's Tacos, also at Midtown Commons.

Be careful, Papa Tom!

Do you hear that train a coming?



A mama cat stares at us through the fence across the tracks.  Her kittens scampered under the ladders to Jade's disappointment.

Thunderstorm!

The storm was so loud it woke us up around 2 a.m. April 27.  Thunder!  Lightning!  Around mid-morning the next day, a storm blew several train cars off elevated tracks in New Orleans.  I wonder if it was the same storm system?

Front porch with Papa: April 27, 2015

Papa and Jade shared a taco out front before we recorded our "Happy Birthday" video for Piper

Jade pretended to need a siesta after dinner

We'd love to use the train more often, but . . . .

MetroRail could be more user friendly.  Understandably, because the MetroRail shares tracks with freight trains, compromises must be made.  Leander is the furthermost point from Austin in the system.  No riding the train in from Leander on Friday and back out on Saturday for instance.

And this is downright threatening.  Of course, you don't see the sign until after you've parked and are about to board the train.  The 3-minute bus ride probably involves at least a 30-minute wait.  And the trains only come every 30 minutes.  You could have to wait nearly 30 minutes (again) after you arrive at the station. Seriously, this station is only 5 miles from downtown.  You could walk the distance in 1.5 hours.

No service at all on Sunday.  But you can walk/bike/bus/drive.  Potential passengers could do that every day.  No need for light rail.

Eight total bikes per train?  Then you can go park at the lot that's a convenient bus ride away?  I think cyclists could cover the 5 miles to downtown in (I'm guessing) less time than it would take to ride the train.  Sigh. 

 

Last fall, Austin voters turned down a $1.4 billion proposition to expand the rail system to run from the new ACC campus (old Highland Mall) near our house, through downtown, to the ACC campus out Riverside, just a few miles shy of the airport.  Downtown to the airport might have made sense, assuming service was more frequent and user friendly than what we've currently got.  I think Uber and Lyft and other solutions by the people for the people will make mass transit planning passe.

Piper!

We haven't seen Piper since the Asheville Lewises visited in December 2014.  Here she sits in the chair that first belonged to Ryder.  The chair has held up well for 35 years!

Piper immediately put on Mr. Potato Head's glasses.  She has a baby doll just like this one back in Asheville.

Jade leads Piper down the hall.

Papa Tom and the kids show off their gingerbread house.  I was still finding candy under the couch into March.

Gingerbread houses are for eating-- right away!



Piper riding the rails with Mom and Dad