Letting the good times roll in Austin (February 21, 2023)

Happy Mardi Gras!

Hurricanes at Sawyer & Company on East Cesar Chavez.

Must have King Cake. No baby in ours.

 

Random stuff (February 13-15, 2023)

Remember how your toddler would cry at the bathroom door for you? If only TC could reach the doorknob!

Back in angle parking only? My parking nightmare, legitimate space or not.

 Papa with a garden snake. It continues to live happily in the garden.

Attorney Emeritus (February 4, 2023)

One plus about turning 70: you get to be an attorney emeritus! You no longer have to pay bar dues but you have to do 15 hours/year of continuing legal education. Will I ever practice again? Who knows. Life is long and full of surprises.
 

Our heroes! (February 8, 2023)

After 47 hours without electricity, our heroes showed up.

Here's what the ice did to our neighbor's elm tree.

The tree trimmers took branches out of the power lines so the Austin Energy crew could restore power. This group works for Wright, the same company Micah works for. They were here from Florida, putting in dawn to past dusk days. Micah's comment when I sent him the photo: "Quit standing around! Get back to work!"
 

Another ice storm (January 30-February 2, 2023)

First, rain. Then about 3/4 inch of ice coating trees, cars, trash cans. 

Trees, heavy with ice, toppled onto power lines leaving several hundred thousand residents without electricity.

By February 1, our electricity was out. We closed off the kitchen to try to keep at least one room warm.

A little heat, a little light. The electricity would be out for 47 hours.

The inside temperature dropped to 48 degrees.

Our neighbor's elm tree split under the weight of the ice. A half inch of ice can add hundreds of pounds to a tree limb.

Trash cans were frozen shut. No biggie since there was no trash pickup.

Some trees bent, some trees broke.

 

TC wants attention! (January 31, 2023)

TC lets me know he's waiting outside the bathroom door.

 

 Hello to Fluffy Chase. We're not sure if he's a stray or a wanderer with a home. He reminds us of our Chase.

Papa Tom, Collette, and the crossword puzzle (January 24, 2023)

Sweet dreams!

 

Collette and Papa Tom (January 21, 2023)

 Collette and Papa Tom. So sweet!

Poor Pixie! (January 19, 2023)

Poor Pixie wouldn't start and had to be towed to Dan at Elite Import Auto for a look see. Glad to report that Pixie is running fine now.
 

STAR (Support Texas Adoptee Rights) advocating at the Capitol (January 17, 2023)

 Following a panel discussion with some new Representatives at the Texas Tribune, we walked over to the Capitol to advocate for passage of an original birth certificate law. Marla Smith, Dawn Scott, and our own Joyce were on it. Governor Abbott was inaugurated that day too.

Happy belated birthday, LaWanda, with Mya's art (January 16, 2023)

LaWanda requested that Mya's grumpy goose be put on a T-shirt for her birthday. Happy belated birthday, LaWanda! 

 

Red highlights (January 13, 2023)

Going with red highlights. Fun! Next time, violet.

 

Happy 36, Amon! (January 5, 2023)

 Fox and Amon and chocolate birthday cake.

Happy 2023! (Minutes after midnight NYE)

 Happy 2023! Homemade eggnog, champagne, and celebratory cigars on the deck. Oh! And we finished the puzzle.

Christmas blooms (December 2022)

Beautiful Christmas cactus! Took some sisters sleuthing to figure out it was from Martin Claus. Thanks, Martin!

Dad's hibiscus is spending the winter inside under grow lights. Rewarded with this one-day bloom on Christmas Day. Thanks, Dad!

 

Wish we could have been there! (Christmas Eve, New Orleans)

Craig and Martha drove in from Shreveport with Michael Craig and Mia, who'd flown in from New York City. Donna, Destry, Caroline, and Colton met up with them. Mia, we'll meet you someday!
 

Still puzzling (December 28, 2022)

It takes four people and a kitchen island

Update: as of January 19, we still haven't figured out all 101 films. But we're going to give ourselves more time before looking up answers online.
 

Turning water off and on for Winter Storm Eliot (December 22-27, 2022, or so)

I am now familiar with the water meter off/on at the street. Being on pier and beam, our pipes under the house are too exposed for us to leave the water on when temps drop to around 14 degrees (with wind chill temp of 1 degree!), as they did Friday, December 23, during Winter Storm Eliot. When the arrow points toward the house, the water is off.

All I needed on Christmas Day, when Papa Tom was at work, was a crescent wrench and some kitty cat helpers to turn the water back on temporarily while temps were above freezing. When the arrow pointed to the street, I could hear water rushing through the pipes. Yea!
 

Puzzle time continues in Austin (Christmas Eve 2022)

We're hooked on 1,000-piece puzzles.

This one has 101 visual clues for films.

Can you guess which movie this image references? Or the ram could have had a bandana bow on its head.