Fridays at Taquero Mucho (April 4, 2025)

 Every Friday, we meet Greg and Roy at Taquero Mucho. Can you tell their theme is "pink"? Even the tortilla chips are pink. 

Papa and the evening primroses (April 3, 2025)

The evening primroses, a Texas wildflower, reappear every Spring with no work on our part. 
 

Barking Scruffy v. Meowing Big Boy (April 1, 2025)

One barks, one meows. Big Boy did his best to scramble up the tree and catch Scruffy, but he couldn't leap from branch to branch like Scruffy does. The saga continues.
 

Spring at the House of Light and Joy (March 30, 2025)

The promise of thousands of sunflowers (yes, the yard is covered in baby sunflowers!) and ripe tomatoes and peppers in June.
 

Bye bye, Portland family! (March 29, 2025)

Parting is always such sweet sorrow! 

We can't wait to see Micah, Laura, Otis, and LaWanda  again!
 

Ghosts in the basement? (March 27, 2025)

Laura and Otis check out the mysterious basement at our VRBO. The owner, Zachary Elwood, is a retired professional poker player. He is the author of several books on poker tells, including Russian, French, and Italian editions. 

Interesting art in the basement too

 

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!