bob

This evening we saw Bob at the Saxon Pub. Bob Schneider that is for any of the unanointed. He put on a really great show. Renee, Mark and Susan (who you'll notice I did not cut out of the photo) joined us. Renee took the photo above when we were out in the parking lot after the show. Bob was very gracious and he shook Susan's hand and gave her a little bow when he found out she came all the way from California to see him. I think she is a big fan now too.


Even though we arrived 90 minutes before showtime there were no seats available so we had to stand. Turned out we had the best standing spots in the house. Bob had a lot of different players in his Lonelyland band tonight including a violin/cello and a trumpet/accordian player.













It's now 11:30 and I'm really tired, but I had to get these pix out there. Promise to add some more color tomorrow.

This weekend

I mentioned before that I want to get my house on the market in early March. That leaves me with 2 weekends to make every room in the house look like a hotel room per the instructions of my agent. I also have this magic stuff that I can apply to all the scratches on the oak woodwork in the house to restore it to look like new(or better than it does with the scratches). I have A LOT of golden oak woodwork. Like A LOT. My original plan was to do the woodwork on Saturday morning and then put a fresh coat of paint on the doors and baseboards upstairs. Basically it is all golden oak downstairs and all painted upstairs. Actually there's oak built-ins up there too. Darn. This stuff is like magic, truly it works wonders on those little scratches. You apply it with fine steel wool and then wipe it off with a cloth. The problem is there are a lot of little scratches and faded areas so there is a lot of steel-wooling and wiping. And steel wool wears out after a while - I always thought those Brillo things lasted forever! By lunchtime I had only finished the kitchen and bathroom. So much for my plans.

I was going to finish up today but I woke up not feeling well at all and I made no further progress on the oak or any progress on the paint. I started to feel better around lunchtime, but did not have the energy to brillo or paint so I started clearing out my closet to give it a minimalist look. My closet is enormous and the master bedroom has a whole other walk-in closet that is currently full of suitcases. Back to my closet - there are shelves, a built in dresser, a sewing table, many racks at different heights and 99 cubbies for shoes! Ladies - think about that!! The closet is what will sell this house so I might as well concentrate all my efforts on that room. I filled 5 storage totes with clothes I may want in the future and several bags for the thrift shop. There is still more to do.

So there was some fun this weekend too. Last night we saw the Austin Lounge Lizards at the Cactus Cafe on the UT campus. We picked the 7 p.m.show because we were both too tired to imagine going to the 9:30 show. The Lounge Lizards are so much fun and their songs are clean so there are often kids in the audience. They all wear really awful Hawaiian shirts (not all Hawaiian shirts are awful, but theirs are). Last night was no exception. One of the band members thought the first show was at 7:30 so he showed up late and our show ran until right around 9:30. They are a popular group and the 7:00 show was absolutely packed. We didn't think we would get seats, but the Cactus people had removed the tables and put out as many chairs as they could. We lucked out and got seats in the second row.

This woman is new to the band. She replaced the fiddle player we saw the last time. And that's a wig she has on. Her normal hair is short and blonde. It turned out to be the bass player's last night with the band. He was also replaced by a woman, but I didn't get a picture of her. He played the first set. They played a funny song "When Bass Players Take Over the World" together and then she played the second set. I like her a lot. The band is really different with 2 women in in, but still really good.
This afternoon Mike and I went shopping for a wedding dress for me. He is a good shopping helper and we decided to do this together. Once we have selected my dress we will find something for him that coordinates. After several stores I started to think we would never find anything right. Most of the stores still have their fall and winter stuff out. All dark colors, and nothing appropriate for a beach. Hardly anyone had any spring colors. In the last store we went in I found 3 or 4 possibilities - yay! Didn't make any purchases but I believe now that I will be able to find something that is just right for our wedding. Whew.

and After...

And after many branches came down.... two trailor-fuls in fact.

A house emerged
And it is now possible to drive through the driveway without risking your antennaI can't wait to see how it looks with the landscape lighting!Kids (or adults!) can use the slide without getting branched by the live oak! The "Climbing Tree" is climbable (or is is climable) once more

It is hard to capture the real difference through photos alone, you really need to see it in person. I like it. Hopefully the future homeowner will too!

A facelift for my yard

A tree guy is coming today. When I initially contacted him I was thinking only of having him trim the branches that were touching the house and roof. He was a good salesman and when I mentioned that I would be putting my house on the market he convinced me that I needed to do more so the house would look better and actually be seen from the street. Walking around the house I couldn't believe how overgrown it had gotten. Here are the "before" photos.

Spoiled

For Valentines I suggested that we just stay in and cook some frozen thing, like a steak, from Mike's freezer because he wants to get rid of everything before the house sells. My intention was to do something easy and totally pressure-less for this little holiday. I strongly hinted that what I really wanted from my sweetheart on Valentine's Day was a couple of truffles (meaning somewhere around 6) and maybe some flowers. I know he heard me because I dropped these hints pretty frequently over several days. Again, I wanted this holiday to be easy for him to make me a very happy girl without having to stress about what I really wanted. Lord only knows what goes on in his mind, because what he did was WAY DIFFERENT than what I suggested.

Should I be worried that what I say and what he hears and does are so different?

Here are a few of the Valentines Day gifts I received:

A new red jacket which I have already worn over my tshirt to the gym and grocery store A Bolle lightweight jacket with light purplish piping that is really cute and will be easy to take along in my backpack on trips

A cute v-neck tie-dyed long sleeved shirt

Two necklaces. One is engraved with a sweet thing he says to me (via text message) every night before I go to sleep. The other one he left the price on (!) and it was all by itself much more than truffles and flowers combined would have been!

Beautiful tulips
Instead of a steak from his freezer, he couldn't resist the heart-shaped ribeyes that they were selling in the store. It was absolutely the most perfect and tender steak I have had all year (I know, it is only February, but this one was really good!).

And then there were 8 truffles, which I forgot to photograph. Don't remind me until I beg you to, but I put the remaining ones in the back of the fridge for future cravings.

There was one "basketball gift" which was something HE really wanted but gave to me, which is a backpack that is intended to play ipod tunes. I am really not sure what the difference between this "ipod backpack" and any other backpack that you would put your ipod in, but Mike thought we could use it on the beach.

Here is a picture of my sweetheart and his cuddly dog, Petey.

For My Valentine

Do you remember when you proposed to me? I do. It was the perfect setting (for us). We were between shows at ACL sitting in our burnt orange UT folding chairs near the AMD stage. It was the second day, Saturday, of the three day festival and I think Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings had just finished their energetic New Orleans style performance. We were totally relaxed, sitting there and enjoying the blue sky perfect temperature late September afternoon. I am not sure if you had been planning it, because you weren't visibly nervous. When you asked "the question" (which you had "play asked" before and I had "play responded" with either hesitation or "not yet."), I knew it was for real and I remember throwing my arms around you and answering without any hesitation "yes!" This photo was taken that day. :)

The rest of the day, and for a number of weeks, this was just between us. We talked and talked about what being "engaged" at our age and for the second time for both of us, should mean. As confident as we both were in our commitment to each other neither of us was sure how others would take this news so we were cautious. We started talking about rings and soon we had a plan to have one made to our custom design. You found a jewelry designer through your artist friend, Daryl and we contacted him. After several phone calls describing what we wanted and being disappointed in what he suggested, I finally put something together in powerpoint (yes, once again confirming my status as a powerpoint queen) and sent it off to him. He finally got the concept and produced a ring that is just perfect.

I wanted this ring to be something that we could both look at and be reminded of what we both love - each other, our families and our common enjoyment of the ocean. The sides of the ring with blue sapphires and diamonds represent ocean waves. The waves meet at an angled center stone, which is intended to signify our two separate families being united through us as one. There are 7 stones on each side, two diamonds and five blue sapphires. I didn't specifically design it this way, but now when I look at it, it reminds me that between the two of us we have five precious children. This is a lot to think about when I look down at my hand at least a million times a day! But I do. This is not just a piece of jewelry, it is a symbol of our life together, the joining of our pasts and our future

There seemed to be eons between the time we had the design and when the ring was finally done and in your hands. It was the week of my birthday and you were so excited to give it to me but you weren't sure when and how to do it. I think you got it on a Tuesday. You kept calling me and telling me about how beautiful it was. It seemed right that you had it all to yourself for a period of time and I know you could see everything it represents as you held it. Someone advised you not to give it to me on my birthday, which would have been impossible as it would have meant holding on to it yourself for 3 whole days! So you surprised me on the Wednesday by showing up at Chuys where my sister and Duncan were celebrating an early birthday with me. While I was expecting to get the ring this week you totally surprised me that evening.

So once we had the ring we had to start making other plans. Oh yeah, and telling our friends and families. Neither of us wanted to make a major announcement, but we did want to share our excitement the right way. We probably haven't gotten it right with everyone, but we were well intended. We both agreed that our kids were most important in our lives and that they needed to know first about any plans we made. We seriously considered over many days and weeks how we could make our kids part of any ceremony. We decided that if we included them, that all five of them would need to be there. Each one was consulted. We didn't want to rush into something over the holidays, even though it would have been convenient because all were in Austin. Figuring out another time when we could get all five together and where to do it and who else to include just became overwhelming. It started to feel like we were bound to disappoint someone even if we intended to make this a happy time for everyone. Through the long process of talking through the alternatives and sharing what each of us really wanted we landed on something that now feels right to us - a ceremony on the beach with just the two of us

Then the discussion shifted to when and where. Complicating this is that both of us want to sell our houses and find a new home that will be ours. We decided that after we are married, we want to live together - not as we do now separately in our current homes. We wanted to give at least some time to sell one of our homes before we are married with the hope that we can return to one house. In this market, who knows how long it will take to sell both houses. Now yours is on the market and mine will go on in a few weeks.

After hours on the internet we asked for help from a travel agent who listened to what we wanted (and didn't want) for our wedding and honeymoon. She guided us to a resort on the island of Antigua and we settled on the last week in March to get married on the beach. Everything can be arranged for us - we just have to show up with the required papers, go into the town and get a license. The resort will provide everything else, including witnesses. We didn't know exactly where Antigua was, other than it was a small island in the Caribbean (there are so many of them!) so here's a map.

So now it is Valentine's Day and just about five weeks from when we will be married and I want you to know how unbelievably in love I am with you and how happy you make me. All of this that I have written is like a fairy tale to me. Pinch me - I still can't believe it is real! That question you asked, what seems like a long time ago, "how do you know?" I know because it is just so obvious that we are meant to be together. People who know us have said they have never seen us happier. You make me want to be a better person. I so look forward to any time we spend together, even if all we do is run errands or watch TV. I still get butterflies! There is no nervousness - only eagerness and hope for the future! Our future. I love you, Mike.

Be my Valentine tonight and forever?

a haircut for Choco

It doesn't appear that we will have a winter here in Austin this year. If we do now, you can blame it on me for taking my big furry long-haired lab to the beauty parlor today for a summer "do."

She loved the car ride. I always put a seatbelt on her to keep her safe (and to keep the seat belt alarm from constantly beeping - I guess she exceeds a typical bag of groceries in weight).

She does not like to go into the groomer though and as soon as she realizes where we are, she pulls and tugs on the leash to go back to the car!

Today the groomer called me a few minutes after I dropped off Choco and said that the choke chain collar was in a knot and she could not get it off. I asked her what she wanted me to do since I was sure that by the time I turned around and returned she would have figured out how to slip it off. She said she would try to cut it off. Yeah, right. Good luck with that! Anyway, it finally jiggled loose and everything was back to being fine. Guess this was a Friday the 13th thing.

Here she is all svelt and lean. She refused to sit still long enough for my flash to go off so Steffi had to hold her in place. Before that I got several of photos like this:I think she looks like a large baked potato. LOL!

Success!

For Steffi that is. She waited patiently and got her moon photo. You can see it here. The moon much be so much closer to San Antonio than Ft Lauderdale.... oh, right it's the difference in the camera zoom! I love that she has that camera and uses it.

Do you think she'll let me borrow it sometime?? Like at the end of March. :)

A picture for Stefanie

If only I had Stefanie's camera I could make her wish come true. Tonight is a full moon. Stefanie has been waiting for a clear night to get a really good photo of the full moon. We have had months of drought in Texas, but now we are having a few days of clouds and rain. And guess what - the clouds are blocking her view of the full moon. While we desperately need the rain and it was really nice to wake up to that sound on the roof this a.m., I was hoping she would get her wish this week and get a good view of the full moon tonight. Of course, where I am, the skies are relatively clear and I have a good shot of the moon from my hotel. Too bad I don't have the zoom capability that she has or I would have a better photo.

I stayed at this hotel about a month ago, you may remember my blog from January. This time I went straight to the gym for a workout. Wow! I didn't take my camera, but I will tomorrow. This gym is palatial, has fabulous views of the ocean, many varieties of torture machines and it was completely empty. On the roof is a walking track with great views of the ocean and inland waterway. Gorgeous sunset!

I guess Stefanie will just have to wait another month to get a photo of the full moon. Let's all keep our fingers crossed she gets her photo in March.

Asleep at the Wheel

I made two mistakes on Saturday. Well...okay, two that I am willing to admit. The first was not bringing my camera to the "Asleep and the Wheel with Special Guest" show at Antones. Rumor was that the "special guest" was going to be Willie Nelson. AaTW is going on tour and all of the tour shows say that Willie will be playing with them. They are calling it Willie and the Wheel. Willie plays Austin a lot so it would not be unexpected for him to show up and if he's touring with The Wheel then it seemed like a done deal. I was feeling really down for forgetting my camera. I had my phone, but the pictures aren't as good so please accept my apologies.

That Ray Benson sure has a voice, doesn't he?! It makes me melt. It seems so effortless for him to sound good. He does a lot of radio spots around Austin and his voice is instantly recognizable. We saw him once as the celebrity playing Mother Ginger - the character in the Nutcracker with the enormous skirt that the sugar plums (or whatever) emerge from during their dance. He even had on his big black hat as Mother Ginger. It was a hoot.

Back to my other mistake. This one was potentially disastrous. Earlier in the day Mike and I were talking about our entertainment options for the evening. Asleep at the Wheel's show was at 7 at Antone's. Joe Ely was playing 8:30 at the Cactus. Both of these were good options but Asleep won because of its early time and potential guest Willie. Mike said "how about if I get our tickets online?" and I replied "Naaah, let's just get them at the door." Major mistake. When we got there, there was a line around the corner and we waited and waited and watched people who had gotten their tickets online go inside. Then we heard Ray Benson's rich deep voice and the band start to play and we were still outside. The line hadn't moved at all. Well we did eventually get in and it was a great show. But no Willie. We are still not sure who the "special guest" was since it seemed like his regular band. We still had a great time and it was really nice that it wasn't a late night out.

FrOG

I had to laugh when I looked at my digital watch today. Doesn't this look like FrOG?!!

TGIF

TGIF!! Now I just have to get through today and I can look forward to an evening of nothingness. Or relative nothingness. No entertainment outside my own (or Mike's) TV. A quiet evening is what I need tonight. Not that this week hasn't been fun, it's just involved being out 3 nights in a row, which I've realized is just too much for me. I love going out, really, just not every night. It's too much fun going home and seeing my happy pups and just being with Mike.

Last night I drove down to San Antonio to have dinner with Stefanie and take her to a movie. Dinner was okay. Noodly Asian food, but it was fast and we got to the movie in time. The movie Theater was the Palladium and it is not an ordinary theater. The outside looks like the Colliseum or something old and Greek. Inside there are a multitude of eateries - even a gelato bar. We should have skipped the other restaurant and just gone straight to the Palladium. Steffi tells me there is an "over 18" theater with large cushy seats and they serve alcohol. Wish we had one of these in Austin!

We saw "Taken" primarily because Stef could get extra credit in French if she saw it and wrote an essay. Not that she needs the EC in French - supposedly she is up for some award in that class. I would give you the red "You Are Special Today" plate if you were home tonight, Steffi. I guess it can wait until next weekend.

About "Taken"...let's just say that if I had seen this movie before Steffi went all over Europe by herself last summer, she would NOT have gone. Now, all I can say is that she will never go back unaccompanied by someone over 40. It was an action-packed movie and the 90 minutes flew by. And Liam Neeson...he was great as usual.

My internet phone and internet are out. If someone calls my home phone they get a recorded message that the call cannot go through and to try later. I called the cable company and they diagnosed a problem with the modem but can't sent a technician until Monday. I'm going to Florida Monday so that won't work. I decided to go exchange the modem for a new one during lunch today. Hey, I may even put the top down on my car and enjoy a little fresh air!

Back to my "no planned entertainment day" Friday now...

Wednesday evening entertainment

Wednesdays used to be softball nights. It's technically "winter" here (although you'd never guess it with the daytime temps in the 60s and 70s this week) and we don't play in the winter. Turns out that there are not enough females to field a spring league this year so my spring softball will be limited to watching Mike play. That begins in March. Until then, Wednesdays are open for other entertainment. Last night we went to see Legally Blonde at the newly renovated Bass Concert Hall on the UT campus. About the renovation which closed the facility for about 2 years, the only real noticable change was in the front of the building. The seats weren't changed at all and still have the same worn brown burlap-py fabric. They're comfortable enough but with all the excitement about the re-opening it would have been nice to have new fabric to sit on! Anyway, Legally Blonde was as you would expect - not fabulous but definitely entertaining. Next month we will see Spam-a-lot supposedly with Richard Chamberlain. Now that will be fun!

The Killers!

Mike and I have a busy entertainment week this week. For me it started yesterday. I recorded Groundhog Day and watched it in the evening. I tried to count the number of Groundhog Days Bill Murray had to live through before finally getting it right, but if you've ever watched the movie, you really can't tell specifically past 5. I suspect it was a number with at least 4 digits since he seemed to become a doctor and learned how to play the piano very well.

This evening we had tickets to see the Killers at the Erwin Center. They were really, really good. They played all their hits and a number of tunes from their newest CD. We enjoyed every song. The only issue seemed to be with the bass sound - it was sooo loud it was distorted. They seemed to fix it after the 2nd song, but to my ears the bass gremlin returned at the end. Here are a few pix of the show. The stage was outfitted with a number of palm trees.And there was a promonent "k" at the front of the stage. Behind the stage there was a curtain of lights that changed colors and they could create pictures and movies and words.
At one point they dropped a large tiger curtain.

There was a desert scene in the background
There's that k again

It rained light

and then around 11 p.m. the sun set on the show.

You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what we do on Wednesday evening....