Austin ModHouse

#1 son has circled the sun once again. He celebrated with his family at Plucker's

Yeah, that's JUST what he needs, more electronics for gaming. BUT, he's doing well in school and (usually) requires little supervision. So we are keeping our end of the deal and helping attain what he wants as long as he works hard. So there it is... he's getting a laptop.

The weekend arrived with an abundance of sunshine and warm (70's) temperatures. I took a couple of boys to their orchestra solo exam.  

They both did well.  

I also took his friends to a birthday lunch, Gourdough's Public House again

They played Ping-Pong 

They managed to volley a couple times... but mostly... 

there was a lot of chasing down the ball, the guys at the nearest table got hit more than just a few times.

a round of Shirley Temples for my friends! 

Cheers! 

Chicken Dumpling soup for EVERYBODY! (served with a giant garlic doughnut) 

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Our good friend Connie also made another lap of the sun. She generously hosted a wine party for her friends at the Red Room, everybody really enjoyed and happiness was abundant (if the background girls didn't already make that clear). 

Pretty girls and pretty fruit tarts too!

Sunday had temps in the low 80's! We made the older two kids go for a stroll with us along SOCO.  

(BIG) 

We were fortunate enough to get a patio table at Perla's.  

We love cold water oysters, and we are glad to have such a variety available at Perla's. #1 son sort of likes oysters, but after having a Conway Royale from Prince Edward Island, Canada... His eyes lit up with excitement, "WOW, THAT WAS REALLY GOOD!". I'll tend to agree, those were exceptionally good oysters. Kat made yet another mention of a possible return trip to our neighbors to the north.  

(BIG) 

The daughter and I took the sunny side of the table, we made the best of it. 

Where was #2 son while all this fun in the sun was going down? oh.... he was busy biking and hiking with a friend...

photo by A. Rains. I saw this later that evening and showed it to him. He shrugged it off and said "she just asked me to, and I couldn't help it". Yes, that's how it often goes.

Posted by paul at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

About 18 months has passed since there was a drama flare up with the HOA at our place in Wimberley. We resolved to sit back a while, and spend our resources (time, energy and money) on things that supply a more immediate joy (travel and food).  We don't NEED to do anything down there, it wouldn't hurt us to just sit on the property for years to come. BUT, it's time to move forward and try to reap some enjoyment. We missed the family time away from the city.

Kat spent some time cleaning up the cabin. I harvested smaller broken bits of wood left behind from the old house and fed a hobo style barrel burn. We also loaded the trailer with the old broken appliances and dropped them off at the recycling center. It's a milestone in the house removal process.

But the real reason... family time on a rainy winter day.  

Oh, Marvin got to come along. He was always "Eichler's dog". We're trying to incorporate him into family activities and he is responding well. I've even started to call him "Marvin" again, I'd grown used to calling him "dickhead" as he was not nice to Eichler for the last six months of her life. Anyhow, Marvin is a good dog. Kat doesn't appreciate his stinky dog farts... but other than that... no complaints.  

Vermont Cheese made another happy hour appearance. The Jasper Hill Cabot Cloth Bound Cheddar went really well with the cider jelly.  

if it goes well with cider jelly... French Brut Cider must be the obvious libation of choice.  

I made five individual pizza crusts, and supplied an assortment of toppings (including that Vermont smoked pepperoni). Everybody made their own pizza. #2 son LOVES artichokes. 

I toasted a few of them in the fireplace and finished in the Magic Chef infrared oven. 

Some were cooked only using the wood fireplace. Did the bottom get plenty of crispness? Yes, check that bottom shot below...  

We ended up sharing, everybody did a great job making a delicious pizza.  

Kat and the kids went in to play board games. Marvin enjoyed the warmth from the fire.   

I love my LED star lights and their shadows. They are 100% solar powered and really tie the room together.

Meanwhile, the next morning... 

Kat loves to get up before sunrise and make "the breakfast fire". We've not had to buy firewood, all sourced from our own oak forest.  #2 son said “I like coming to our Wimberley home. It’s like a free hotel"

#2 son loves that tree swing. It's good to get the kids off the digital devices.  

Sunday night back in West Lake Hills, Superbowl 2015... this is how we watched the Super Bowl...  we didn't. We sat around the fire, grilled salmon with friends. 

Our team won.  

Posted by paul at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We joined the other art museum this year... attended our first exhibit opening party for members and it was fun.

Tom Sachs: Boombox Retrospective 1999-2015
January 24th, 2015 - April 19th, 2015
The Contemporary Austin

the following three pics are all of the same piece... it's a suitcase with a tape player inside,

there is a slot where you could insert your hand in a glove to reach into the case and play one of the tapes (if you were allowed to touch, touching was not allowed and the docents were busy telling people to quit trying to listen from the headphones). The side of the box had a slot (below) for "good cassettes only" 

DJ POTUS Bong stand.... not shown was the guy in a plexi-glass stand selling an assortment of items including cheez whiz, condoms, deodorant and Vaseline, chewing gum...   

The party had three open bars and a delicious food buffet for members. Along with a live DJ on the roof, so far, we like this membership.

And in other news....  

#2 son can ride. He can be quite confident. He followed his brother to the top of this hill (below). Then they raced down...  

Meanwhile I'm yelling biking tips such as "slow down, you're going TOO FAST!, USE YOUR BRAKES". All my advice was dismissed as a nuisance and I saw the near collision at the bottom, #2 son suddenly realized slowing was a good idea that he'd surely come upon on his own, so at a high rate of speed he dropped one foot to the pavement, promptly stopping one side of him and launching himself off the bike and over the stopped foot. He landed on the palms of his hands, she screamed like he was being attacked. His parents, both concerned and frustrated ran to his aide. But as promptly as he'd ejected himself from his bike, he got back on and rode away... I resumed my yelling about slowing down and using brakes... 

He disputes any advice or tips his parents try to share. I later asked him, "Why are you so argumentative about everything?". He responded "I am NOT!" I had nothing more to say...    

Posted by paul at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My brother was down to two days until he was due back at work (Army). We used the time to sample many different foods (and a few beverages) Austin has to offer.  

Happy Hour at Mulberry , #2 son had not yet achieved happiness...

There we go, he's happy now! Happy Hour at La Condesa 

One request from the brother, Chips and Salsa! He's not satisfied with the "Mexican food" available in Hawaii. La Condesa delivered the chips and salsa as well as a guacamole sampler.

Modern Thai food lunch at Sway. 

Happy Hour at LaV 

Then we stepped over to Qui 

Justin Elliot heads the bar program over at Qui, that was one special cocktail.  

We also ate some food item that involved pig blood... it was good. Will need to return with the wife to share more about the food.  

Takoba Cantina has a late night Happy Hour. 

We also managed to fit in a trip to the Salt Lick (driftwood) and Duchman Winery..... that was a busy couple of days and I've got a few more trips to the gym to work it off.   

and then the brother flew away... and now he's back in Hawaii where it's always 80 (it's currently almost 80 degrees here too, gotta love Austin winters. We get cold weather that doesn't over stay its welcome) 

and in other weekly happenings... #1 son has started cotillion, he's in the Junior Assembly this year. 

and my Dad called explaining they'd listed their house for sale, and they had a contract within a few days. They don't plan to buy another home... so we got busy selling off most of everything they own, an estate sale. I helped rip all the decorative stuffs off the walls (and they had a lot of decorative stuff on their walls) and people bought stuff as soon as we could get it out of the house. The bed I'd slept on... it was all sold and hauled away.... the table where we've enjoyed the last three Christmas meals... I helped a guy load it into his truck, strangers will be dining at that table about now.... I hauled back whatever family heirlooms and some other stuff using my old utility traler.

Finally, #2 son taught himself to ride his bike. He's been super motivated ever since he received an invite to go riding with a classmate (girl). The busted lip is the only casualty. I should also mention the hat is his design, made by my mother (she makes and sells felt hats).   

Posted by paul at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)