it was a LOT of stress.  everything else was put on the back-burner.  middle of this week I was high atop a ladder, painting the ceiling in the screen room.  I suddenly noticed the phone had not rang for a few days.  normally the production staff would increase the phone calls and emails...  I came off my ladder, shot an email to the producer asking for another confirmation of the start date.  he could not confirm.  I pressed him with a few direct questions and he also could not confirm the show itself was still in production.  it happens all the time, shows get cancelled before their first air date.  I suspect that to be our situation.  while we were excited about the show, we were also relieved to be able to slow down and aim to have our list done by the end of summer, instead of a few days.

so we took it easy this weekend.  kat went back to finish her flower box project. 

#1 son has a guitar recital at stubb's bbq next saturday.  it's going to be a great show.  he has a full band supporting him.  I recorded him practicing his guitar part at home.  and of course #2 son said "it's my turn" and expected to be recorded and have his picture taken.  videos of both posted at the bottom of the page. 

BIG

VOLUNTEERS:

I toss many of my kitchen scraps right out the door, onto the ground near the kitchen.  every year we get some volunteers from the seeds in those scraps.  this year has been very productive from the volunteer arm of the garden due to all the rain.  we have several volunteer tomato with big fruit and we even have some BIG pumpkins in the works...  I'll be so impressed if we carve our own pumpkins this halloween.  at this rate, we might be able to carve one into a full size carriage. 

we have started to track what we take out of the abandoned house we bought in wimberley.  kat made a charitable donation of a bunch of housewares, I sold some jeep doors I found there on ebay ($800!) and we now have a bunch of small appliances including, crockpot, waffle iron, gaggia espresso machine, vegetable juicer, and now an air popcorn maker!

BIG IT UP CLICKY HERE

these things have actually increased in value.  people like to buy them and roast their own coffee beans.  we may try that as I am a bit of a DIY junkie.  but for now, the kids are enjoying healthy (less fat/sodium/microwaves) air popped corn. 

we have had a few days where it was warm enough to swim.  he was so happy to be able to use his new flippers.  he obsessed over them every day until we finally gave in and bought him some.  he'd seen flippers in an old navy swim suit ad.  he just KNEW they were the thing for him. 

we tried a new indian food restaurant.  the food was fantastic. the service started out ok but then took a nose dive when our waiter was unavailable to us.  we spent the last half of the meal trying to get his attention...  I can't recommend pakwan. 

]]> tag:austinmodhouse.com,2012:/blog//1.600 2012-05-07T17:42:34Z 2012-05-07T20:30:21Z

 

we attended yet another fun filled yelp elite party at ray benson's rattle inn. 

BANG BANG!... you got me.

 

I asked a friend his opinion of the beer, "one is really hoppy and the other is a bit too yeasty".  I went inside and asked for one of each, combined them in one glass and started a new trend.  everybody started going in and asking for one of each along with an empty glass.  the southern star brew was good and always glad to find a can option for boating and river fun times when glass bottles are unwelcome.

pretty yelp elite cowgirls insured a fun evening.

Z tequila offered delicious paloma and a few other cocktails.

short shorts and a pair of pistols.

I did chaperone another preschool field trip.  way out near bastrop, behind a mobile home park, somebody had the idea to carve a path in the woods and plop life size fiberglass dinosaurs and charge $5 a head. 

he still won't cooperate for a picture.  the statue mode is my only hope to get him to stand still for the camera. 

he holds his hands out like that when he is a statue....  ok. 

I made it back to wimberley to replace the missing section of siding.  with a bit of patchwork I did it with just one sheet.  I trimmed the window with pieces I removed from the big house that will be torn down.  I need to replace the front door, trim it, caulk paint and then it'll start to look finished. 

treated ourselves to another great meal at haddington's.  they make their own tonic water there, quinine bark in a pressure cooker or something like that.  the tonic ends up looking brown/reddish.  kat really enjoyed the house made pork cracklin' and we really loved that duck meatloaf with blueberry reduction.  scallops (below) were good too. 

a year’s worth of home maintenance and cleaning crammed into ten days...

the home and I are supposed to be reality tv show ready in ten days time.  I have an impossible list of things to be done.  stripping the old floor finish puts me in a bad mood.  and none if it helps with kat's disposition either.  she hates this sort of stress, especially when so much of the house is disassembled in mid cleaning and project phase. 

I finally finished installing glass tile around the outdoor shower.  I realized I left my tile float down in wimberley, so I made my own.  the one on the right worked so well I didn't try that thing on the left.  left over rubber from the roofer, two screws and a scrap of wood. 

had some friends over for dinner and wine in the screen room (indoor dining table is non-op due to floor project).  kat was all worn out from stress and cleaning.  she laid down to rest a minute and never woke up, slept through dinner and all.  I made a soup of cauliflower, leek and cashew and drizzled a carrot and ginger juice and cayenne sauce over the top.  it looked like mashed potatoes with buffalo wing sauce... everybody seemed to enjoy it (kat ate hers the next day)

zoom-zoom-zoom

 

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I got the on-demand water heater connected to the 12v water pump and water tank.  hot showers!

I made use of a stack of hardi backer board found in the house, made a small screen.

that river.... within a moment of dropping the tired feet into that cool, clear water...  relaxation is suddenly abundant.  it's like some sort of magic.

heating up the grill. 

the boys played with a low tech telephone, I made them put the iphones down.

and they played with bricks...

future grill master?  he insisted upon putting the grates over the burning charcoal.  he was careful and received no burns.

#2 son piled the dijon mustard high while the daughter lopped of chunks of the pungent Morbier.  she asked, "what cheese is this?  I REALLY like it!"  that's my girl!  they ate a big wedge mostly themselves. 

we grilled salmon, grean beans, onion and tomato..., the daughter made wild rice,  it was good. 

and now that we have electricity, we have a/c and the kids enjoyed a movie inside that evening.

we took the spare projector down and they kids watched chitty-chitty bang-bang,  it worked out great. 

we found a window on clearance at lowe's.  I'll be glad when the front of the barn is less ugly.  the window had to go in before I replace the missing siding.

we made great progress at cleaning out the abandoned house.  kat carefully packed up the kitchen, made notes of everything to be dropped off for donation and cleaned.  we found a few jewelry boxes (but no jewelry).

the daughter carefully cleaned them and applied orange oil to make them less sad after being left behind.  possibly the most love they ever received... the one box plays "memory"

1965 ford econoline hubcaps make nice drums and hats at the same time. 

#2 son has a handle on this birthday thing, he is so ready for his next birthday.  talks about it constantly.  so we had talked up eeyore's birthday.  he asked "where is eeyore".  I think he was calling our bluff.  but when we took him to see the real donkey he quickly clammed up and backed away.  #1 son was more comfortable wishing eeyore a happy birthday

throw the sack games...

the most fun part of eeyore's.... the people watching.  we camped under a tree, enjoyed some best wurst, kat got her giant smoked turkey leg, and some saint arnold's.  it was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon.

lots of girls wearing body paint.

we found a field of hula-hoops as we walked out of pease park and much hooping did ensue..

we had a quick stop at kat's office (more work) and then we had a very refreshing dinner at imperia. 

sat at our usual booth and made our selves at home.

chop sticks are not so easy without his helper but he tried...

easier to eat sushi with fingers.

sit on the floor, stand, lay down and eat.... whatever it takes.  we took it casually. 

yes, he got food on his nose.  because he eats like this...

kiddie acres is way north from where we live.  it's way outside my usual boundary.  but his teacher talked me into going along.  the place, is made up of aging worn out kiddie rides.  to adults, it's a bit pathetic.  but to these kids, it is the BEST place in all the world!  he's talked about it every day since.  he did refuse the pony ride, I can't blame him.  I'm also skeptical of riding some beast that is larger/smarter than I am.

the wimberley butterfly festival was HUGE this year.  they had so much more to do and many more people did come out for the event. 

kat took the kids to the festival while I worked at the river barn property.

#1 son was so careful to be a good host to the butterfly that chose his wedge of "camp-a-lope".  for half an hour he walked slowly to protect the butterfly.  he made it into the truck with it when I picked them up.  then, marvin (the bastard dog) jumped up on #1 son and stomped on the butterfly.  he cried for quite a while and it was heartbreaking, but I'm sure there is some sort of life lesson in there.  we did slaughter about 500 butterflies last week on our trip back from palo duro canyon, the whole front of the truck was covered with them.  I know, it's not the same. 

eanes ocean show is put on by mrs. wright's class every year. 

pre show goofing around.  the ocean show is a big deal, it's AWESOME!.  the kids dress in all black and use a bunch of props to simulate an underwater adventure with a jacques cousteau theme.  it is great fun and they all put a lot of work into it. 

the set before the lights go out. 

the soundtrack for the ocean show is recorded in advance in a professional studio.  a few nights ago kat asked me "didn’t we see the heartless bastards during sxsw?  I heard a song by them on the radio?"  I was showing her my favorite HB song on youtube when I recognized the studio!  it's the same one where we recorded the ocean show!  spoon has also recorded there as it’s owned by drummer Jim Eno.

leaving the school I saw this funny sticker "CAUTION ASIAN DRIVER".  I didn't get a chance to see who the driver was. 

after MONTHS of hassle. I finally got the transmission shop to fix the tranny leak.  promptly had it towed to a shop that is used to working on hotrods to address the electrical problems. 

hmmmm, I wonder if we will see a spike from new visitors today... we found some nude beer (unopened) in the abandoned house.  these came with a scratch off bikini top, this one was removed and there is another that is partially scratched off.  I guess if you've seen one nude beer pair you've seen 'em all.  sell them on ebay? (click for NSFW version)

I purchased a 275 gallon water tank.  cleaned it all out with bleach water, strapped it to my utility trailer and filled it about 80% of the way.  it probably weighed nearly 2k lbs.

I dropped kat the kids off at the wimberley butterfly festival.  how to get it off the trailer?  how would the egyptians have done it? 

I strapped the tank to an oak tree and PUNCHED IT!

.

OK, so maybe it wasn't that graceful and maybe it did fall on it's face and maybe one of the strap hooks is now straight... but it worked.  we have water for flushing the toilet.  although we have noted that the toilet takes 3 gallons to flush and it's a lot of work hauling the water per flush. 

oh yeah, there is a real bathroom and toilet in that spooky house.  of course a spooky house always has a spooky bathroom.  we bleached and scrubbed that bathroom with an incredible assault of chemistry.  I ran a 12v bulb/fixture powered via solar/battery and now....  it's still spooky but bright!

kat has started to sort, organize and clean the crap left by previous occupants.  a new copy of Angela's Ashes! , pulitzer prize winning literature...  and a bunch of junk...  but who left all this stuff?  the cooktop must have quit working at some point.  they had hauled in an electric stove and just pushed it up against some cabinets.  I suspected those cabinets had not been opened in a long time, and held more (crap) clues to the people who left this place....

found this pic in there (among many other treasures) looks like early 90's to me.

the place has inspired many questions.  why are those pieces of all-thread up there?  and who would attach a shelf bracket over the miniblinds putting a shelf across the front window...?  ah screw it.  let's start ripping it down. 

it was dark around the spooky bathroom.  less spooky now that I removed the drywall on a few walls and let the light in. 

he's not supposed to be up on the deck, he's testing his limits. 

I worked pretty hard cutting and dragging cedar trees.  you may wonder why I hate cedar trees so much.  well, besides the whole cedar fever thing, cedar trees operate a bit like this...

notice the cute baby cedar tree getting all cozy with the mature oak tree.  seems innocent enough, right?  NO!  it's a KILLER!

(dead oak on the left, Cedar tree in the middle) the fast growing cedar consumes much more water and quickly chokes its oak tree host.  soon the area is thick with cedar trees and the oak trees are now being deprived of sun light and water...

as seen on the unmanaged lot next to ours, the cedar trees soon cover everything.  several hundred year oaks are being threatened by a sizeable cedar army. 

while I labored with the chainsaw outside, kat was busy cleaning and making lunch.  although it was put together from food I previously cooked it was greatly appreciated and delicious.  it was a nice change of roles, she usually goes to work and I cook and clean.  I imagined this was more like my farming grandparents lived.  he'd go out in the field and work till lunch, come home to a meal and go back farming.  but then again, he died out in that field so maybe I'm putting rose colored shades on it.  but that salmon with stereogum sxsw party sauce was delicious, as was the HUGE salad, the garlic herb cous-cous and ruby redbird.  later that afternoon, we walked down to the river.

a group paddled by on kayak and canoe.  the weather was just perfect!

he wanted to see how it looks while blocking the blues.

BIG you really have to see it in the big version, we were impressed... go ahead and click the pic, that canyon is quite impressive.  pics can't really do it justice, must be seen in person to truly appreciate it.  but we'll try.

a series of switchbacks get you down the side of the canyon.

eager to make an attempt to reach the lighthouse formation.

but #2 son slowed us down.  I sent my mom ahead with the two older kids.

he has refused to have his pic taken.  the workaround is to ask him to be a statue.

we were so slow, we eventually took turns carrying him.

a short shade and water break.

after about two miles of hiking, we could see the lighthouse formation!  and soon after, my mom and two older kids were on their way back.  we sent #2 son along with them as I knew he could not make the final climb up. 

there it was, steep and slippery.  some of it had to be done on all fours as there was nothing to grab onto and the ground was sandy.  but we pressed up and onward. 

a bit hot and sweaty and dirty... 

and after I took a few deep breaths (don't like heights) I made the big step up to the flat area between the two lighthouse rocks.  steep drops on both sides afford fantastic views of the canyons below. 

BIG IT UP!

SEE IT BIG!

then back to the airstream at caprock canyons for alpine style cheese happy hour.  #1 son made four squares of different cheeses to top his slice of caibatta. 

I know it's not in focus, but it's rare to get a pic of the daughter looking like she likes me.  I think she's figured out I'm a jack-ass and normally wants little to do with me.  keeps her distance and almost never smiles at me.  it was a special moment, my favorite of the whole trip. 

and we had our easter morning egg hunt there at caprock canyon state park. 

BIG

the drive from austin was a little over 6 hours.  but well worth the effort.  probably the nicest texas state park we've visited. 

the kids LOVED it.  there was a playground next to our campsite and the boys made "new friends".

 #1 son came back all excited and got his bike, told us about the "NEW FRIENDS!"  I watched him ride over to the playground, get a stick that was much taller than he was and started to beat it onto the ground.  he made a "ROOOOAR!!" sound as smaller twigs broke off.  the big stick eventually broke in half.  then he threw himself onto the ground and started to roll around and flap his arms into the red dirt.  he continued to make animal growling sounds as a cloud of dust rose above him.  a small crowd of "new friends" had gathered in a circle around him to watch.  they were clearly impressed.  I went over and put a halt to his demonstration at that point.  I hope that was the grand finale and he didn't have bigger/more impressive moves in the works.

BIG

BIG

the next morning we took our bikes on the canyon rim trail. 

my passenger fell asleep on the bumpy off road trail. 

kat and I planned to hike the eagle point trail.  we were going to lock the bikes up at the trail head and take off on foot.

then kat said "let's see how far we can get on the bikes.  worst case scenario, we just walk them out of the canyon".  and she was off...  her city bike skinny tires and all speeding down the canyon trail.

downhill sections were followed by steep uphill workouts. 

near the bottom of the canyon

we did walk it a few sections near the end of the trail.

we made it all the way to the other side.  and then we noticed the 16% grade on the road going back... (both up and down)

it was a good ride, about ten miles in all.  we rewarded ourselves with afternoon happy hour in the airstream.  it was great to get out of the wind. 

#1 son enjoys making new creations with the happy hour spread.  he has a slice of ciabatta, blue cheese, cherry tomato slices and moroccan green olives pieces. 

grilled both salmon and chicken with the oj/gochujang marinade.  the food was satisfying and everybody is getting good at grilling their own dinner.

s'mores too. 

he rode that bike for HOURS.  we came home with thorns in four flat tires. 

they have free range bison (yes, I snapped that pic as I drove by, I had places to go)

Doris Mager of S.O.A.R.S. gave a raptor demonstration with her birds of prey.  she was as insteresting as her birds.  she travels around the country with four birds in a van.

you've heard that saying about how people and their pets start to look alike?

28 lbs of fiesty tiny lobster like mudbugs

seasoning the boil

shared some crawfish with eichler

those are lemon rind sweet tea vodka lemon jello shots.  as dangerous as they are good.  mom even tried one, her first ever jello shot. 

we pardoned a few crawfish.  I don't think they lived, maybe the koi pool water is too clean or has too much amonia.  notice the abundant tadpoles... (one can be seen just above the top claw)

doofus dumping the crawdads.

kids had fun swimming. 

it was suggested, "if you're going to a crawfish boil, you should take yellow bellies! (coors)"  then it was later suggested, "if you're gonna drink yellow bellies, you oughta shotgun them"  and so they did. 

I enjoyed some piper with my spicy crawdads.  not that I really eat crawfish...  kat usually peels a few for me and feeds me.  they were spicy!

yes, the daughter is now adult sized... 

we also attended a yelp elite party at sully's side bar. 

the yelp elite party was also sponsored by ambhar tequila.  the fermented agave juice cocktails flowed fast and free.  that was GOOD tequila.  many people have had some past bad experiences from tequila, and it's usually from a cheap tequila.   if you are gonna drink tequila, drink the real stuff.  don't do shots of cheap nasty stuff and later label all tequila as evil.  always check the label to ensure your tequila is made from 100% blue agave.  if it doesn't say that, it's a probably mixto-tequila and has sugar added. bad mojo that cheap tequila is. 

yes, the party was very illuminating. 

we grilled some more salmon with the #5 gochujang korean fermented chili paste.  good times...

hired electricians to hook up kat's barn to the grid.  still no power, but getting close...

#1 son competed in a chess tournament with his school chess club.  he was there for 7 hours, said it felt more like one hour it was so much fun.  his team didn't do a lot of winning...  he said "all these other teams have been to like, at least, THREE other tournaments!  this was our first".  I'm just glad he had fun.  I saw those other kids were VERY serious about their chess.  he was far more interested in the ipad/kindle fire/ninentdo fest that was going on with his team's table while they waited between matches. 

I also did TOO much lumberjacking here at our west lake hills home (amh).  found two dead oaks, called the city arborist and she issued me a permit and told me to take them down asap.  she later confirmed it was NOT the dreaded oak wilt.  likely a result of the drought of 2011.

BIG

I started near the tree and slaughtered cedars, also cut a driveway... it was a lot of work with the chainsaw.  we needed a safe place for the kids to play while we played lumberjack. 

I drew up the little screen room below using sketchup. 

(scan of old print) kat approved and I got to work...

and at some point, we decided to make solid walls instead of screen...

one was built and it was good, so we decided that if one was good, two would be better.  kat made the drawing above.  but after we got the pier and beam foundation we decided to make the second cabin longer (no porch).  and then we built a bathroom with composting toilet...and attached a tool shed...  everything worked according to plan, but it was a case of cabin sprawl.  it wasn't a cohesive design.  that, and the lot next door now hosted a mcmansion complete with pool.  and, swimming pool often hosted pool parties with loud thumping dance music...  it was no longer the peaceful country retreat we sought.  in fact, the wimberley city limit had moved and we were now inside city limits.  so we moved out. 

pics from our last night at the wimberley off grid cabins. 

rewarded ourselves with a trip to the leaning pear. 

the saturday night special is always good.  an over zealous plate clearer took kat's meal before she was done.  she had taken #2 son to the bathroom and returned to a plateless setting... 

bandera county quail, chicken fried!

daughter loved the chicken pot pie and it's puff pastry hat. 

the best part of the meal came last!  kat said that was the best cheese cake she ever had and I sure loved the spicy ancho chocolate terrine. 

daughter is enjoying her "teen skills" class at school.  making a bag for her iphone or nintendo 3ds

the stars are SO bright out there.  we laid on the porch and stared up for a while, for the last time.  we'd seen flyers for a "barn party" that night and we could hear the live band till nearly midnight.  the band sounded good, but just secured our decision to move out to our other wimberley property, that is really out in the country. 

kids enjoyed sprinkle donuts from wimberley donut company.  the asian family that runs the donut shack took a keen interest in my family. 

we've had to spend a great deal of time on paperwork, contracts and such.  I often say "I didn't marry an attorney so I can read fine print".  we have a routine, she reads, makes notes, scratches out lines etc.  I make my own notes and patiently wait till she says "sign here and initial here..."  example of my contract notes below.

B

cabins are sold and we've moved on and out of town. 

AUSTIN RESTAURANT WEEK: eleven plates wine bar

ok, so I'm a cheap bastard and I planned accordingly.  we made reservations for JUST after happy hour, and we showed up a few minutes early (before happy hour ended).  bottles of wine are $11 off for happy hour and there is a full HH menu of $5 cocktails and apps (bargain!!).  the klinker brick zin was a delicious wine that was easy on the budget. 

beautiful hill country and 360 bridge view from their balcony deck.

salads were huge and really good.

72 hour short rib was enjoyed by the wife

I loved the roasted arctic char.

some leftover sxsw 2012 pics I found on the other camera...

I recall when the daughter was 10 days old or so, we took her to see the iguanas.  but she doesn't remember.... so we caught a refresher course.

the iguanas at sxsj (south by san jose),  but what the kids really needed was food.  so we went to Mrs P's Electric Cock...

the chicken sliders were good, real good.  but the wait was way too long and they were out of many things on the menu (no waffles, no mac-n-cheese). 

returned to the san jose parking lot stage and caught a nice set from dan mangan.

too busy to post pics. moving out of cabins and into blanco river barn this week. took a moment to enjoy spring on the river (above). #1 son demonstrated how he can play clocks by coldplay at 255 beats per minute; fastest setting on his metronome (below)

]]> tag:austinmodhouse.com,2012:/blog//1.588 2012-03-19T20:59:05Z 2012-03-20T15:56:36Z

our friends from Blade Studios came back with their big tour bus/mobile recording studio.  while here for sxsw 2012 they recorded sessions from citizen cope, suzanna choffel, holly winter, honky, lance lopez, josh bell, little children...

we found an assistant on the bus when we arrived.  we were informed brady was gone, we had sent message that we'd be stopping by so we decided to wait.  then zach (assistant) had to run and we were left on the bus.  we had two hours before our next appointment so we killed time playing with a guitar laying on the sofa.  I even sang a song, "BRAAY-DEE!  where are you BRAAY-DEE" (played to the tune of galaxie 500: tugboat).  then scott rushed on the bus (to see who he'd heard was left in charge).  scott said "brady IS on the bus!"  we were confused.  scott then pulled back a curtain to reveal a sound asleep brady blade.  he'd just come back from europe, playing with melissa ethridge, he hadn't heard a word of my awful falsetto singing.  we were a bit embarrassed all the same. 

scott crompton noodled on his guitar. 

jet-lagged and all, brady is always quick to issue that big smile of his. 

Andy Vandette from Masterdisk on the bass guitar

#1 son had some time in a local private studio for a class project:

 

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NEW BUILD (members from LCD soundsystem and hot chip)

I often say, "if your band's drummer sucks, your band is gonna suck too".  now I can add, if one awesome percussionist is good, three will surely kick ass!" 

I love that moment, when the band realizes the show is going well.  the sounds is good, they are playing well together, the crowd is responding and we are all creating a great memory together.  it’s great to see a band that seems to enjoy performing to a live audience. 

then we headed downtown for some drinks and eats.

kat enjoying her vintage top she got from the yelp sxsw party. 

had some apps at garrido's then we had reserveations with friends at a new cocktail bar...

MIDNIGHT COWBOY:

this place is not easy to find.  they did remove the "Midnight Cowboy MODELLING oriental massage" sign.  the long lived brothel was finally shut down.  and some quick thinkers turned it into an upscale cocktail lounge and kept the same name.  this lounge is by reservation only, and there is no real bar.  just a few booths and a private room.  entry is gained after finding the unmarked door and ringing a buzzer. 

we had the private room.

the place is only 11 ft wide.  looks like they only have 8 booths (four on each side) and the one private room.

we had a curtain for privacy, and a switch that illuminated a red light to indicate when we needed service.

some of the drinks are mixed (performed) table side via this rolling bar cart and mixologist. 

the room itself is dark (also very very humid and muggy)

the oriental massage and girls are gone, but we brought our own oriental models.  we entertained ourself with photography and using an iphone flashlight app as the light source. 

it was after ten when we jumped back onto sixth street.  I've never seen it so packed and lively!

and kat found her best wurst cart. 

and this band set up in the middle of 6th street.  they had a HUGE marimba... laser light show over the street...  it was wild.