the very model of tree

Honesty

I now own THIS

To aid me in my quest to sing on pitch as I prepare for my role in ‘Man of La Mancha’ in Minnesota, I bought a Yamaha from Pancho on Craigslist. Now I can start up my piano lessons where I left off when I was eight.

I once bought an accordion with the hopes of becoming a virtuoso….and I was well on my way…..but I didn’t know I wasn’t returning to NY and for the last eight months it has been in storage in my sister’s apartment.

 

This keyboard is coming with me. 

Enchanted Rock and The Salt Lick

We finally made it out to the Enchanted Rock State National Park this weekend (see slideshow below). The place couldn’t have a better reputation amongst Austinites. We’ve been encouraged for months to get out there and do the summit hike or pack up some camping gear and spend the weekend. Essentially, it is an enormous granite dome that rises to an impressive height comparative to the surrounding Llano basin. We scurried up the incline eager for exercise and then loped about the apogee for hours. Outcrops of elephantine boulders were conquered one after another and until our hearts thumped and our knees ached. We let the summit zephyrs water our eyes and whip our hair….we yelled non-sensical “hooooo!”s and “hhhhhhaaaa!”s into a crevasse or two and then side stepped our way down one foot over the other.

Since were in that neck of the woods, for dinner we aimed our sights on the arguably best barbeque in the great state of Texas : The Salt Lick.

The menu diverges very little from the following:

Heaping helpings of beef, sausage, and pork ribs, served with potato salad, cole slaw, beans, bread, pickles, and onions.

But that’s why you’re there! Everything is prepared on the premises, the establishment is BYOB, and there is always some honky tonk under the oaks as you wait for your table. Its quite the quintessential Texas experience.

I’ll provide a before and after photo for your own mouth-watering enjoyment.

Enchanted Rock

Saturdays are for Curciverbalists

I spent the better part of this Saturday belaboring over three different crossword puzzles. Reclining under a tree in our neighborhood park, as Luke paced and studied his Hamlet lines, my mind turned to orthography. The New York Times puzzle went unfinished for this Saturday specimen was particularly abstract. For example: Head of Great Britain…….Loo. !? I get it, I just think it’s more than a little misleading.

We’re going to see This American Life, Live!

I love the radio show. I have absolutely listened to absolutely every episode, but have yet to see the Showtime series. We’re looking forward to live broadcast…it will be like having a direct dialogue with Ira Glass.

Friends and Fredericksburg, TX

A few Saturdays ago we took a quick trip to Fredericksburg, TX, a quaint little town of German ancestry. We drank lager, walked the historic main street, ate wiener schnitzel, and generally just tinkered about the town. We drove home under a broad auburn full moon.

Prickle me so sweet.

Three little cacti upon my window sill.

How fond I am of these little armored succulents!

How little they rely on me! I must be careful not to over-tend.

The phalanged one on the left is particularly darling to me.

Still Life with File Room

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