The County Line

Big ol' margaritas,  beer, ribs, slow cooked peppered turkey, sausage, brisket, potato salad, cole slaw, beans and homemade bread with honey butter.  Then top it off with bread pudding, pecan pie and blackberry cobbler.  (Take most of it home for lunch the next day.)

Have a blast with my little family, laugh, tease and take a bunch of silly pictures.

Life is good.  Tomorrow night I head home to my enchanted cottage, the furry boys and my cute housemate.  On Friday a joyful reunion with my man.

And this weekend and the next I will be in my studio at ASIF (Artists Studios in the Foothills) for the Open Studios Tour.  http://thecenterforthearts.org/openstudiostour-post/

Come and see me and get your order started for custom pieces for the Holidays.

I will also be teaching classes, resins, basic metalworking, Viking Knit and others.

Life is good.

Downtown Austin

Me and my son after his set, which was taped for the Good Music Club.
A Happy Mom

More fun in Texas

Sorry, I'm catching up on things I missed...

So, looking for fun and funny things to do we saw that the Buda County Fair was going on and they had WIENER DOG RACES!  I had to see those so we headed a bit south of Austin.  We ate fair food, giant pickles and corn dogs and had sweet tea served by lovely ladies.  I don't eat most meat but corns dogs are not to be missed, yum!

It's really hard to see the little devils but they are in a big boxed starting gate while the handlers call and whistle and wave toys at them from behind the line at the end of the field.  Then up goes the starting gate and they scramble like crazy to get to their peeps.  It was hysterical.  The crowd was huge and many of them had brought their own wiener dogs to cheer on their little friends.  I've never seen such a hoard of Dachshunds, all sizes, all colors, some with long fur, some short.

And, while my plan to eat tacos at every meal was foiled I did manage a couple of days worth, breakfast tacos are the best.

Peace

Happy Birthday Baby!

My darling baby girl is 24 today. 
I remember almost melting during the unusually hot and humid May and longing for her to be born.
Watching this child grow up has been one of the greatest things in my life.  She's filled my days with smiles and my heart with joy.  She's helped me prove that you can overcome a painful past and move on to a rich and loving future.  I've been privileged to watch her use her tenacity to succeed in many things.
I wanted to post a few baby pics but I'm limping along without my laptop so that will have to wait.
A joyful and loving life to you, my daughter.

Sweet Home California

Left Austin at 7:00 am yesterday and landed in Phoenix at 7:30 am after a two hour flight.  Flying can be so surreal, it just doesn't seem real to jump time zones like that.

But I'm home and loving every minute of it.  We're in the middle of the glorious sunny and 70's which makes my heart sing along with the birdies.  The flowering dogwoods, rhododendrons and azaleas are in full bloom, my front yard is a paradise.

Just doing the usual home things.

I managed to lose most of the pics I took, gone in the phone ether, but found this image of the Owl building in downtown Austin.  The legend is that this bank building was designed by a Rice University alum (their mascot is the owl) which now looks grandly over the U of T Longhorns.  I don't know if it's true but the building is spectacular.

Being with my family in Texas was heavenly, watching each of them grow up in their own particular way is so much fun.  There is nothing better than long armed hugs from my tall handsome son and having my daughter lay her head on my shoulder.

Life is good, ever changing, frequently challenging, but good nonetheless.

Austin Dining

After a busy day running around in the Texas heat we escaped to The County Line for some pretty good BBQ.  While we waited for a table we sat outside by the river and watched little kids feed the turtles and dance to the live music.

Peace

Jet plane...

Only a few more days until I leave for Austin.  Little Radar is having a CD release party this next weekend which means I get to see my boy play live, woot!  And his darling GF will be playing that night too, with her band, The Couch.  And I get to see my daughter, what a great weekend all around.

There are so many beautiful things popping up in my yard, it's like a big treasure hunt.  A whole row of peonies are popping, with grape hyacinths and pink dutchmen's breeches tucked in here and there.  The flowering dogwoods are starting to open up and this amazing plant, which I think is a Rhododendron.

It's really exciting to experience unfamiliar flowers and plants.  Plants were quite limited in the extreme Midwest temps, this is more tropical and very fun.

The birds are bathing in my fountain, plans for the backyard renovation are underway, lots of beautiful jewelry is coming out of my shop and warm hugs keep me smiling.

Life is good.