Friday, April 23, 2004

We went to the Shady Grove last night to see and hear Mindy Smith. We took our RVing guests from Michigan, by way of Arizona with us. Oh sorry, I have not told you about our guests. Well we agreed to let them park their RV on our property for a few days. Well Kathy agreed. They are the aunt and uncle of a friend from church. Little did we know that their RV (read motorhome) was actually a 15 ton combination of truck and trailer that stretches about 70 feet by the time you add the 4-wheeler that they tow behind the thing. Our neighborhood association is rightfully up in arms and something needs to be done. But I digress. We went to hear Mindy Smith at the Shady Grove. She is good but not as moving as I had hoped. Part of the problem was the crowd at the Grove. People just won't stop talking to listen to the music. Maybe a thousand people gabbing away and just one singer, with one microphone trying to deliver a musical message that died about halfway back to my combat fatigued ears. Later they turned up the mic and that helped a lot, but I was still pissed at the would be listeners. Well that's what you get when the show is free. People figure it cost them nothing and they are just going to enjoy the company around them. I can see their point. If you really want to hear the music you just have to get up and get closer. We had a great table way in the back - this was great for eating and drinking, just not so good for listening. Win some, lose some. The food was awesome, and so were the drinks. The show was free, the food and drink cost us $40. The people watching was priceless, So there you go. All in all a great night out in the beautiful city of Austin, Texas. Wish you were here. 8:20:08 AM    comment []

Friday, April 16, 2004

We were invited to our neighbors on Sunday for Easter dinner. It was a sumptious collaborative effort, with them providing the main course and us providing the wine and dessert. Better than the meal was the ever-stimulating, oft-times fascinating conversation amongst the group of us. AR and JR are charming hosts. AR senior had the line of the day when he stated "I don't know about the Effingham, but the Effingsteak is wonderful." You had to be there. It is wonderful to have friends and neighbors like ours. We are truly blessed. 9:21:38 AM    comment []

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

It's email from Hollywood - well Studio City, which is close enough. Steve and Janie, our friends who have moved about as far west as one can, have settled in Studio City, CA. If you are reading this it means that you have internet access and have maintained some form of contact with the RiverDogs on the banks of the South San Gabriel (just down the road from beautiful Leander, Texas). It's a chilly good morning from deep in the heart of Texas. It has been in the low 20's at the start of the day but will warm up to 60 or so this PM. Wonderful weather except for the high dose of cedar pollen in the air - something like 9000 per cubic meter yesterday. If you're not sneezing your butt off you must be somewhere else. Isabella and Kristin came to town yesterday and Bella stayed with us last night. She is our grand, and I mean grand(daughter) from Syracuse. She will be three years old in May and is the most fascinating and smart little person in our world. We are going to have some kind of fun the next few days. Hey, that is the news from here so for now it's aloha from the RDs and me. 6:24:33 AM    comment []

Thursday, October 23, 2003

We heard from our old friend Terry last week. She is coming (did come earlier this week) from her home in Portland to Austin for a few days this week and next. In between those four or five days in Austin, she is going to participate in a fishing event in or around Padre Island. It was a real surprise hearing from her for the first time in over a year - maybe two years. Hope we get a chance to see her or this will just be another fish story. She had not heard that Steve and Janie moved to SD, CA. I guess she has not been in touch with them for a few years either. 11:55:54 AM    comment []

Sunday, September 14, 2003

We heard from Janie the other night - did not talk to her in person but had a message on the answering machine when we got home from our trip to Hill's Cafe on South Congress to see Ray Benson perform. It was a great night for a free outdoor concert. Janie said they were settled in and that she would call us in the next few days. We will get in touch with them today. We had company for dinner last night. Laura and Ahmed stopped by after working all day moving his household goods from Cedar Park to central Austin. He is trading a 50 minute drive to work for a five minute bicycle ride to work. I am extremely envious. For those who care what we eat we had grilled coho salmon with a mango, papaya, onion, & cilntro salsa. Wow was it great! This was accompanied by a wide assortment of vegetables and Italain garlic bread. To wash it all down and smooth the transition across the palate, we used a vintage Placido Pinot Grigio white wine. We had a wonderful time getting to know Ahmed and more about our good friend Laura. The RiverDogs were pleasant enough after their normal agitated state when people first arrive on the scene. They did not beg for food and did not share in the aforementioned meal. Hey, they have their own food and I don't beg for any of it - so they shouldn't beg for ours. Sounds fair to me. 7:31:38 AM    comment []

Saturday, September 6, 2003

Reach out and touch someone..and do it now! Hey what is happening with Steve and Janie. Well this shoud be the end of their first week in San Diego CA. They were supposed to sell and close the deal on their Scottsdale house at the end of August. We have their cell phone number although it may no longer be activiated - may just have to try and reach them this weekend. Speaking of reaching people. I need to call John this weekend and wish him a belated Happy Birthday. I think it is number 89 - he is reaching the age that few attain in this life. He has been a big part of my life for over 40 years. I need to call him today. We also should go see Ande out Wimberley way. She has not seen the new truck but I don't really know if that registers on her important items list. Maybe tomorrow we can head that way - we will see. Gotta run. RiverDogs beckoning. (What do you think of the pseudonym Beckman Hammerling? Maybe I will start writing some under that goofy name - then I can say anything outrageous as I want and no one will know - except you the mysterious, but oh so singular reader). Brother Bill if you are reading this can you recall the Hammerling in our past. Boy was that a long time ago. 7:58:24 AM    comment []

Sunday, June 22, 2003

It was hot hot hot yesterday. I think it was officially 96 but felt much hotter than that. First day of summer and if this is any indication, ugh...it's going to be miserable. We stopped working outside around noon. I filled a couple of animal holes with concrete. Hopefully whatever is digging out there will find another yard easier to dig than our yard. Or maybe I buried it in the concrete. That is OK too. Friends from church renewed their wedding vows on their 50th anniversary yesterday. It was a great ceremony and the lunch after was very, very good. We sat with the Deeds and the Hilsabecks. Jeri said that there may be a chance for me to get back into IBM. That would be unbelievable. I need to send her my resume today. They are looking to fill several positions in a web architecture/design group. Stay tuned. 6:52:54 AM    comment []

Ian and Donna were over for dinner last night. They brought the steaks and we added brown rice and vegetable kabobs from the grill. Topped it all off with strawberries and BB vanilla ice cream. Good to see them again and get caught up on what is going on in their corner of the universe. Ian has been traveling quite a bit but Donna is currently unemployed and not loving every minute of it. I hope she finds something soon and puts her energy back to work on positive things. 6:39:59 AM    comment []

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