Hello again

I'm still alive! 8 years without a post could make one wonder. I just wanted everyone to know that I am still kicking! Let's see... 

MrB had a massive stroke back in 2016, and survived, now with aphasia and some other issues, so that pretty much turned the world upside-down. I am now a caregiver, which will be my role from here on out.

I retired in 2020 (while I was working from home during the pandemic) but am glad now (in 2022) that I am not dealing with a hellish commute (again) and largely unmasked office situation. At my final place of employment I worked in a small, windowless office for 18 years. I enjoyed my work (graphic design, illustration, and website maintenance), but it's nice to not be spending 45 hours glued to a keyboard/screen plus about 8 hours in an ugly traffic jam every week. Working from home (for part of 2020) eliminated the commute, but the job was much harder to do hunkered over a laptop with a small screen and poor colors, no way to print, and frequent disconnects. In retrospect, I had a decent, middle-class career considering my humble beginnings. I worked for 47 years with about 37 of them in my field.

This little city of Austin has been rapidly growing into a big city, and I find that my favorite places have been disappearing left and right. I can barely recognize this place. I need to fall in love with it again. Moving away would be very difficult, so we will probably stay. Trying to give it time. I still like sitting on my back porch, so hopefully that will remain as a peaceful sanctuary and escape from all the wrong kinds of weird that are taking over everywhere and everything.

Well, don't forget to vote, and do it in person (if possible) if you are in Texas. Otherwise it might not be counted.

Still have this sweet tuxedo, so I have to add a photo of her showing off to the cat sitter.

That may be it for awhile. Stay well, each and every one of you. 

Dear Mother

I've been using all my spare time (at least what's left after stuff like the full-time job and facebook) scanning hundreds of old photos, and I like to try and put things back together... like a jigsaw puzzle. I came across a letter that my Mother had written home to her Mother in 1937. She would have 17 when this was written from the big city of Chicago back to rural Southern Illinois.

This letter had to put a scare into her Mother, but no more than the previous couple of years of her escapades -- running away and living like a hobo, riding the rails and falling in with bad company -- then being retrieved against her will. I guess this time her folks decided to let her go. Might as well. I don't know if this photo was taken in that year, but it looks like a possibility. I kept her spelling and punctuation intact.

Jan 4, 1937
Monday

Dear Mother,

I got here O.K. Kabella's came for me in their car. Jim didn't come to meet me. And I'm glad of it. He told Kabella's a bunch of lies about me. He told them that I slept in the woods two nights with two boy's he has got to prove it. You know what he told about getting letters every day or every other day from Francis Kabella and the girl upstairs. He denied it. He said you was telling a lie and I don't mean to call it cussing I don't mean it that way but he got mad and this is what he said "You and the whole God-Dam family can go straight to hell" and he told Kabella's that in our country there was two classes of people, the low-down and the higher class. He said my family was the lower class. I got mad and told him he couldn't talk about my family and get by with it. He told me to shut up and started to hit me and Mrs. Kabella's brother told him he'd better leave me alone. Then he told Fritz to shut up and they almost had fight. Jim drew his knife on Fritz but didn't cut him he told them he knew how to use a knife if anyone got smart. He has to leave here they are tired of him. I'm not afraid of him. You have to have license to carry a gun here. He's just blowing. He's gone now. I hope I never see him again.

He said the reason he didn't meet me at the depot is because I knew too much about him. See he was afraid I would hear about the things he told there. He couldn't face me.

Well I'm sleepy so I had better. I didn't sleep last night cause he had his knife + a gun borrowed. If he gets back and acts too smart I'll call the cops everybody is on my side they don't like Jimmy.
All the news this time I guess. Good Bye and answer soon.

Your Daughter
Lola

I worked upstairs today. I'll see about factory tomorrow. We lock bed-room door. I'm not afraid. Don't worry about me. he will get the worst end of it. You know how he is.
Big windy.

My Mother was in love with a man in Chicago, and I learned from searching out the 1940 Census forms that they lived in the same building. It was not the infamous Jimmy from the letter or anyone else in it. I won't list his full name, but she called him "Cooney." He was married. Had to be a heartbreak in there somewhere.

Well whaddya know?

A Federal Judge struck down the ban that that voted into law in 2005 (I believe), that doubly-tripley (Maddow voice) banned same-sex marriages that were already illegal. The dominoes are falling. This thing will be held up in the courts for month, but I really think it's only a matter of time.

The decision prompted this hilarious typo (Tweepo?) by one of the right-wingers running for higher office. It was fun while it lasted, he has since corrected himself. Ha ha!!

Be merry, be happy, or just get to the other side

The Holidaze are upon us, and hope you are enjoying yours... especially hoping that you get at least a day or 2 off (although some folks are not that lucky) (and if you are working, I hope that you love your job). I have been off work since December 21st, so that fantastic, and don't have to go back until January 6th. I am in the category of persons who just wants to get past the Helliday itself, and it has gone smoothly this year except for just one anxiety attack last week... feeling much better now and in the home stretch!! Go go go!!

We have been entertaining ourselves with concerts, movies, some light shopping, and otherwise just NOT being on a schedule. Here's a bit of a concert from Sunday night, The Band of Heathens played wearing wonderfully tacky Christmas sweaters!


Seeing some good movies too... 'tis the season when the nominees are announced, and a lot of the contenders for awards are the ones freshest in the minds of those who decide. I loved "Inside Llewyn Davis," another Coen Brothers/T. Bone Burnett collaboration (like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") that is not a musical but is driven by music. I've had the CD soundtrack for awhile, and one of my favorites from it is "The Auld Triangle," which is lip-synced in the movie by 4 guys in matching beige sweaters (I'm not really giving anything away there), but it is these guys (Punch Brothers & Marcus Mumford) plus Justin Timberlake who actually do the vocals. I love this intensely.


We've seen "12 Years a Slave" and "Dallas Buyer's Club," going to see "American Hustle" tomorrow (Christmas Day).

Whatever you do, enjoy it.

Hey, I'm walkin' here!

If you are headed somewhere, hope you get there safe, and enjoy the trip.

Google Street View find.

Princess Neko says Hi

Celtic Festival

Here is your soundtrack for this post. Picture sitting on the bank of a river, the weather is perfect, temperature 77°F/25°C, sunny, dry, and light breezes. We were sitting on a blanket behind the stage where a band was playing, so the music is live.



A guy paddled by in a coracle, which I am only familiar with by name because a friend of mine in the UK has one. Considering the recent floods (and the banning of river recreation) he was probably committing a misdemeanor, so I hope his adventure ended well.

I didn't take loads of pictures of the bands and costumes this year, as I have done before. Just a few snapshots. Enjoyed petting the mini-horses, and really... what is cuter than a mini-horse? It would be a tough competition. Princess Neko would be in there (and all cats, really), puppies, baby hedgehogs, mini-horses, etc.

Also pays cash for houses and will mow your lawn.

Seen on roadside. Call this number at your own risk.

Coming This Winter...

Here is a Sunday Funny for you from the folks at Bad Lip Reading! (When the link pops up to watch the extended scene, hold on and wait until the end - there's a link for them)

Let it rain!

We don't even really try to go to the ACL Festival anymore. It's harder for us to be on our feet for 12 hours a day than it used to be - where you have to walk a mile to find a spot to sit - crowded and sweaty. This year it wasn't just sweaty, on the penultimate night of it we got something like 4 months worth of rain in one night, so they cancelled that day. A lot of the bands did 'popup' shows, last-minute-arranged stuff you need to be on twitter to find out about. One band played at the homeless shelter for just food donations. Atoms For Peace, which sells out venues at the $100 range, played for $10 a ticket. Many bands put on free shows! Lionel Ritchie picked up a house concert and played for maybe 50 people, don't know what he charged though.

I got happy because one of my favorites, The Lone Bellow, played a couple of free shows -- one of them at 5:00pm (perfect for us old timers who just wanted to get home in time to watch The Walking Dead, then hit the sack for the workweek) (priorities).

I love these guys! This one is a slower ballad but most of their songs are up-tempo -- check them out if you like this:


Still getting some rain (so wonderful) and later this week it will cool down enough to maybe turn off the air conditioner.

Arizona fun

Still working the scanner like a fiend, trying to post photos in chronological order (but we'll see how long that lasts). This gallery is in a similar time and place, 1951-1956 in Arizona. This is an event held annually in Wickenburg AZ (small community about 60-odd miles out of Phoenix) called "Gold Rush Days." It's very cowboy-themed! See the video below (video not mine) shot in 1958... as close to it as I have found. I love seeing all these folks decked out in their 50s best (I think it will enlarge if clicked), and the rest of the shots of cowboys and cheesy floats.

In other news, the weather is FINALLY cooling off, still warm enough to call summer up further north, but feeling less like an oven. We spent Tuesday night of this week attending the Austin City Limits TV taping of Neko Case - who has a haunting voice like no other. She spent some time in Tucson AZ herself (recording an album), her father was in the Air Force (like mine), and told the story during the show of have a stuffed iguana as a kid - not a plush toy but a real dead iguana with painted teeth, stuffed with cotton and (I'm sure) wires... this was funny to hear for me because when I was a kid I had a similar companion -- a stuffed baby alligator (or possibly a crocodile) named Kilroy. Parents can make strange choices sometimes.

Is this thing on...?

Waving helloooo after a long absence from the Oasis here. I miss it. Facebook drives me crazy sometimes, but also wears me out because it's constantly updating. Anyway, I am up to a lot of my usual activities, going to hear live music once or twice a week, almost too much to list except to make note of attending the Dawes Austin City Limits taping a day after my 60th birthday (OUCH).

I've also been keeping myself busy with the great historical photo and letter sorting project. Great progress, and have been keeping the scanner going. I have cleaned up my old Flickr account and am going to try and post as much as possible there. The first set is of a racetrack in Arizona where my dad worked as a side job in the pit crew for one of the drivers. I love seeing the way people people used to dress! Manzanita Speedway

All Hail the Autumn seasonal change!

Will be checking in and browsing around when I get the chance.

Wendy's Theme

Local band Bright Light Social Hour happened to be at the big Citizen's Filibuster event where the awesome Wendy Davis spoke for 11 hours, on-topic, with being allowed food, bathroom breaks, or even leaning on something -- and they made a music video based on the chants.

You can get a free download of the music here on SoundCloud.

Makes me very proud.

Spread it around if you like it.

Welcome Princess Neko

Here she is. We asked her owner if we could keep her. That's the short version of the much more lengthy post I was in the middle of - then decided that could wait.

We are happy to have her as part of the family.

May Post

Hello! Yes, I know, I have not posted for awhile. Still keeping very busy between working and weekends, but generally facebooking things instead of blogging. I even missed my 8th Blogiversary announcement on May 6! Shame on me for that. Let's see what's happened...

Eeyore's Birthday! Our Spring Ritual event of drums and costumes.

Live music from late April forward: plenty! Saw mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile & jazz pianist Brad Mehldau in the proper vintage theatre setting of the Paramount. Saw local sensational songstress Patty Griffin play free at Waterloo Records (without Robert Plant, her companion and musical cohort, who shows up from time to time). Saw local (via Australia) high-energy progressive acoustic favorites and friends The Greencards at Threadgill's. Went to "Jazz in Bastrop," and annual charity event featuring my favorite guitarist Eric Johnson. He played a magnificent set (whether or not it is jazz could be an all-night discussion) with his regular band of Wayne Salzmann on drums and Chris Maresh on bass. Opening for him was Rick McRae (who tours with George Strait) along with Eric Hokkanen and several others playing red-hot swing-jazz. Great stuff, and on a perfectly beautiful, balmy night, and in the country next to a lake where between sets of music and applause you literally heard the sound of crickets. The following week we saw Eric Johnson again, sitting in for a few at Van Wilks birthday concert along with Christopher Cross. That one was a blast. We love Van, he is a great guitarist and a friend. The next day it was Rick McRae (again) and Denny Freeman, free in the rotunda of the Texas History Museum. Denny did some time as Bob Dylan's touring guitar player and is now back in Austin. He is amazing. Also seen last week - our beloved Band of Heathens. It had been too long since we'd seen them.

In other news, we got rain. Glorious rain, flashing the drought a middle finger for a least a few days. These photos are from the front yard, which is occupied by a hundred snails.


Coming soon, some good news on the home front. It involves a kitty. Stay tuned.

Ritchie Havens

So sorry that the world has lost Ritchie Havens. He was an icon of the music festivals of the 1960s (where I saw him quite a few times), and if you've seen the movie "Woodstock" you must have been moved by his "Freedom." He was sooo wonderful. He wrote many songs, but was also a master of the cover song, he would make a song his own. We both got to see him as recently as 2003, during SXSW he played an official showcase at the Cedar Street Courtyard where we watched him from a few feet away on a warm night. This is probably my favorite listen from Ritchie Havens, "Follow."



Follow
Words by Jerry Merrick

Let the river rock you like a cradle
Climb to the treetops, child, if you’re able
Let your hands tie a knot across the table.
Come and touch the things you cannot feel.
And close your fingertips and fly where I can’t hold you
Let the sun-rain fall and let the dewy clouds enfold you
And maybe you can sing to me the words I just told you,
If all the things you feel ain’t what they seem.
And don’t mind me 'cos I ain't nothin' but a dream.

The mocking bird sings each different song
Each song has wings - they won’t stay long.
Do those who hear think he's doing wrong?
While the church bell tolls its one-note song
And the school bell is tinkling to the throng.
Come here where your ears cannot hear.
And close your eyes, child, and listen to what I’ll tell you
Follow in the darkest night the sounds that may impel you
And the song that I am singing may disturb or serve to quell you
If all the sounds you hear ain’t what they seem,
Then don’t mind me ‘cos I ain’t nothin’ but a dream.

The rising smell of fresh-cut grass,
Smothered cities choke and yell with fuming gas;
I hold some grapes up to the sun
And their flavour breaks upon my tongue.
With eager tongues we taste our strife
And fill our lungs with seas of life.
Come taste and smell the waters of our time.
And close your lips, child, so softly I might kiss you,
Let your flower perfume out and let the winds caress you.
As I walk on through the garden, I am hoping I don’t miss you
If all the things you taste ain’t what they seem,
Then don’t mind me ‘cos I ain’t nothin’ but a dream.

The sun and moon both are right,
And we’ll see them soon through days of night
But now silver leaves on mirrors bring delight.
And the colours of your eyes are fiery bright,
While darkness blinds the skies with all its light.
Come see where your eyes cannot see.
And close your eyes, child, and look at what I’ll show you;
Let your mind go reeling out and let the breezes blow you,
Then maybe, when we meet, suddenly I will know you.
If all the things you see ain't what they seem,
Then don’t mind me ‘cos I ain’t nothin’ but a dream .
And you can follow; And you can follow; follow…

Tall weeds and a new toy

Spring is just busting out like crazy now, and I have a new camera which I am still trying to get used to. It's got options for "special effects," which the old camera didn't offer. Here's one used to capture the Bottle Chandelier.

(Note: I put the bug pictures at the bottom of the post so you can bail out if you are phobic. On the positive side for fellow arachnopobes, there are no spiders, just a bee and another insect)

Yellow Columbine gets the "illustration" filter.

Maybe the most interesting filter isolates the color red, and removed color from everything else. It worked really well with the poppies. Another feature kicked in when I took this one - it informed me that it had detected a blinked eye. Ha ha! Very perceptive Ms. Camera, but he's not going to open his eyes any wider than that. Ever.

We got our first sunflower of the year, and it is a perfect beauty, even without this effect that is supposed to make it look like a painting.

No special camera effects on the rest of them, just some close shots of a HUGE black bee that has been visiting the milkweed. It's not a Bumble Bee, but a Carpenter Bee that goes by "Xylocopa micans."


Again, no special effects, but just a shot of a bug that is ALL OVER the milkweed. Turns out it's called a Milkweed Bug. Harmless, except to milkweed, which is a problem for us since the milkweed is much needed for butterflies. We are not going to discourage the MW bugs, but instead are headed out to buy some more milkweed plants - so maybe there will be enough to go around.

Those boots

Remember the pairs of mysterious gold boots that were draped, tennis shoe style over the wires around town? (Things can ALWAYS get more fabulous, and you truly never know what you will see during SXSW!) I didn’t think they were an official SXSW decoration (not corporate enough) but a rogue act.

I just went to the CD release for (awesome local band) The Wheeler Brothers, which is called “Gold Boots Glitter.” I have a very strong suspicion that the boots were a tribute. Anyway, I am kind of new to The Wheeler Brothers even though they've been causing a stir in the local music scene for awhile. They are a really good band, and know we know they have a lot of style too. Here's a video from their earlier record - worth watching on its own merits just for being fun.

A pic from the in-store at Waterloo Records:

When I opened up the CD, my jaw dropped in amazement at the design of it! Flaps unfold, and unfold again, and eventually it turns into a popup! The insert slides underneath the burning guy. They don't give out prizes anymore in this town for album art, but if they did, this one should win.

I hope that there is always a need and a purpose for physical album art. Maybe the resurgence of vinyl will ensure that, for awhile anyway. I really like Gold Boots Glitter, and thin maybe I should buy some more Wheeler Brothers.


Image from Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966)

It's poppy time!

This zoomed-in view looks almost painted!

Quote

Peter Walker [American space physicist; researcher at Rice Univ; contractor for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory/Space Science Div.] quotes —

“…..The supreme arrogance of religious thinking ~~ that a carbon-based bag of mostly water on a speck of iron-silicate dust around a boring dwarf star in a minor galaxy in an underpopulated local group of galaxies in an unfashionable suburb of a super cluster would look up at the sky and declare, “it was all made so that I could exist!”

I've seen this quote here and there, and can't verify whether the quote is genuine or not, but that part doesn't matter as much as the fact that it's an awesome quote.

We might be made of stardust, but we are not stars.