Life Plan - Contingency Plan

Austin Skyline by Night

I cannot take credit for this photo and I do not know to whom to give credit for it but it is beautiful. The photo was taken from the south shore of Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake). It exemplifies the beauty and energy of this city. I think in the coming weeks as the new Austin City Limits music venue comes online this may be what the world sees. At least it will be similar I hope.

For as much as I love Austin and enjoy going to the downtown neighborhood where I lived for 20 years, my trip there yesterday was anxiety ridden. My friend from those years had routine outpatient surgery... at least it began as routine. I met her at the clinic at 7 AM and by 10 we were having breakfast in a neighborhood cafe. I stayed with her until about 2 PM and felt, as did she, that everything was fine. I talked to her at 3:30 when I got home; still okay. Knowing she was going to take a nap I didn't call back until 7 PM when I discovered she had some complications. She contacted her doctor who wanted her to go to the hospital. I called my ex-husband who still lives next door to her & he took her to the emergency room. (Bless his heart.) She was to spend the night, receive a transfusion & blood platelets and hopefully will be fixed.

The G-man & I are so thankful for the good health that we have and that we have each other. It is not like my friend who has no one close who lives in Austin. She has 4 or 5 brothers & sisters and a myriad of nieces & nephews, but no one she can call on for help. She is in a precarious position and one which I am unlikely to be able to assist. What happens to folks when they have no one to help them either by choice or circumstance? It seems to me that she needs a plan, but I know that she has not one.

I hope this will be a lesson learned... develop a plan. Make that plan flexible. Living in a big city has definite advantages... there are taxis to call for transportation, hospitals nearby, family doctors and specialists available. I always thought I had a plan for city life, but small town life is different. The logistics are more difficult. We think we have a plan, but one never knows what twists and turns life may take. The best laid plans may not be enough or the right plan.

Sunday Morning Walk

It is a balmy day
and after having breakfast
at a local cafe

the G-man, Gertie & I
went for a walk along the Colorado
river walk just one block off Main Street.

Amazingly I did not disturb
this tiny lizard sunning on a piece of bark.

The walkway curves along the river
and as it turns out there are
other reptiles taking advantage of the sun.

Above a lone turtle
and below a line-up of the critters.

The Colorado runs underneath the highway
which is busy on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
The traffic will only get worse as the day progresses.
Our town has hundreds if not thousands
of people who pass through traveling between
Austin, Houston, or College Station.

The girl and me.
Gertie does love our walks.
Right now I am battling an injured heel.
It is probably plantar fascitis
and I need to really stretch my Achilles tendon
before I stand up after sitting for a while.
I also need to wear shoes that raise my heel
at least one inch above the rest of my foot.

This tree (and I don't know what it is) has beautiful color.
(Per ellen, it is a rain tree.)

We end our walk back in the downtown area.
This little house overlooks the Colorado.
I should have taken a photo of the back
because it has a lovely patio & balcony
(you can see the corner of said balcony to the left)
that juts out over a sloping lawn that
runs down to the trail.

Fading Autumn

Autumn is fading.

The short-lived blossom of the yellow bell
that bloomed so late this year
will all be gone in a day or two.

The buff-belly hummingbird
and the yellow butterflies enjoy
the Turk's Cap.

Will come to an end after tonight
and tomorrow night.
A freeze is coming.

A cold wind blew in from the north
this Thanksgiving afternoon
and tomorrow the rest of the
fig leaves turned yellow
will join the others on ground.

And the last of the tomatoes were picked today
and sent home with my friend
so she can have fried green tomatoes.

Tomorrow the plants will be pulled
and tossed to go back to the earth.
The cycle continues.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Turkeys on the Roof...

Not on the Table!

Yep! From the G-man

Perfect!
Sweet card,
Chocolates,
and the Righteous Brothers
singing to boot!
Great start to my day.
Thanks Honey.

The Beatles ~ "When I'm Sixty-Four"

Bright & Beautiful Indeed

Today David at authorblog posted "Mall things bright & beautiful" and it reminded me of a photo I took in Paris 2 years ago. The vaulted ceiling in this department store was gorgeous & I took a few shots of it.

I have decided to leave this beautiful image as my banner photo until...
well, let's say until January rolls around.
Very festive.

Looking closely one can see the arches on the various floors
surrounding the enormous tree.

These photos bring back lovely memories of roaming
through Paris with the G-man; experiencing the city.
Paris is bright, colorful, delightful.

Just Yesterday

Autumn is a beautiful time of year,
here we have the bluest sky
and just a hint of autumn color
mixed in with the green.

Yesterday was particularly lovely.
I was on the golf course
playing in the Tuesday ladies' game.
I don't always show up for this game,
but with such a gorgeous day I couldn't resist.

The 5 holes along the Colorado River
beckoned me to take a few photos
with my iPhone.
I was curious to see if it captured the moment
and I think it did a great job.

Oh yes, those are my feet, my legs, my shadow!

The sun was sparkling on the river.
Such a beautiful day just to be...

The Coffee Dog

The Coffee Dog
Espresso & Coffee Bar
Bastrop, Texas

This coffee shop is a new addition to Bastrop.
A few years ago we had another coffee shop
but they did not last.
I think their location was not convenient.

This new coffee shop is in a prime location for
folks to whip in as they enter Bastrop on Loop 150
which goes directly into downtown.

The shop itself is located in a very
nondescript shopping center,
but as I said convenience is important
even if aesthetics (of the center) are not.

The interior is very cool!
Menus are on the wall behind the counter.
The colors are great!

The Coffee Dog also has its own roastery.
I absolutely hate to admit it,
but at home I prefer to use Starbucks
and grind my own coffee beans.

Yes, we are very hopeful that this shop
will be successful.
It will have us for lunch or a light supper
on a fairly regular basis.

Crows

Photo by Gerald Cato
One of our resident crows

The G-man recorded one of the most intriguing documentaries about birds recently. The title of the documentary is The Murder of Crows produced and directed by Susan Fleming. He recorded it from the Nature program on PBS. This link to The Murder of Crows has several videos taken from the show and are very interesting.

I have long known that crows are extremely intelligent and have a language of their own, but this documentary revealed many things that I did not know. The following list are things I learned:

• Crows have an exceptional ability to remember and pick a single human face out of a crowd. (There is a video showing how crows react to and associate a particular face with a particular action.)
  
• Crows are far more likely to be found living close to cities and suburbs than out in the country.
• Each generation of crows is capable of building on an earlier generation's knowledge.
• Crows live with a mated pair, their kids, and offspring from previous years in an extended family.
• Crows are found on every continent except Antarctica.
• New Caledonian crows are one of only three species, besides human, in the world capable of making tools.

Two of the above that I found the most interesting are that crows (New Caledonian variety) have the ability to make and use tools. Not only did one make a tool to get food, but it made a tool to get to the tool to retrieve the food it wanted. The other point is a crow's ability to recognize a particular human, remember that person, & relate that information to other crows (even to the next generation). Just absolutely amazing!

The two things I did know from watching our neighborhood crows are:

• Crows have different warning calls - one for cats, and one for hawks, and another for humans - 250 in all. (Well, I didn't know they had 250 different calls!)
  
• Crows are omnivores and eat fruits, vegetables and meat. (Oh yes, they love the goodies we put out on a stump for them.)
  

We have resident crows who hang out and wait for us to take out our melon rinds and apple & pear cores. We put these things on a log and just yesterday two crows, one rabbit, and one squirrel were sharing in the feast. I would love to get a photo of that but alas they do not like to stick around when I come out to photograph them. I would rather not disturb their picnic so I am content to keep the image in my head, but it is quite something.

If you get a chance to see the above mentioned documentary please do; I think you will enjoy it. If you can't see the entire show visit the web site & watch the videos.

Celebrating Our 5th Anniversary and a Few Thoughts

Today the G-man & I celebrate our 5th anniversary. This photo was taken in Las Vegas when we were on our honeymoon. We stayed at Caesar's Palace & saw Celine Dion's show.

It is amazing to me that even as we get older we are capable of finding love. At this stage in life we darn sure want to get it right because there may not be many more chances.

The last five years have been great and I think especially so since I retired. Now we have the freedom to go and do without too many constraints.

There was a financial article in today's paper about getting older and having happiness. The author is nearing his 70th birthday and wanted to state that though money allows us to do things; it does not bring us happiness. Happiness can exist whether we are rich, poor, or just somewhere in the middle.

Another blog that I read today also discusses happiness even in the hardest of times. In it the author talks about families coming together in hard times to love and support one another. This coming together occurred in the Depression era, later during World War II, and is happening again in the hard times that our country is now experiencing. Love, compassion, happiness is found in helping one another, in family helping family.

Love. When it comes right down to it love is perhaps the most important commodity we have. Love, respect, compassion. Yes, these three things will win out every time. I'm certainly happy that I have found those things in life with my G-man.

Mill in New Mexico

Monday, November 8 will be our
5th anniversary.
The photo above is one I had framed
for the G-man for the occasion.
The four photographs that I had
printed are very green which is a bit different
from what I normally take.
This is a historic site found along the
road to Mora, New Mexico.
It was a nice place to stop.

The banner photo was taken farther down the road,
but with the low clouds it reminds me
of the Great Smokey Mountains.
Most folks don't think of New Mexico
as being very green,
but some areas are quite lush.

Veterans' Day in North America

Thanks are being given in Canada for their soldiers sacrifice.
Veteran's Day in the U.S. is November 11.
Delwyn tells me it is also worn in Australia & New Zealand,
(ANZAC) Australian & New Zealand Army Corps,
to honor their soldiers.
The poppy is worn to honor those who serve.
Oh yes.

The symbol of the Day of Remembrance is the Poppy flower, a red petaled flower that grows abundantly in the fields of Flanders, in Western Belgium, where most of the fighting took place during World War I. On November 11, 1918 at 11 a. m. the last shot of this war was fired and peace declared. The Red Poppies that grow in full bloom above the dead in the fields of Flanders, where the brave soldiers sacrificed their blood and life for their own countries, seem to be symbolic of the belief that the blood of heroes never dies.

In Flanders' field the
poppies blow
Between the crosses,
row on row
That mark our place;
and in the sky
The larks, still bravely
singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the
guns below.

We are the dead. Short
days ago
We lived, felt dawn,
saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved,
and now we lie in
Flanders Fields.

Take up quarrel
with the foe;
To you from failing
hands we throw
The torch; be yours to
hold high,
If ye break faith with us
Who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies
grow
In Flanders Field.

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