Austin Wedding Limits

Finally!--as promised--a post about my April trip to Austin.

Dale and I went for our second visit to Austin, this time to attend the wedding of my niece (and godchild) Margaux. In addition to all the wedding-related festivities, we also had the opportunity to do a little more exploring than last time we were here.

A cool old sign in South Austin.

I don't know if it is an absence of zoning rules or just typical Austin weirdness, but roadside trailers selling stuff is really popular, especially in South Austin. Vacant lots are transformed into funky food places.
South Austin Trailer Park is home to a number of vendors, one of which is Torchy's Tacos. I've had more than my fair share of tacos, but Torchy's were the best I've had yet. Not only were the fillings awesome (I think this is one beef and one green chile pork) but the tortillas were unbelievably good. We loved it so much we ate there twice during our visit.
This "canned ham"-style trailer sells s'mores! How cool is that? They sell you the fixins and you DIY it at the small fire pit near by.

These cool Airstreams are parked on South Congress.
We also visited the saddest.fun fair.ever. OK...it was early and a little rainy, but this was one sad fun fair. Even the carnies were sad.

I'd been looking forward to checking out the Austin bat colony that resides under the Congress Avenue bridge. This is the largest urban colony of Mexican free-tailed bats in the world. The bridge is over a widening of the Colorado River called Lady Bird Lake. Luckily for us, the wedding reception was right on the shore of the river/lake and we were able to see the whole thing. I expected a couple of bats to fly around, but this was unbelievable! Once they started coming out, they kept on coming and coming and coming......for about 20 minutes! Constantly. They sort of made a sinuous, helix shape and sometimes there were even two columns of bats. It was crazy!

Driving around town, I'd noticed that Austin has a lot of neon. Now I know why. We stopped and talked to Todd, the super-friendly owner/artist of Roadhouse Relics, who's responsible for many of the signs I'd seen around town.
I know--not so awsome during the day...but this is a great example of the styles Todd designs. Last time we were in Austin, we went to Jovita's to see Brave Combo play.
Another highlight of the trip was the chance to eat some kolaches. There are many outlets of The Kolache Factory around town.
Frozen custard in Austin? You betcha! This place has been in business since the 40's. Started up by transplants from Ohio.
It was sort of weird to travel to Texas to learn about California style--but this was a great exhibit. Austin has a thriving modern community and we saw some cool architecture as we explored the city.
We got to meet Maya--cutest, friendliest pup ever.
The entire visit was a blast. Not only did I do touristy things like these photos show, the wedding events were the highlights of the trip.

Since the bride is from Wisconsin, there was a large contingent of Cheeseheads that traveled down to Texas for the event. I had a great time catching up with friends and family as well as meeting more of Aaron's family.

Here's a pic of the happy newlyweds!

Happy Independence Day!

Lest my blog readers think I'm unAmerican....here's my tribute to America's Birthday.

On tap for today is some much-needed house cleaning in the AM and then go hit the fireworks show at Wilson Park around 7. The sun is already up and shining--I guess June gloom is over.

Bonne Fete Nationale du Quebec!

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Saint Jean-Baptiste, the patron saint of the Province of Quebec.

Food From Another Planet?

It was a brave (or really, really hungry) person who took a look at this and said, "MMMM that looks like it would be something good to eat!"  I saw it and said, "WOW look at that freaky-ass vegetable--I gotta get that on my blog!"

The young man that sold it to me said it is an Indian Bitter Melon and (surprisingly) it is very bitter.  And apparently it is good for ya too.

I'll have to check around and find a recipe that uses it and if I survive I'll post about it.

Meet Charlie

This is Charlie, one of the stray cats that has been hanging around Fartwood Manor for the last six months or so. FatCat is still around passing the time between the three houses on my street. MomCat--not preggers as originally thought--just fat-- is still camped out under the deck, but getting bolder (and not in a good way). Black Irish must have found a better gig, since I haven't seen him for a few months. 

Charlie is such a cutie that we were hoping he'd calm down a bit and be a little more accepting of us. Lately, he's come up to the back patio door but retreats once I go there to dish out the food. The other night I accidentally left the slider open and was in the next room at the computer. I looked up an there was Charlie in the tee-vee room checking out the Laker game. I kept still and he wandered around the house for about 30 minutes. He just quietly sat there looking at me sitting at my desk. I had to take this photo so Dale would believe me that he had actually come into the house.

Last night when we got home, Charlie and MomCat were eagerly waiting for some food. Dale left the door open and eventually Charlie came in again. Dale found some catnip left over from HellCat and put that out and Charlie rolled around in it and had a good time, but eventually got spooked and ran out. 

I hope he gets mellowed out and wants to stay with us.

It's Donut Day!

First, it is Accordion Month and today it is Donut Day! Life is good.

Life is going to get even better this afternoon--I'm going for a weekend in SanFrancisco! Dale has been up there all week and I will join him for the weekend. Hard to believe we've never been there together, so it will be fun to do some exploring. Saturday's agenda includes a trip to Alcatraz. I hope to check out the Ferry Building Farmers' Market too.

But first, I think I'll have a donut.

UPDATE: Turns out this Donut Day thing is a real deal not just some crazy idea made up by some marketing guy at Dunkin Donuts. It is a time to honor the Doughboys of WWI and the Salvation Army Lassies who provided these sweet treats during the dark days of wartime. Thank goodness we don't have to make donuts in Army helmets anymore!

It's Accordion Awareness Month!

It is always Accordion Awareness Month at my house, but this month it is official. So, in honor of Accordion Awareness Month, I have put together a little podcast showcasing just a tiny bit of the diverse music styles that feature accordions. It's not your grandfather's accordion music anymore! Sure, everybody thinks accordions equal polka music...but pretty much all cultures have some sort of squeezy-box. The rising popularity of world music is bringing all this good stuff to more ears. 

Click here to check out the podcast. Here's a little bit of info about the songs that are included:

The ever-awesome (and Grammy award-winning!) Brave Combo gives an old standard polka a totally new sound. 

Nortec Collective from Mexico brings the traditional sound of accordion to the alternative beats.

Cajuns like Bruce Daigrepont are famous for using accordions.

Texas is home to a huge Czech population that brought the polka music with them from the old country and morphed it with the twangy country music.

Chicha music is a freaky psychedelic mix of Peruvian, Columbian, Andean sounds that began in the late 70's. Chicha Libre is a contemporary band from the US that re-introduced this genre.

Gogol Bordello kicks ass with their over-the-top Gypsy punk.

The rest of the list are the kinds of traditional polkas that I grew up listening to.

And of course I had to put some Weird Al in here!

This is by no means a complete list of accordion music...just some of the bands and songs I like. If you want to explore the wonderful world of accordions, check out Let's Polka, a treasure trove of all things accordion.

My cousin Kathleen took this awesome photo of her husband Mark and his accordion. He serenades her (and sometimes the squirrels) every day.