Yeah I know

I know, I haven't posted anything in a while.  I've been overwhelmed by the idea of sharing all that I saw in Europe.  I went on a Craftlit tour to London, Bath, and Wales, which was organized by Holiday Vacations and the fabulous Dianne!  After the week of touring, I took a train to France and spent five days seeing not nearly enough of Paris.  Then I came back to London to take another tour (just one day) to see Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon.  I couldn't possibly come to England and ignore the Bard.  I got to see so many glorious things that I've always heard of, and took so many fantastic pictures, that I don't even know where to begin telling about my trip--so I haven't posted anything at all.  Since it's almost Christmas and I'll soon be off for vacation, I will take some time to share some of my trip.

Also, I may be changing my format a bit.  Instead of focusing on travel and local sites, I'll just share interesting things as I run across them.  This doesn't mean I won't be sharing the kinds of things I've posted on up until now, but that I won't restrict my posts only to places and such as that.  Since I don't blog all that often, it probably won't be all that noticeable anyway :) but maybe I'll have something to say more often.

Anyway, I'll try to keep up better from now on.  Merry Christmas!

At the movies!

Monday afternoon at the movies!  What could be better?  Of course, since I have a job, this is not my usual Monday afternoon, but we had an offsite event this week.  Several admins went to see Eat, Pray, Love at the Gold Class Cinemas at The Domain.  One of these days I'll have to do a separate post about the Domain itself.  Serious upscale shopping, beautiful shopping center, everything you want if you want to spend money.  But back to the theatre.  This theatre is everything you would expect it to be in a shopping center like the Domain.  Big, comfy seats that recline with a footrest.  The armrest opens up so you can get your purse safely out of the way--just don't forget that it's in there!  A little table for your food and drink, with a call button in the middle.  And the menu!  I had the Crispy Spinach, Artichoke, and Gruyere and let me tell you, it was even better than I expected.  Upon request, they will bring you a blanket and a pillow.  Since I was wearing a skirt, I was very thankful for the blanket.  There is covered parking right next to the theatre, so you don't have to walk far.  They even have a free membership that offers special prices.  A really great, relaxing movie experience I highly recommend.

Quickie

August 21 I went to Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Alamo Drafthouse on Anderson Rd. with some of my oldest and dearest friends and had a blast!  It's been at least 15 years since I've been to see this show.  Not much has changed, really.  It's still a great time!

Alamo Drafthouse is a really fun theatre.  Not your standard popcorn-and-soda fare, they have a real menu.  You write down your order and the server comes by to pick it up.  In front of each row of seats is a long, thin table for your food and drinks.  You can order as often as you want, and the server will bring your bill about 45 minutes before the end of the show so you can pay and be all squared away before the end of the movie.  They show not only current films, but cool old stuff as well.

Last weekend I also did a rather complicated puzzle geocache with one of the same friends and others that took most of the day.  It was a lot of fun, and we got to show an exchange student some of the best parts of Austin.  The cool thing about this geocache is that it was placed by the guy who created Ultima Online, and was also an astronaut.  He has his own castle, complete with observatory.  The final part of the cache is set up on his land and...well, if you cache you wouldn't want me to spoil the surprise. 
Austin is really one of the most interesting places ever!

Long time gone

OK, I haven't posted in a while because things have been insanely busy lately.  First there was the sweater for my boyfriend:

Then the class reunion:

Then a wedding at Quintana beach:

A karate tournament I don't have pictures of, another reunion of people I once worked with that I didn't make it to, and another sweater, this one for myself:

Lots happening, on top of work and other things.  I'm trying to plan my trip to Europe in October (so excited!)  The first week of the trip will be this craftlit and the second week I intend to go to Paris, and possibly Stratford-Upon-Avon before I come back.  So I will try to keep this interesting, even if no one ever sees it but myself, but there's lots to be done yet.

Luling Watermelon Thump

OK, I've been busy but not doing much worth posting.  Last weekend I went to check out the Watermelon Thump in Luling.

There were three sections.  The first was rides:

The second was food, including the beer garden and entertainment:

The last was vendors, where I saw this adorable cuteness:

There was also a juggler, complete with fire and a unicycle:

There was a watermelon auction, which started the bidding at $1000 and reached some INSANE prices:

The grower of this watermelon was a previous Miss Watermelon Thump and the bidding was something like $10,000 when I walked away.

The admission price was $8, which I thought was a bit high for what there was to see.  I should have brought more cash with me, though, because I had sausage-on-a-stick, but I didn't have enough left for watermelon.

Downtown Luling is lovely and quaint.

Farmers Branch Historical Park

Farmers Branch Historical Park would have been better if I had called ahead to arrange a tour, but there was plenty to see, even so.  Even without a tour guide, the site has plaques everywhere to explain what you see.

So if you can, definitely call ahead to arrange a tour, but even if you haven't, it's still worth stopping.  A very nice park with lots of room and plenty to see.

Bishop Arts District

I had heard about the Bishop Arts District as a cool place to visit in Dallas.  And it did have some things that I enjoyed.

Every city needs a store devoted to hard-to-find sodas, but alas, there is only this one.  I had an excellent cream soda out of a real glass bottle, not plastic.

Then I went to the Chocolate Store.  It was so good that I forgot to take a picture.  Every city also needs a store that makes artisanal chocolate and homemade marshmallows.

Other than that, it was mostly vintage shops and art galleries.  I saw some weird things done with Legos.  But as cool as it is, it's only really about one block and its surrounding streets.  I was kinda sad that it's such a small area, because really, ALL of Austin is like this.

Trains!

While I was in Plano, I also went to the Interurban Railway Museum.  It is right next to a DART station and set in a lovely park on 15th street.

The museum has a train car right out front and tours through it and the museum.

It has a very interesting history and there is a lot to see for such a small museum.  The tour guides were very knowledgeable and friendly.  An excellent place to visit to see the history of Plano, even including some of the things we wish never happened.

Historical Plano

Last weekend I was in Plano, seeing some of the historical sites there.  I could be wrong, but I don't think these places are very well known.  I found out about them on the Internet, though.  There's always lots to see in any city of a reasonable size.

The first place I went to was the Heritage Farmstead Museum.  I was not allowed to take any pictures, so I can't post any.  I really enjoyed seeing the site.  Things were a little disorganized, and the regular tour guide wasn't there that day, but a volunteer showed me and another couple around and told us what he knew.

The house was built in 1891 by Hunter Farrell.  It has been restored and several period items donated to make up the exhibits.  There is also another house which was moved from its original location to be preserved on site, as well as several original outbuildings.  It is a working farm with chickens, sheep, and mules.  There are many opportunities for volunteers and partner memberships.

This museum offers an excellent opportunity to look through a window of time to see a snapshot of the turn of the century and how people lived.  If you are in Plano near 15th street, go see it!

Beautiful Wedding

I'm running late on posting things, but I'll get caught up soon.  A few weeks ago I attended a wedding of two dear friends at Villa Antonia.  It was a far drive up north for me to get to the other side of the lake, but the site was beautiful and worth it!

Lovely views, gorgeous grounds, excellent in every way.

I would highly recommend this site to anyone planning a fairytale wedding.

long weekend

Partly happy, partly sad.  I went to The Woodlands north of Houston to see a friend I haven't seen in years and meet her lovely family.  We went to Chili's and had lunch, complete with an incredible dessert I can't remember the name of.  But it had chocolate, walnuts, caramel, and ice cream.  So good I couldn't finish it!  Wonderful to see my friend again, but I had to stay in a hotel down south unless I wanted to fight rush hour traffic on Monday morning, which I didn't. 

So down south I go to Seabrook for a memorial service for a 4-year-old boy, the son of a girl I've known since I was 12.  A very beautiful service, very touching.  I could turn this into a commercial for the genetic condition he was born with, but I'd rather not.  I will say that he had COFSS (Cerebral Ocular Facial Skeletal Syndrome).  Beyond that, it's my friend's story to tell, not mine.

I did manage to do some geocaching in both places, and took some pictures near NASA.

I'm still playing with my camera to learn better how to use it.  It was darker than it looks in these pictures.

The light was better the next day.

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Yesterday I went to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center here in Austin.

I have been meaning to investigate since I moved here.  It probably would have been even better if I had gone earlier in the spring, before it started getting hot.  We've had a proliferation of bluebonnets this year.  But even this late in the season, it was a really nice visit. 

I learned the name of several flowers that I've always seen and never knew what they were called. 

There is plenty of cool and interesting art work all over the grounds.

The trails are nicely kept and a good walk.

I really liked the tower.

Plenty of pretty things to see.

They also have the Wildflower Cafe, which was nice, but I thought overpriced.  They rent the facilities for special events--I think it would be a lovely place for a wedding.

Hours:

Tuesday through Saturday 9am-530pm

Sunday Noon to 530pm

Open daily March 15 to May 31 for Wildflower Days 2010

Center closed on Mondays before March 15 and after May 31