July 4th - We just got home from two weeks in Dallas, and while I was there, I was inspired to take care of something I'd been talking about for many, many years. I got my old, busted tattoo covered up and replaced with something sensational. I found an artist named Deborah Brody on the web, she works out of Love 'N Hate Tattoo in Lewisville, just north of Dallas. When I made my first appointment with her, went through her portfolio, learned more about the studio and their procedures, talked to her for a while and discussed possibilities, I knew she was the right artist to work with. Here's Deborah:
She was able to translate my desire for "something that symbolizes transition" into an illuminated letter T, with a cat woven in (orange, to pay tribute to the late, great Goober). I went away and thought about for a few days, and it came to me that the letter T stood for so much that fits where I am at this moment on the long path of life. Tori (easy), transitions, truth, teaching, temptation, talk, tenacity...the list goes on. When I saw what she came up with I was stunned. Perfect. Even more perfect was how it completely made the old one disappear. It's still there, under the new art, that snap decision I made when I was 18 years old, but now it's come back to life in a very, very meaningful way for me.
Here is a look at the process of getting a tattoo. It's also a good illustration of what a good coverup can look like. The first photo is of the old tatoo, the anteater from the comic strip B.C.
Next, the old tattoo with the stencil applied. This is before the needlework starts.
Here's the old tattoo with the outline of the new one completed. Deborah will next shade the tattoo, applying colors we picked out together.
The finished product, just minutes after it was completed. It's a capital letter T in shades of blue with a stylized cat woven through to form the knotwork look. Goober was such a big part of our lives for so long. Deborah didn't know that, so I was initially surprised when she suggested a cat figure, but immediately knew it had to be Goober.
While I was there, I decided that a little more pain wouldn't be too much to take, so I also had an idea for a representation of the feminine in the universe, along with a spiral, which represents a number of things: spiral of life, continued personal and intellectual growth, curiosity, expansion of consciousness... It just seemed perfect. The sprial on this tattoo was inspired by another goddess tattoo I saw recently, worn by someone I admire. It's on my upper right arm.
June 15: Happy Father's Day! Love to Jim and Robin, my two favorite dads on the planet.
We're thinking of how to reduce our dependence on outside sources of energy here at Camp Rockin' Lazy I, so Andy bought a weather station that will record wind speeds over time to help us decide if wind power may be a viable part of our solution. In a clever bit of reuse, Andy mounted the wind measurement device to the stump of the flagpole that he and Robin cut down on a lark a few years ago. As you can tell, solar is definitely part of the solution here in South Texas. It's shaping up to be a very sunny and dry summer here. Things don't usually look quite this crispy around here until late July.
June 14: after a long week reading AP exams in Louisville, KY, it's sure good to be home. After picking up Andy at the airport, first stop is usually our favorite local, the Helotes Country Club, or better known as Lester's, for the man who's been watching everyone make fools of themselves for decades now. It's kind of hard to describe the place, as I've tried to do so I thought photos would do it. I think my friend Dutch (a Pennsylvanian who I met in Lousiville) would approve heartily of this place.
Don't be fooled by the name, country club. There is no nine-hole course hidden behind the place. To the left in the lower photo is the cold storage room that's used for the folks who bring in deer or hogs awaiting processing. Once I saw someone bring in a wildebeest. Really.
Here's the man himself, Lester Krueger. There's a sizeable population of descendants of German immigrants in this area of Texas, and Lester got a real kick out of an old German drinking song I once sang for him.
Bier hier, bier hier, oder ich fall um
Bier hier, bier hier, oder ich fall um
soll das bier in keller liegen
und ich ihr ein ohmacht kreigen
bier hier, bier hier, oder ich fall um
The second shot is a long one of the bar. Notice the ceiling. You can find nearly anything (from cattle come alongs to screwdriver sets) here, and it's all for sale.
The sheer mass of collected items that have been deposited over the years is enough to keep newcomers entertained for a very, very long time. You can buy fresh eggs from Lester's hens at the bar, as well as local honey and pick up all the free veggies you can eat from people's gardens during summer.
There are domino and card players here frequently, all playing under the watchful and glassy eyes of trophy bucks. Here is (from left to right) Smoky, Bob and Gary playing a game of pitch.
A couple of shots of Pat and Andy at the bar. Don't eat the pickles. It is a tip.
Aside from the artifacts found inside, the real reason for hanging out at Lester's is the people. Patty the beertender, a former fishing boat captain off the Mendocino coast, found her way back home to Helotes. Lucky for us. Jeff has been a good friend for years, and is a contractor whose helped us make our house look better. He's also an excellent musician (bass, guitar and who knows what all else), knows the greatest songs and does a mean Teddy Roosevelt impression.
Jerry always seems to be on hand when I come in off a bike ride for an 'energy drink'. Did I mention that Lester's is a mere 2.6 miles from home? He's planning to get a bike soon (when gas prices hit $100 a gallon) and start riding with me, he says. Kenny is another of the exceptionally talented musicians that this place seems to attract. He's got a lovely singing voice and writes the most gorgeous and heartbreaking songs. Most of his family are musicians also, so he comes by it naturally.
But by far my favorite person there, or anywhere for that matter, is my very own red-haired boy, Andy.
April 25: when it rains relatives, it pours. My youngest sister, Mel and her husband Matt came to S.A. for Fiesta week, which is an 11 day, city-wide celebration of S.A. that is monumental. These photos were taken at Night In Old San Antonio, a small gathering of thousands milling around listening to music on many, many stages, food and beverage.
Here's Mel and Matt: 
Some assorted photos of Mel doing her 'Da Doo Run Run' dance, me and Pat goofing off and our opinion of the incredible Cones Sisters (you must see to believe).
While performing, one of the Cones Sisters jumped off the stage and asked passersby for a drink. She got a bottle of beer and a couple of glasses of wine so the show could continue.
I'm always really happy when Mel comes to visit.
The Cones Sisters set of WWII/Andrews Sisters tunes made us all think of the famous pin up posters of the war. Matt is expert at the pin up pose, and he inspired us all to give it a try, including a couple of biker guys that were sitting near us watching us goof off. (WARNING: these photos are not suitable for children...or anyone else for that matter.)
While wandering the grounds later, we ran into the South San Antonio High School Mariachi Band, which featured three of my former students (in order of appearance) Angel, Alex and Ben. Their band sounded great, and it was fun to watch them perform. The dancer is Alex's younger sister.
The next day, Mel and I volunteered to work a booth at the Palo Alto College Fiesta festival. We got matching t-shirts!
Messing around with Jack later that day:
March 28:
My sister Cyndi, her husband Genaro and their sons Sergio (the tall one) and Lucas came to visit this week. We all had lots of fun on the Riverwalk, at Sea World and hanging around in the woods with Jack. Here's a photo of the family on the Riverwalk.
Here we are. We both felt compelled to show off what could be the whitest legs in human history.
Here's me later that same night playing my favorite dulcimer at the Thursday night Irish session. That's John Roby playing the guitar. Sergio tried out my bodhran, and did pretty well!
Here's Lucas, being his usual sweet self.
The week before, we took a sightseeing trip to Washington D.C. Bike rentals are definitely the way to go. We tore around the mall area, to Georgetown and along other bike trails and it was a delightful trip. It was coooold the days we biked. I think I wore almost every stitch of clothing I took with me.
Here I am with one of my favorite characters (left) and me & Andy at the Lincoln Memorial.
Happy new year! On Jan. 19, we attended the British Sporting Club's fish and chips night. The theme for the party was Hollywood Masquerade. Andy and I went as Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane from Lion in Winter. Andy won the men's costume contest, beating out another 20th century American king, Elvis Presley. My dress was made by the very, very talented Bennett Scott, who is a master of making and dreaming up costumes. She made this outfit without a pattern, and without measuring me. Thanks to Pam Keith for sharing the photos.
Nov. 22, 2007 - Because I am big believer in food and fun, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of all. This year, we spent the day burning things (Pat), stuffing things (Andy) and posting pictures of it all (me).
First thing to do on Thanksgiving morning: spark up the fire pit. Thank goodness Forrest Gump showed up to help us out.
Now it's time to start the food process. The star of the show gets the treatment from Andy:
Then it's time to make one last trip to the store to pick up things forgotten.
Enjoy the fire and have a good time until dinner's ready. Ceilidh and Jack truly love the fire.
We're almost ready to eat. Andy's working on his favorite, the green bean casserole with fried onions.
I act as a sous chef most of the time--chopping, washing, threatening people with knives--the usual.
the thing we've been waiting for:
Final steps: Andy carves, Pat makes the gravy.
Pour the wine, let's eat!
Pie anyone?
In the last few months, I've discovered that bicycling is about the most fun ever. Andy bought me a Trek 5000 for my birthday this past summer (45!!) and I have been riding all over the place since then.
Here's me and my bike:
Yes, this is how I dress to go biking in November. Life really is pretty good.
I love music, both playing and listening, and try to do either as much as possible. The band I'm in, Boru, plays in and around South Texas, at festivals and pubs. Come see us sometime! I also play frequently at the open San Antonio Irish session, held every Thursday night at Pizza Italia, from about 7-11pm. PI is at the intersection of Thousand Oaks and Jones Maltsberger. Hope to see you there!
I play an Albert Alfonso bodhran, and also dearly love my Metloef. Albert is known far and wide for being, well, a little different. Here's proof.
I've been playing mountain dulcimer for a few years now, and am the proud owner of two (it's called Dulcimer Acquisition Disease, or DAD). One was a custom built beauty made by Terry McCafferty, with curly Koa body and sides, sinker Cypress on the soundboard and an ebony fretboard. It is a rare beauty. The most recent member of the family is a Modern Dulcimer, which has a very big, very warm voice that is helped by a raised sound board in the back and double runs of three strings. Marvelous! Pictures to come soon.
If you'd like to learn to play dulcimer, the good folks at the Guadalupe Riverpickers Dulcimer Club would love to meet you. It's a great group of people who are happy to share their knowledge and experience with a novice.
With the music, riding, running, dogs, travel and work, it's a busy life.
The beings I like spending the most time with: (Goober's still here, just no photo)
Andy |
Cleo
Jack |
Aug. 1 - Jack is a free dog! After spending the summer in lockdown because of heartworm treatments, he's now well and back to no-leash walks. This morning he took his first stroll around our trail off-leash, and after coming back to rest up, is inspected by Cleo to make sure everything's alright.
After some recovery time. Who's a happy boy??
We also love to go to Renaissance faires, and here's me at last year's Plantersville faire.
After talking about it for years, Andy and I finally took the plunge and bought a travel trailer. I just love it. We've basically got the spring, summer and fall weekends planned now with music festivals, dulcimer workshops and just weekends away. I won't bother with captions here, the photos explain themselves pretty well. Take a look!
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One of my favorite places to escape the heat of early August is Lark Camp in the Mendocino Woodlands, just in from the coast of Northern California. The photo on the left shows just how beautiful the surroundings are, and the photo on the right is of Greg Taylor, one of our dearest friends from California on the porch of the Pub Scouts cabin, renowned for the happy hour sessions.
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We recently went to the Austin City Limits music festival with one of our favorite people, JT Norris (right) and everyone had a good time. Andy had a really, really good time. JT demonstrates the only way to survive a full day in the sun at the ACL.
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Here's the second newest member of the household, Cleo. I found her in a parking lot on a cold and blustery day. With a face like this, how could I leave her there? Now she's tearing up the house, learning how to be a cat and seems to be fitting in pretty well, all things considered. The bottom photo is the result of Cleo helping Andy bake bread.
Here's me and Party Hair/Daisy Grace, aka Linda Solis at the Fiesta Flambeau Parade. The second photo is of one of my former students, Valerie Rivas who's the drum major for the South San Antonio High School Bobcats Marching Band, and the third is another former student, Valerie Sanchez, clarinetist extraordinaire. In the background of the third photo is Luis Alvarado, yet another former student. Sense a theme here?
There were a number of Alzafar Shriners dressed as clowns jollying the audience, and when one walked up to me I thought, 'Oh man, just leave me alone.' Until I realized it was a friend, Rocky.
And here's Mr. Wonderful, also known as Jackanape or Happy Jack who joined us very recently:
Up close and personal with Jack, who's
admiring the camera.
Speaking of people who are fun to hang around, we had the opportunity a few years agoto give a home to two Irish guys who were in town for a couple of months to learn the carpentry trade. It was an experience, to be sure, but one I'd repeat. The program was run through Project Children, and our guys were Anthony Carolan and John Skipper. Anthony's from Drogheda in the Republic, and John from Banbridge in Northern Ireland. The photos below were taken on a day trip to the Guadalupe State Park. As soon as Anthony spotted 'Irish Mary', the ice cream vendor, he had to go meet her.
Anthony doing what he does best. |
James & Anthony meeting Irish Mary. |
Our favorite Irish guys (clockwise
from upper left) |
