It was a stormy seventy-three degrees this afternoon – complete with frightening lightning – as I experienced my first downpour since arriving in Austin. The high temperatures have been “cooling” into the eighties and nineties, so even in the midst of scorching drought, the seasons are changing.
When I moved out of the Big Haus, I left their garden in the hands of my capable sister, Heather. This week, she sent me photos of the fruit of our labor, while I was at BookPeople listening to Moscow singer-songwriter-turned-author alternate between tunes and excerpts from his new novel: Bright’s Passage. Josh Ritter and I share a birthday this month.
After being in Austin for over a month, I can vouch for the Texas capitol’s motto of also being the “Live Music Capitol of the World,” thanks to shows like Mindy Smith on the UT campus yesterday evening and Iron and Wine during last weekend’s Austin City Limits festival:
2010 was my year to quit. After a failed New Year’s resolution to stop cold turkey, I stuck to my goal with the help of a spreadsheet. By this date – without a steady income and wanting to reclaim the time, energy and money (about $30 a month) that I was losing to what started in the summer of 2006 as an enjoyable social habit – I was smoking my last cigarette. A year later, on this first day of fall, I feel a healthy sense of accomplishment.
Lights, Sink, Oven, Hood, Faucet, Floor, originally uploaded by timmyjimi.
The latest photos of the Big Haus kitchen remodel are up on Flickr. Lord willing, the entire project will be completed over the weekend!
Today, my friends Norm and Lu celebrated their first wedding anniversary. They were married on a beautiful summer afternoon at Red Barn Farms outside of Colton, WA. To commemorate their first year together, I finally uploaded a video of the ceremony from their special day. Congratulations, Walls!
As if Texas wasn’t enough, my employer made the New York Times yesterday. The same story was picked up today by the Wall Street Journal.
Update: Add the Washington Post to the list of news sites still covering this report.
As promised, I spent the first weekend of the summer enjoying a beautiful day in God’s creation. Guided by Chris Otto, we drove halfway up the east side of Moscow Mountain, then hiked the remaining distance to the top. His pictures and mine tell the rest of the story.
Filed under: Sports
Following yesterday’s disappointing Gold Cup loss owing to an outstanding Mexican comeback, many U.S. soccer fans are turning their attention to the women’s World Cup, which kicked off today in Germany. The United States will play their first game on Tuesday against North Korea, and Norway will take the field on Wednesday against Equatorial Guinea. Follow the action on FIFA.com.
