on your mark, get set......

I ran in the Capitol 10K (Cap10) (6.2 miles) road race yesterday. On January 1, 1990, after a decade of inactivity, I made a goal of running Cap10. Between New Years Day and Easter of 1990, I ramped my running distance from 100 yards to 6 miles.  I was able to finish the race that year and I've been running ever since.  I don't do 10K races any more but I make it a point to run Cap10 every year for sentimental reasons. There were 18,000 runners entered this year. It was a beautiful day for a run in the race that started it all for me. (Credit The Austin American Statesman for the great photo)

laissez les bons temps rouler...

I spent a couple of days in New Orleans this week. I had my fill of etouffee and beignets. The city looks great. I didn't make it over to the ninth ward but there was no sign of damage in the city. My hotel was one street off Bourbon St which allowed me to walk everywhere. I made a trip to The Court of Two Sisters for brunch which was as good as always. It was a good two days.

what was that hollow thud?...

I'm doing a 50K (31 miles) race in April.  Races of this distance are done in the woods on a single file trail. Since they take so long, the races start in the dark and everyone wears a headlamp. I did my first training run in the dark this weekend. Our group started a 19 mile run at 6:30am so we had about 1 hour of dark time. The trails have rocks, roots, low hanging branches and fallen trees to contend with. I made it through the darkness fine. You tend to focus on the path because of rocks and roots. That was the case when I ran headlong into a low hanging branch. The runner in front of me didn't duck so I didn't either. Unfortunately she's only 4'11".  It sounded like a gourd hitting a wall. Yikes, it hurt!  I got a standing 8 count and I was on my way. 

living the rock star dream....

I joined Kevin for a gig that he did in Waring, TX on Wednesday.  It was about a 2 hr drive from Austin which puts Waring northwest of San Antonio. He played with a band in this general store that has "steak night" every Wednesday. The food was good, the beer was cold and Kevin did a good job keeping a consistent beat.

thanksgiving in march.....

Kevin requested a dose of pumpkin bread.  I think he liked the loaf I made for him. He took this picture with the video camera on his Mac. He lives 2 miles from me but we spend endless hours video talking. It's nuts but fun. I may join him for an out of town gig tonight. I'll signal to him if his drumming beat is speeding up or slowing down.

spring break....

Last week was Spring Break for Trinity. We had a free ticket on Jet Blue so Emily spent a few days in New York. She did a bunch of shopping and saw the latest version of West Side Story. The big news is that she'll be transferring to UT next year. Trinity and San Antonio never clicked for her. It will be good to have her in town.

pomp and circumstance...

I provided proof of my college degree to the culinary school but they also wanted proof of high school graduation. I finally received it yesterday. Wow - it will be 35 years next June. They included all of my grades which was a fun trip down memory lane. I didn't do very well in French (to say the least).

mmmm...smells good...

I made some sourdough starter and on Wednesday, I made my first loaves of sourdough bread. They turned out so good, I had to make some spaghetti for dinner. Now I just need to keep the starter alive.

let the sun shine in...

The only project of note this week has been the installation of a window blind in the new bathroom. It was custom ordered about 4 weeks ago and I installed it yesterday. This blind allows you to raise it from the bottom like normal or lower it from the top. The blind still provides privacy but it lets in some sunshine.  Cool...

i kneaded that....

Sorry about the pun. I have never had much luck with yeast breads. The texture was bad, the crust was thick, there were areas of unbaked dough, etc. But I decided to give it another shot this weekend. I used a basic buttermilk bread recipe that I got from the yeast company website. The loaves came out great. The bread is uniform in texture and the crust is thin and soft. I began a batch of sourdough starter yesterday. The smell of yeast is in the air. Yum.

..and through the woods, to grampy's house we go..

Carrie and Caleb stopped by yesterday afternoon. They were coming to town to see Caleb's dad, who lives in Austin.  They spent the afternoon at the house.  Over the years at Samsung, I had been collecting small toys that I kept on my desk.  All of those toys are now in a cigar box and they kept him occupied for awhile. He also enjoys the trampoline that I have in the backyard. It was good to see them.

i feel like fred sanford...

Our back room (guest house!) has been completed now for many months. The builders did a great job on the bathroom but the room is still a storage area for a bunch of junk. There's a combination of garbage and useful furniture in there. I guess the solution will be a combination of trashing it and having a garage sale. My goal is to get it in shape for guests this month. I'd also like to make it useable for rent. There are special events in Austin that would make it attractive for weekend rentals.

what's new pussycat....

During my current life of leisure, this is my constant companion.  Mary received her as a kitten from a client that didn't have the means to keep her.  Emily named her "Kiddums" and she has resisted all efforts by me to spell it kittums.

Kiddums completely dominates the household and spends her days in my lap while I'm on the computer.  She has shredded our leather couch but we adore her anyway.

the stars at night are big and bright...

Happy Texas Independence Day!  

This June marks my 30th anniversary in Texas.  I'm glad that I made this my home after college.  All of my kids were born here.  The Texas flag is almost more prominent than a US flag.  It is displayed everywhere....

take me out to the ballgame...

I attended a college baseball game today between UT and Penn State with Wes and Joe (2 of my running buddies).  I've never been a big fan of the college game (metal bat, DH, artificial turf, no beer) but it was a lot of fun.  The UT pitcher threw a no hitter and UT won 9-0.  We figured that Penn State hasn't had much of a chance to practice.  The forecast for their home in Pennsylvania was in the 30's and snow.  I hope they enjoyed Austin...

While at the stadium, I paid tribute to one of my favorite Boston Red Sox players.  He was a star at UT back in the early 80's...