Sixth Street on a Saturday Morning

The Invaders Are Here: Bon Appetit!

A blogging friend made me aware of this article in the New York Times about eating invasive species such as feral pigs. Feral pigs are a problem here in Texas and it makes perfect sense to eat them. They’re free-ranging, organic, with no added hormones or antibiotics. So eat them invaders, y’all!

Photo Challenge: Up

This is not the sharpest of photos, because I took it with my cell phone at a traffic light here in downtown Austin. At dusk, the grackles congregate on the power lines, preferably along the roads and above parking lots. The sound is indescribable–loud but pleasant, like the sound of the shower in the morning. On hot days it almost makes it feel cooler.

Beyond the Mopac Bridge

(Image from forum.dallasmetropolis.com)

Time for another bridge post. And no, this one isn’t about the Mopac bridge. For the first time ever, I present to you the bottom of a different bridge. The Lamar Boulevard Bridge, the one east of the Mopac Bridge across Town Lake in Austin, Texas, the United States of America.

Happy Holidays!

Okay, so yesterday I was a bit of a Debbie Downer, it being Christmas Eve, but both our kids have the flu. They were upstairs in their rooms, feeling miserable, and we decided to pretend that today is Christmas Eve and we’ll have presents under the tree tomorrow. So that’s my excuse.

Autumn Morning

The view from our window this morning:

Thanksgiving 2: Living in Austin

I really, really, really appreciate living in Austin. Even though we live on the edge of the Hill Country, we have an Austin address. We literally have the best of both worlds. I drive all the way into town every day, so I go from seeing deer graze behind our house

It’s the Invasion of the Invisible Spiders

Those of you who’ve been following my blog for a while know by now of my weird fascination with the underbelly of Austin’s Mopac Bridge. Every now and then I just have to spend an entire post on this butt-ugly structure that I somehow cannot get enough of.

Anything Helps 3: There but for Luck Goes Your Child

(Image from tonic.com)

Disclaimer: I know most of my readers are compassionate people. So this is directed toward–well, you’ll know who you are.

From the first time I came to America with T, then my boyfriend, I have been shocked at the number of homeless here.

Anything Helps 2: A Woman With a Dog

(Image from andilit.com)
I know this is a man, but it’s a good picture, isn’t it?

In an earlier post I wrote about Steve, a homeless guy I see almost every day after dropping off the kids at school.

Another homeless person I’ve met, but only once, was a woman in her late thirties or early forties. It was a cold and rainy day, and I stopped at the traffic light she was at, beside an overpass, in between showers. When I gave her some money she thanked me and told me to stay dry.

Anything Helps 1: Hillbilly Steve

Right now lots of extra people are homeless due to Hurricane Sandy. But I’m going to write about some of the long-term homeless in Austin who I meet while waiting for a green light on my many drives around town. If for no other reason than that I already had most of this post ready before Sandy hit.

Early Morning Walk

I thought you might like something nice, after the last post. This morning, after dropping the kids off at school early (their math teacher has office hours at 7:30 am), I went on a brief walk around Town Lake here in Austin. The sun was only just up when I started, and it was slightly misty. I only had my phone with me, but I’m always amazed that the pictures aren’t half bad.

A Dream Come True: The Tea Embassy in Austin

During and after library school, in the Netherlands, I had several dreams. Like working as a jillaroo on an Australian sheep station (which I dropped when I realized how much I’d be sweating).  And the one I had with my room mate, where we would move to London after graduation and share an apartment,  living off the money we would make being maids in hotels and such (so glad my parents talked me out of that one). Or the last one, when I had already been working as a librarian for several years, which was taking a group of Aussie and Kiwi guys up on their invitation to join them driving a jeep across Africa for a year (which I wouldn’t have dared by then, in fear of never getting a library job again if I was out of the market for that long).

Translation Procrastination

I’m in a coffeeshop here in Austin, not feeling like translating, because my kids have their final exams today and then they’re off, so I can’t concentrate. What better time to download Instagram and start experimenting with all the graffiti on a wall right across the street?

Under the Mopac Bridge

I am absolutely crazy about Austin. One of my favorite things, which I don’t do nearly enough, is walking a big oval around Town Lake, the wide part of the Colorado River that runs along downtown.

I take the kids to school, going north on Mopac and then into town. After

Leslie

One of the many things I like about Austin is its quirkiness.

Austin is a small, liberal and pretty open-minded island in the rest of a very conservative state. And Austinites are proud of that. We drive around in cars with bumper stickers that say “Keep Austin Weird” and we wear tie-dye T-shirts with the same slogan.

One of Austin’s icons, pushing the weirdness envelope hard, was Leslie. The very first night my husband and I went out after we moved here, we were walking around 6th street.

Sponteaneous Piano

Austin never ceases to surprise me. One day last spring, on a walk with R along Town Lake, I suddenly saw a piano at our favorite break spot. A few days later it was gone again.

Airport Guitar 1

A blog that I visit a lot is A Flamingo in Utrecht, which has wonderful photos of Utrecht, the Netherlands: streetscapes, vistas, and photos of everyday life. It inspired me to post regular photos of Austin. It doesn’t have much to do with being a Dutch immigrant here, but oh well. I love Austin and all its quirkiness, so let’s just say it’s a counterweight to all my griping.

Top Ten Things I’d Miss About Austin if I Lived in Holland

Going for endless road trips without even leaving the country