Lee and Billy
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Summer Vacation, 2022
School starts next week. Buy a new backpack, meet the teachers, visit the classroom, and talk about “What you did during Summer Vacation”. A few minutes ago, Jae and I were talking about our summer, and I thought I’d write up the list. Our summer was packed – camps for the boys (Neuron Garage, DoubleCreek, EarthNative, Camp Allen), swim lessons at the Y, movies at the Drafthouse, challenging projects at work with ever-present pandemic complications, traveling to visit my parents in El Paso, camping in the Limpia Mountains, and a family trip to Santa Fe. Including stops for meals, fuel, and bio-breaks, the trip to Santa Fe was a little…
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Liam and the dirty sheep
Several years ago I bought a pair of Haflinger slippers with a sheep on them. The sheep is gray. It started out gray. But Lee and Billy thought that it started out white, and that I just took such bad care of my things that they turned gray from dirt. They didn’t tell me that for a long time, it came out years after the fact. Of course, I still have the sheep slippers. We now refer to the slippers as the “dirty, dirty sheep”. Last week Joey was taking care of Liam and I was working in my home office. Joey, Liam and Elanor came in to visit for…
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Liam at the Grocery Store
I got Liam a onesie with a picture of a dump truck, and the words “Tipper Lorry” on it at the Brooklyn Flea back in July. It was way to big for him at that time, and he has finally gotten big enough to wear it. Billy sent me this photo while I was traveling yesterday.
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Salt crystals
Joey and Lee had vestry responsibilities at church, so Billy, Liam, and I hung out together for the evening. Once Joey and Lee got to our house, we had steak, asparagus, salad, and salt potatoes (see recipe below) for dinner. If you have never had salt potatoes, don’t let the amount of salt freak you out. The large amount of salt changes the boiling point of the water enough that the texture of the cooked potato is quite different than regular boiled potatoes. The skin gets a nice salty crust, and the inside is creamy and smooth. Although you can serve salt potatoes with a meal as we did, they…
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Delayed Shrug
Last summer I made Lee a shrug for her birthday. I almost finished an entire sleeve before I realized that it would be big enough for two of her. I ripped the whole thing out – this is called “frogging” in the knitting world because you rip it, rip it. I started again, but was disheartened by the set back, and took a LONG time to finish it. Her birthday is in July. I finally delivered it in November. The first time I saw her wear it I realized that the back was too broad. This was my own fault. I totally did not trust the pattern (in my defense,…
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Birthday Cake, aka – if you DO have a flame thrower…
Billy and Lee offered to host an early birthday dinner for me, since I will spend my birthday in Europe. We decided to combine the dinner with our regular Twenties and Thirties Design Team evening. Misty, Brian, and their boys, Don, Lindsay, Eric, Daniel, Lee, Billy and Liam were all there. Misty made some fantastic appetizers: asparagus frittata, potato frittata and cheesy poofs (not their real name, but we have to go with the South Park reference). Billy and Lee cooked spare ribs. Lindsay and Don made a lovely spinach salad. We all took turns holding Liam. Don was the only person who got caught on film! He had a…
- Friends and Family, George and Nancy, Home, Jacob, Kay, Laura and Jason, Lee and Billy, Ted and Becky, Troy
Survived the Holiday Season
We did not take many pictures this year. No, not even Joey! Lee took this one of us together with the dogs on the night we put up our Christmas tree. We went to the Mercado Christmas celebration with Grandma Margaret on 24 December. We had a lovely Christmas Day meal with the Lupa/Carlson clan, Joan Jones, and the Reads. It was pot luck, so we didn’t have to do too much cooking, but we wound up with all the leftovers. Yum! Joey did make plum pudding, and it was a hit. George and Nancy joined us late in the evening on Christmas Day. We went to breakfast with the…
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Ginger Dogs
Recently Joey and I have been going to a great bakery that is just on the other side of I-35 from our house. The bakery is called Pablito’s. It is a family owned business. They have awesome empanadas, pan dulce, and all kinds of other baked goods as well. Joey really likes eating baked goods for breakfast, and their prices are so good that it is reasonable to go there frequently. My favorite item at Pablito’s is a ginger/molasses cookie in the shape of a pig. The ginger pig is soft, and not very sweet – more like bread than a cookie. About a week ago, it dawned on me…
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Changes at the House on Hornsby Street
Several people have given Joey and me grief over the years about our lack of furniture. Joey is not fond of stop gap measures, even when the “gap” is five years (amount of time we have owned our house) or eleven years (amount of time we have been married), so we still have the same furniture today we inherited when my folks moved to Pennsylvania! We know what kind of furniture we would like to purchase, but somehow it is never the top priority. Sujata and Aaron have decided that Joey is morally opposed to coffee tables. I do not think he hates them, but he does not have a…
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Mighty Cones!
Right after we got back from El Paso, Lee had a birthday. Billy and I went down to Hill Country Weavers to get her a present. Since I was on vacation, I slept late, and had not eaten breakfast or lunch when Billy came to pick me up to go shopping. We had fun in the yarn store, well, I did, and Billy worked on not killing me for taking so long. By the time we were done we had worked up an appetite! Next to Hill Country Weavers is a vacant lot, and over the past couple of years, the lot has begun to fill with food vendors. Billy…
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Maybe, if I’m really quiet, they won’t see me
Last weekend I went camping with some friends at Canyon Lake (a little west of San Marcos). Lee and I carpooled out to the campground. We loaded the car with gear and tied everything down before we loaded the dogs. Ela and Cali made the ride down without incident and with only a little whining. Saturday turned into a lovely day at the lake as we set up camp, made dinner, played Apples to Apples, roasted marshmallows, and counted stars – all the stuff that makes for a good camp out. We got up the next morning, everybody cooked breakfast, chatted for a while, and a little before noon decided…
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Chocolate!
Joey and I went to the big chocolate event at Billy’s school, The Texas Culinary Academy, last Saturday. There was an amazing amount and variety of chocolate items. Billy had entered the cupcake competition with his wonderful Texas Grapefruit and Dark Chocolate cupcakes. Joey and I toiled away a few weeks ago helping him pick the perfect flavor combination. By toil I mean eating a bunch of really yummy cupcakes – it was hard work, but what are friends for? The Choclate Event was fun, if crowded, and we got to see Billy looking official and wearing his chef outfit. Billy’s friend, Robin, had also entered the competition with some…
- Debra and Rachel, Elanor, Friends and Family, Home, Kay, Laura and Jason, Lee and Billy, Lindsay and Don, Misty and Brian, Ted and Becky, Troy
New Year’s Day
Yesterday Joey and I hosted our tenth annual New Year’s Day party. A great group of people showed up! We ate hoppin’ john, bean soup, and sausage balls (aka meat cookies). Dad, Asher, Laura and Joey decorated the garage and side walk with chalk. The Etheredge siblings were all present, and our nephew Daniel was charming, as usual. Chiara played with Elanor. Lee and Billy brought their friend Melissa, who talked physics with Dad, and then discussed opera with Laura and Alissa! We finished the evening with a round of Apples to Apples. In short, it was a wonderful day, a perfect start to 2009.
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Etheredge Christmas – the third day
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me… family, a bell mishap, and a shopping trip. Troy, Kay, Andrew, and Daniel all came over to our house for breakfast on Saturday, 27 December. Andrew and Dad cooked eggs and sausage. Joey made sticky buns and hot sauce (not to be eaten together, those are just the things he prepared). Everyone sat down and we really enjoyed the meal. Next we opened our presents. I got a perfume, and framed picture of Joey and me from Joey. Troy gave us a copy of his wedding video, and a gift card to Alamo Drafthouse. Kay, Andrew and Daniel…
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Christmas Eve, and the first day
Many of you know that I absolutely insist on Christmas being celebrated during the actual twelve days, and Christmas Eve. Joey and I usually set up our tree on Christmas Eve or the eve of Christmas Eve. This year we set it up on Tuesday, 23 December, 2008. Lee and Billy joined us. Lee helped me hang the lights. Joey made hot chocolate. We got the tree up and decorated in record time. On Christmas Eve Joey and I slept late, and then got up and did some chores around the house. Joey put up the lights on the exterior of the house. Then we drove down to San Antonio…
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Thanksgiving Part Two
Thanksgiving weekend was full of wonderful food. Not only did we get invited to Aaron and Sujata’s on Thursday, we were also invited to Lee and Billy’s for a Thanksgiving feast on Friday. Lee and Billy celebrate with Lee’s family on Friday – their drive down from the DFW area is much less crazy on Thursday than it would be on Wednesday. Joey and I were really grateful to be asked to join their family gathering. We had a lovely time visiting with the Cagle clan: Roy, Becky, Anne, Chris, Rachel, and Emily. We were also joined by Lee and Billy’s neighbors, Carson and Robert Alexander. The food was fantastic. …
- All Saints', Camp Allen, Diocesan ECW, Friends and Family, Lee and Billy, Lindsay and Don, Misty and Brian, Twenties and Thirties
Episcopal Church Women Annual Meeting and Retreat
Many of you know that I was president of the Episcopal Church Women at All Saints’ Episcopal Church back a few years ago. The last year of my tenure, our church hosted the Annual Meeting of the Diocese of Texas Episcopal Church Women. The meeting was well received, and everyone had a great time. It was a really tough job, and I was glad to take a break and relax once it was done. Apparently people sat up and took notice of the job I did as Annual Meeting Chairperson, because this past spring I got a call from the president of the Diocesan ECW, Anne Hart, asking me to…
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Cat nip filled knitting frenzy
The other day I suddenly remembered a cute pattern (recipe, as K calls them) for Feline Dim Sum. No, not dim sum filled with felines! Knitted cat toys in the shape of a wonton or eggroll. I searched the web and found the pattern. Then I ran to my stash and found some scrap yarn. I knitted one up while dinner was cooking – it took about 20 minutes. I did not have any batting or other materials to stuff the toys with, so I called on my friend to see what she had. She came up with some fabric scraps that worked out very well. The actual knitting, stuffing…
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Mental Health Day
Lee has been working like crazy lately. Billy asked her to take a day off for mental health purposes. He asked Joey and me to join them for a day trip. We decided to drive out to Shiner, Texas to visit the Spoetzl Brewery. We had fun trying the beers that were on tap at the brewery. The tour was interesting, and we had a nice tour guide, but there was also a crazy tour guide who always sounded like she was angry. Billy and I had a good time laughing about how much she yelled. We also stopped into Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Shiner, which is one…
- All Saints', Friends and Family, Lee and Billy, Lindsay and Don, Misty and Brian, Twenties and Thirties
TnT trip to the Blanton Museum of Art
The All Saints’ Episcopal Church Twenties and Thirties decided to take a trip to the Blanton Museum of Art as a group. Most of us had never been there before, despite its location right in the middle of Austin. Misty found an engraving with a chubby Jesus. Lindsay was terrified that she might meet the same fate as St. Agatha. Trenton found a car that he could connect with. Joey found a penny. Jeff, Trenton, Joey and I got lost in a bunch of yellow noodles. Fun was had by everyone. After exploring the museum, we wandered over to The Dog and Duck for some dinner and beer. It was…
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LisaDiane’s Birthday – 09 September 2008
Karen suggested that we go to the Alamo Drafthouse to see Tron. As it turned out the showing that Joey and I were in town for was on my birthday. What could be better than Tron as part of a birthday celebration? Billy, Jacob, Joey, and I went to Sushi Sake for dinner. We ate appetizers and lovely sushi. After dinner we made our way down to 6th Street. We were a little early for the theater, so we went into Pecan Street Bar for some refreshment. We met up with Karen, got out tickets, and made our way to the theater. The pre-show was ads and documentary bits about…
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TnT Design Team Meeting – 10 May 2008
Joey and I are members of the All Saints’ Twenties and Thirties Design Team. The Twenties and Thirties group is mainly a fellowship group at our church, and despite anything Rachel says, it is not a singles group! The design team is a group of couples who get together to plan the upcoming events for the larger group. Happily, the other couples who are involved, Don and Lindsay, Billy and Lee, and Brian and Misty, are all really great people who enjoy the same things Joey and I do – good food, good wine, and good conversation. The design team gets together once a month, whether we need to or…
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Party at Don and Lindsay’s House – May 2008
Don successfully finished the semester, and Lindsay had a birthday. Double reason for a party! Joey and I met many of Lindsay’s high school friends. There was a shark piñata, but not for long! Check out the pictures to see the shark’s sad fate…
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at BookPeople – July 2007
We just got back from the BookPeople release party for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” – fun & chaotic. Thousands of costumed fans followed inter-laced carnival queues to see fire spinners, eat Gryffindor kettle-corn, join Luna and Neville for a wand dual, dunk Voldemort, listen to the Orchestra, and get a copy of the 7th and final Harry Potter novel. We bumped into Michelle and Hannah. Hannah looked like she was having a great time while she was officiating at the Wizard Battle booth. Lee and LisaDiane got their copies of the book shortly after midnight.
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Our Anniversary – July 2007
On July 4th LisaDiane and I had some friends over for a party to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. We played games, grilled burgers and hot dogs, made ice cream and mojitos, danced, and socialized well into the night. We had a terrific time – it was a pleasure to spend time with everyone who came, and food hit the spot. I have finally finished eating the chocolate torte that Billy and Lee brought to the party – gotta remember to return that cake-taker.
