a glimpse of the future

Posted on January 1, 2017 by is there any more pie?

We traveled home on New Year’s Eve, leaving Austin at noon and flying to DC.  Southwest Airlines just added a DC airport to their flight list and it was our first time there.  We spilled onto a circle of 9 gates, with a huge bar in the center.

It was like stepping foot onto the Millennium Falcon.

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Each place setting had its own I pad. You could order a meal, drinks, dessert or play games.

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We walked down this corridor to find a restaurant.  There were no stores, just the bright, new corridor lined with magazines, books, snacks, fruit, etc.

I’ve never seen so many different kinds of chips in my life.

Our restaurant was lovely and modern, with giant TV’s broadcasting the news and the Alabama/Washington game.  Banjo Man panicked when he saw the I-pad, but I took over the ordering and soon we had our sandwiches in front of us.

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I had to giggle at this.  Despite all the techie stuff, the staff at the restaurant still hung their Christmas stockings!

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We had a three hour layover and spent most of the time on stools here.  We ordered coffee and even shared a slice of peanut butter pie to celebrate the New Year.  I played a few rounds of “Wordfinder” on my counter I pad, somehow competing against other people in the spaceship.  I failed miserably and they won free apples.

After that humiliation I was ready to go back to the gate and read for a while.  Banjo Man stayed to watch the game and by 6:30 PM we were boarding our flight home.  In an hour or so we would be back in Rhode Island.

If you’ve read about our other returns to RI, you will understand that we were apprehensive about how this would go.  This time we parked at a Hampton Inn, using the “Park and Fly” rate, because our usual parking lot had closed down.

Other years we have suffered through lost car keys (having to rent a car to get home), dead batteries, below zero cold, 1 AM arrivals, ear infections, lost receipts to prove we prepaid, late flights and emergency car rentals.

We had no idea what nasty surprise this year would hold.  But our luggage arrived, the Hampton shuttle quickly picked us up and deposited us in front of our car (which hadn’t been towed, buried under snow or hit by another vehicle) and the Highlander actually started right up.

We couldn’t believe it.

Maybe we’re finally getting the hang of this traveling thing.

 

 

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the stitch lab

Posted on December 31, 2016 by is there any more pie?

How cute is this?  The Stitch Lab is located on S. 1st Street in south Austin and is actually comprised of two houses.  They give lots of classes and seem like a really fun place to buy fabric and learn how to sew.  Children welcome!

 

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Shelves made from wooden spools.

They had quite an array of joyful, modern fabrics and an impressive number of solids, too.  I’m thinking about making another art quilt, this time using a U.S. flag that was flown in the Pacific during WWII as my inspiration.  I enjoyed the beginning-to-end creation of the “Gingko Quilt” so much that I am gearing up to create another original.

 

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The Gingko Quilt, November 2015

There is a lot to consider with the design, but finding the kind of fabric that will fray is going to be the most important thing.  Banjo Man gave me several yards of vintage silk for Christmas about 10 years ago.  I need to unpack it and see if it can be turned into a flag.  If so, I may try my hand at dying it in order to get just the right shades of red and blue.

In the meantime, I am working on Bonnie Hunter’s annual Mystery quilt.  I didn’t care for her colors this year–too many purples and greens, with a jolt of magenta–so I selected my own (dark woodsy browns, soft blues, yellows, rose and cinnamon).  They are waiting for me to turn them into blocks when I get home.

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I didn’t buy anything at this pretty shop, but I did enjoy the beautiful weather!

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last party of the year

Posted on December 30, 2016 by is there any more pie?

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Banjo Man and I were laughing at ourselves at the grocery store yesterday morning.  With our carts (to stay married, we each have our own shopping cart and go our separate ways in the store) piled high with snack food and ingredients for chili, we were ready for one more party.

Today Nebraska plays in its bowl game.  2:30 PM Central time.

And no, they are not expected to win.  Expectations are low (almost nonexistent) so the guys here will concentrate on eating chili and making optimistic predictions for next year’s season.

Tomorrow we head to the airport to fly home.  The weather is supposed to be clear and hopefully our flights will be on time.  Our daughter has made sure the playoff games will be recorded on the DVR so her father won’t miss any college football.  We should be home in front of the television for the second half of the second game.

Banjo Man made a vat of oven-roasted Chex Mix snack yesterday.  He thinks he discovered something new and is thrilled with himself.

Speaking of something new, here are flavors of soda I’d never seen before.  Pumpkin?  Peach?  Candy cane?

No, thanks.  I’ll leave all of that sugar on the store shelves and just take pictures.

We’re having hot cider instead.  It’s a bit chilly here today, which makes a nice change from the 80+ temps of this past week.  I had to dig out my summer clothes and sandals.  How weird is that?

It’s back to the cold tomorrow, though.  I have my red wool coat, scarf and gloves ready for winter again!

Happy New Year, everyone.  And GO BIG RED!

 

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boots for Christmas, continued

Posted on December 24, 2016 by is there any more pie?

The Funny Grandson wasn’t the only person in the family who wanted a new pair of western boots for Christmas.  His Uncle Will liked  the idea, especially since his fifteen year old boots looked like this:

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Banjo  Man got into the act, too.

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Unbeknownst to each other, they’d picked the same boot to try on.

That was weird.

I debated trading in my sandals for these little beauties from the children’s section.  (Hint:  if you have small feet, the kids’ boots are wider and less expensive–a win, win)

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Do you think  I took these home???  Go ahead, take a wild guess.

Key chains.  Love them.

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I think we were in the store for almost two hours. I even had a coupon!!

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Merry Christmas, Texas-style.

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Christmas eve gumbo

Posted on December 23, 2016 by is there any more pie?

I’m not sure when this became a family tradition, but gumbo on Christmas Eve has been served at More Pie’s house for a number of years.  Whether I’m in Texas or Rhode Island, there is gumbo.

Son #1 is insanely crazy over gumbo.  When he visits New Orleans he goes from restaurant to restaurant sampling gumbo of all kinds.  One afternoon we were all waiting to head to the airport, but he was missing.  Turned out he’d sneaked out of the hotel for one last bowl of gumbo in a restaurant around the corner.

Over the holidays he is known as “Gumbo Belly”.

I’ve just finished up about five hours of gumbo-making.  The chicken-andouille-okra version is finished and is simmering on the stove in a new 14 quart pot.  The new 11 quart pot will hold the shrimp file gumbo, which is about half done.  Banjo Man, who chopped all of the vegetables for me, has escaped to the store to get a couple of pounds of shrimp.

Because I come from generations of New Orleans people (French, Irish, German, Belgian), you’d assume I have a secret family recipe.

Sorry.  My grandmother made lots of gumbo but she didn’t pass down the recipe.  She was too busy for that.  If you want to know more about my southern grandmother you can click here.   She was quite the character and I always loved spending time with her.

my new orleans grandmother

I use Paul Prud’homme’s recipes.  Here’s one of them:

http://www.gumbocooking.com/seafood_gumbo.html

It has been a lovely morning.  I’ve been streaming my local RI’s radio show featuring Santa Claus.  Every year for three hours Santa takes calls from children who tell him what they want for Christmas.  It’s my own annual tradition and I love it.  This year’s most surprising request was from a little boy who asked Santa Claus for bagpipes.

Poor Santa didn’t know what to say to that.  He confessed he’d never had that request before.

When Santa asked a little girl if she’d been good this year, she hesitated and said, “Well, it depends on who you ask.”

I about dropped my whisk.

“It depends on who you ask” might be my go-to answer in 2017. 

Merry Christmas on the day before the day before!!!

 

 

 

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big time in boot city

Posted on December 22, 2016 by is there any more pie?

They say clothes make the man.

Do boots make the boy?

We did a little Christmas shopping yesterday afternoon.

Before:

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And after:

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He says he’s never taking the boots off.  I know the feeling, Funny Grandson.

Maybe you have a little of Grandma’s DNA after all.

Next door was the Central Market.

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Of course I bought a pie.  We had a lot to celebrate!!

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May your Christmas be filled with joy!

 

 

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a keyboard kind of day

Posted on December 21, 2016 by is there any more pie?

 

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Emily Gimble and her band at the Armadillo  Christmas Bazaar.

We started off our day by catching a cab at 10 AM and heading down the hill to the Palmer Event Center for the annual Christmas bazaar.

This is no ordinary Christmas bazaar.  Because it’s in Austin, there’s a stage.  And three musical shows at 11, 3 and 7.  Two sets each, with 30 minutes in between.  For an $8.00, all day ticket.

Emily recently left “Asleep At the Wheel” and is now performing with her own band.  She does a lot of modernish bluesy stuff (I don’t know how else to describe it) and her voice is better than it has ever been.  She’s clearly in her element with this new style, but I admit to loving her old country blues stuff when she was playing with her grandfather, the legendary Johnny Gimble.

I miss hearing him.  I still keep his picture in my violin case.

 

While shopping gawking at the gorgeous things for sale at the bazaar–I kept reminding myself that I needed **nothing**–I discovered a booth of frames and wood art work made of out salvaged New Orleans buildings.  The artist was from New Orleans and was familiar with the street where my grandparents–and great grandparents–lived.  It was a nice conversation.  I would go back later with Banjo Man and buy a frame for our New Orleans-themed bathroom.

After  Emily’s show, we walked across the street to have lunch at Will’s place of employment, Terry Black’s BBQ.  We toured the pit, discussed the wood situation, watched Will cart off brisket, and saw 100 pounds of sausage being placed inside a  huge smoker.  Will treated us to a lunch filled with brisket, ribs, sausage, potato salad, beans, macaroni & cheese and banana pudding.

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Banjo Man wore his “Theatre by the Sea” sweatshirt, which caught the eye of a man seated at the end of our table.  Turns out he was from Rhode Island and had moved to Austin 2 years ago.  He knew there could only be one Theatre by the Sea, he said when he introduced himself.

Then we headed back to the condo–Will and I had naps while Banjo Man studied the stock market–and I made dinner.  Or tried to.  The slab of salmon refused to cook, so we grabbed some cheese and crackers for dinner and returned to the Bazaar to hear boogie-woogie Cajun pianist Marcia Ball’s 7 PM show.

Will dropped us off and returned to the condo to get some work done in peace and quiet.  The old folks would be happily settled in front of the stage for about 3 hours.

Wrong, Story Man.

This is what we saw at 6:40 PM.

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My text to Will:  Five keyboards on stage.  Johnny here with Marcia.  Who else playing!?

We’d stumbled upon “Piano Rama”, with Marcia Ball, Johnny Nicholas, Floyd Domino, Red Young and Nick Connolly.

OMG.

Will joined us within ten minutes.  He had a big grin on his face and admitted he couldn’t resist.  He’d taken the salmon out of the oven and tossed it into the fridge for tomorrow’s lunches.

 

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Floyd Domino and Marcia Ball, with a peek at Johnny Nicholas’s hat on the left.

 

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John Chipman on the drums, with Red Young and Nick Connolly.

How I wished Retired Mountain Lady was with us! 

We found seats for the second set, thank goodness.  The older I get the more painful an hour of standing becomes.  We usually manage to arrive early to various shows so we can snag a seat, but the place was packed.

It was an amazing show of boogie-woogie, Cajun and jazz performances.  They took turns doing solos on every song, so the differences in styles was obvious and exciting.   I think my favorite was the “Silent Night Boogie”.  I’ve never heard that song played like that, in five different ways with a boogie beat.

Here’s a link to one of Red Young’s bands:

http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1385681-red-young-his-hot-horns-austin/

He also plays with a jazz saxophonist on  Tuesday nights, 10:30 PM, at the Continental Club Gallery.  Banjo Man is determined to stay up late and catch that show next week.

Here’s info on 2-time Grammy winner Floyd Domino:

http://floyddomino.com/

Today the Funny Grandson is coming down here to the condo with his ever-patient father.  It’s “Cowboy Boots” day here in Grandma Land.  Because the FG announced he’d “waited his whole life for cowboy boots”, that is what he is getting for Christmas from his Rhode Island grandparents.

It’s going to be a big day at Boot City.

And yes, there is music tonight.  Bill Kirchen is playing the happy hour at the Saxon Pub at 6 PM.  Banjo Man plans on landing a front row seat.

We can rest after our vacation, right?

 

 

 

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big chill, Austin-style

Posted on December 18, 2016 by is there any more pie?

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Enjoying root beer floats at the Magnolia Cafe Saturday afternoon before the temperature plummeted from 75 to 23 degrees.

After loading up with sugar the two of us did a little Christmas shopping–he helped me find a special gift for his mom–and walked down the street to pick up pizzas for dinner, which made his dad very happy.

We’re heading to the  Strange Brew coffeehouse in an hour for the traditional 11-1 music with local musicians who call themselves The Purgatory Players.  All tips go to the designated charity of the day, usually the local food bank. You never know who is going to be on the stage and it’s fun and informal.

There is always a dobro, thanks to Jeff Plankenhorn, player extraordinaire.

I brought my winter coat, scarf and gloves, so I am ready to brave this uncommon weather and hear some tunes.

Stay warm, wherever you are, my friends.

 

 

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sound stage

Posted on December 17, 2016 by is there any more pie?

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Here is the altar of the Saint Louis Cathedral set up for the evening’s concert, which would be local artist and musician Tony Green and his Gypsy Jazz group.

It was a wonderful show.  We lined up early and snagged seats in the fourth row.

An hour and a half later we stopped for gumbo and sandwiches at the Bourbon Orleans bar and waited for the night’s jazz band to arrive.

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In the foreground is the large tip “jar”.  And beyond is a glimpse of Bourbon Street.

But there are similarities in the pics that made me laugh after I loaded them on to the computer.

Music in New Orleans is everywhere.

 

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at the bottom of the escalator

Posted on December 16, 2016 by is there any more pie?

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Here’s what we saw at the airport in Austin!

The Funny Grandson had a big smile on his face as he held this sign.  It was a big surprise!!!

Hugs all around!

What a great way to start the holidays.

 I couldn’t resist taking pictures of our breakfast.

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Shrimp omelet with grits.

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“Pain Perdu”, aka French Toast, thin and crispy.

 

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There was nothing left.

 

We spent our last morning in New Orleans having breakfast at The Old Coffeepot and then taking a walk to the Mississippi River.

It’s just over a little hill and was sparkling in the first sunshine we’d seen in the Big Easy.  Chilly and bright, the morning was perfect for a little stroll.

I’m trying to download pictures and will add them asap.  Banjo Man had the camera and delighted in taking all sorts of pictures as we took our last, long walk through parts of the Quarter.

The New Orleans airport smells like gumbo.  We ate lunch at Zatarain’s, near our gate, serenaded by a talented guy on a keyboard.

The music never stops.

An hour and a half later we were in Austin and lo and behold!  Live music on the airport stage.  I think the band was “Hot Nuts Riveters”, but I’m not sure.  I’m going to look them up and see if they have a cd, because they were playing a lively tune that made me want to dance right there by gate 12.

And then at the bottom of the escalator was the main reason we were in Austin.

I was being hugged so much I didn’t get a picture of him, so here’s an older one.

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