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Mid-January, Rain - January 13, 2012
Almost Midwinter - December 14, 2011
Saturday, Noonish, Sunny - November 05, 2011
October, White - October 31, 2011
October, 2011 - October 04, 2011


March 05, 2008

11:46 p.m.

Texas, Part Two

Tuesday, March 5
Austin, Texas

We survived the school show, and had a very pleasant experience overall despite certain A/V difficulties. In the end, the projector worked, and we were able to carry on as planned.

This is our second night in Austin. We�re having a blast with our friends and hosts, laughing til we want to bust a gut, telling stories, going shopping (window only, so far), eating at our favorite places. Sonny made us this incredible supper tonight, which we ate late, after my online class. Stuffed grape leaves, squash soup with coconut milk, homemade raita (an Indian sort of condiment dish made with yogurt, shredded cucumbers, mint, usually dill. Sonny added mango instead of mint... delicious), pate and water crackers. Lots of red wine. We ate til we were stuffed and then played our favorite game, Boggle.

Calvin, Sonny�s partner, has been expanding his art studio in the back yard. He�s been taking metalworking classes, and every time we see them, he�s put up a new gate or something else metal that he made himself, inlaid with colored glass and such. I usually sleep in a little loft in the �office,� which is a pass-through room and much occupied; this time they�ve put me upstairs in the Bali Room (where we perform when we play here; huge A-frame room, magnificently decorated with bamboo, rope and red paint), in the alcove near the front windows. You can see a tour of this house here; it might be the most famous house in Austin. Eventually there�s a picture of this room, if you keep clicking �next.� Anyway I�m tucked behind some wonderful red curtains, in a space just big enough for a twin mattress and a couple of little tables and lamps. It�s quieter up here. I like it. I also found a wireless connection belonging to a neighbor that doesn�t seem to be as available downstairs.

Wednesday Night

We�ve had our shopping day, hitting all our favorite textile shops, and I found two gorgeous, sheer white panels beautifully embroidered with that 3-D, golden metallic thread. The guy said they were used for weddings in India. Elsewhere, Sonny found the perfect sari to match her living room and will probably make curtains out of it, though it�s a shame to cut it. The shopkeeper at that place showed her how to wrap a sari, and Carol and I looked on with much interest.

Then a trip to Ace Restaurant Supply, where I found a pair of chef pants I didn�t have yet.

At the local herb shop Sonny directed me to a tincture for gums, as I�ve been having painful recession again, probably over the stress of the school show.

Then we all went to see Spiderwick! It was great fun and further endeared Freddy Highmore to me as the best child actor I�ve ever seen. He plays emotional scenes with an adult sensibility a kid his age shouldn�t be able to grasp yet. I look forward to seeing what he does as he grows up.

Then Chris and I had a little tiff, over which I�m still a bit somber. It�s okay.

I packaged up my new textiles, and the little bowls I bought in the herb shop, with some clothes I won�t need for the rest of the tour. I�ll mail them tomorrow on our way out of town. It�ll lighten the suitcase a bit.

By the time we got back I was feeling just a touch under the weather. It�s unspecific as yet. I�ve gargled with a hydrogen peroxide solution and taken extra vitamin C. I�ll try to go to bed soon, maybe after a bit of homework. Or not. I think I saw some NyQuil downstairs... the first night here was very cold and I had some night sweats. That could have been the culprit.

Sonny has made raised garden beds in the back. She�s going to build a walk-in cage around them to keep out squirrels. What a great idea. I have seen some other wildlife here; my first night, there was a little anole crawling around my floor-bed. That�s a kind of lizard, like a salamander. I happen to like little lizards, so I didn�t mind. Today in the Bali room I looked up, where there is a huge A-frame roof, along the apex of which is a strip of translucent material to let light in. A big rat was walking across its length! It couldn�t get into the house but had gotten in between the top outside beams and the skylight stuff. It�s practically Mutual of Omaha here. (Does anyone remember Mutual of Omaha�s �Wild Kingdom?�)

I am content for now, though not feeling in top form. Can�t get sick. Must play three more gigs. Hotel for the next two nights, my own room, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I�ll leave you with something Sonny has posted inside the front door, which I love:

�Oh Great One, you know better than I know myself that I am growing older, and will some day be old. Keep me from getting talkative, and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every occasion. Release me from craving to try to straighten out everybody�s affairs. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others� pains. Help me to endure them with patience. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains; they are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint (some of them are so hard to live with) but a sour old person is impossible to be around. Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but you know that I want a few friends at the end.�


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