Spring is in the air

Even though it’s only the end of February, Spring has come to Austin! The Carolina Jasmine on our fence is blooming filling our yard with a sweetness that air freshener manufacturers only dream about but can never ever come close to matching. The quality of light is moving from a blue gray to a lemon yellow as the sun climbs ever higher in the sky. Today, it was 81 degrees! Let’s hope that doesn’t mean it will be too much of a scorcher this year!

Protection by … the universe?

Since early 2001, I’ve ridden a Yamaha Vino scooter. This is my scooter, although, now there are many bumper stickers on it. I would have loved to buy and ride a Vespa, but, alas, too pricey for me. Vespa’s are the Harley’s of the scooter world. I don’t ride a Harley for the same reason.

When I took my Vino in last year for its annual physical (inspection, tune-up, etc.) there was this small motorcycle on the lot. It fit me just right, but was not a color that I could see myself riding. Nevertheless, I was so taken with it that I took a motorcycle safety course and got my “M” license. In Texas, you just have to take the written portion of the test to ride a scooter.

But then, for some reason I waited. Each time my husband and I would drive by the dealership, I would look for “my bike”. Sometimes it would be there and sometimes it wouldn’t, depending on whether they felt like rolling it out that day. I’d say “too bad it’s not a better color”.

A year went by and it was again time for the preventative maintenance on my scooter. When I dropped it off, the bike was still there and the price had dropped. I sat on it and visualized myself riding it. Over the next couple of days, I explored the pros and cons of buying the bike; and the cost of repainting it. When I went to pick up my scooter, I asked about it and was told that it had been sold that morning.

Amazingly, I don’t feel a great loss. I feel that karma or the universe saved me from myself.

Good Help

My husband and I have a saying "It's hard to find good help these days". We apply it when:

• a waitress brings our dinner, but neglects to refill our drinks and disappears until we are leaving
• we discover an obvious typo in the newspaper (what are proofreaders for?)
• we are looking at a brand new car and notice the interior door handle cover is missing (QA anyone?)

Recently, a gentleman came by our house offering his services to prune our trees. By all appearances, he seemed like a nice fellow ... clean cut, clean clothes, and he talked intelligently about pruning trees. We'd been collecting fliers from tree pruners because our live oaks needed pruning and we had a few cedars we wanted removed. So we negotiated a price and he went to work. Now, mind you, I was somewhat skeptical. We've had to apply the above saying more than once to drive by pruners.

I have to say I have been pleasantly surprised! This guy really knows what he is doing. He is cautious in climbing the trees ... not just for his own safety but also so as to not damage the living portions of the tree. He has taken care to not obstruct the side walk. When he leaves for the day, he has left the cut limbs in orderly piles. He is almost done and has raked the yard and swept the side walk.

I can't help but wonder if the universe sent him to our door as a way of saying "yes, you can get good help these days!"!!!

the wheel turns

Growing up in Lubbock, I was a sickly asthmatic child. As I grew older, I got stronger. But even as an adult there would be one or two late night runs to the emergency room because I could not breathe. After I married, my husband was there by my side, holding my hand, assuring me everything would be fine. Moving to Austin helped because the winters are milder here and there are fewer of the things to which I'm allergic. So the emergency room visits tapered off until there have been more than 10 years since the last one. Hurrah!!

Unfortunately, the longer we live in Austin, the more allergic my husband gets to the things here. And as he has aged, he can't fight off the effects as easily. For the past several years, instead of him driving me to the emergency room, I drive him. And instead of him holding my hand telling me everything will be fine, I hold his. I know what he is feeling which is both good and bad. I know that when you can’t catch your breath, nothing else matters. I know what it means when the doctor calmly looks at your blood oxygen saturation level and says "we'll give you a breathing treatment ... it will take about an hour." (the longer the treatment the worse the need). We are hoping that this year will be different and are taking care to see that this year there is no midnight run.

My husband … the word is the embodiment of the vows we took when we got married. "… in sickness and in health..." He supports me and I him. And the wheel turns.

Pet Peeve

One of my pet peeves is the seemingly rampant misspellings and misuse of words. In the newspaper, in magazines, on TV commercials, on banners on buildings … everywhere I look, it seems as if people have forgotten how to use a dictionary or are heavily dependent on spell check programs.

1st case in point – a national pizza chain near our house has an advertising banner hanging on its building. The banner says “Now hiring drivers - $1 gas reinbursement”. There is no such word as reinbursement … it is reimbursement. I have to wonder how many people had a chance to review the sign before it was hung. I have to wonder even longer about a manager that would think it is ok because (and I am quoting him) “…most of the kids we hire don’t know what the word means”. Yes the sign is still there in spite of my pointing out the spelling error. Just because they don’t know what it means doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be spelled correctly! That way they could look it up and learn what it means.

2nd case in point – just last night, I saw a TV commercial for a famous brand of toothpaste. The product claimed to “protect cavities, gingivitis, plaque, stains, tartar buildup and sensitivity”. Not to protect against, mind you, but to “protect”. So, I’m left wondering … I thought toothpaste would protect my teeth AGAINST cavities, gingivitis, etc, not the other way around. I don’t think I want to use a product that protects some of the very things that I brush my teeth to avoid.

AARRGH!!!! It’s enough to make me want to pull my hair out. Is America becoming a nation of illiterates? Does anyone care anymore???

Blogging about a blog

The 2007 Bloggies Award has some great nominees. Voting is closed, but you can still see the nominees. The awards are given as part of the South by Southwest Interactive Festival. Under the category of Best Photography of a Weblog is an absolutely incredible blog called Stuck in Customs. The images are stunning and the writing is superb. Be sure to check out the February 2nd entry on Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl.

This is why I live in Austin

Today is February 7. Arguably the middle of winter. With weather headlines and stories like "Freeze eases in parts, returns to others - Winter returned with a vengeance Wednesday to the Upper Midwest and Northeast, with snow and below-zero temperatures snarling commutes, canceling flights and closing schools." I feel very fortunate to be where I am.

The high in Austin today is estimated at 74! YES!!! 74 degrees!

I write this as I sit on my patio listening to birds chirp and watching the squirrels raid the bird feeders while my cats play in the grass.

Life in Austin is Good!

Detroit airport art

One of my favorite things when traveling is to see how the airports "dress" up or put on a show for the weary traveler. In Austin there are local art displays that are changed every few months, piped in local music and live local music in the evenings. In Atlanta, there are sculptures of giant ants on the ceiling over baggage claim.

On the road last week, I traveled through Detroit on my way to Windsor, Ontario. This is a picture I took with my cell phone of the tunnel connecting Terminal 2 with Terminal 1. It's a little hard to see. There are moving walk ways on either side of the tunnel (the blue and green area) that are flanked with undulating frosted glass that picks up the color. The pink/red area is the round atrium leading into the tunnel. The tunnel plays a light show in concert (pun intended!) with the new age-like music. Very relaxing. Very neat. Imagine getting off a 3 hour plane ride and schleping to baggage claim when you stumble on to this!

Getting Started

I've always wondered about blogging. I've tried over the years to keep a journal ... at times more successful than others. I wonder ... is blogging just an on-line journal? or a journal that one wishes to share? I'm thinking it's the latter.

Recently a niece directed me to her blog. Since then, I sometimes find myself thinking "this would be interesting to blog about" when something happens or I see something interesting. So, here goes! I'm taking the plunge as it were.