Christmas Cards

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is Christmas cards. I love getting them and I love sending them. I enjoy and appreciate the creativity that people demonstrate in the type of card they choose, the artwork, and the message. But what I especially enjoy is when someone has taken the time to write a personal note, newsy or otherwise. I even like the infamous Christmas letters as long as there is an inserted personal note at some point.

Just for grins, I looked up Christmas card etiquette at that "Hallmark" (no pun intended) of internet intellectualism known as Wikipedia. Surprisingly, there are not very many rules of thumb. The consensus is that Christmas cards should be hand-addressed and personally signed with some kind of personal note - short, long or otherwise. A well-accepted standard is including some kind of picture - either of the entire family, or perhaps the children. This has given rise to the all-inclusive picture Christmas card.

The history of Christmas cards is actually not very long. In an effort to sell more stamps, the first commercial Christmas card (pictured) occurred in Britain in the 1800s, and from the start, Christmas cards have been somewhat controversial. The first card, as you can see, depicts a merry family made even more merry by enjoying a little wine. This caused a little bit of whining by the general public. Other controversies have been caused by not paying heed to peoples' religious persuasions by sending a deeply secular family a strongly evangelistic card. Now Christmas cards have entered the electronic age and e-cards have reduced the number of mailed cards received over the last ten years to an average of 20 cards per family from 24.

The last part of Christmas cards that I enjoy is at the end of the season taking them all down from their prominent display perches and reading back through them. Occasionally we'll get a card from someone that we've omitted and it's always good to follow up on their effort to stay connected.

So for all of you that blessed our temporary Texas abode with a card this year, we offer our heartfelt appreciation and look forward to this time-honored tradition again next year.

An Enigma Wrapped in a Mystery – Happy Birthday, Rich

Starting with Dennis’ birthday this year, I felt compelled to share a few thoughts about each of my siblings as they approach their birthday. Since we celebrate Rich’s birthday on the 13th, these are the things that readily come to mind about this quiet brother of mine. I know that Rich is my brother for three simple reasons: first, he has a bad back and suffers through each day; second, he loves music; and finally, he shares my penchant for hats of various makes and models!

When we were in our teens our family took a camping trip to the Yosemite Valley. I have many memories of camping near the Merced River and setting out each day on some new adventure. Early one morning, Rich and I took off together on a hike up the face of a cliff that overlooked the valley below. This same cliff was used for the “Firefall” of burning logs that has long been stopped. Some ways up the trail we stopped and took a much needed shower in a waterfall that crossed our path. A little later, we stopped to take some pictures of the incredible vista that opened up below. One picture had Rich in the foreground and the valley floor several hundred feet below in the background. The picture had that early morning haze that somewhat obscured Rich’s face. It was one of my most favorite pictures that somehow has been misplaced. I’ve looked everywhere for it and at the same time I’ve looked for a clearer picture of Rich as he remains somewhat of a mystery to me, just as if I’m waiting for that early morning haze to clear up in a long ago picture.

In the present day, you can’t help think of Rich without thinking of his children and his music. His lifelong devotion to his children has been the most dominant characteristic in my mind. I’m sure at times it seems his devotion is almost fanatic in nature, but no one can question that he wants the very best in life for his kids. With respect to his music, the most notable thing is the recent completion of his degree. It’s not so important what ultimately might come of the degree. To me, the most important thing is that he put his hand to a very difficult task, overcame many obstacles, and completed what he had started. To honorably finish what we start in life is an admirable quality.

Another characteristic that I recall, especially from our youth, is how excited and appreciative Rich always was in receiving even the smallest of gifts. I remember coming home from college with a few mementos and gifts. He was always so appreciative of whatever he received. As an adult, he has become a very creative gift-giver himself, putting a lot of thought and originality into whatever he brings to a family gathering. For some reason, I remember the decorated bucket of fresh sweet corn on the cob he brought to a 4th of July party at our house.

There are still many things about him that remain a mystery to me. Sometimes I wonder if it’s because he had the unique distinction of being both the youngest child and then the middle child, with all the birth order angst that these positions sometimes bring. Also because he’s so quiet, it’s very difficult to know what he’s thinking or how he views the world. On a few occasions, our world views have clashed, putting us briefly at odds with each other. I did my best to clear the air before our Texas departure and I hope he feels the same way.

One of our sisters, who shall remain unnamed, asked me one day how our family could become closer. I didn’t have a good answer for her at the time because I felt we were reasonably close, given all the difficulties of life. After giving it greater thought, I think one of the ways to get closer is to either express hurts and perceived injustices or to truly forgive them and move on. But the second part of drawing closer requires mutual communication, which takes both time and effort to move a relationship closer. I desire to be closer to Rich, but I’m not sure what path described above I should take. But I would encourage Rich to choose a path as well. A birthday is a good milestone for taking new directions. My birthday wish for Rich is for less suffering in silence and for more communication. I sincerely wish him health and happiness and the fulfillment of the desires of his heart.

My last memory is of a special time in our life together was when we wound up for a short season playing together on a church softball team. I forgot to mention Rich’s love and ability for this pastime. I think our backs have brought an end to our stellar athletic endeavors, but for a time I enjoyed having this in common with him. As time goes forward, I hope that we can find another common pursuit that’s not so hard on our backs.

Until then, I love you and Happy Birthday!

When Dave Was Sky High

I suppose at some point it makes sense for Sky "High" Dave to talk about the sky and my love of having my head in the clouds. Like most young boys, I loved to build plastic models. My favorites were battleships, because they had so many guns and the gun turrets would actually move, and propeller driven military aircraft, especially those with retractable landing gear. Most of my paper route earnings would go toward the newest and most intricate model. I'm not sure why I chose the Army over the Air Force or Navy, other than that it was a great opportunity at the time.

As an adult, I often daydreamed about learning to fly. I was attracted to the adventure of it all, but a little apprehensive about learning such things as stalls and emergency procedures. The average human being is not at all attracted to a pastime that couples two of man's greatest fears - falling and being burnt up, only with flying they could happen at the same time. But the expense of it all as well as life's demands on a young husband and father commanded my full attention. However, the daydreams continued. But daydreams can be better than experiences, sometimes because you can create a fantasy that neatly omits all the difficulty.

But when I turned 40, some things happened that opened the door. I found myself in a consulting role that provided both excess income and excess time. Flying can suck up both. So as I rounded the corner of my fourth decade of existence, I decided to either do it or stop living in a fantasy of "someday". What sealed it was an introductory flight that demonstrated that certain things were not necessarily going to be as difficult as I thought. And I found an instructor more my age. Most were half my age and that was a little rough.

I was able to get my private, single engine, airman's certificate after an average amount of instruction and solo flight. Because of my military background, communications and navigation came pretty easily. My instructor was great about teaching me to control the aircraft, but you have to teach yourself how to land, pretty much. They say the instructor is along on the landings to keep things safe and to keep you from hurting the aircraft. But you have to get a feel for it yourself. This was my greatest challenge and took the longest to learn. There is a big difference between a really precise landing and a safe landing. I learned to make safe landings, but it takes a lifetime to make perfect landings.

I also learned that there are born pilots and mechanical pilots. Born pilots have an innate ability to fly well. They possess tremendous hand-to-eye coordination, unique spacial awareness, uncanny depth perception, and, each step comes naturally. Mechanical pilots learn the ropes and can fly safely, but they have to work at it more and are never as comfortable in the air. I was a mechanical pilot. It may also have something to do with when in life you learn to fly. The earlier the better. As you get older, your sense of mortality is more acute.

I loved to fly. I loved everything about it. I could read about it endlessly. I loved every phase from flight planning to continued training. It is the only avocation I'd found so far that fully occupied my body and mind and was truly recreational. Not to say that I didn't have some serious down moments, the worst being running off the runway with 4/5 of my family on board (0 injuries, other than ego) and becoming disoriented in the clouds which required a serious recovery.

But the highs were really high. Most notably were; my first solo cross country flight, a final requirement before your federal check ride, as well as flying to such places as Seattle (the prettiest) and Las Cruses (the farthest). The highs continued with the eventual ownership of a small plane and ultimately obtaining an instrument rating. This rating made me a much more precise flyer and gave me permission to fly "in the system" along with all commercial aircraft. I have always loved learning new things. Now I had discovered a whole new world within a world and it was exhilarating.

But the cliche of "all good things must come to an end" has to have a ring of truth or it wouldn't be a cliche. A bad back, coupled with medication that disqualifies one from flying put an end to things much sooner than I had hoped. I will confess that there are some things I don't miss. The expense of it all was ridiculous. Everything from aviation fuel to repair parts cost many times over what a sane human should pay for them. And there was always something to tend to on the plane, leaks, radios, tires, inspections, etc. Oddly, I even had a difficult time finding passengers. Again, I think it's that falling/burning thing.

Rather than dwell on a lost opportunity, I add in both reality of what I didn't like about flying, along with gratitude that I was able to do something that many people never have the opportunity to do. And Karen was incredibly supportive of it all. Now the challenge is to find an appropriate avocational substitute. Whatever it is, it has to involve lots of knobs and dials.

SkyHiDave

Brad Pitt, the Prophet

I don't read about celebrities very much, but a recent article in Parade magazine highlighted the current life and times of Brad Pitt. I do think he is a great actor. He has an unfair advantage though because he has a big head, anatomically I mean. Just look at it sometime along with the head sizes of many famous actors. Perhaps a big head is needed to hold the big head they get from all the attention. The head first begins to grow with fame, then really swells when people seek an actor's life philosophy, just because they are famous.

Anyway, if a magazine article's title is intriguing enough, I might proceed to the next level of interest - reading the captions over any pictures the article might include. The article's pictures are what reminded me of his head. In addition to the pictures, The Parade article had a section about Brad Pitt's spiritual journey.

Pitt said he had attended a Christian church and had a sincere emotional experience. Some time later, he was attending a concert and realized that the music produced the same emotions he had felt in church. This disappointed him because he thought he had a unique religious experience. Now he was confused. Was the church experience divine or relegated to just evoking intense, but real humans emotions? He stopped short of reconciling the conflict and moved on.

I think many of us have had similar experiences. This is why what we are feeling is not a good litmus test to determine if we are listing to Memorex or to just a copy. So if we can't rely on our feelings, what can we rely on if we are diligent pursuers of the truth?

I think we have to look entirely at what Jesus said, apart from what we are feeling or experiencing around us. Jesus claimed to be "The Truth" and validated His claim by doing exactly what He said he would do - die and then rise again. Jesus is trustworthy and we are not. Emotions are a good thing and can enhance our experiences. But emotions are an unreliable determiner of the truth.

I hope Brad Pitt doesn't totally give up on his search. Jesus said He rewards seekers of truth and will protect them from deception. The only thing He won't interfere with is self-deception. Cling to, trust in, and rely upon what He says and don't fool yourself.

Then you can truly enjoy the music.

Painting Another's Painting

Sorry, that's the best title I could think of. Email your suggestion after reading the blog if you dare!?

Designing your own home and then watching someone else build it makes me ponder what it might be like being a playwright. You have just written this entirely unique and deeply personal play. Yet, the public will never see your work-product unless you relinquish control of the script into the hands of others. You must find a good builder (or director) and the director and others assemble and guide the cast (subcontractors and laborers).

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As you sit there at rehearsals, you hope and pray that the trustees of your creation interpret your vision as close to what you had in mind as humanly possible. It is very exciting when they finally sense your vision and not only adhere to the script but also insert their own personality in a synergistic way. The collaboration results in much better critical acclaim than if they were merely reciters.

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Dave Matthews, founder and leader of the Dave Matthew's Band (that's original), once said in an interview that he lets each musician in his band play their individual instrument any way they want. They can come in and out at will, improvise and be creative in their area of expertise. They only thing they have to adhere to strictly is the lyrics. That gave way to individual expression and allowed great musicality and freedom of expression. But the meaning of the piece was not lost in the chaos if they stuck to the words. How does this relate to home building? Not very well I guess, I just wanted you to know that I liked his band.

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All through his career, Alfred Hitchcock, the acclaimed director, required strict adherence to the script even though the actors could use whatever method they wanted to get the lines out. He remained this way right up to perhaps his last movie (maybe I'll remember the name by the end of the blog). In his last film, he allowed a great deal (a lot) of ad libbing. The end result, in my opinion, was like a long running inside joke where the actors were almost winking at the camera and each other. As a result, the strong story line suffered.

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So at what point does the home builder/playwright insist upon strict adherence to the script/plans (do rhetorical question sentences need a question mark?)? The point when you look down the road and realize that you will really regret it if you don't interrupt the rehearsal and try to get the painters you have hired back on track in painting your own portrait.

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The point is, it's fun seeing your creation come to life but a little scary too. After all, they will sign their painting with your name and then send you the bill.

None but the Brave

When we think of the word bravery, the most common mental depiction is associated with the kind of action that results in the award of a medal or a public citation of some kind. This is not the kind of bravery I plan to discuss here. Rest assured that I am not talking about myself, but rather, a state of mind that I really want to achieve. I can write about bravery because I have role models, you can't hurt me physically, and, it's my blog anyway.

Medal bravery is that unconscious, spontaneous response to a severe situation in which an ordinary person performs extraordinarily, often at great personal risk, for the life saving benefit of others. The act is even more significant when performed by a layman just going through life when, all of a sudden, he is caught up in great tragedy. Quite often when these people are lauded for their acts of bravely, they accept the recognition with modesty, even a little guilt, because they didn't really think about it, they just acted.

The bravery I am talking about is the kind where you have to think about things and then act. This is a very different character trait, and the one I most admire. Let me 'splane, and I'll use small words.

Virtually no one's life turns out how they expect it to. I'm not sure where we get the picture of what our life is supposed to look like, but I've never heard anyone say, "What a life, it's exactly as I pictured it!" The most unexpected and least wanted turn of events is when injury and chronic pain come into your life, physical or mental, and often times both. The bravery I really admire is where people have to think about the day and times ahead and can visualize the difficulty. However, they bravely face the future and are role models of about every spiritual fruit I can recite.

These people, if they're brave, know tomorrow it's going to hurt, yet they face it anyway. Day after day, step after step is taken, knowing that things may never be better for them, yet they find a way to live an exemplary life. Maybe some of the bravery is muted by simply not trying to get ahead of themselves. Jesus tells us not to fret about tomorrow, it's tough enough today. Maybe no one can withstand the agony of mentally running through every possible scenario and still being able to function. But even if they have a glimpse of the potential difficulty, they act nobly, and this takes guts in my opinion.

These people should be given a medal. They are my heroes.

"O perfect life, be Thou their full assurance of tender charity and steadfast faith, of patient hope, and quite, brave endurance, with child-like trust that fears nor pain nor death."

From the Hymn "O Perfect Love" - Dorothy Gurney 1932

Let Us Pray...

Blogging is a little bit like praying - at times you're not sure if anybody is listening. But all that matters is that the right person is listening. Also, blogging, like prayer, is better for the blogger than the bloggee. I am a little behind on my praying, I mean blogging, so I'll try to catch you up on a number of fronts.

And like prayer, occasionally you hope for a response that a human could recognize.

They began clearing our lot near the end of August and got permission to start construction on September 4th. We last visited the site on Sep 13 as they were roughing in the plumbing and installing other items that will go in the slab. With any luck (and prayer) they may pour the foundation, slab and walkways late next week.
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To help monitor progress, we've set up a nested album in our gallery titled "(arbors) CIRCLE GETS THE SQUARE". We will have an Arbors Circle address and our house is mostly shaped like a square. We are using as many squares and rectangles in the design, stopping just short of compulsiveness, as a departure from all the curves and arches we had before. The top album will contain a nested album for each site visit and a "time lapse" album containing one picture each visit from generally the same spot.

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After several weeks of adding pictures, it might be fun to view the time lapse album as a slide show using a one second interval between slides. Michael and Sharon are planning to do the same. We used to do this in commercial construction but with much greater precision and from a higher altitude. Here. we are at about 500' elevation and the next highest vantage point is some distance away. Tomorrow (Sunday the 15th) we plan to visit the site and compare our plan with what we see installed. Once the concrete is poured - you snooze, you lose.

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Building your own home is a mixed blessing. It is a blessing to be able to have a house almost exactly as you would like it (cost not withstanding). Some people may never get that opportunity so we are humbly thankful for our current situation. I remember last year when my brother Doug was mentoring me on the design, I asked him if he built his own home does he have an idea of what it would look like. He immediately said yes and described a grand entrance, etc. I think many people have a mental picture of their dream home and we pray that for those who do, that you get the opportunity to build at some time in your life. Karen and I have had two fortunate opportunities.

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But building your own home means taking quite a few risks by not being able to see exactly what things are going to look like. It means doing your best to collaborate with many new people involved in your life, with competing priorities and definitions of quality etc. And if something turns out weird, then you can only look in the mirror, assuming it's not crooked on the wall. But what I am most thankful for is that Karen and I have very similar tastes and she is very accommodating if I want to look into something that you'd never see in Architectural Digest. The best final choices have been those where we respectfully tried to accommodate the other's likes ahead of our own. Surprisingly, the outcome of these forays has been truly optimal.

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I see strangers on the horizon - get the Winchester! It was great fun this week to see familiar and friendly faces. Paul's mom Debbie and her husband John were Texas-hopping for fun and profit and wound up for a short time in Austin. We met briefly for BBQ of course and then took them out to the our future multi-family compound for a peek. They were genuinely happy for us and seemed to like what they saw. After too short a visit they were off to encircle Lake Travis before a week's encampment in the DFW Metroplex.

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Our first road trip here in Texas will also be to the DFW area to attend the Sunbelt Builder's show. But the main purpose is to reconnect and reunion with lifelong friends. Linda Madden nee Williams used to go to church with Karen before we met and was instrumental in praying for my salvation along with her brother Jerry Williams, mutual wedding best men and close friends since high school. Jerry and his wife Sandy will be coming down from Okla. to all meet at Linda and her husband Dennis' home in Ft. Worth. There may even be a moment or two to say hi to some college friends that left the Army for The Texas Rangers some time ago.

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Before we leave for DFW, we'll have just a day or two to see the kids upon their return from their California trip - Anna's first return since she moved here in August of 06. Friends, family, weddings etc. fill their itinerary while Karen and I are left all alone 1700 miles away!

We are filling the time with more medical procedures. Next week I am really looking forward to a procedure where they are going to microwave four small nerves in my left SI joint. I just hope they use the "Defrost" setting" and not "Nuke". I will convalesce by finishing a great book "Literary Austin", the subject of my next prayer, blog I mean. The book is an anthology of written works done by authors with Austin roots or connections. The themes center on the main three Austin distinctions, beautiful geography, state government and progressive education.

Until next time, don't forget your prayers...

Dave's Top Ten - The Other Dave

It seems that list publishing has been popular ever since the Ten Commandments, or 15 if you have the Mel Brooks' version. Then David Letterman (the other Dave) perfected wacky list making in his nightly ritual. Therefore, since we've been here in Austin now coming up on three months, I thought it would be time for a few lists of our own.
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Here is our list of the pleasantly unexpected experiences in Central Texas:
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1. Intensely blue sky. I haven't come up with a shade but the skies are a deep, almost pastel blue. It's like taking a blurry picture and making it sharp and vivid. And with the absence of skyline obstructions (site easements my friend Bill calls them), the horizon is often a vast inverted blue ocean with white caps of -
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2. Towering cumulus clouds of every shape and size imaginable. A trip up to the west hills yields green rolling hills (even in summer) with sharp contrasts of blue sky and pure white clouds. Maybe the clouds seem pure because of -
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3. The lack of pollution. No haze or smaze here. Probably for a couple of reasons - no heavy industry, fewer cars and -
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4. A welcome, almost daily breeze. So far we haven't been overcome by the prophesied stifling humidity. The regular breeze certainly helps but so does -
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5. The vast number of water destinations. Swimming holes, creeks, rivers, lakes, water parks. What a surprise along with -
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6. Vast groves of thick oaks and pines and almost tropical foliage that allows for green summers many years. With all the destinations it's nice that -
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7. Very few things are crowded, actually nothing has been so far, even while school has been out. Maybe with so many venues it spreads out the people and makes those you do encounter -
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8. Very friendly and helpful, possessing a real sense of community (especially at The Arbors). A community that is -
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9. Wonderfully ethnically diverse, so important to us for our grandchildren to be exposed to other cultures than WASPs. This is highlighted by an almost endless schedule of festivals and cultural activities that makes you aware of -
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10. A very vibrant community, but with its share of quirks and unpleasantness like -
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A. Enough with the California bashing already, and why don't folks -
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B. Return phone calls and emails? I know people here prefer the face to face but if that's all you did, you'd be stuck at -
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C. The worst timed traffic light system we've ever seen, from red lights when no one's there to green turn arrows when nobody wants to turn. And what's with -
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D. The unreadable street signage and off-ramps nowhere near an intersection? Thankfully there is a brilliant U-turn system that doesn't require waiting for a light. Not having to wait for a light is important because it allows you to escape -
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E. Rampant, and quite unexpected, panhandling at almost all major intersections. Asking for everything from money to beer and even charitable contributions!? But at least there are very few eyesore billboards and the gas prices are great. What isn't great is -
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F. The ridiculous price of bulk foods. We sure miss Winco, even in the home town of Whole Foods. Can Trader Joe's provide some relief? I guess as long as folks -
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G. Get sliced white bread (think Rainbow Bread) and saltine crackers with BBQ orders it leaves very little of substance that can be listed as truly unexpected unpleasantness, weirdness maybe, but not unpleasantness.
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Yes, white bread with BBQ. BBQ will be the topic of my next blathering as soon as I visit with Willie Nelson, a major figure in the BBQ scene. Until then, "all y'alls" (plural of y'all) will just have to rely on Alton Brown's "Feasting on Asphalt" series on Food Network.
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Bye
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p.s. Given both our sitting infirmities we are very thankful for a plethora of televised church services. We found one from Hyde Park Baptist Church that is nearly a complete service and the messages are free from the typical cliches and evangelistic stereotypes. We feel that we are both learning and worshipping while in the inclined supine position!
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p.p.s. Why all the "x's"? I can't get the formatting to leave a blank line. I am bloggedly challenged it seems.

In The Beginning Dave said "Let There be Lot!"

We awoke this morning with our Google Calendar reminding us to attend our first annual homeowner's association meeting for the The Arbors, our new subdivision. After having met a few folks during many of our forays to the property, we were looking forward to seeing them as well as see some new faces and to get a feel for the aura of the Arbor's community.

Unlike our last HOA, this meeting was well attended and the atmosphere was one of like-minded people in a fairly close knit community of about 100 homeowners, on the way to eventually 260 some homes.

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You can't go to wrong when you start with doughnuts, muffins and coffee (Mom only had one!). But the meeting proceeded with dispatch without people feeling too full of themselves. There was a good mix of folks sincerely interested in maintaining a quality community and those with the talents, experience and time to follow through and make it happen.

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The common thing that attracted these families to this one particular subdivision was the desire to live in a safe, clean, responsible community without the pretentiousness of many gated communities. In our last association, people were badgered to be on the board, here they submit their resumes and give a speech before the election. The subdivision and community involvement is high with many active committees, from the needed architectural to the wanted social and welcoming. We were pleased and encouraged that we had come to the right place.

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Even though we were looking forward to getting out to the property (we had not been to the lot since they started clearing), the meeting ended near noon so we had a quick lunch at one of the two heralded BBQ places in the "Capital of Sausage" town of Elgin before heading out. More on Texas BBQ in a subsequent blog.

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But finally getting to the lot really made our day. The initial clearing for the driveway and building pad looked exactly as we envisioned and previously relayed to the builder. We took a couple dozen pictures to finally give you an idea of what our lot will actually look like. Go to the gallery to finally see - "let there be lot". After the lot purchase back in March of 2006, dirt is finally flying. Our house plans have been approved by the ACC and all we are waiting on is a final septic design and approval to begin seriously playing in the dirt.

Now we hope that Michael and Sharon won't be far behind as they closed their construction loan Thursday.

From Swimming Holes to Home Construction

Much of central Texas sits on shallow layers of rock, mainly limestone and sandstone. The rock is found very near the surface so it doesn't allow much of a topsoil layer. This contributes to a large amount of runoff during the rainy season, as well as surface water access to underground aquifers through cracks in the rock layers. The end results are manifold.

As the water runs off the rock, it creates a number of rock bottomed creeks and rivers. These pristine rivers are great for tubing, a very popular pastime here. Three rivers just south of here boast large tubing enterprises (San Marcos, Guadalupe & Comal Rivers).

Where a limestone creek layer or ledge becomes eroded, small waterfalls are created with subsequent downstream swimming holes. Our recreation destination last Sunday was just such a place. McKinney Falls is one of a number of State Parks with typical park amenities, shaded picnic areas, trails etc. But it also has relatively safe waterfalls (to some, large rapids) and several swimming holes to enjoy. A great place to escape the Texas summer heat.

Another aspect of these rock layers is that eventually what goes down must come up. The water sinking through the rock strata to create large underground aquifers later appears on the surface in a number of spring fed pools and swimming holes. Michael and Sharon have already blogged about Barton Springs Pool right in downtown Austin. We also look forward to visiting Krause Springs about 30 miles out of Austin. It is said to be one of the prettiest swimming holes in the area, with dozens of springs. We also plan to visit other nearby swimming holes and springs to include, Hamilton Pool, Llano Slab & The Blue Hole in Wimberly.

Once the fun stops, the stones are economically quarried, being so close to the surface, and used for many things to include residential housing. A typical Central Texas home will have an exterior that will be primarily masonry, to include the locally quarried stone, brick or a combination of the two creating an affordable but distinctive regional look. Because of the abundance of local stone, stone veneers are not yet commonplace and almost heretical to suggest as siding, as we found out.

(PICTURED IS AUSTIN LIMESTONE)

Michael and Sharon's home's exterior will be primarily brick (3 sides) with with some Limestone front gables and cement fiber siding along the back. Our home's exterior will have a lot of sandstone and cement fiber siding. These types of exteriors were one of the first things we noticed when looking at housing in the area because they are so costly in No. Cal. The most common is a cream white limestone called Austin Limestone. From there, the list includes sandstones which incorporate a little more color as well as Leuder Stone which includes gray.

(PICTURED IS ONE TYPE OF SANDSTONE)

I am sure that I don't have everything technically correct in the above narrative but I just wanted to give you an idea of the unique way the geology here contributes both to recreation and commerce.

Next time, we hope to have visited Donna & her fiancee, Dennis' new Texas building lot purchase in Bastrop (25 miles east of Austin) and tell you all about it.

Brothers & Birthdays (Sisters too!)

July brings the convergence of two cosmological constants, my and my brother Dennis' birthdays. Birthdays are strange things. People everywhere celebrate birthdays in many different ways and in no ways at all. Looking into the abyss of cyberspace knowledge that is Wikipedia, it seems the histology of birthday celebrations is unclear. The who, where, what and why of birthdays varies greatly from one lore giver to another. But needless to say, that we all generally recognize & celebrate someone's birthday, especially among children, parents, spouses and siblings.

(The Picture - Rich, Dennis, Donna, Me, Doug)

We would never think of ignoring a young child's birthday. There is the traditional one year old high-chair chocolate cake all the way to the dreaded teenage peer parties. Why do we celebrate a child's birthday? We want them to believe they are special, loved and cared for, and that we're glad they are around. So what happens as we age and our approach to each other's birthdays change?

Some years we don't bother to celebrate someone's aging at all!. I agree, that at a point, the whole gift thing gets a little weird, but what has really changed? Don't we still love the person? Yes we might change the word "special" to "unique"!? But aren't we still glad that the person shares oxygen with us and exists in our lives and resides on this planet? Then why can we sometimes be so dismissive of someone's birthday? For me it comes down to saying to the person, I'm glad that we share this lifetime and this planet together, especially to my siblings.

As siblings, we will know each other longer in this life than anyone else that lived. So for "aforementioned" reasons, I send the warmest of Birthday greetings to my younger brother by just one small year, Dennis.

One year as an adult doesn't seem like much, but it is a big spread when you are children. I don't know what it is as a child, but a year can be an eternity. It seems that growing up we are more focused on our friends than our siblings. In life, friends come and go but our siblings remain.

Growing up, I didn't feel that I had a lot in common with Dennis. We had very different interests and friends. But much later in life, my grown children had spent some time with Dennis rehearsing a surprise musical number for my, yes, birthday. After the event, they all remarked how much Dennis reminded them of me. The closer I looked the more I could see it. It was there all the time hiding in plain sight.

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(The picture is of Dennis & the love of his life, Lorraine, that is)

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Some of the similarities are edifying. We love music of all kinds and all expressions. We love our wives and children and work/worked hard for the quality of their lives. Dennis has a great sense of humor, a big heart, a generous lifestyle and...a bad back. Dennis thinks and feels deeply about things but may not express his thoughts regularly or fully, especially about things like his faith. We both had/have the guilty pleasure of laughing out loud at 'Whose Line is it Anyway?" until it just became too crude.

Dennis is and has always been extremely hard working, maybe to a fault. I have never known him to be lazy. He loves family and friends around him as well as the solitude and beauty of the outdoors. He is a keen businessman and very intelligent. On the surface, I may have the paper, but underneath he is extremely bright. If he would admit it, we both like to shop and simply can't pass up an interesting hat or the perfect pair of shoes, no matter how many other ones just like them we might already have. Is that like saying we have a strong feminine side?

Many years ago, we were leaving Dennis' house and he came out teary eyed and said that he wanted to be in my life somehow, even if it was just a small way. It really shook me up because I didn't realize I was behaving like he was not! But if he perceived those feelings then the onus was on me to dispel them. So I have tried to be more open with my life and feelings towards him and to be in his life when and where ever possible.

Once when we were very young, like most kids do at some point, Dennis flew out of the house and tried to run away from home. I ran after him and had to forcibly pick him up and carry him back. Although I have long lost the ability to lift most anything, I would still carry him today if he needed it. I would certainly never want to miss the chance to say that I am glad you are on this planet. Happy Birthday Dennis.

Barbers Ink Bastrop County Construction Pact

Last week we shook hands with Nalle Custom Homes, a prominent regional residential custom builder, on the construction of our new home in The Arbors subdivision outside the city of Elgin in Bastrop County, Texas. Nalle is one of the largest, if not the largest residential custom builders in the county, even though their reach extends farther than Bastrop county.

Pictured is me shaking hands with owner Tilghman Nalle (pronounced "Tillman Nawl") in their downtown Elgin Office.

After nearly a year long process, Nalle was chosen based not only on their detailed cost-effective proposal, but also on their reputation for quality and timeliness. Equally important, Nalle was able to help us, in a very diplomatic way, consider material selections and construction methods more prevalent in Central Texas. In other words, they helped us de-California-ize our design concepts in exchange for methods of equal quality, but more appropriate for Central Texas, without making us feel like outsiders.

It also didn't hurt that we were able to visit many of their completed and in-process homes that clearly demonstrated they love what they do and are good at it. Check out the gallery of homes at their website http://www.nallecustomhomes.com/.

Now we're just waiting for our new but larger lot to close escrow so we can start the permitting process. Just think, the first delay is "owner caused"! We are more than ready and look forward to getting out on the parcel and finally visualizing where the house will actually sit.

The picture at left is Karen greeting Owen Nalle. He heads up the company's office and administrative efforts while Lee Nalle (seen with me) keeps his boots dirty in the field.

We are very glad to have found a respected company with a quality resume of well-built homes that added value to our design-build process. We sincerely appreciate all the bidders efforts on our behalf. We know that a responsible bid/proposal takes time and costs money. However, we feel we have made a decision that is clearly in our best interest.

Now it's time to put down the pencils and make some dust!

Living The Vida Local

Karen and I are thankful to be settling into some kind of daily routine finally as the appointments and shopping trips are ebbing. After morning coffee and reflecting on the previous night's thoughts, we have been working our way through a devotional entitled "Amazing Grace, 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions", by Ken Osbeck. It gives the back story for most of the well known traditional hymns and brings back a lot of memories.

From there, one of us takes the lead in encouraging the other to get over to the apartment's gym for a treadmill walk, a very small amount of weights (for me not much at all) and then maybe a short swim. It is of some benefit to be living in a complex populated by young people that work in the tech field during normal working hours, leaving us the run of the facility during the mid-day hours. This avoids a lot of finger pointing and laughing. This routine gets us off to a good start and provides some form of structure that successful retirement seems to demand. From there it's usually, "What's for lunch!?".

We have finally chosen a builder - Nalle (pronounced "Nawl") Custom Homes (NCH). We are very excited to be linked up with them and they will be the subject of our next blog. We still haven't closed escrow on the new lot so we hope it doesn't hold things up too much. NCH is saying 5-6 months to occupancy on the house. We had a great meeting yesterday to review all the details and finalize the drawings. We will meet on the property with the surveyor next week to locate the exact footprint of the house and the route of the driveway.

Perhaps the best news is that I have had a lot of pain relief from the SI joint injection this week. It is the most relief I have felt in many months so I just need to not overdo things. Karen is still doing all the driving but I need to start sitting up to see if we can add a few day trips to our living the Vida Local.

P.S. - Glad to be back in the Library system. Here's a pic of our local branch nearby. I checked out a Bible in Spanish just for fun.

Bloom (or Boom) Where You're Planted

Here is the next installment, in keeping with my plan to post a blog at least once a week mainly about our Texas adventure. Before we left for Austin, I renewed contact with a former beloved pastor, Jim Akins (www.wintervillefirstbaptist.org) by email. I related to him the Reader's Digest version of our family's plan to move to Texas. In his response, he stated that he always thought we had an adventurous family and that we should do well even with the significant difference that Central Texas is from Northern California. I had never thought of our family as being adventurous but perhaps he's right. I think that part of enjoying any new adventure is to bloom where you're planted.

In the construction business, we always found it difficult moving families all around the country for relatively short-term projects. We tried several strategies but nothing ever worked really well, except for one family. Their strategy was that no matter where they were assigned (I remember Las Vegas, NE Florida, Guam, Louisiana etc.) they quickly found what made that area special and jumped into regional activities with great enthusiasm. They found a great way to make frequent travel work for their young family. In fact, they came to look forward to the next assignment, just to find what great things might await them at the next venue.

One of the things that we have found that makes Austin great is the numerous lush city parks. They have set aside over 16,000 acres for 206 parks, 12 nature preserves and 26 green belts. Less than a mile and a half from our apartment is Walnut Creek Park. It's just under 300 acres with six miles of easy trails. So we headed out twice this week and were surprised at finding this beautiful public space right next door, with a creek swollen from all the recent rains. The riparian area well illustrates the indigenous limestone strata that is ever-present in this area. Texas limestone or sandstone will eventually serve as our new home's exterior. I hope you enjoy the pics at our gallery.

After I left the Army in 1978, my first private sector job was selling computers. I often found that when a prospect bought a competitor's product instead of mine, that no matter how the product actually performed, to hear the prospect tell it, it was the greatest purchase decision they had ever made. Sort of the opposite of buyer's remorse. Let's call it buyer's "morse" just for fun.
We don't want to have buyer's morse about our decision to move to Texas. We will either like it or not. It will either work out well or not. But it will have a lot to do with enthusiastically finding what makes this area special and jumping in, health permitting. And it will have an even greater thing to do with the opportunities the decision brings for our children. So far that area looks pretty good.

But I promise...no buyer's "morse" code from me!

Cosmic Symphony

I thought I would take a chance and share with you a little bit of what I have been learning lately. This might seem like heady stuff but I think you might like the ending.

Since college I have been interested in physics but never had a chance to pursue the field. So I have been doing a lot of reading about the topic now that I have the time. Recently I attended a lecture at U.C. Davis. The speaker was an icon in theoretical physics, especially in what has been called "String Theory".

For many years, scientists thought that the smallest particles of matter were protons, neutrons and electrons. But some time ago they discovered that even these elementary atomic particles were made up of a whole menu of sub-atomic particles given such strange names as quarks, neutrinos, muons, etc. In fact, they have found 19 or more even smaller building blocks of matter.

Scientists didn't like how "messy" this is. For some reason, nature is supposed to be more symmetrical or "elegant" as they like to say. Therefore they began to suspect that there might be even smaller fundamental building blocks of nature. Because these new particles would be so very very small, current technology can not see them at all. They only have indirect knowledge of their existence. However, they can prove mathematically that they should exist.

They now believe that all matter could be made up of the same particle, an infinitesimally small vibrating string. It is analogous to a violin string. The only difference between one substance and another is the frequency and resonance of the comprising vibrating strings. It seems that music may be the underlying structure holding all things together.

To give you an idea though of how small a theoretical string is, consider that the distance from a person to the outer edge of the known universe is on the same scale as the distance from a person down to a string. Pretty small huh? But isn't it interesting that man, God's highest creation, sits right in the middle, size wise, of His total creation?

Randy Jackson of American Idol fame was once asked why he thought that Idol was so very popular. In a rather profound moment he simply said, "everybody needs music in their lives." Music is an "instrumental" (ha!) part of our life, all through our lives. Could it be that music touches something very basic within us all, something primeval? We all wonder why music can stir up such deep emotions and responses. But it's probably no wonder to God.

Could it be that we are all part of a great cosmic symphony with a Divine conductor arranging music all throughout creation?

It may take decades before this can be proven but the possibility has stirred a renewed interest in theoretical physics not seen since the golden years of Einstein's E=MC2. Even after all his achievements, Einstein spent the last 30 years of his life chasing the idea of this one unifying particle theory or, as they have now coined, "The Theory of Everything", but he came up short.

So I look forward now to listening to a new icon at UT. I'll be watching his lecture schedule as he is also one of most prominent proponents of String Theory. I suspect I will be listening to music, both on the drive to his remarks, and throughout his lecture as well.

Play on...

We're not in Kansas Anymore

Today we got wired...with Cable TV (300+ channels and nothing on), digital phone (free local & long distance for one year) and high-speed Internet service. Time Warner calls it Road Runner and the 3-part package runs less than $100 a month! So no more trips to the apartment business center to try and stay connected.

BTW our apartment phone number is 512-906-0637 and we will keep the cell of 916-622-0183 until our family package expires. So what's been happening?

First order of business was getting Texas license plates. To do that we needed a vehicle. We found a car on-line ahead of our move and it was wonderful to have it waiting for us the day after our arrival. We bought a 2007 Previa, actually known as a Toyota Sienna Van. Karen drives while I sprawl out across the 2nd row of seats. We really love it and it meets our needs perfectly. Check out the gallery for pics. We put it to good use right away as my 2nd cousin Karen Manhart was in Austin for a wedding and needed a ride to the airport to fly back to Sacto. So after a brief visit and lunch she made the popular Southwest connection. We will be looking into Express Jet in the near future too, as they have started low cost direct service from San Antonio to Sacto.

We knew we weren't in CA anymore when local TV reported that they're expecting a very bad flea season! Karen also met a few fire ants while checking in on our property. But we had never seen our parcel in summer before, fully leafed out, and it is beautiful. We are also looking into a couple of nearby parcels, just in case we have some camp followers in the distant future. We met some new neighbors that had just transplanted from the Northeast to be near their children that also live in The Arbors. Imagine that!

We have narrowed down contractors to two bidders and hope to get final numbers next week. Best guess is 7-8 months to move in. We can't turn around at this point anyway as we were forced to surrender our CA driver's licenses in exchange for new Texas ones. Our license numbers are one digit apart just like Michael and Sharon's. They will be over later today to help us finalize all the new connections and maybe go swimming if the weather permits.

So far the weather has been very hospitable with some rain most days. Austin has had record spring rainfall and everything is very green, yet not too humid at this point. We have been thinking of that special family member who has a heat-related skin problem. Even though it gets very hot here, we think the extra moisture might actually help the condition. Just a thought.

It is hard to believe that when we got married 34 years ago today that our dream back then of retiring in Austin would come true so quickly. BTW my meds are affecting my memory so it may not have actually been Austin. But I know our dream was to experience every new adventure together. So it remains to be seen what new adventures the next 34 years will bring. But for now we hope to fully embrace the Austin Adventure and to endeavor to keep in touch. We hope you will consider doing the same.

Goodbyes to Good Friends & Family

When we collectively decided to go to Austin well over a year ago it was impossible to project ahead to the emotions we would have when the time finally came to go especially emotions about people. Initially we characterized our departure not as us leaving, but as us inviting others to share the journey with us. We knew down deep inside that it was not very realistic for relatives to simply drop their lives and move to Austin but it was a romantic notion and felt better than to simply feel we were leaving them behind. I have openly wept and mourned the pending separation from close family. But even with the tears, I still believe that we are rightly headed in a new direction. And...thank Southwest for those occasional tremendous fares for quick returns and reunions.

Today we said goodbye to some good friends we met in 1990, Martin and Joy Cherrington. Actually Martin was my boss from 1990 to 1996 and we have remained in close contact ever since. Karen developed an equal kinship with his wife Joy. I don't know how often your employer also becomes a close friend but it did with Martin. So today we broke bread, reminisced about the good, bad and ugly and speculated about our respective futures. I don't know what it is in life when you really connect with someone and develop a close affection. I think it is rare for all of us. But when it does happen, its hard to leave and not look over your shoulder. But as it is with any good friend, they want your best and they will always be there for you.

Done Deal - Well Almost

June 14th we set sail on The S.S. Southwest for a one way ride to Austin. Our home of 18 years in Newcastle CA passes into the hands of another family to enjoy on the 15th. Our first nine months in country we will be suffering at the San Paloma Texas Adaption Center (see related links for what it's like to suffer in Texas for $675 a month). Our secure unit (lovingly arranged by Michael & Sharon) under 24 hour watch will be:


12501 Tech Ridge Blvd. #1516
Austin, TX 78753.

If we successfully adapt and our builder is on-time, we will eventually be allowed to move to:

375 Arbors Circle
Elgin, TX 78621

They will allow us to keep our cell phone 916-622-0183 until they discover that the area code is a bit farther west of Austin than we represented.

Our travels and travails will be chronicled regularly at this blog. Here is plenty of information that will allow you to email, snail-mail or call. We hope to hear from you so we don't lose heart. Plus, we might owe you money and Texas is not an extradition state. Stay tuned...

Cognitive Dissonance

It is not good to be double minded about things unless you have a forum to express both points of view. This is that forum for me. Instead of having my head in the sky (skyhidave), I plan to come down to earth and write about what's happening inside my head. In itself, this is not very important unless there are others, who after reading my thoughts, realize they have pondered the same thing. After all, isn't that what we all want...to know that we are not alone.

Stay tuned...