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.