Trying to beat the system

Freebirds is one of our favorite places to eat. Well, okay - one of my favorite places to eat. For those of you who live out of town, Freebirds is a heavy-metal version of Chipotles. Burritos with an attitude. Even though it started in College Station, it is a primo contributor to "Keep Austin Weired."

But Mom has a problem with Freebirds in that even the 1/2 burrito is too much of what she doesn't need to eat. We've tried sharing a regular burrito but we don't like the same ingredients; they have a great chips and queso, but that's a little shy of what she needs for a meal. What would really work is the child's order of steak quesadilla - but there's this 12 years and under rule...

So, here's where you chase off the grandkids and shoo away the faint of heart. Okay? All gone?

Today we cheated. I told Mom to sit down at a table near some children and I went and I told the heavily tattooed server person that I wanted "a steak burrito and ohbythewayIneedachild'ssteakquesadilla." So far so good. She didn't bat an eye.

Htsp: "That comes with rice and beans. What kind of beans would you like?" Oops. We didn't talk about rice and beans.

Me: "Uhh, no rice and beans, please. That's okay."

Htsp: "Are you sure? If you don't want rice and beans you can have..." Didn't clearly hear the choices - too busy panicking.

Me: "Uhh, no thanks, just the quesadilla. "

Htsp: "I'll just add some chips, okay. But no beans and rice?"

Me: "Yeah. Chips is good, but she won't eat the rice and beans. Uhh, she's a picky little eater." Please, please, don't engage me in conversation about the eating habits of young children ... and old ladies.

Htsp: "Will that be all?" Yessss!

Mom: "Where's my queso? If you don't get beans and rice you should get chips and queso."

It's a good thing I never considered robbing banks.

State of the Windmills

Growing up in west Texas, the windmill was an accepted and common part of life. It became invisible, blending into the background and out of sight, they became out of mind.

While visiting with Rob and his family last week in Lubbock, we visited the American Wind Power Center and Museum, a fascinating collection and exhibit of wind power implements and practices from the old West to present day. I never knew there were so many different types and designs of windmills! It was fascinating.

And it was poignant, as well. Wandering through the exhibits, or walking around the working windmills set up on the grounds, I kept thinking of how much Daddy would have enjoyed seeing these exhibits, and that he would surely have had windmill stories to tell. I really missed him.

What, I wondered, is the current state of the windmill in Texas? Or at least the parts of Texas that we see from the car window on our trips? Are there still any in existence? They had become so much a part of the landscape, I just couldn’t remember. So with a heightened awareness, we started home, actively looking for them.

I am happy to say that they are still out there. All we have to do is notice. We saw several dozen, primarily where the land is given over to livestock, as opposed to cotton, for instance. Most often they were in some distant field where an electrical line would never be strung, but quite a few were adjacent to the farmhouse, with a large tank of some sort set up to hold the water that was pumped. Only a few were turning; most were “off” with the vane canted to the side, so I don’t know what percentage of what we saw were still operable. Some with gapped and damaged blades – or the wheel completely gone – were obviously derelicts.

In fact, the venerable Aermotor brand – very well represented in the museum – is still being manufactured after 118 years; now in San Angelo, Texas. The windmill being produced today is identical to the model that was introduced in 1933. It is the only US manufacturer remaining, and sells about 3,000 units a year, one third of that number shipped overseas.

But there is another windmill story.

For the entire drive from west of Abilene almost to Lubbock, there are very few places where you are out of sight of the giant modern wind turbines. There are hundreds of them scattered across the mesas and plains, tall sentinels of a new era. There is an operating turbine at the Wind Power Center, and another disassembled and on the ground, where you can stand beside it and get a feel for the size and scope of these giants. In all, it was a trip of contrasts – the past, present and the future.

The mystery revealed

Even before it was finished, there was speculation about the design of the top of the Frost Bank Tower. Some have believed it to be a snowflake or winter scene (frost, get it?) while other have believed it to be representative of mountains. The theory behind both ideas is that the Frost Tower’s top is meant to compensate for the state’s lack of both snow and mountains.

I have long maintained that the whole thing is a secret hanger for an alien spacecraft and some day the thingy’s at the top will open up and the spacecraft will join the Mother Ship when the mission is complete.

Well, recently, architect Lou Fickens, representative of the company responsible for construction of the Tower publicly announced the source of inspiration for the unique rooftop design: “The truth of the matter is… it’s a bundt pan. For cakes.” When asked why he decided to go with the “bundt pan” design, Fickens explained, “My wife made a bundt cake the day before our preliminary design meeting. When she was done, she set the pan upside-down on top of a stack of dishes, and what I saw was beautiful.”

Austinites seem to agree: “I think it’s awesome. Any building that’s modeled after food is cool to me,” said one local citizen. Another, a pastry chef, concurs. “I think it’s a great message on behalf of our industry. Food can be big and bold!”

I’ll admit that a bundt pan design is consistent with Keeping Austin Weird. But I’m still suspicious that there’s a spacecraft in there.

Tis the season... to plant

It's Springtime in Austin. Okay, technically Spring doesn't come around until March 20, but if the temperature reaches 96 degrees on the 14th, that's close enough for me. Though there is that thing about the 15th being the last average date for frost in Austin - I well remember the sleet falling on April 1st one recent year. Nevertheless, it is time to plant!

We tend to take a minimalist view on gardening. A few tomato plants in pots and some Marigolds to chase away the bugs and we're done. We did branch out last year and try some cucumbers, but last year was a very disappointing gardening experience (that is not a picture of last year's produce), so thus far we're sticking to the basics - cherry and bush tomatoes.

But my, my the Gardening Center this time of year does make one want to overachieve, doesn't it? So many exciting looking plants. Sigh. But we tore ourselves away from the exotic stuff and came home with 3 tomato plants and a little flat of Marigolds. Barbara put them in pots, and now all that's left is to sit out on the patio, drink coffee and watch the tomatoes grow.

Life is good.

Adventures In Reading

The other day at the RFTB&D I directed a session of the recording of a Latin textbook. I was the rector, rather than the lector. That makes good sense, since I cannot read Latin so that it can be understood as such. In fact, the number of readers among our group of volunteers who can read Latin seems to be... well, one. There is a gentleman who taught Latin for 41 years, and he has taken on the task of reading and recording an entire text, all by himself. I mentioned before that this is not the way it is usually done; normally a host of readers and directors work in two-hour sessions to quickly complete a book, since they are usually texts requested for pending study courses.

But if there is but one reader... this gentleman has been coming in almost daily and reading as much as six hours a day. I struggle to get through 2 hours! He has almost completed the book - all that remains is the Vocabulary list. Page after page of mind-numbing lists of Latin declinations. Pronounced, spelled, and then the English definition given. For example:

laudabilis, laudatio, laudo - praiswothy
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum - beautiful, lovely
sinister, sinistra, sinistrum - on the left hand
vester, vestra, vestrum - yours

In my two hour session (his third session of the day) we covered Latin words that begin with 'G' and then started on the the letter 'H'. He tells me it gets more exciting when you get to the letters 'R' and 'S.'

I can hardly wait.

Excess City

Like most modern cities, Austin has a very ritzy shopping mall – the Domain. As in other places, this is a multi-use environment; up-scale shops, high-dollar apartments and ritzy offices, all stirred up together. I suppose if you were careful, you could live in the same building where you worked, eat at your favorite Italian Bistro, park your Lamborghini in the covered garage, buy high-dollar furniture for your Yuppie pad – and never leave the building.

But leaving the building is part of the adventure. This place designed so that pedestrian traffic is the norm and sculpture and fountains and side-walk cafes provide the ambiance suitable for such a prestigious address.

We touch the edge of the Domain from time-to-time. Two stores close to the entrance are a Border’s and a California Pizza Kitchen. We’ve discovered that Yuppie pizza makes a nice change from McDonalds, so when we are in the mood for to-die-for spinach avocado dip and a Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato pizza, we end up at CPK. Okay, I’m kidding about the Goat Cheese & stuff (though the other night we did have Hawaiian pizza - pineapple and Canadian bacon).

When we finished, the evening was so pleasant we strolled off down the street to explore a little of the Domain’s ambiance. Stores like White House / Black Market – a clothing store for men and women where every item in the store was white or black. Period. Or Sur La Table. Let’s just say that if we could afford the dishes and cooking utensils, there would not be money left over for food. Or the Z Gallery – everything needed to furnish that apartment upstairs. Mom’s comment was that “There is nothing in that store that anyone needs.” I guess that’s true of many stores – unlike Home Depot and Wal-Mart, where you go when you need something. Bet they don’t have a plumber’s friend for sale in any store in the Domain. They probably don’t allow plumber’s friends in the Domain!

We finished off the stroll looking in the display window of a Jewelry Store at a 2 ct. diamond – no setting – with a price tag of nearly $46,000. I must be confused about the economy; I thought things were not going well. But, then again, by this time next year there may be a Dollar Store below a lot of empty apartments in the Domain. I just hope they still sell Goat Cheese pizza.