Yet more jazz

OK, we do other things besides going out to hear great jazz--but most of the stuff we do really doesn't lend itself to interesting photos.

Here you see a recent set at The Elephant Room. What a quintet -- Jeff Lofton on trumpet, Alex Coke on reeds, Dr. James Polk on piano, Michael Stevens on bass and Masumi Jones on drums. (At the point I snapped this one, Jeff was offstage while Alex took the lead and it was impossible to get James in the shot.) The whole group was quite a rainbow coalition-- three African-American men, an Asian woman and a white guy.

With that kind of talent on stage, the place filled up in a hurry. Each of these musicians has a following. In fact, by the time the first set started, there was a line up the stairs and people were having to wait until seats freed up to get inside. (We got there an hour early to secure a front row spot.)

Just another reason why we love living downtown. When we were on Shoal Creek, it was always, "Do we feel like driving down there, finding a place to park, one of us can't drink, etc."

By the way, I think you can see why I always laugh when people say that jazz doesn't draw a crowd in Austin. Oh-- and tonight, we'll be setting up shop in the lounge at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to hear the Jeff Lofton Trio and ring in the new year. If anyone is downtown, drop by and say Happy New Year!

Shot with my iPhone.

Nice Ride

Don't know if it was someone's present but this car was sitting in front of Jo's Coffee on South Congress the day after Christmas.

Lakeside view

Yesterday, I went to our club to work out and have lunch. As I was leaving, I noticed a couple in a small boat fishing (they are in the middle here). Since my iPhone was handy, I whipped it out and took this shot. I thought maybe our compatriots on these boards would like to see a photo from sunny Austin. The weather-casters are predicting snow for us today, though. From the looks of things outside, I doubt it will happen.

Crepes Trailer

This trailer is on South Congress and it sells sweet and savory filled crêpes. The 'mille' in the name means thousand. I think there are 'mille crêpes' desserts in France that are made with many layers of the thin pancakes with sweet fillings but maybe this establishment was just hoping to sell its product by the thousands. We haven't tasted because we seem to spend fewer and fewer meals eating out of trailers. Have to try is some time, though.

I've Been Adopted!

On Saturday there was a mobile adoption station on South Congress. Word was: this fellow found a home.

Reflection in the Lake

FFP shot this a couple of afternoons ago from the pedestrian bridge showing our building apparently casting light into Lady Bird Lake. That's the Monarch apartments on the left.

Happy Christmas

No snow in Austin...although much of the rest of the U.S. has seen a few (or many) flakes. But the shop window of the downtown St. Bernard store gave the impression of a snowy wonderland and the clothes for it. It was really windy and cold when I snapped this yesterday, for Austin anyway. Gusts of over 40 MPH around our building I'd say.

Goodbye, Mother Ginger. It was sweet.

Rich Segal, meteorologist and weathercaster for Time Warner News 8, was Mother Ginger for the last performance of "The Nutcracker" yesterday. He did a great job. Here we see him atop the Mother Ginger dress getting ready to be wheeled onstage. The children lined up to go under the dress are the Bon Bons. Being backstage at "The Nutcracker" is a big part of my holiday experience and I'm always a little sad to see the last curtain come down. I'm 63, but I guess I'm a kid at heart.

Sara Hickman does Mother Ginger

As long as it's the season, I thought I'd throw in one more Mother Ginger shot. Here is my friend, well-known singer Sara Hickman all done up in her costume before the second act of "The Nutcracker." I took this photo Monday night while she was getting ready for her big role. Talk about a natural performer-- this woman was born to be on stage--and she is one of the most genuine, kind, warm-hearted souls you'll ever meet.

Like I said the other day, I've had a great time recruiting the VIP Mother Gingers since 1997-- it's hard to believe we've been doing it this long. Cookie Ruiz, the Executive Director of Ballet Austin, gave me the task back then and I'm grateful she had that much faith in me. It's always fun to watch VIPs get made up and have some fun. And it makes my holiday season anything but boring.

Backstage at the Nutcracker

I was backstage at Ballet Austin's "The Nutcracker" last night and saw this tableau of dancers watching two of their colleagues performing as the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier.

The lighting looked like it might be interesting, so I took out my iPhone and snapped this shot. Just using available light, it came out with a painterly feel.

Sara Hickman did Mother Ginger last night, by the way. She was terrific.

A warm room

Not long ago, we went out on a Saturday morning walk through west Austin. On the way back to our place, we went into Fortney's, a store that specializes in unusal objects and antiques. They had this bedroom display in their shop made up in a Southwestern scheme, complete with a wrought iron bed, leather quilt and pillows, carved wooden furniture and nature-oriented art. Not our style, but charming. Shot with my iPhone.

Cool Cruises

The weather is awful in other parts of the U.S. but ours has been for the most part cool and delightful with a little fog and a little sunshine. Last Sunday on the Pfluger Bridge I captured some hardy folks taking a cool cruise on the Capital Cruises boat on Lady Bird Lake. Taken with iPhone.

Christmas Village

We went to a Christmas party last night where several very large tables held a miniature snowy village with three churches, shops, homes. It was all lit up and decorated for the holidays. Lots of work. This is only about a third of the village. The owner said that after this season it was all going to his children.

Taken with an iPhone in available light.

Our nod to Christmas decorating

We've never been into having real trees for Christmas-- but Linda went to the trouble of carrying a huge container of bendable Santas and other little guys up from the storage unit a few days ago. I found this tree in it and put it on our counter. Hey, it's pretty festive!

The grackles are coming!

Here's a shot I took at twilight a few nights ago. For some reason, flocks of grackles seem to like alighting on the top level of the parking garage across the street from our condo tower. They remind me of that Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds."

Upward bound

I was walking back from errands Tuesday morning and had my camera on me, so I shot this photo of our neighborhood. (I was about a half block north of our home, the 360.) In the foreground, you see big equipment for the site work on the new federal courthouse. The building in the middle with two cranes poking out of it is the W Hotel, which is just about topped out. The tall building to the left is the Austonian (56 stories), which will be ready for move in around mid-2010. We'll be glad when we get a lot of new neighbors in these buildings.

Something Missing

A deer with part of its rack missing was browsing for tasty goodies in my Dad's backyard the other day.

Coach Ginger

I was attending to my backstage duties at Ballet Austin's Nutcracker performance yesterday. Since 1997 when we started the program, I've recruited the celebrity Mother Gingers. These good sports (who have included Michael Dell, Lance Armstrong, Ann Richards, Kay Bailey Hutchison, E.D. Hill from Fox News, Augie Garrido, Ray Benson, Marcia Ball, Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, John Paul DeJoria, and Kinky Friedman, among many others) get made up and are rolled onstage atop a huge red and white dress.

Yesterday's VIP Mother Ginger was UT women's basketball coach Gail Goestenkors. She was very gracious and friendly backstage and she got a lot of laughs out of the whole experience. Here's a shot I took of her in the costume before she went out in the second act.

Hook 'em!

By the way-- if you'd like to see The Nutcracker, performances are happening until Dec. 23rd. For more information, click the Ballet Austin link.

Jazz at Ruth's Chris

Linda and I took a much needed-break last night and had some wine and food with good friends at Ruth's Chris Steak House on West Sixth. Our friend Jeff Lofton with his trio was playing some terrific jazz. We were entertained all night by a constant parade of Santas-- male and female -- who were striding by the windows behind Jeff. Perhaps there was a party somewhere that required the guests to be dressed up like Santa Claus, but we never got a straight story about it. I shot this photo with my iPhone from my comfy front row chair.

When the cat's away. . .

Linda and I got a backstage look at Ballet Austin's "The Nutcracker" last night. Here are some of the mice who visited us in the Green Room before their big foray onto the stage at the Long Center. Sarah and Ernest Butler are in the background, center. They made the naming donation for the Ballet's new home (The Butler Dance Education Center). It's a great time of the year.

Front of the Mean-Eyed Cat

Seems we'd danced all around it but not really ever shown the front of the Mean-Eyed Cat. And this view seems important to represent its 'landmark look' status amidst the apartments and office buildings.

Adaptive Reuse

At the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture what was once a car serves admirably as a planter.

Party Favors

We went to a cool party last week. Milk & Honey, a fine local salon and spa, was dishing out free chair massages and manicures. Now that's what I call treating your guests right!

I'll be good! I promise!

I did some South Congress (SoCo) shopping a couple of weekends ago and walked past the cages where an animal rescue outfit keeps dogs who need a home. This one was so cute--he was making eyes at people, tyring to find someone who would take him home.

The robots are coming!

A couple of weekends ago, there was an unusual display at the Farmer's Market a block from our building. Some youngsters from the local science magnet high school were showing off their robot creations. One of the inventions had been to a national competition. Oh to be that young and that smart.

Big Twelve Champions

The University of Texas eked out a win over Nebraska last night to win the Big Twelve Championship. The UT Tower was solid orange for a conference champtionship and had '09 spelled out. Thanks to our friend Jackie for snapping this picture which I cropped a bit so you could get the effect.

Reserved Parking

At the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture there is some reserved parking. I wouldn't take this guy's spot.

Grilling Chicken

This handsome fellow is grilling chicken behind El Arroyo (The Ditch) on W. Fifth Street. The succulent meat goes into several dishes...my favorite is BBQ chicken enchiladas.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We went to a party last night and these young guys who work for a local costume shop showed up looking like characters out of a Dickens novel. It's a fun time of the year.

Old Bar in a New Setting

The venerable Mean-Eyed Cat bar survived the construction of an office building on one side and an apartment/retail complex on the other. It's now incorporated into the latter with nice landscaping. It would be easy to miss the mural on the south wall if you weren't afoot as we were on Sunday, walking from our place down W. Fifth almost to Mopac. It was too early for the bar's 2PM opening so we opted for BBQ chicken enchiladas across the street at El Arroyo. The bar is run by Chris Marsh and we featured a nice portrait of him here on Austin, Texas Daily Photo quite some time ago.

Waiting to Play

We have lots of live music in Austin. And bands spend a lot of time waiting for the gig to begin. Depending on their instrument they occupy themselves with visiting and setting up and tuning...or, in this singer's case, just waiting. FFP shot this of Megan Blue and the Sugar Daddies waiting to play in the Farmer's Market on Saturday. (See inset of the Live Music blackboard announcing them from 10-11:30.)

Today is the first of the month and, in the tradition of the City Daily Photo family, it's a theme day. Lots of blogs are participating in this month's theme, "waiting." Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Next month the City Daily Photo theme day will be moved to January 15 and blogs that participate will choose their favorite picture on the year and reprise it. Do you have a favorite from our blog?