The state flower.

This yard in West Austin had a nice stand of bluebonnets. These are the state flowers of Texas and you are not supposed to pick them, so I'm told. I never have, that's for sure.

Treats! Yes! Treats!

This dog was picking out goodies the other morning at the Farmers' Market.

Mrs. Stuart Long

In the 1952-53 era, Mrs. Long's first name didn't count. Women's names were styled this way. Times have changed, thank goodness.

Turtles, treed.

This batch of turtles was having fun in the sun on a recent afternoon at Lady Bird Lake.

Fancy digs!

We took a sneak peek of some fancy new condos called Fifth and West around the corner from us. This unit had a corner view -- 3 bedrooms, 3 baths. Wow.

Come on in!

The Farmers' Market was just starting to get crowded when we went by the other day. Lots of sweet and savory treats. We bought tacos and took them home. 

Mussels with some strength!

Linda loves mussels and this version at North the other night did not disappoint.

Branzino -- excellent preparation

Growing up in this town, I never thought that I would see the day when I could walk two blocks from my residence and order Branzino. Heck, I didn't even know what it was back then. This fish dish was scrumptious.

Hail Caesar!

I had this tasty Caesar Salad at North Italia the other night. Loved it. Very cheesy and just tangy enough. Spot on!

Black Apple Manhattan

This is a Black Apple Manhattan -- Linda gave it a try at North Italia the other night. Not as good as the Fixe version of a straight-on drink. It did have an apple slice in it!

Fettuccine con fungi

This was Linda's choice at La Traviata the other night. She let me have a bite. I'll order this one next time we go. 

NIght scene

We were eating dinner at La Travaita the other night and I took this shot from our window seat. I liked the effect of the lights in the restaurant looking like they were strung across Congress Avenue.

Food court in session

Fareground is the food court in a downtown office building-- lots of great purveyors of delectables. I took this shot the other day while headed home from a meeting upstairs.

Nice contest

This was happening during South by Southwest. I hope some good came out of it.

Killer burger

Sometimes you need an old favorite -- like the Fixe Burger. Delicious as always.

Sweet treats, to boot!

Country-themed treats were the dessert items at the Dress for Success fundraiser.

Ice boots

Loved this ice sculpture at a fundraiser we attended the other night.

Liz goes country

Our friend Liz Morphis was singing her heart out the other night at a fundraiser for Dress for Success. As you can see, it had a country theme.

Veggie Heaven

Lots of good, healthy food from the earth was on sale the other day -- even yellow carrots.

Flora from the Fauna Farm

Some nice flowers were on sale at the Farmer's Market. They had been arranged with care at the Animal Farm.

You got a beef?

Here's the beef! Yes indeed, just about any kind of cow parts you would like to buy. This was at a Farmer's Market booth the other day.

The Non-Madding Crowd

Lots of folks were shopping at the Farmer's Market near our place the other day. Quite a different scene from when we moved downtown 11 years ago.

I'll have a slice of fresh poetry.

This gent was dealing out poems as fast as he could write them the other day.

Cider Decider

Lots of varieties of cider at this booth in the Farmer's Market the other day.

Gut bomb doughnuts!

These gooey treats called out to me, then I envisioned what the scales would say the next day. In my younger days, I could have eaten one and not had any poundage gains!

Composed salad

This is another delightful dish at Carpenter's Hall-- a restaurant that we really like. I took enough home to make lunch the next day!

Beautiful arrangement

Some friends sent us this sweet arrangement of plants the other day, after we invited them on a food tour. We put it by the window to get some natural light.

Oklahoma Hackelback Caviar

Served with Ruffles! It was very good, to be honest. This was at Carpenter's Hall, a new restaurant that we love. It is in a boutique hotel.

More construction!

Here you see the start of the construction of a building that will be occupied by Google -- 35 stories' worth. And it is just south of us.

ABBA MANIA!

We attended the ABBA MANIA show at the Paramount the other night. It was a treat of nice music and dancing. These women playing the Agnetha and Frida parts were very good. And their band was terrific.

Theme Day -- Green!

Here is a professional shot of our friend Janelle Buchanan, who recently starred in a local production of the play "Peter Pan at 70." Green for Theme Day, indeed! Click here to see how the rest of the world interpreted this idea.