Tat-away!

If you're going to get a tattoo, it might as well be with ancient ink!

 

Good idea!

The sign outside Texas Chili Parlor where we ate this afternoon. They must have had it up
during the cold snap last week. It was warm today. 

Sparkly Sparky Park

We love this little pocket park in north central Austin. What a sweet place of respite. 

 

Hippie Vans Still Exist

Seeing this van took me back to my youth when seeing one of these made think about hitting the road in one. I bet this vehicle could tell some tales. 
 

Hope they find their cat!

 We see homemade signs like these on our walks. It would be so hard to lose a pet. 

Doh! What a nut!

 The folks who run a well-known food trailer that specializes in doughnuts have created this fellow to welcome patrons. 

Walking Home

Linda caught this shot of me as we headed home from a walk along South Congress the other day. That huge building under construction is on the site where an Extended Stay Hotel used to stand. So we call it, yes, "Old Extended Stay."

John Pizzarelli at Parker Jazz Club

Famed guitarist John Pizzarelli was playing at Parker Jazz Club, five blocks from our condo a few nights ago. What a concert!

Sketchy Action

This drawing is from the storyboards for Rebel Without A Cause. It shows how Sal Mineo's character, Plato, was supposed to die. It is part of an exhibition at The Harry Ransom Center here in town. 

Dogs were welcome

This guest at a party we attended recently made sure his dog was comfortable. He sang a number with the band later on. The gent. Not the dog. 

Serious shoes

 This lady at a party we recently attended had on some high fashion shoes. Very impressive. 

Love those little libraries.

 Little Free Libraries are a joy to explore. I need to get busy and select a few books from all the piles around here to place in some of them. 

Oak is OK

 We had a serious ice storm here recently and Linda was worried that this mighty tree down the street night have suffered some damage. It came through just fine. Here you see me standing by it for scale. 

Ringing in Valentine's Day

The shop owners on South Congress come up with some catchy things to say.

This place offers a lot of jewelry -- like earrings. We saw this sign on the day before Valentine's. 

Rudely Uprooted

The recent ice storm did a number on trees all over town. We walked around a central Austin neighborhood a few days ago and came upon this disaster in someone's front yard. I was just wondering about all the shade that this nice tree provided for this home over the years. 

I can see my house from here!

 When we were at our friends' party Saturday night, I shot this photo from their balcony, looking back to the building where we live. It is the second tall edifice from the right. That is Republic Park in the foreground. During the pandemic, we would wave to each other from our balconies. The building at the far right with large dark areas is the Federal Courthouse. The cranes you see here are part of the construction project for a 44-story structure. 

Valentine's Day Is Near

 

We went to a Valentine's party hosted by a couple who are friends of ours last night. They live in a high-rise condo three blocks away. As usual, they went all out on food and decorations. It's nice to be able walk to a party, have fun and not worry about the drive home. 

Lettuce, wrapped

We went to a private dinner before the Ballet Austin performance of Sarah's Songs last night. The salad had a creative presentation -- the crouton was wrapped around the romaine lettuce. You had to tip it over and break off pieces. The ballet performance was magnificent, by the way. A very nice evening. 

Walk the walk, love the mural

 

We took a nice walk in Clarksville today. Here you see my backside in a photo taken by my wife, Linda Ball. The mural on the side of Nau's Drugstore says, "Love is the question, love is the answer." Hard to argue.