The Eagle Has Landed on Burnet

I think this building on Burnet (photo by Jackie) might have been a Motorcycle Sales Center. Or a tattoo parlor. Now it doesn't appear to house a retail business best I could tell. Anyone know? I used to live in this neighborhood and keep better track of the evolution.

Christmas Formal

We've been going a lot to a thrift store run by one of our charities (Top Drawer supporting Project Transitions). Not to shop but to donate stuff we are cleaning out. This is their very creative window display with a vision of the Christmas formal with Christmas colors. There are lots of interesting shops and restaurants on this stretch of Burnet Road north of 45th Street. Currently Top Drawer has a lot of Doc Martens and other shoes from the (sadly) closed Atomic City shop. Always interesting shopping there.

Art on Burnet

On Burnet, a bit north of 45th Street this old stone house has turned into the Art Pad. A place to send the kids for projects this summer? Or a spot to get your inner creative mojo going?

Goodbye Holidays

Christmas is receding. People have had a couple of days to return what Santa brought and the jolly old elf is worn out and will have to spend the next twelve months putting a little muscle and fat back on his frame. Soon it will be 2008 and life will be back to 'normal.'

Actually this picture was snapped in December 2005. I was walking in the neighborhood near a chain drugstore on Burnet. It's a somewhat soulless area although you can walk to a Mexican bakery, independent coffee shops and some pretty interesting other businesses...thrift stores, diners, antique shops, etc.

Must get out and get some fresh pictures for this space. Meanwhile, pack away the decorations and get ready to pop the champagne.

Breakfast on Burnet

Burnet Road is a long, soulless commercial strip near our house. It's the kind of area some suburbanites would want to live far away from. But then they wouldn't be able to walk to anything commercial or even pop out quickly in their cars for a quart of milk or loaf of bread. They would miss out living close to a street that was the home to a bunch of independent joints to eat, many serving up breakfast on Sunday.

We chose the Aranda's Taqueria yesterday. It is their #3 location. My plate of chorizo eggs, beans and potatos cost less than three bucks. You have visited other breakfast on Burnet locations with Austin Daily Photo such as Pacha and the Frisco. We haven't taken you to Elsi's or Austin Diner or Upper Crust or the Taco Shack. (The latter, however, is not open on Sunday morning.) All independent and a short drive (or even a walk) away.

It's For Kids

We don't have kids. So I normally don't pay much attention to playgrounds or kid-friendly places except maybe to avoid them. If my nieces come to town with some little ones, my perspective changes.

I have a little ritual for posting on this blog. First I look at the Daily Photo Home page and see what people have been posting. Sometimes I look at one of the sites. Then I pick out a picture and do my entry. Later in the day, I might look at Daily Photo again and locate my site's thumbnail and see some more of the day's harvest of pictures. I'm always struck by mini 'themes' that crop up whether it's birds or markets or people doing similar things. Today, though, I actually chose this picture because this site in Silver Spring, Maryland had a playground picture and I liked this one I had taken a week or so ago.

This was taken at Phil's Ice House where we showed the sign earlier. Obviously the cows are an homage to the Amy's ice cream served (and made in the building behind the playground).

Neighborhood Burgers

There are several opportunities in our current neighborhood for burgers without arches and one of them is brought to us by the Amy's Ice Cream people. Besides burgers and stuff Phil's Ice House has the ice cream and also a playground for the kids. If a trip to this joint makes you feel your cholesterol is soaring, go next door to our neighborhood doctor, Abel Munoz, and get it checked out. When we are downtown, we will be close to a lot of things. But our current neighborhood is full of wonders, too.

More Ink

Weirdness and body art opportunity aren't confined to SoCo or downtown. This tattoo parlor on Burnet Road displays some giant-sized possibilities for skin decoration on its exterior.

As just a little aside...when I put together the ADP entry each day (usually morning) I start by looking at the Daily Photo Page for recent entries from other places and maybe chase a few interesting ones. Today these attracted my eye: a great picture of an alligator butcher from St. Louis and an amazing photo of ordinary people and advertising art from Rome. I often go to other sites around the world on a regular basis. For example, visiting Menton Daily Photo has made the proprietors of this journal vow to visit there one day.

Iconic Ice Cream

Describing Amy's Ice Cream in a short note isn't really possible. It's an Austin institution with a history (and an Amy). I'll leave the research to you (follow the link). If you are in Austin or other Texas cities you can find a location and try the high butter fat stuff yourself. FFP can't eat ice cream, but notice they do have Non-Dairy Vegan choices. This sign was captured a few weeks ago in SoCo but there is also a location near our current home on Burnet Road.

Top Drawer

Austin Daily Photo may seem to always be wandering downtown or in South Austin but sometimes we are closer to our current residence. Actually this was taken last year but it is pretty much the same today. Shown is a side view of one of the many thrift and junk shops on Burnet Road not far from our home. This one is called Top Drawer and is run by Project Transitions, a local charity providing housing and hospice for people with HIV and AIDS. We donate a lot of stuff there, especially lately as we downsize. We have occasionally bought a few things, too. FFP got an originally expensive tie for a dollar that he loves and I got some nice trade paperbacks. I think the cool decorations were done by art students from local schools. There is also a faux floor lamp about twelve feet high in the parking lot. I apologize for pictures that aren't taken recently. However, our 'stockpile' can show some of Austin that is and maybe sometimes we will show things that are now lost. Fortunately, Top Drawer is still there, at 49th and Burnet just in case you are in Austin and want to do some cool shopping or need to get rid of something.