Texas

My husband was blessed with a sharp mind & amazing ability to think outside the box. I call him "Boyscout Extraordinaire" bc he's resourceful & handy ---- can fix most anything that's broken. Somewhere along the line quite early on he figured out that hard work, dependability, determination & common sense were the keys to his success - and by the grace of God, he's used those keys along with his God given abilities to open doors to exciting opportunities & experiences that we've shared over the years. The most recent being this trip to Texas where we were invited to Austin for a dinner honoring him as one of three Employees of the Year - chosen among nominees from all over the United States. This is actually the second time my husband has received this award & I am just so proud of him.

The twentieth floor room where we dined afforded splendid views of a Texas style sunset ... a pink ball of fire fading into the night while ushering in countless city lights that sparkled ever brighter as darkness settled in.

We seized the opportunity to be Texas tourists together for a few days by extending our stay a bit.

I thought the hanging tables at this funky taco shop were unique & fun.

Colorful guitars - each one different - are hidden in plain sight throughout Austin

- an eclectic mix of modern & old western architecture, folk art & live entertainment.

The Lady Bird River runs right through town. Wide open spaces, parks & walking trails lined with wildflowers meet up with its banks to provide a sanctuary for city dwellers to escape to & hardly even realize they are still - indeed - in the city.

In the evenings visitors converge here to see the mass exodus of the largest urban colony of bats in the world. The bats make the inside of the Congress Street Bridge their home from about April/May thru' late August/September before migrating back to Mexico. Reportedly there are 750,000 - 1.5 million bats in this colony and they eat aprx 1,000 mosquitos each every day! No wonder there's hardly any bugs in Austin! They poured out after dark when we were there. They're fascinating!

I guess you could say we visited Austin inside & out given our tour of Inner Space Cavern .... a cave discovered in the 1960's. While the interstate was under construction several air pockets were found while taking core samples so it was decided to send a man down on a two foot drill bit to check it out. Low & behold he found himself in one magnificent room of this very large & beautiful cave. What an awesome discovery & experience that would have been!

It was a bit unnerving to realize that we were viewing a fault line here! Yikes!

Soon enough we found ourselves in an historic district of San Antonio. I snapped this pic of an old kiln w/ my friend over at Glassmelts in mind :)

I liked grass steppe seating in this outdoor theater.

San Antonio boasts it's own version of a river walk - this one lined w/ shops & restaurants. Hard to imagine Native Americans camping along here now, isn't it?!

I took this pic from outside a window which created an interesting effect.

Do you remember the Alamo? If you do then you'll recognize this.

And we'd have been remiss if we hadn't seized the opportunity to feast here:

pic via

The Salt Lick

Reknowned for its fabulous open pit smoked bbq

Their slogan .... "You can smell our pits from miles away"!

Treasure

Who knew the white cardboard box we received totally by surprise & out of the blue  recently was actually a treasure chest incognito?!! Usually one has to search for treasure - but this came right to our door -- via priority mail, no less!

The treasure within? ... Memories!! It was packed FuLL to OvErFloWinG with memories!  :) 

My husband's brother & his wife sent us a fantastic photo album full of family pics from years gone by and all the way up until the recent event that brought his whole immediate family all together in one place for the first time in over 20 years(!)....their son's wedding.

My husband's family history is .... well.....complicated. I've heard his story a number of times but I don't think I could ever retell it accurately.  I won't go into detail - but just to give you an idea - he attended something like thirteen different schools as a kid because his family moved around so much.

I'm hoping that now, with all these great pics together in one place, I can convince my husband to write out his story using his words to bind the pictures in the book together with other parts of his story  to give our children a much better understanding of the who, what, when & where that has led up to here & now  - ie "the big picture" - that now includes them. :) 

Riding off into the sunset

My husband & I have been watching these nesting birds from a spot on the bike trail we've been riding recently. We can see the nest clearly but from quite a distance. At first I tho't the birds were Bald Eagles but now I'm not so sure ... maybe they are a different type of an eagle? - or some sort of a hawk? Not sure - but I sure do enjoy watching them. They are nested in a dead tree out in the middle of a big swamp.... I love the sounds & sights to be seen there when one lingers long enough to look closely - & that this happy couple is perched in plain sight yet out of harm's way. The other night we lingered there longer than usual which also afforded us front row seats from which to view this spectacular sunset.

Big Mak just chillin'

It was pretty hot here yesterday but Big Mak found a way to keep cool that he decided worked quite well. It was too funny to see him just sitting there .... ON the sprinkler :)

Carly's "Voice" (Amazing Autism Video)

My friend, Bunny, shared this over at her blog...

"Carly Fleischmann is a 13 yr old girl with severe autism who is unable to speak. Communication had been all but impossible until one day she sat down at a computer. It was then that a whole new world opened up for both Carly and her family. The video is nearly 10 minutes long, but take the time to view it in its entirety to see her amazing story."

Hop over to Bunny's blog: Henley The Great Dane Says "Boof" to see the amazing pieces of intelligent insight Carly is now able to contribute toward helping the world better understand the puzzling nature of autism.

Homemade Laundry Soap

It's so easy & I found all three ingredients at my local grocery store...

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups - hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*

½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)


*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!


via: http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html

Green-house Effect

Little by little we've been making some eco friendly changes & I'm surprised
at how a few small changes really add up & save money too.

We've been handwashing our dishes for a while now so we're rarely using the dishwasher anymore.

Been washing clothes in cold water & hanging out almost all of my laundry so I'm rarely using the dryer. I won't be able to do this as much in the winter but still plan to use drying racks indoors & my husband plans to hang some clothesline in our laundry room too.

Yesterday I made my own laundry soap (SO EASY & CHEAP! - Probably $2 - $3 for 180 loads) for the first time ever. I can't believe I didn't do this loooong ago. I also made my own homemade window cleaner (3T ammonia, 1T Vinegar & 32 oz water in a spray bottle) & all purpose cleaner. There are several recipes out there for all purpose cleaners & I had a hard time deciding which one was best for us but I ended up just making mine w/ 1 teaspoon of bleach per 32 ounces of water in a spray bottle. For us it's every bit as much about reusing the containers (spray bottles & detergent dispensers) as it is about not using so many harsh chemicals & phosphates. I'm as concerned - if not more concerned - about them ...alcohol, bleach, etc.) as I am about germs.

We've been really good about using our reusable bags at the grocery store. Took me a bit to get into that habit. Next I'm going to tuck a few of the plastic produce bags into them to reuse too.

Our worm farm is doing great! & the compost its generating looks nice & rich.Our other compost bin is working too. It's a slow process but I just add to it little by little. Of the two, I prefer the worm farm.

I've been making an effort to use less water when I shower by shutting off the water while I soap up/shampoo/shave & encouraging the girls to do the same. We had a French student stay w/ us a while back & that's how she showered when she was here. She hardly used any water & she really put me to shame.

My husband reprogrammed our coffeemaker so the burner doesn't turn on to keep it hot.

We use our own reusable water bottles & coffee cups.

I only use my desktop to work/blog but I don't leave it on all day. For general surfing I just use my netbook.

We did install two window air conditioners this summer but only use them when it gets really hot. Sometimes all it takes is to run one for a bit to suck the humidity out of the air which makes a big difference. Other than that we've been leaving our windows open & using fans now & then. We have awnings on the front & back of our house as well. The one out back is retractable. They help a lot by keeping the direct sunlight from shining directly in our windows.

Winter in New England is a whole other ballgame. There's really no energy efficient way to keep warm & our house could really use more insulation but we keep our home cooler than alot of people do & I wear layers & wool (socks & base layer).

The odd thing about all of this is that I can honestly say that I'm enjoying it (at the very least I don't dislike handwashing dishes any more than I do rinsing dishes & filling & emptying the dishwasher!) & our energy bills are waaaay down (I think not using the dryer & the dishwasher are having the biggest impact here) & I find myself looking for more ways to both save money & be more environmentally friendly.