Janice Williams Loves Austin

September 30, 2009

Memories

Filed under: At home,Cats — Janice @ 2:14 am

I would probably post more if my host made it easier to FIND the dang place to be to do it. Finally, I am here.

The latest on Nathan is that he will have a bone biopsy on Thursday. He got to come home this morning and seems to be feeling a lot better than he did over the weekend, but his blood white and red cell counts are very low for an unknown reason. We are sad.

But to not dwell on that sadness, I was looking at Facebook. An old high school classmate posted a story about Kimbrough Memorial Stadium — the Buffalo Bowl — being 50 years old. That is the stadium where I went to a BUNCH of high school games and a few college games. It was a great bowl… not just a stadium, it was a stadium set down in “hills.” Kids would sit on the grass on each end and roll down the embankment when the game was boring.

Mom commented on a recent post that she was amazed at my memory. Even I am amazed at it sometime. Reading the article and looking at the pictures, I remember driving past that stadium a thousand times. It is right on the E-way north of Canyon. It has a beautiful white buffalo statue poised on a hill above a big WT laid out in white stones (with the T superimposed over the W). I had a memory that I know hasn’t been discussed or thought about in well over 30 years. I’ll see if Mom and Mackie remember this. Back in the early 70s, WT still played football against Texas Tech, 110 miles to the south. Man, I’m glad they don’t have to play anymore. But I remember one year the kids of Tech coming up and rearranging those white stones into the big double T and painting it black and red. I know soon after, WT had those rocks cemented into place so that wouldn’t happen again.

I am glad I have so many memories of the past. They entertain me. I type these reports every day for a psychologist that tests elderly people (primarily) to check their cognitive functioning. Frequently, if someone has memory problems, it is lost first with the short-term memory and they can’t remember newly learned material, but they can still remember things they learned well and in the past. I hope that is how my dementia starts (but, hopefully, not until I’m past 100). I would much rather be able to think about the Buffalo Bowl and all the fun times I had there than remember what I had for lunch or why I’m visiting with this nice doctor.

September 28, 2009

The Quick Weekend

Filed under: Music — Janice @ 9:31 am

Nathan Jr. got to be home for the weekend, but he is still a very sick cat. He has just gone back to the vet’s for x-rays and, hopefully, diagnosis of what is wrong with his mouth. It could be an abscessed tooth or maybe he got a cactus sticker in a gum. We hope that while he is sedated for the x-ray they can figure out the problem and fix it, too. He will come home today and we are hoping that he will be well fast. He slept all weekend and acted so uncomfortable. It is hard to see your baby suffer.

Other than nurse the cat, we both worked and played this weekend. Mark and I rolled out the new reporting duo of Williams and Hays (or Hays and Williams?). We went to the Doug Moreland Calffry in Manchaca, just a few miles from our house, and Mark took photos and I wrote the story for Best In Texas’ online magazine. It isn’t up yet or I would link to it. It was a fun afternoon and evening. The whole festival just has the atmosphere of a private party in a backyard.

I especially enjoyed seeing Corb Lund, though we didn’t see his whole show because we went to buy some chairs to sit on. He has a new album that I got last week and it is memorable. His music is hard to describe since it isn’t typical country or typical Texas country, yet not rock or any other easily definable genre either. It is “Western,” but in his Canadian way, not our American West. Songs about vets (his father was a vet– the animal vet kind) and gambling and lost love. It’s a good album.

September 26, 2009

Sick Nathan Jr.

Filed under: At home,Cats — Janice @ 12:12 am

Anyone that knows me knows that I am in love with my cat Nathan Jr. Anyone that knows Mark knows that it goes beyond “in love.” He has a father/son bond with that cat that is beyond words. So it has been a tough week with Nathan Jr. sick for the very first time.

I’m glad that Mark noticed that Nathan was sick. Mark had been out of town for three nights and when he got home Nathan was just not as affectionate as he usually is. He stayed across the room, didn’t come running to see Mark, or act interested much at all. Mark also noticed that Nathan had bad breath. I wouldn’t have thought about it, but he was right. He called the vet and she said that it could be pretty serious if it were a kidney or liver problem, so he needed to be checked out.

Mark took off work and got Nathan to the vet and they began their tests. He had to stay overnight last night so that they could keep him on fluids. He wasn’t eating either and they could see that his gums were inflamed.

We got the good news that it wasn’t kidney or liver trouble, but it could be feline leukemia or other things, along with a bad tooth, so there are more tests to come.

Mark visited Nathan at the “hospital” this morning and Nathan was still cranky, but he put his head down in Mark’s hand and broke Mark’s heart that he couldn’t just take him straight home.

We did get good news this evening, though. Nathan has begun to perk up and wanted to be petted and is eating on his own a little more. With all that looking good, he may get to come home in the morning and spend the weekend with us. They would want to keep him at the vet’s office if he isn’t eating so he doesn’t weaken over the weekend. Monday he’ll be sedated and they will x-ray his teeth to see if there is a problem. He has also tested positive for feline AIDS, but he was immunized against that so the immunization can cause a false positive. They said even if he does have feline AIDS, it isn’t a death sentence. Much like human AIDS, it just means he would be more susceptible to sickness.

The nice thing I’ve noticed this week. I’ve told co-workers at two different jobs and friends and family in a variety of places and everyone has been sweet and supportive and understanding that this is traumatic for us! Not a single “It’s only a cat” comment has been heard (at least out loud). I appreciate people being nice. Mark and I were talking about that decision some pet owners have to make about how far and how much money you can commit to a pet’s health. Fortunately, this trouble doesn’t seem to be so life threatening that we have to face that. He will get well and we’ll have many happy years ahead of us. And, fortunately for us, this is cheaper than a raising a child. We are still ahead on that balance sheet.

Details as they develop.

September 21, 2009

Junior High Crush

Filed under: At home,Family — Janice @ 12:17 pm

Last night the Emmys were on. Considering how things came out between the Cowboys and the Giants, maybe I should have watched them instead. I might not have ended up the night so frustrated and depressed! (Kidding, I truly don’t live and die by the Cowboys, but I sure with they wouldn’t look so bad every week)

Twice today I have seen comments on Facebook or websites where someone has commented that they were glad to see Neil Patrick Harris hosting the show because they had a huge crush on him when they were in junior high and he was Dr. Doogie Houser. I can’t fathom having had a crush on Doogie Houser. I watched the show, but I, obviously, was way past junior high by the time it was on TV.

But it made me think about junior high and who I might have had a crush on back then. Thank God for the the Internet and Wikipedia. It is so easy to look things up. I remember in school there was a book at the library that showed the network schedules from previous years and I just thought that was the coolest thing. Now it is at my fingertips anytime.

Let’s look back at my junior high years. I was going to Canyon Junior High School in Canyon, Texas. We had just returned from 3 years in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I will happily own up to having crushes on Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy and Johnny Cash while we lived in Colorado, but it is harder to pin down who I liked in junior high (at least from looking at the TV schedule). I’m even surprised to see that the Partridge Family was still on the schedule on Saturday nights at 7 p.m. I expect that if our family was watching TV on a Saturday night, we were watching All in the Family on the other channel. We had moved up to being a 2 TV family at that point in our lives, so I could have been watching the Partridge Family in the bedroom I shared with my sister. We began to have 2 TVs when we returned from Colorado. We had owned 2 houses the whole time we lived there, so when we sold that house and were back to just the house in Canyon, we were suddenly “wealthy”! We bought a new color TV (our first) for the living room, new washer and dryer, new stove, new kitchen dinette set, and car! That was a fun year.

Who, if any, did I have a crush on on TV? Nothing really jumps out. The Brady Bunch was on TV, but I never was a huge Greg or Peter Brady girl, though I always thought Peter was the cutest. I do see Adam-12 was on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. on NBC and I did love Kent McCord (the dark-haired  cop), but it was across from the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, so I expect we were watching that on those nights. But I certainly caught up with some of these other shows during reruns.

Remember when you did that? You might watch one show through the regular season and then there was “rerun season” and you would watch another show or there were fill-in shows that only ran during the off season? TV schedules now have so many season premiers and different start times, there are always new shows starting. Well, except for the big 3 networks and they still decided to start everything in the same 2 or 3 week period and if any show has bad ratings in the first 3 weeks it is canceled before anyone has a chance to even decide if they like it.

Sundays had Mannix and Barnaby Jones, which were always favorites of my mother’s, so we may have watched those, but there was also the Sunday Mystery Movie. Remember that? Columbo, McMillan and Wife, and Hec Ramsey (I do NOT remember Hec Ramsey) alternated.  I think McCloud had been in that rotation, too, but not the season I’m looking at. I did like Dennis McCloud and I loved Rock Hudson (McCloud and McMillan for you kiddoes), but I can’t say that I had crushes on either.

Monday nights started with The Rookies and I did like that one cop, but I don’t think this show was a must-watch for our family. Next up though, was:  Monday Night Football. I did have a thing for Don Meredith, I’ll admit. But I don’t think I ever really watched Monday Night Football. But our family usually congregated around the TV no matter what was on or who was watching, so I might have been in the room doing homework or reading a book.

Tuesdays we watched Maude at 7 and maybe Marcus Welby at 9, but the rest of the night was a blur. Probably on that night Dad would have us being his remote control. Yes, children acted as remote controls in those days and got up to change the channel for parents. I don’t think our new color RCA had remote control. My grandmother got a TV about that time that did and it was impressive, but you could only switch up or down, as I recall, and not go to a specific channel. With only 3 channels to choose from, not a big deal, I suppose. I do think she had to go through the channels of static between each network, though. Another invention to be thankful for.

Wednesdays, Sonny and Cher, Cannon and Kojak. My mother loved Cannon. I think she and Mackie and I usually split and went to bed to read when Kojak came on, but Daddy liked it.

Thurdays. Hmmmm. Flip Wilson or the Waltons? I don’t remember which we would have chosen because I certainly watched a lot of both in my time. Maybe then Ironside on one channel and the Streets of San Francisco on another at 9. TV detectives and cop shows were really the thing in 1972, weren’t they? And a few lawyers. Wait, that may as well be said about 2009 with CSI, Law and Order, Cops, The Closer, Saving Grace, Bones, Raising the Bar, etc.  Right?

Fridays had the Brady Bunch, Room 222, the Odd Couple, Adam’s Rib (don’t remember that one) and Love! American Style, which was a favorite. We didn’t see a lot of Friday night TV in the fall, though. Canyon High School Eagles, you know. And we went to almost all their games.

Saturday nights, there was no doubt where we were as a family. We were watching All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, and Carol Burnette. I do miss those great nights of TV where you HAD to be there to watch and everyone did. I realize there may have been people in the world that had a life and went out on Saturdays and did things, but in our world, we watched TV on Saturday nights and had 3 hours of great TV.

September 20, 2009

Kyle Park

Filed under: Music — Janice @ 11:37 pm

Time is getting away from me. I don’t know where the days go except that I am working more hours these days. That’s all for good, of course, but limits the extra time for the fun stuff. And this is definitely fun stuff (writing, that it).

I did take time out this past week to go to Hill’s Cafe. Part of my reason was to get a few extra copies of the latest Best in Texas magazine. It has the cover story on Radney Foster that I wrote with pictures by my friend Marshall Foster.

Mainly I went, however, to see Kyle Park put on a show. I haven’t seen him or his show in a long while and he is a good kid. I first met Kyle when he played guitar and sang at . . . an Austin Boats and Motors remote. Yes, he was really the big time then. He played and sang while a few customers walked by and into the store and almost totally ignored him. But he confidently played on with a smile on this face and never seemed perturbed. That was a long six years ago and now he is going strong and doesn’t need to contribute to radio station remotes anymore.

It was a very good show. Of course, at Hill’s it is too loud and people talking everywhere and I was talking to lots of friends I hadn’t seen in a long while. But I appreciated how Kyle moved his show and kept drawing our attention back to the stage with some familiar classics like Tulsa Time or Amarillo By Morning and then wowing us immediately after with one of his originals. The place was packed and that is a rarity in September at Hill’s. Kyle did a good job.

That’s the only live music I’ve seen in a while (well, at least 6 days) and it was fun.

September 10, 2009

My Friend Jack – Again

Filed under: Music — Janice @ 12:00 pm

I believe I have used the title “My Friend Jack” for a post before, but I’m happy to report that Jack is still my friend.

He was in town the last week of August for the CD release of Big Dreams and High Hopes.
I am so lucky to still have a job where I get new CDs before the rest of the world does. I knew Jack’s CD was coming out on August 25 and I was looking forward to getting it, but the day before, someone at my new job brought me the latest country CDs (since I handle all the country things) and there was Big Dreams and High Hopes. Whoopee!  I spent the rest of the afternoon working and listening to it over and over. Jack’s CDs never strike me from the very start, but after a few listens, I started finding the songs that drew me in. It was no surprise to look at the credits and see that those were the ones that Jack had written himself. He has played his cards right in Nashville, recorded some of the songs that they have wanted him to record, written songs with the writers they have wanted him to write with, and now he is getting to play the songs that he has written in his style. I love them. “In The Corner” was the first that struck me as pure poetry.

On Tuesday of that week, Jack set a world record for the number of radio interviews done in a 24-hour period. He did 5-minute interviews with 215 radio stations around the world. As soon as I heard about the attempt, I knew Jack could do it. He is, without a doubt, the best interview guest I ever had. Always gracious and kind and quick-witted. He always came with a story. CMT.com broadcast the entire event on their website. I tuned in Tuesday morning just to see how he was doing it. Usually these multiple interviews are done from a radio station studio. I think he came to our studios at least once while I was there, sat in a dim, dark production studio in headphones and talked to one radio station after another. The was totally unlike that. He had on headphones with a microphone so his hands were free, he was lounging in a large black leather chair, and was sitting in the sunshine on the Brooklyn Bridge with the skyline of New York behind him. Later I saw wider shots and he did have a tent over him and people around him, of course. But he did not have notes in his hands, a list of who he would be talking to, or any cue cards (that I could see) and he handled each and every interview as if he had had time to prepare for it. I heard him talk to the Lubbock dj and comment on Texas Tech and their coach being on the cover of Texas Monthly. Talking to the Australian disc jockies, he was quick to let them know that Australian Jedd Hughes plays on his CD. He found common ground and was amiable with each and every one. And I DON’T KNOW HOW HE STOOD IT. I know I would have been rolling my eyes and possibly asking for a Xanax within  an hour of the start. He got the most inane questions. And of course, he got the same questions over and over, no way to help that. But, no matter how the interview was going, he was friendly, easy-going, and when the producer said “15 seconds” meaning he had to wrap up, he brought it back to the CD and that it is out TODAY. I tried tuning in at work, too, but couldn’t get it to stream nicely. I did hear one particularly bad interviewer telling Jack stories about times he had seen Jack or people that he knew that he thought Jack knew. Painful to listen to, while Jack smiled and said, uh-huh, politely waiting for the 5 minutes to be up.

Thursday afternoon Jack came to Waterloo for the CD release. I was in a little bit of a quandary because I was going to go see Paul Thorn at Shady Grove that night and I told my sound crew friends I would come early and eat dinner with them. But then I learned of the CD release being at 6:30 (rather later for these things). I told Mark my dilemma. Mark said, “You’ve been a supporter of Jack’s for a lot longer than Paul Thorn, I think you need to go there.” Good point!

Seeing Jack at Waterloo reminded me of that first time I ever saw him live, which was also at Waterloo in 2002. How things have changed! But then, they haven’t changed all that much. He had a much larger crowd for this show, obviously, but he was still as personable and fun as ever. His stories between the songs are worth the price of admission to any show. For me, it was especially important to hear Jack sing these songs acoustically. The album still has a lot of that Nashville polish that they can’t resist putting onto a record. Hearing the raw songs, even the ones Jack didn’t write, made it much more a “Jack Ingram” CD for me.

The highlight of the show was when he saw me there and gave that smile of delight that I love to see.

I did buy a copy of the CD (like I’ve said before, I DO pay for Jack shows and CDs, they are always worth the price) and got in line for my signature. I met the two nicest young men while we were waiting. I assumed they were UT kids, but they were seniors in high school. Both were so friendly, outgoing, and strong Christians– the really good kind. The three of us had a discussion about the men that stand with bullhorns on Sixth or Congress and shout at you about Jesus. What kind of Christianity is that? These boys had the kind that makes you like them and want to know what they know. I am always impressed with my nephews and their friends and it is nice to see that there are good kids to take over the world in Austin, too.

I got my autograph and my picture with Jack and congratulated him on a great CD and on achieving the world record of interviews (but he does say that he DID roll his eyes one time). I also got to visit with two of his amazing management team–George Couri and Sarah Blincoe. It’s good to know Jack has good folks working for him and I know they are glad to have HIM working for THEM. They’ve all made it happen together. I hope this album will bring Jack the audience he deserves. It still may be a cult audience along the lines of Lyle Lovett, but sometimes it will take the radio single like “Barefoot and Crazy” to get the audience to come see him  live and experience “Barbie Doll” and “In The Corner” and the true Jack Ingram. I know once anyone sees him live will be hooked.

September 8, 2009

Our Friend Stubb

Filed under: At home,Cats — Janice @ 12:00 pm

Just a couple of weeks ago, TC was in our backyard lounging on the wooden bench visible from our dining room window. It had been a while since I’d seen “ol’ TC” (as we call him) and I was glad to know he was alive and well. TC is a stray cat that comes tip-toeing down the fence and, before we got the new windows, would come to the back of the house and meow, asking for food. I didn’t have a screen on the dining room window, so I would make him a plate, open the window, and serve him, fast-food style. Sometimes I would go out the screened-in patio and give him a plate or a bowl of water. He always kept his distance until he knew we were back in the house, or far from the food, and then he would partake. We’ve been feeding him a couple of years and I think he does have a home and family, but he just likes to make friends. TC is solid black and a small cat. He gets his name from the club Mark plays at — TC’s — and the “black cats” that hang out there and because TC stands for “The Cat.”

So, seeing TC again after a long absence made me wonder what had happened to our other stray cat, Stubb. Stubb started coming around last summer or fall, or maybe before. Talk about a beat up cat, Stubb has no tail (thus, the name) and is blind in one eye. He has got to be related to Willie, our sweet cat, though, because he has abundant orange hair like Willie and the same sweet disposition. Stubb also seemed to belong to someone else because he appeared to be well fed, though he was happy to eat whatever we put out for him. Unlike TC, Stubb loved being petted and loved some attention. All through the coldest days of winter (which seem SO long ago now), I put out a little shelter, a plastic bin turned on its side with a blanket in it,  so that Stubb could get out of the wind or rain or cold just a little bit. He would seem to show up in the night, so if he did belong to someone they weren’t taking very good care of him.

Seeing TC made me realize that we hadn’t seen Stubb in a long while. I made up my mind that his owners had done like we did with Nathan at one point and they must have turned him into an indoor kitty. I’m sure Nathan left many a neighbor wondering what happened to that personable cat that would come into their garages (or houses!) when he quit being an outdoor cat. Stubb is safely inside somewhere, being loved.

Lo and behold, Sunday evening while I was on the porch dealing with cacti, who should appear but ol’ Stubby, looking exactly like he did the last time we saw him– quite bedraggled, tailless, blind, and, though fat and well fed, hungry. Mark fixed him a plate and he was happy to eat it. He was a little more skittish than before, but did let me pet him and make sure that there was plenty of fat on his bones. Stubb got his snack and went on his way. I wonder how long it will be before we see him again?

Here he is through the screen:


And a not-so-good picture after I opened the door . . . before he disappeared into the night again.

(more…)

September 7, 2009

A Wonderful Holiday

Filed under: At home,Austin — Janice @ 12:34 am

It is a holiday weekend and Mark and I seldom do the “holiday” things people do– we don’t have a barbecue for the family, we don’t go to the lake on our boat, we don’t drink beer and carouse with friends– But today we did make this a special holiday by going downtown for the cactus sale at Zilker Park.

We’ve been to a few cactus sales and I thought this was the one that is outdoors in the Botanical Gardens with lots of different kinds of vendors, but it wasn’t. This was the sale they have indoors in their meeting place with just cacti and succulents for sale. Good enough! We were there to buy cactus anyway.

Luckily, we didn’t get our car towed away to spoil the day. There is such limited parking that Mark finally gave up and parked in a fire zone — out of the way, but still, a no-parking area. He went out to check on the car and take some cacti out to the car and lucked into getting there just as the guard was calling for a tow truck. She was nice and found him a spot to park, so we were safe.

We started the day with lunch at La Feria on South Lamar. I had never eaten there and suggested it to make us go somewhere new. I said we needed to break out of our shell and Mark said, “But I like my shell.” We both like our shell, but La Feria was very good and worth remembering. The waiter and manager were very friendly and nice and my migas were really good.

At the cactus sale we may have gotten a little nuts, but we do that a lot around cactus. Mark really has a thing for the terribly dangerous ones. I prefer things on the succulent side that you can touch. Mark takes a lot of time to study the choices.

Notice how he already has a boxful in his arms? I think we ended up with three boxes full.Not that I wasn’t guilty of indulging, too. But I dramatically brought down our cost-per-plant when I WON a bunch! I bought two tickets for their raffle just to be nice and support the cause, even though the winning plants seemed small and not particularly desirable. Two tickets. When they started calling the winners for that round, they called my number first so I got SIX plants. And then they called my other number and I got TWO more plants. I don’t even know what most of these are so we’ll have to watch them grow and figure them out as we go along.

There was also a silent auction going on and there was a fabulous hanging basket. Before we went, Mark asked what I wanted to get and I said a hanging basket for the patio. This was the only hanging basket in the place like I had envisioned. I put my bid down (which wasn’t cheap, but it was still a better price than I could have gotten it at a nursery) and kept hanging around the silent auction table so no one would outbid me. I invaded a lot of personal space so people couldn’t study it too much. Finally, they announced the end of the silent auction and I got my plant! Here I am, happily sitting by Medusa in the back of Mark’s truck. I am not sure what kind of plant she is, but she reminds me of Medusa. Interesting thing– she doesn’t have any stickers or dangerous parts at all, though she looks like she does.

And can you see the three boxes behind me? We made a haul. We also got some good advice on a cactus that appears to be rotting in our front garden and how we might be able to save it.

We got home and I took pictures of all our cacti and succulents. I want to be able to remember where we got them and see how they grow. Mark has a really green thumb with his cacti. I have had cacti before, but never had one bloom. Mark regularly has cacti blooming over and over again.

Here is my new plant in her place of honor on the screened-in porch:

I’m trying to root some of her branches that fell off. They are the kind that fall onto the ground and take root, so I hope to have a small one growing soon. She also has deep purple/red blooms. You can’t really see them in the picture, but there were a few blooming.

I wanted a hanging basket because I got a very cool one when we were on our way home from the Cunningham reunion last month. I saw this “cactus” (it isn’t a cactus, but it seems like it should be) in a VERY expensive pot and I wanted it! My grandmother Williams had these when I was a teenager and I would take cuttings of it. I don’t know whatever happened to mine, I must not have taken care of them. Fortunately at the plant place, I found this large hanging basket for a lot cheaper than the fancy pot. Since we’ve had it, just a month, I think it has increased by 200%. It has new growth all over it.

I made this picture big so you can see the leaves and grapevine-like tendrils. The clerk said it is related to the grape family and will attach itself to trellises or anything it can grab and it will even produce a grape-like cluster. Interesting! But it just reminds me of Mamma and her amazing “flower room.” She had a breezeway between the house and the garage with planters on each side and tons of potted plants and plants hanging everywhere. She loved taking care of her “flowers.” Even green plants like this were “flowers” to her.Now I’ve gotten off track and away from the garden show. We had fun there and ran into our dear old friend Debora Hanson and Little Jewford. I love going to Austin events and running into friends.

On our way home, we stopped by my new Capstar Partners building and I got to show Mark my new digs. He is very jealous and wants a job there, too. He longs to work at a business with a kitchen! He has a refrigerator at his warehouse, I don’t know why he thinks ours is anything more special.

So we did do something fun and “holiday-ish” and we still have a day off of work tomorrow. Well, Mark has his regular gig, but it will still feel like a holiday. Happy Labor Day!

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