HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Today is our 17th Wedding Anniversary! So I just wanted to tell my husband:



HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SWEETIE!
I LOVE YOU!

Houston's Not SOOOOO Bad

After coming to Houston for a few years now, I finally found an area of the city I really like. I can actually get a hotel on Westheimer near the Galleria that is close to almost any place I am working in the metropolitan Houston area. This area is very "high dollar" which is interesting. I can gawk at the rich people and still do my job. I don't go into the "chi chi" places that are the top of the line, super bucks, expensive. I don't think I have the "look" to get into those stores. But I do go into the charming boutiques, cafes and shops stuck in between or on the outskirts of this area. There are some terrific sights in this area of town and it is so centrally located you can get nearly anywhere without too much hassle. That is comparatively speaking of course. Houston is so huge and has so much traffic that it's time consuming to go anywhere. But because it is so big, it has great museums and exhibits all the time. I think I may grow to like this city a little. We shall see as time goes by. So for all those Houstonians that I have insulted in the past, I just want to say..."I'm sorry. I may have been wrong."

Headsets for the Schizophrenic

More and more people in public places these days appear to be talking to themselves, until you notice they're wearing a cell phone ear piece or headset. I have a brilliant idea! Let's give all the schizophrenic people, who ARE talking to themselves, cell phone ear pieces. Then they'll blend in with the general public!!

Don Walser

I knew Don Walser had been ill for some time now, but I was still shocked when he died this past week. I was introduced to Don by a neighbor many years ago when she gave my husband one of Don's CD's for his birthday. I kept thinking, as I listened to the CD, that the fiddle player sounded very familiar. I finally looked at the liner notes and realized that the fiddle player was my old friend and past room mate, Howard Kalish! What a surprise! From then on I was a Don Walser fan. So here are some of the many articles out there on Don's passing. He will be missed by many, but not as sorely as by the folks here in Austin. We love ya Don. Happy Trails.

Country star Walser dead at 72
AUSTIN — Country music singer Don Walser, whose wide appeal made him a popular opening act for performers ranging from Johnny Cash to the rock band Ministry, has died. He was 72.

Walser died Wednesday after a lengthy illness, said Howard Kalish, who played fiddle in Walser's Pure Texas Band.

Dubbed the "Pavarotti of the Plains," Walser's biggest success came at age 64 when he signed with Sire Records, the label of Madonna and the Ramones.

He debuted at the Grand Ol' Opry in 1999 but was most interested in exposing country music to new audiences, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday. Walser opened for rock bands like the Butthole Surfers, introducing younger crowds to Western classics like "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" and "Cherokee Maidens."

"He loved it when some kid with a ring in their nose would bring their parents and their grandparents," Kalish told The Associated Press. "It was part of his genuineness that came across."

Walser's career didn't really get off the ground until the late 1980s, when he began playing small venues after spending 45 years with the National Guard.

In 2000, Walser was given the National Heritage Award in Washington.

He is survived by his wife Pat and their four children.

September 20, 2006 - 7:38 p.m. CDT

Copyright 2006, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.



All Things Considered, September 21, 2006


NPR
Don Walser, Yodeler Extraordinaire
by Melissa Block

· Melissa Block remembers country music singer and yodeler Don Walser, who was known as the Pavarotti of the Plains. He died Wednesday at the age of 72.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Funeral Services for Don Walser will take place:


Monday, September 25
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
5201 Convict Hill Road (Next to Oak Hill Library)
Austin Texas


Visitation is 9:00AM – 1:00PM at the church
Funeral Services at 3:00PM


Donations to off-set medical and funeral expenses can be made to: (donations are not tax deductible)


Don Walser Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 90306
Austin, TX 78709-0306


Family and friends are meeting at Threadgill's World Headquarters on Riverside & Barton Springs after the funeral service with an impromptu jam featuring Don's band members and other friends and musicians. Everyone is welcome.

Karma or not?

Ok, we wanted rain and we finally got it. This is a good thing. We left the moon roof open in the car and the car filled up with rain. This is a bad thing!

Some mornings I get up and right off the bat something goes wrong. My reaction is to think, this is gonna be a bad day, everything is going to go wrong. Then other days I get up and things are moving along just right and I think, wow, this is gonna be a good day. But is that true? Some days there really is a mixture of good and bad, like today. It rained which we needed, but my car got soaked inside, which I didn't need.

Why does life happen like this?
This is one of those mysteries of life that will never be solved....

Mad World- Gary Jules

My Return to the Road

Well let's see what's up today. Our real vacation (unlike my virtual vacation from blogging) is almost over. I return to the road on Tuesday and I am going to miss my husband, my dogs and my mom. It's been nice to be home for a while with no demands on my time. Unfortunately, I can't "pay the bills" on a life of leisure, so it's back to work I go. I don't mind the travel, it's far more stimulating than a desk job. I do mind being away from home sometimes. It limits how much I can take part in during my off hours. I can't get to the gym like I need to or attend any classes that are held during the weekday evenings. I miss being with my family and spending my down time at home instead of a hotel. But I do like the hotels (usually) because I get some alone time that I can not get at home. I get to have new experiences, meet new people, see new things. It's not that bad. So I guess I will keep doing this for a while.

This week I am off to East Texas. Kind of a tour of East Texas, going to Jacksonville, Kilgore and Longview. I have been to this part of the state many times before. It's not my favorite area, but it's not as bad as say...Houston. I think if the weather is cooler, it will be a nice trip. I am going back to East Texas later in the month, to Orange (oh NO!) and Beaumont. Beaumont is not all that bad (especially compared to Orange) and it has that wonderful bakery, Rao's. So it won't be the worst trip in the world.

The trick to traveling through out the state is to find something you like in each area. Like in Lubbock I REALLY like the Embassy hotel because the beds are the most comfortable in the world! In Beaumont it's Rao's bakery which is a dream. In Houston, it's being able to stay in The Woodlands which has this charming "Market Place" area; Or the prospect of possibly getting to stay at the Hilton Americas; Or going down Buffalo Speedway near Westheimer and seeing the topiaries in the median of the road. Abeline has Lytle's with the best steaks in the world! Fort Worth is close to where my really good friend lives. Dallas is just plain interesting to me and I don't have to drive too far from the airport to get to where I'll be working. Sherman and Denison are a trip down memory lane for me, because I went to college in Sherman. And so it goes...you just have to find the positive about each place and soon it's not so bad.

I am off to enjoy my last few moments of freedom. I have errands to run, naps to take and television to watch. That's all for now. See you "on the road".

Boobahs

Boobahs Hypnotizing.