Favorite Photo Friday

Our cat, Pulley. I turned one of my favorite photos of him into a vector graphic.

Favorite Photo (Video) Friday

Here's a fun video of Pulley when he was a kitten and we thought he was a girl.
He used to be named Molly.

June 8: Hang out at the DQ with us

Dairy Queen on Burnet Road, originally uploaded by juliettek.

Cheri and I want to hang out with our friends and neighbors, and get to know our neighbors better in person. So we're inviting you all to a very informal get-together:

Sunday, June 8
Dairy Queen on Burnet Rd.
2:00 pm until we get sick of eating Blizzards

I love this Dairy Queen -- it's been remodeled in the past year or two and looks more like a Starbucks inside than an old-school DQ. It even has free wireless.

Bring your family, friends and a neighbor or two (maybe invite someone who doesn't have web access) and drop in next Sunday. Feel free to forward this invitation around the neighborhood. We're hoping this will be the start of regular get-togethers at various locations around North Shoal Creek.

New farmers market on Burnet? Excellent!

I love going to the Sunset Valley Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. (This is why I hardly ever get to hang out with Cheri and Beck at their weekly playdate, but I can't have it all.) I like to get there as early as possible to get the best produce, and often pick up eggs or bread or even a roasted chicken. The above photo is from the Sunset Valley market, and I recognized the vendor: Hill Country Homestyle Canning. Their salsas and pickles are to die for.

The drive from our neighborhood out to the Burger Center in South Austin is unfortunately a little long. I go to the farmers' market at the Triangle on Wednesday afternoons after work sometimes, but by the time I get there, it's pretty picked over. I'd love to find a weekend farmers' market closer to my house. The Travis County Farmers Market on Burnet Road was once popular, but in recent years it's dwindled to a very few vendors, and the future of the remaining market and the property (which the county sold, and which is up for sale again), are uncertain.

A thriving farmers market on Burnet Road is still a possibility, though, thanks to the owners of Texas Healing Arts Institute (THAI). The massage school/day spa is located on Burnet near Cullen, and I always think of it as "the building with all the wildflowers in front."

THAI wants to open a farmers market at their location, which would make up for the loss of the old Travis County market, and certainly shorten the drive for many of us in the neighborhood who are addicted to locally grown tomatoes. The owners are looking for local input about the farmers market before they make any further decisions, so they've drawn up a short survey.

You can take the survey here. The survey Web page also includes information about the owners' plans and goals for a farmers market. If you want to share input about the hours you think the market should be open, and the types of vendors you'd like to see there, head over to the survey page now.

Photo by nikkorsnapper. Used under Creative Commons license.

Happy Memorial Day!

The Greatest Generation, originally uploaded by Sleestak66.

Do we have any veterans in the neighborhood?  From any war.  I'm sure we do.  Are any of you here at home while your loved ones are away fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan?

If so, we'd love to hear from you.
Tell us your story.

Favorite Photo Friday: A Little Patriotic

All Decked out - In the Rain, originally uploaded by -Dons.

Memorial Day is this Monday, May 26. I'm cheating a bit with the above photo, which is from another patriotic American holiday, July 4. But I couldn't resist, because it's just that cute.

The photo is from Flickr user -Dons, and is part of a wonderful set he took during our neighborhood association's July 4, 2007 parade and celebration. Take a look at all the photos -- kids, dogs, grown-ups playing kazoos, festive cakes -- he caught everything. It makes me look forward to the 2008 parade, which is only two months (okay, a bit more) away.

Favorite Photo Friday

Admiral looks down Millway on our morning walk.

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Neighborhood garage sales: Success!

Our neighborhood garage sale was a great success -- or at least, the sale at our house succeeded. I wasn't able to leave our sale to check out everyone else's, which is my only regret. I know Cheri and Beck hit a few sales during their morning stroll -- she posted a photo of a wonderful find.

My favorite moment of the day occurred when we sold the Super 8 camera, projector, and screen that my parents used when I was a little girl. Everyone loved looking at the camera and projector but no one wanted to buy them until the sale was nearly over, when two enthusiastic teenage girls took the risk. They also bought Chip's vintage dial telephone. I'm so happy we were able to find a home for the Super 8 equipment.

I'm also glad we were able to meet a lot of neighbors and visitors to the neighborhood. Hope to see some of you again soon.

If you took any photos during the North Shoal Creek garage sales on Saturday, feel free to post them to the Life in North Shoal Creek group on Flickr. I'd love to catch a glimpse of what our neighbors were selling. I created a short set of photos from our sale, mostly near the end (too busy in the beginning).

Monster Book Sale this Saturday

Yes, would you like to buy a book?, originally uploaded by 0olong.

If you're still looking for some thrifty goodness after our neighborhood garage sale, check out the Monster Book Sale on Anderson Lane.

Monster Book Sale Scheduled for May 17 & 18, 2008
Proceeds Benefit the Austin Public Library.

What: Monster Book Sale

Who: Austin Public Library
www.cityofaustin.org/library
512-974-7400

When: Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 18 from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

Where: 2209 West Anderson Lane in the North Star Home Center

Why: Proceeds directly benefit the Austin Public Library

Here's a link for more info:
http://tinyurl.com/6ph4um

Recycle your old electronics

As we mentioned before, our neighborhood association is organizing a big area-wide garage sale on Saturday, May 17. This is the same day as a huge electronics recycling drive taking place at McCallum High School -- 5600 Sunshine Drive in nearby Allandale. The drive will run from 9 am to 2 pm, and they are especially hoping people will bring computers and computer parts. But you can also drop off old and decrepit cell phones, CD/DVD players, TV sets, any electronics equipment. So if you've got leftovers like this after your garage sale on Saturday, now you know somewhere nearby to bring them. And if you're not hosting a garage sale, this might be the perfect opportunity to clean out those broken, ancient printers and modems and monitors from your home.

[Thanks to Friends are my art form for the tip.]

Photo credit: waffler on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.

Garage Sale this Saturday

NSCNA's neighborhood garage sale is this weekend, Saturday May 17th. Sell your treasures and meet your neighbors.

If you'd like to participate with your address on the flyer, please contact Aleda Johnson at 453-0671 or email her at aledathweatt at yahoo dot com.

In case of bad weather the alternate date is the following Saturday, May 24th.

Come play at Saturday's Pillow Playdate

We now have a weekly neighborhood playdate at Pillow Elementary School every Saturday morning from 9:00 - 10:00am. Come meet us in the little kid's playground as we get to know our neighbors and kids. Don't be shy, this is not just for parents. Everyone is welcome! We'd love to meet you and introduce you to our precious and often snotty-nosed bundles of chaos and joy.

After my son, Beck, was born I realized how important it is to be involved in our community. When I was growing up I knew all of my neighbors if not by name, then at least by their dogs. A weekly playdate is a small start but we would all benefit from knowing each other a little better. Let's take this opportunity if not at a playdate then during an evening walk. Together we can do great things. Email me at sweetpatina at mac dot com for more information.

Join our Flickr group, Life in North Shoal Creek

Have any photos you’d like to share?
Submit them to our Flickr pool:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/lifeinnorthshoalcreek/

What’s your walk score?

This is kinda fun.

Enter your address and this spiffy little site, Walkscore.com, will rate your neighborhood on its scale of walkability. It maps out the businesses, schools, restaurants and parks, listing what’s nearby and how far it is from your house.

I scored a 54 from my house.

It has its kinks, like recommending that I go grocery shopping at Whole Foods. Guess it hasn’t figured out that the MoPac and 183 flyovers aren’t exactly walkable. But give it a try anyway.

http://www.walkscore.com/

How walkable is our neighborhood?

With all the recent talk about VMU and sustainable neighborhoods, have you ever really stopped to think how walkable North Shoal Creek is?

The closer you live to Anderson or Burnet the easier it is to get around on foot, and as cozy as our neighborhood is, nothing is really all that far. If I wanted to walk from my house in the northwest corner of our neighborhood to Terra Toys, according to Google it’s only 1.5 miles. So what is it that keeps me from walking there?

For one, Rockwood is lousy for strollers. The sidewalks are only on one side of the road, and even more annoying is that there’s a curb at the edge of every single driveway-- every single one. A baby can’t stay asleep through all of that bumping around. But there are other streets that might work, and I’m often on Briarwood anyway to avoid the traffic.

So, is it the heat? In the summer, oh yes, absolutely. I’m a wimp. I hide from the sun as much as I can. But it’s only now getting hot enough for me to use that excuse. Why haven’t I been walking before now? Is it laziness? Ummm, yeah, okay. There is that.

But I think a lot of it has to do with simple habit. Driving is what I’m used to. We live in Texas. We all drive. Everywhere. My parents drove everywhere. My friends drive everywhere.

I was surprised and a little dismayed to find out that Terra Toys is less than two miles from my house. It makes my driving in a car to get there frankly a little pathetic. I’m fit enough. My boy would love it. I wouldn’t think twice about walking three times as far on a treadmill. In fact I think I’d be a little embarrassed if I only walked 1.5 miles and called it exercise. So why do I falter when it comes to walking in real life?

As Austin and its neighborhoods try to figure out how to manage growth and create a livable community, I have to really examine what that means for me. I love the idea of a walkable lifestyle that goes beyond morning and evening walks around the block. I love the idea of walking for groceries and errands, visits to the parks and the library. I’ve always thought, “If I only lived Hyde Park I’d go everywhere by foot or bike.” Well, this isn’t Hyde Park but 1.5 miles is certainly manageable.

Walking is good for our health, for the environment, for reducing traffic, for taking time to breathe and living life at a slower, simpler pace. It’s useful for meeting and reconnecting with our neighbors. It’s easier to notice and appreciate the things in our neighborhood we like, and to do little things like pick up trash.

I want to end this post with some sort of motivational commitment to start walking, to really walk and forgo the car. But I’m afraid I have to be honest. Summer is here and Texas is hot. And hot stinks. I will walk when I can. I will see you in the mornings and evenings around the block. I’m going to have to postpone serving as the role model that inspires you all to walk until the fall, when (I hope) the weather cools.

Kids eat free

image

I posted this information on our Yahoo group but I thought I’d share it again just in case some of you missed it.

Click the link for a listing of Austin restaurants that offer free kid meals. It’s broken down by each day of the week to help you organize and plan ahead.

http://tinyurl.com/2dqgqs

Why this blog?

How many of you walk out the front door, climb into the car, and drive past a dozen houses filled with people you don’t know? I do it almost every day. I’m more likely to know which cars belong to which houses than which occupants do.

It’s not so easy anymore to feel a sense of community. Front porches have pretty much disappeared as places where people spend leisure time. We’re more crowded, moving faster, and more distracted by indoor activities like television and computing. It’s rare for me to walk very far to run an errand, and usually the people I see on the street are people I don’t know and may not remember. And as often as not, strangers have white earbuds blocking their ears or are talking weirdly into the air via a cellphone earpiece. Eye contact and a smile are as friendly as I typically get with them.

The businesses I interact with most are outposts of chain stores, staffed by anonymous, revolving employees who may or may not live nearby—I don’t generally stop to ask. There are some connections I make and maintain, but it’s much easier to keep my head down and focus on getting home. I wave at neighbors, maybe talk to them on trash day, but I couldn’t pass a test on the most basic details of the lives of people I live by and do business with. I tell myself I’ll get to know them someday, but it doesn’t happen.

This site is a way to reach out and build a sense of community. It’s odd to imagine that we would get to know each other online if we only live a few blocks apart, but given the increasingly insular nature of modern living, maybe this is the appropriate place to break the ice. The intent is to share details of our lives, photos, events, concerns, and anything that relates to life in North Shoal Creek. I’m not coming over to borrow a cup of sugar anytime soon, but I’m hanging out here every day and that’s a start.