This weekend I built a new flower bed around one of the trees in the front yard. Peter has been wanting a wrap-around bed to accent the trees in the front yard for some time. We finally did it. I offered to mortar the bricks together with the idea that smaller bricks would look nicer and less over-powering than larger bricks. I think it came out quite well.

Today I completed a project that I had been contemplating for some time. I built two sets of shelves, one in Peter's office, and one in my study. In Peter's office, I ripped everything out of the closet, including the doors. I sanded down the rough spots on the walls where the clothing-bar, shelf, and supports were. I repainted the inside of the closet a color of Peter's choosing. Then I installed wrap around, adjustable shelves converting the closet into a shelving display cubby. It turned out really nice.

Then in my study, I did not want to loose the storage space of the closet, plus it is a smaller closet. So I built shelves into the wall at consistent levels but sporadic placement. It came out really nice. It also opened up the room quite a bit as I was able to ditch the two book shelves that I had in there. I love it!

Today is Peter's and my second anniversary. Wow, how time flys. We marked this blessed day by returning to the place where we first met, The Gingerman. It is a nice beer bar in the heart of town. It is all wood inside, very cozy, and it has a HUGE selection of beer on tap. It even has local beers that you can't get at other bars or even the store. It was fun to go back there and remember day one.

Prior to the Gingerman, Peter and I spent the day shopping for some furniture items. One item specifically that we were looking for was a wet bar for the living room. That is the last item that we need before the big celebration to mark our new home. Well, we found it and then some! It was the last place that we went to on our list of stops. They had the perfect bar. It is rustic furniture, kind or Old El Paso meets Mexico style. We both love it.

Gosh . . . where to start. We got back last night at about 2:30am. I am quiet surprised that I am even up this early. Yes, it is 10 o'clock in the morning, but we got back damn late last night after spending all day in planes and then the last four hours driving home from Houston. Yeah, it is only a three hour drive, but the freeway was closed, and we were routed through some neighborhoods. And when you don't know the place well, that is not a good thing. We got turned around a bit and found our way back to where we started. We asked a couple cops how to bypass the blockage and get back on the freeway, and they were agitated by the question. The one in charge, the one with all the chewing tobacco in his mouth, pointed us back on the right path. To say the least, it was a long drive.

Yesterday while Peter and I were getting ready for work Peter said that he wanted to do something fun today. That was all the direction he issued. So, while at work, I put together a plan.

We started the day at the lake. We drove up to Lake Travis and rented a jet ski. We tooled around on the lake for an hour. That was a blast. The jet ski that we had got up to 55 miles per hour. Damn, that was fast. We only got tossed off the jet ski twice.

After that, we stopped at a restaurant there on the water to have lunch. It was a tasty treat served with a couple cocktails. Yummm.

From there, we ran home to clean up, and rest a bit. My next stop on the day-o-fun trip was the caverns just north of town. After considering our time table, we realized that we were not going to make it with enough time before they closed for the day. So, we went right to the next stop, the State History Museum. Peter had never been there before. We took a quick tour of the place, and then we went to the IMAX show. The show was entertaining.

We got back last night from our trip to Lake Okoboji in Iowa. What a fantastic trip! I arrived on Tuesday, landing in Des Moines, and then I drove four hours up to the lake. What an amazing drive. I have never seen so many corn fields! The fields were so beautiful. There were countless farm houses, and wide open fields. The views were amazing. I will admit though, after three hours I was ready to arrive - not because of the drive, but because I was ready to get there.

When I arrived, Peter met me along the road. I picked him up, and then we went to the condo together. I met everyone all at once. It was pretty cool. There was a lot of commotion, so it was not like walking into a crowd and having all eyes turn. That was what I expected. For those that have not met me, I was expecting to walk into a dissection chamber. I was happily surprised by the opposite.

Peter was on FoxNews the other night. He was a guest speaker on The O'Riley Factor in primetime. He did a remarkable job. We were not sure when it would air, and we actually missed it live, but folks at his office recorded it. We were able to get a copy and watch it a couple days later. I am trying to find a method of getting a copy of the video segment to all of you, but I am having trouble. I shrank the file down to about 30MB, but that is still too large to email. I keep getting it back. Rich, maybe you can help me with this. My personal web briefcase will only let me upload files that are 15MB or smaller at a time. I could break the file into smaller segments, but then you loose the continuity of his presentation.

Here are some pictures of what Peter and I worked on this past weekend.

I encourage you to scan down the page to previous entries and look at old photos.

Really

Please . . . we spent well over four hours working on it Saturday, and then more time doing odds and ends Sunday. The yard is an endless project. We both love it, but it is a chore.

When I was little, I can remember working on homework or watching TV after dinner with Rich. My mom would be in the kitchen preparing a meal for the next night or watching a TV show that she had taped during the day. And my dad, he was often found in his study listening to music. Sometimes this music was on 8-track, and sometimes it was on tape or record. Still, I can remember quite clearly hearing his music ring throughout the house. I don't think it ever bothered anyone. It just was. Whether he was reading a book or working on something at his desk, there was music playing.

Well, tonight, that was me. Peter and I cooked, ate, watched TV some, and retired to our separate studies to read or whatever on our own. And I quickly turned on music that I have recorded on my laptop to keep me company. As I sat there listening to The William Tell Overture, I recalled similar evenings growing up.

We have something new in the Hill Country . . .

WINE !!!!!!!!!!!

A couple weeks ago, Peter and I traveled to four of the shown 17 vineyards in the hill country surrounding Austin. It was fantastic!

We brought back with us two-and-a-half cases of wine. They are extremely tasty, and they were pretty inexpensive.

Whether your taste is white, red, dry, jamy, oaky, or spicy - there is something for you!

Yum!!!!!!!!

Check out some other great pictures of the city in the gallery.