Brazos Bend

Brazos Bend State Park is one of our favorite day trips in the Houston area.

We had a good excuse to go this trip, because our friends Rick and Tony were here from Seattle:

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

It is a fairly short drove down from the city, but it feels worlds away when you get there:

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

It is probably best know as a place near Houston where you can always see alligators in the wild:

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

but there is also a large population of interesting birds:

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

We also saw turtles:

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

and baby alligators:

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

and a Water Moccasin:

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

From Brazos Bend with Rick and Toni

It was a good trip.

This is a test, with some coffee photos

I am still trying to make my pad into a laptop.

There are some flaws with this.

For example, I cannot see a way to integrate these photos (below) into the text. Also, spell checking (when I use my little bluetooth keyboard) is cumbersome.

But the advantages are many - mainly in terms of weight and ease of access and fast booting.

I am going to post this from the Blogger app, and then try to edit it from a web view. You will know it was successful if the text below is intersperced with  the photos.

Here is am image of my favorite cup these days. An Espresso Parts coffee skull and portafilter and wrnech crossbones.

My grinder is the often maligned Malkoening Pro-M, but I have had pretty good luck with it.

Tamped and ready to go.

Here are some high speed (1/2000 second) shots of the coffee coming out.

And the cup.

Blaze

As Blaze has gotten older, she has simultaniously gotten pickier and fatter. She was never an overweight dog, generally weighing in at something under 55 pounds. Now, she doesn't really like her food, so she isn't eating as much, but she is also not moving around so much so she now weighs over 60 pounds.

Which is sad for me, as sometimes I have to carry her upstairs since her knees are bad.

Sunday in Houston

I hate it when Doreen travels, but I suppose I have to make the best of it.

Today was a beautiful day:


and I started it as usual with a nice shot of coffee:


Those of you who know espresso know that one of the most important pieces of equipment you own is your grinder. I have a Mahlkoeing Pro-M All Around grinder.

Here it is in action:


and here are the results:

I do roast my own beans, and every Sunday I bake bread for the week:


But as I said it was a beautiful day.



I was about to go for a bike ride. Sadly, Blaze is too old to accompany me:


but I don't think she would like a pb&j sandwich anyway:


(Who am I kidding? She would love one)

I got almond butter with apple jam and fresh strawberries on white, grilled, at the attendant's recommendation.

It was very delicious.



You can see that here:


I ate it on a bench at the Menil Museum


as I said, it was a spectacular day.


I love this museum


and I love these bridges:


This is Milford street in the Museum District:


There is a high rise apartment going up at Graustark and Richmond:


But then I came home:
 

The only thing that would have made the day nicer is if Doreen had been with me.

Doreen on her bike

 

You will notice she only has on bike glove. I lost the other one...

A crazy house for the 'hood

This house:

 

is being built about a mile away from us in a neighborhood very similar to ours.

It is hard to see from this photo, but the house is not square on the lot. It is at something like a 30 degree angle to the lot lines, which are due north-south in this part of Houston.

I am sure some idiot Feng Sui expert gave them advice.

Who advised them to use this architect is beyond me.

Cats are funny

Doreen is in Boston this weekend, leaving me alone to take care of the house, the cats, and the dog.

And it has been a chilly weekend. SO this morning I way lying on our window seat with a poncho that Doreen bought back in Ecuador because she thought I needed something to throw over me.

And I did.

Our cat, The Kitten, Little Guy, or Little Gallo (he never got a name, poor thing) came up to sit with me, and then decided to get under the poncho.

 
Then he saw there was a hole in it.

 
so he had to peek his head out.

 
and of course, he realized that he didn't want to stay under the poncho

 
he had to come out

 
and find a better place to sit

 
which was on my legs

 
So what could I do?

 
I let him wander about

 
and find a place to sit

 
that he was happy with.