Falling down the rabbit hole

We’ve had a house full of good friends during the last couple of weeks which means there’s been a lot of sitting around talking and quite a lot of doing and going and eating.  What fun!

Some things go on as normal though.  We still feed our trivia thirst by having the General Knowledge crossword on the kitchen table to complete over a few days.  My m-i-l cuts it from her paper each weekend and passes it on to us, never attaching the answers!  We have our own little rule of not googling anything until we are down to the last one or two answers and of course, we never enter the competition, because by the time we’re done, it’s almost into next week.

This week,  45 down prompted a memory.  Sitting at the table with our friends, I filled in the word “singlet” and muttered “Knitting a Singlet for Cecil”.

It’s something Daddy would say, if prompted by the name Cecil, the word singlet or anyone knitting!  I never knew where the line came from or how he came upon it, but it would always make me smile (It’s that name, Cecil, isn’t it?) and I imagine, that was one reason why he said it!

So I did what we all do now, when the conversation turned to where the line came from: I googled.

I found this.  It’s a song – which you probably knew already, but this was the first I’d heard. 

I googled some more and found all the words.

So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil (Sharp?)

I’m courting a lad such a nice sort of lad, but he’s so sentimental you’ll say.
He’s asked for a keepsake to wear next his heart to treasure when I am away.

So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil, a nice woolly singlet for Cecil,
it’ll keep him as snug as a bug in a rug as in it’s embrace he will nestle.

It’s fancy where it should be plain but I can’t pull it all out again,
it’s low at the back and the front it’s a ‘v’ and the arm holes are not where I meant them to be,
but it’s soft so it’s sure to remind him of me, that singlet I knitted for Cecil.

So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil, a nice woolly singlet for Cecil,
it’ll keep him as snug as a bug in a rug as in it’s embrace he will nestle.

I couldn’t afford so much wool so he’ll have to keep giving a pull,
he’ll have to use flakes when he washes the thing,
but just like the ivy I know it will cling, & lots of fond memories it’s certain to bring
that singlet I knitted for Cecil.

A keepsake to wear next his heart fancy that; to please him i really do try,
I’ve looked in the shops til I’ve got a stiff neck & I can’t find a darn thing to buy.
So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil a nice woolly singlet for Cecil,
it’ll keep him as snug as a bug in a rug as in it’s embrace he will nestle.

My keepsake he’ll never forget, it’ll tickle his fancy you’ll bet,
it’s such a nice colour he’s sure to look swell,
it’s the woolliest wool that the wool sellers sell it’ll tickle him where
he can’t scratch as well that singlet I knitted for Cecil.

So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil, a nice woolly singlet for Cecil,
it’ll keep him as snug as a bug in a rug as in it’s embrace he will nestle.

It’s the first time that I’ve knit one of these & it’s shorter than fashion decrees,
he might get a chill both behind and afore I think I will add just a few inches more
& then he can tuck it in his bottom drawer,
that singlet I knitted for Cecil.

Freddie Robins

Well!  who knew?  I can imagine that hitting the spot during the war, when my Great Aunts were sitting around knitting in an afternoon (as they did) and Daddy was hauled along to sit with them and his mother!

But I wasn’t done.  I spotted a video there amongst the google listings too, but sadly it wouldn’t play.

Thankfully though, it was there on Spotify, on an album of Knitting songs.  Yes, of course we had to listen!  (It did go on a bit…)

 

I now discover Melanie Gall and not just one but two collections of knitting songs from WW1 and 2…

And you wonder why there hasn’t been a blog post for a while?

A weekend in July

The weekend of Stroud Show, where I had work to do.  Thank goodness the rain held off this year.

I rather liked the unconventional planting in the park this year.

I couldn’t understand why so many of my pictures had a white blob in them until I looked more closely and discovered a grain of sand in the lens.  Boracay beach is still with me.  Thankfully, I managed to dislodge the teeny tiny speck during the afternoon.

It was still there when we went for lunch at Jolly Nice though.  Kentucky Fried Pheasant anyone?

The yurt was pleasantly cool.

I have renewed interest in barbed wire these days.

Tea in a favourite place is always fun, though we missed Mary’s company.

What’s that?

We did.

What a fun exhibition to round off the weekend, too!

Home again, home again, jiggety jog

After three weeks travelling, we are at home.  It’s good to sit in my familiar chair, to type on a proper keyboard and view things on my full size screen rather than my little laptop.  But getting back into the routine will be a challenge, I know!

It’s been a grand trip.  One of the best, we think, with hardly a dud in our busy schedule.  So it was a bit unfair that on our last morning in Austin, we felt short changed.

Our experience tells us we need to save something for our last morning, for having packed up and feeling ready for home, we don’t want to waste those precious last hours.  My hero had spent much of the previous evening looking for a suitable distraction and came up with the Blanton Art Gallery – perfect.

So, all set and checked out of the hotel, we were there at opening time and paid our admission, noting that one exhibition had closed on Sunday evening.  Shame.

“But there is still the Goya” said the young woman on the desk, “and the Xu Bing”.

The entrance hall to the museum is decorated in a swimming pool blue tile, which had been a temporary exhibit but is now permanent.  It’s very effective and the perfect welcome when one steps in from the oppressive 100+F outside.

Our first stop was the Xu Bing exhibit, Book from the Sky which takes up the whole of this space.

On the walls and overhead are large sheets of printed “Chinese characters” – except they’re not.  The artist devised these nonsense letters and words to look real, but actually, they say nothing and cannot be read.

They are in book form too.

Once they got the video working for us, we gained a better understanding of what it was all about, but I’m still none too sure.

OK.  Done with that one.  Loved the lettering and the hand made books and admire the principle.  But did I need to see it such quantity?  I don’t think so.

Next was the Goya exhibition.  Well, the prints were incredibly detailed and beautifully created, but oh my, the subject matter?  Bull fighting?  War?  Brutal scenes from life?  Not really my cup of tea (dear) , thank you.

Let’s go up to the permanent exhibition.

Oh.  What do you mean that’s it?

I had heard the conversation about the temporary exhibit coming to an end, but had totally missed the bit about the other gallery being closed too.

So yes, we were indeed looking for the art – but sadly, it wasn’t there.  Shame someone didn’t think we needed to know that before we paid our $9 each entry fee, when there was time to reconsider and maybe go somewhere else.

It wasn’t long till Mary’s check in time anyway so we drove her to the airport, said our fond farewells (See you in September!) and went our separate ways – Mary home to California, the two of us back into Austin for a couple of hours, since our flight wasn’t till gone 6.  As we mooched around a bookshop, I received a txt from Mary: There’s a Salt Lick outlet in the terminal building!  Sure enough there was, and the people in front of me in the queue bought a whole brisket to take with them on the plane.  Now, there’s a popular passenger, I’ll bet!

Happy Fourth, Y’all

We thought it better to start slowly this morning, since it’s a holiday here.  But we didn’t want the heat to build up too much before we went out, planning to make the most of the cooler hours of the day to be outdoors.

There were already quite a few people out on the water before 10am and crossing the “bat bridge” I was on the lookout for the bat sculpture.  My fear of birds extends to “bird-like flying things”, so there was no way I was going to view the nightly flight, however spectacular it might be.  I suggested to Mary and my Hero that they might like to go and take a look, but from the looks on their faces, I don’t think they were that enthusiastic either!

We were heading for SoCo, a lively neighbourhood to explore.  First job, park the car following instructions – not easy reversing into a space on a busy road.

Actually, we didn’t walk very far but there was a disproportionate amount of entertainment to be had in that short stretch!

It was still quiet, even though it was gone ten and most shops were already open.  So it didn’t matter too much that we lingered and took photos.

The sign in the first window seemed an apt description of the two characters in the reflection.

But Allens Boots was calling.  We’d read of this institution and just had to step inside and see what was on offer.

What do you reckon to these little beauties?

Yes, of course I had to try them on!

They were perfect to strut about in too   But at $595 (plus tax) I really couldn’t justify the purchase.  I mean, can you imagine the reaction in Waitrose?

So instead, I dreamed…of rhinestones.

Of gorgeous shiny black

Of pale green with lilac flowers

and of embroidered teal.

Beautiful, but not for me.

But Allens is a great store and there were some really lovely things.

And a very apt birthday present for my hero, too!

A little further, we spotted this cushion in the shop window.  Love it!

Inside was quite a collection.

Some very amusing devotional candles too!

But passing the open door to the next store, I smiled and had to go right in and take a photograph.

It was just the start of a series of amusing signs, though.

You can imagine, we weren’t getting very far.

But the next stop came highly recommended, by Jordi and by Jenny.  We’d marked it on our map and crossed our fingers that it would be open.

We went up to the door and sure enough, it opened – hooray!  Hill Country Weavers is the most magnificent collection of interesting yarns, many of which are new to me.  Some beautiful samples were there too, to inspire and motivate a purchase or two.

So how come I left empty handed?

Well, perhaps it was a feature of “weird Austin”, maybe something or someone had made a mistake and forgotten to lock the door last night, but the shop was totally unattended.  Mary went into the back of the store and called…but there was no response.  Only one light was switched on and it didn’t feel quite right either.

Guess what we did?  We filled every pocket and bag of beautiful yarn No, of course we didn’t!

We tiptoed out, closed the door tightly behind us and felt very awkward indeed.  My hero now tells me we need to keep an eye on the news for a report of some crime or other in there, early this morning!  (please, no!)

One last SoCo snapshot of Willie Nelson for President and we were ready to move on.  It was starting to get really hot (108F was forecast for today), so we visited the next landmark by car.

This mural is so well known around here, there was a queue of people waiting to take their photographs by it.  Not us…we adopted the drive by method!

We had another neighbourhood to explore, which happily included the original WholeFoods market mothership where we could buy a couple of drinks for this evening’s BYO location.  Sadly, the Paper Source opposite was closed today.

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the colourful lady waiting to cross the road in front of me though.  You wouldn’t lose her in the dark, would you?

This afternoon’s stop was the Bullock Museum of Texas.  Difficult to miss it!

Now, were we ready to get a flavour of the Texan mindset?

The floor in the lobby has a map of Texas on it – no, it’s not a puddle!

The first section was an interesting exhibit about La Belle, a 17th century wooden ship which was wrecked in a storm off the coast of Texas. 

It’s been lifted from the seabed, freeze dried and displayed with some of the artefacts which were on board.

In the next exhibit, about food, I was pleased to see a familiar character!  We had first “met” Ötzi in Bolzano some years ago and here he featured, on the other side of the world.

Amongst the other exhibits, we found the answer to a question we’ve puzzled over since we’ve been in Texas.  We’ve seen T shirts and other souvenirs with the “Come and Take It” tag on them and wondered about the origin – here it was, on a flag flown during the Texan Revolution, to taunt the Mexican forces.  I think only a Texan would wear it.

This delightful character loomed over us as we entered the museum but it was only on the 3rd floor that we learned that it used to stand on top of the Capitol.  It’s been replaced by an all-weather copy now, so this original stands tall in the museum.

Yes, there was a replica of The Alamo there too, but of course I’d remembered it from our San Antonio trip a few years ago.

Finally, there was possibly the one thing we all associate most with Houston. 

What a great way to spend the afternoon, in the cool, cool air.  The underground parking lot meant we didn’t return to a searing hot car, too.

We had decided to spend this last night of our trip at the Salt Lick BBQ and since they didn’t take reservations, we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.  As we turned into the place though, it was another Magnolia moment: there were cars as far as the eye could see.  Oh no.

But all was not lost!  An efficient system for seating people and a pleasant place to wait until our table was ready meant that the half hour wait was no bother at all.

Inside, we had plenty of room and excellent service too.

We each ordered brisket and ribs and had brought our own beer, juice and wine from Wholefoods in a cold bag.  In typical Wholefoods style, the checkout guy went to fetch a bag of ice to put inside our bag to keep the drinks cold, but now, of course, all that was left was a bag of water.  As I pulled it out of the bag and held it up to show my hero and Mary, the woman next to us giggled.  “I thought you’d brought your goldfish” she said!!

When our food came, it was as good as we’d hoped – better, even.  Oh my goodness, these Texans can barbecue!

When we ordered, we could specify how we wanted our brisket.  I chose namby pamby “lean”, whereas my hero and Mary both went for the connoisseur’s “burnt end”.  You can see what I mean here and I can tell you, my hero’s reaction was much the same!

So, feeling utterly stuffed, did we have room for pecan pie dessert?  Of course we did – but with three spoons!

As we left, we offered our compliments to the BBQ master!  What a great place to spend the last night of the trip.

Are we hot or are we cool?

We woke to overcast skies and what looked like a breeze outside, but when we stepped out, in that short time between the hotel door and the open door of the car we realised that it was just as hot and twice as humid.

As we set out, we passed the legions of youngsters we’ve been mingling with since we arrived.  They wear lanyards with RTX on them and Mary learned this evening that the convention has attracted 60 000 this year.  No wonder we feel outnumbered!

 

We could see the Capitol building as soon as we turned onto Congress Avenue.  That was to be the first on our list today.

It’s a fine building and we looked forward to seeing inside, happy to find that it’s open on Sunday morning of a holiday weekend.

We passed through security and walked down a quiet corridor past Senators’ offices, stopping for a minute outside Kelly Hancock’s door to admire the family photo and small succulent arrangement; a small personal touch in an otherwise bland interior.

We came across a staff member sitting working behind bars in the former Treasury.  I asked him if he felt secure in there and he smiled, saying that sadly, there was no longer any money there to ensure his security!  He was actually a staff member of the visitor service and suggested that if we had any questions, we should return and he’d do his best to answer them for us.

What came as the biggest surprise for us was the sheer number of visitors.  The place was really crowded and extraordinarily noisy.  We, who have normally had these places, if not to ourselves, very nearly so, were confounded.  Apparently this state Capitol receives the highest number of visitors after the Federal Capitol in Washington DC.

And yet, beyond the usual dome, there really wasn’t that much to see.

The star in the dome has “TEXAS” in there too, by the way…not that I’d have noticed that if the enlarged photograph wasn’t hanging on our hotel room wall!

Only a couple of rooms were open for viewing.  Here, the State Supreme Court held our interest for a few minutes, mostly whilst I imagined why people might choose to sit behind that pillar!

Lingering in the doorway, I spotted the decorative hinges, pretty similar to those we’d seen earlier in our trip.

I was amused to think that everyone who sat for any length of time in one of those seats would find themselves embossed with the star motif in one or both places.

The House of Representatives was undergoing renovation, so only the Senate was open today.  We snapped our pictures before the two or three coach parties arrived, so it looks deserted (but wasn’t!)

The portraits of recent Senate members were interesting, because of those small portraits which were included.

Since 1919, children and grandchildren of Senators have been included there as mascots and an ongoing reminder of who will benefit from state legislature – or not.

Before stepping out of the Senate, I looked up.  Sure enough, there were TEXAS stars overhead.

A star on the doormat.

And yes, stars on the fence.

Before we left, though, we took a few photographs of the Tejano monument, which was set in the grounds with a rather busy backdrop.  I was reminded of the Lewis and Clark bronzes outside the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City but felt that this one was more five separate vignettes and didn’t gel quite so successfully as a group.

I liked the detail though.

But that was it for the Capitol.  We reflected on our disappointment and thought it strange that what we felt was one of the least impressive interiors attracted the greatest number of visitors.  Who knows?  Anyway, it was time for us to move right along to #2 on our list today.

This rather brutal building belied the fascinating contents within. 

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum was the third Presidential Library of our trip and we hoped for a more enriching experience than we’d had in Dallas the other day.

We needn’t have worried.  From the moment we stepped inside we were able to get a grasp of the man and his presidency and I found the whole place very impressive indeed.

I knew very little about the man or his achievements, being the non-historian in our family and having been too young to remember events of that time period in detail.  Of course, I knew how he became President so suddenly, even if I don’t remember what I was doing on that day.

I enjoyed reading the annotated speeches, particularly this one, which must have been the speech he least wanted to make.  I also enjoyed listening to the man himself, mostly on the telephone, for his conversations were all recorded and now released for the museum.  How fascinating to hear the voices of such notable figures and how surprised I was to hear Jacquie Kennedy’s tiny little voice when I’d expected her to speak more confidently.

Whilst reading the Civil Rights story there, I was pleased to catch sight – and hear – John Lewis once more.  He seems to have followed us along our Road Trip and it was good to tie up so many threads here as the Civil Rights Legislation was passed by LBJ’s government.

I learned a great deal as I followed the story of LBJ’s presidency.  I had no idea how young men were drafted to serve in Vietnam or that a lottery was introduced.  (Sorry for the glare in the photograph but I wanted to remember that detail).  What a cruel means of selection.

The sombre story of the Vietnam conflict was the last chapter of the exhibit, and it stayed with me  as we moved fairly quickly through the “fun bits”; the gifts, the snippets about family life in the White House and so on.

The last corner was Lady Bird’s office.  We were told that after LBJ’s death, she continued to come to her office and work here, so her office was staged too, including the “can do” desk motto.  More than anywhere else in the museum, the decor said “1970s”.  (We’d actually found it hard to believe that the museum was around 45 years old till then)

The one thing I’ll take away with me is the wealth of legislation passed during those six years.  Very impressive.

Now, after such a thought provoking few hours, what might we do next?  My hero had identified an upscale shopping mall where he thought we might spend an hour, so for our #3 adventure of the day, we went shopping.  Or rather, we went looking.

Now, it’s someone’s birthday in a few day’s time and as we got out of the car, I said that if he saw anything he liked, then I’d be glad to have an idea for a birthday present.

So we stopped in the Tesla shop!   We oohed and aaahed for some time, had demonstrations of various features, marvelled at the technology and not once was a birthday mentioned.  I think I got away with that one

We might have stopped for a little light refreshment.

We certainly noted that in this uber-cool neighbourhood, there are not only food carts but there are pop-up clothes stores in carts too.  Buy a suit from the back of a lorry?  Not long ago, that would have had an altogether different connotation!

But following a couple of enthusiastic shoppers, we realised that The Domain was not really aimed at the likes of us and heading for the car (a Chrysler, sadly, not a Tesla) we returned to the hotel and cooled down.

We are told by the concierge that it’s forecast to be 108F tomorrow, our last full day here.  We’d better make the most of it.