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Rajalary

~ The adventures of Richard and Julie Lary

Rajalary

Category Archives: Texas Life

The Great Plains not so Great

26 Wednesday Sep 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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Long before the sun came up, we drove down the deserted streets of Amarillo, Texas. The darkness gave the cats courage and five of them were in the cab with us – one of each of our laps and three on the back seat.

Leaving Texas for the last time was anti-climatic. I scarcely grabbed the camera in time to snap a quick shot of a signing indicating we were leaving Texas and entering New Mexico. One hundred miles later, we crossed into Colorado. The first major city we reached was Pueblo, which I knew nothing about aside from it being the place you write for information. According to Rush Limbaugh, Pueblo is the “home of the government pamphlet.” Sure enough, it’s the home of the Federal Citizen Information Center. For over thirty years, American’s were encouraged to write for information at “Pueblo, Colorado 81009. Today, they can call 1-888-8 PUEBLO or visit www.pueblo.gsa.gov.

Contrary to its legacy, Pueblo didn’t resemble a giant post office and governmental warehouse. It’s a charming town that’s filled with turn-of-the century, ornate brick buildings. At one time, it was a major economic and social center of Colorado. One third of the downtown businesses, however, were lost during the Great Flood of 1921. Also contributed to its decline was the fall of the American steel industry in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

I’m surprised that the city isn’t used for shooting movies since it’s so picturesque and low-key. It would be a nice place to retire if you enjoyed semi-arid weather, hiking, biking, and the outdoors. The average house price is just $116,000 with a one-bedroom apartment renting for $404 per month! The downside is that it gets 31 inches of snow a year and barely 11 inches of rain. It’s hot in the summer and cold, very cold in the winter.

As we drove, Colorado became more beautiful and remained a pleasant temperature, which eased the pressure of having to keep the animals cool. My perception of Denver was based on having gotten stuck several times at their airport because of bad weather and once because of a cracked airplane windshield.

A quick drive through Denver and the surrounding dispelled my negative opinion. The dramatic, dark gray mountains jutted from lush, emerald green rolling hills that were dotted with attractive homes, small ranches, and herds of reddish brown cattle. Huge bales of hay rested in the fields as if scattered by a giant child.

Denver and the neighboring towns were new and clean with shiny buildings, blocks of malls featuring the latest hip stores and eateries, towering hotels, eye-catching transit centers with polished monorails, and neighborhoods of cookie-cutter prairie, craftsman and bungalow style homes. Now I know why people wax poetic over the “mile-high” city. It is spectacular and futuristic.

Sad to leave beautiful Colorado, I looked forward to see Wyoming and herds of shaggy buffalo. As we crossed the border, I scooted up in my seat in anticipation. An hour later, having only spotted a lone camel and some cattle, we reached Cheyenne, our stopping point for the night.

We stayed on the outskirts of the town, opposite train tracks, a Home Depot, several high-rise hotels, a truck stop, and an Outback Steak House. With little to see, and it still being light outside, Rich got a quirky idea to test the kitty harnesses and leashes that we’d brought.

While I told him that cats won’t walk on leashes, he persisted. His half-hour walk with Lunetta, my baby tortoiseshell, was something akin to the following:

Lunetta would stand in one place and look terrified. After a few minutes, she’d sprint to the nearest bush with Rich in tow. After climbing under the bush, Rich would fish her out and walk her to the center of the lawn where Lunetta stand a moment or two until her next sprint to the bushes.

Pu’Yi, my enormous male blue-point Siamese did the best job of walking… a few gentlemanly steps then sit and wait until inspired to take a few more steps. Jujube, Rich’s bratty male, striped tabby was horrified by the experience and essentially laid on his belly and refused to move.

After attempting to walk the cats, we ate an uninspiring meal at Outback then decided to review our route on the hotel computer. With warm temperatures in Idaho and forest fires, I recommended we go north to Montana. Our newly plotted route was around 50 miles longer and would end in Missoula.

To say that Wyoming and southern Montana were boring would be an understatement. For around ten hours, the same grassy plain and collection of cattle and horses were duplicated. The only change in scenery was the occasional wind block, bitty town, truck stop, ranch or metal sculpture on a tall hill. These sculptures depicted buffalo (I saw no real buffalo), Native American hunters, cowboys, and other western themes.

I don’t know why Custer fought for the land… there’s nothing in Wyoming and most of Montana expect for plains! Maybe he was smitten with prairie dogs or just enjoyed a good fight!

The one thing you could get in Wyoming was lots of tourist brochures. Oh, and there’s Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming is the ninth largest state with the smallest population — only half a million people from border to border. The state mammal is the bison and the state dinosaur is the triceratops. One is dead and the other non-existent, which says a lot about the attitude of the state. The state fish is the cutthroat trout with the state bird being the Meadowlark. Does it get any more exciting than that?

Montana was equally scintillating. Let’s see. It has nearly double the population of Wyoming and is considered the “Treasure State.” The Western Meadowlark (notice the awe-inspiring addition of “Western”) is also their state bird. Their state animal is the grizzly bear (don’t want to see any of those), the cutthroat trout, the state fish, is “Blackspotted,” and the state flower is the bitterroot (doesn’t sounds particularly fragrant or attractive).

I really had high hopes for Montana after dreary Wyoming, but it didn’t get better until Bozeman. Like much of Colorado, Bozeman is very majestic with tall, rustic mountains, fertile valleys, stunning lakes and rivers, and soaring trees. The beauty of the area not only attracts tourists, but professionals. The average housing price is $321,519, which is fairly expensive considering agriculture is the key industry and the population is only 30,000. Although, the presence of Montana State University also contributes to an increase in housing and expansion of the arts in the area, including a symphony, ballet, opera, and several theater companies.

Bozeman is a mecca for outdoor activities from fishing, hiking, biking, and sightseeing in the warm months to skiing and snowboarding in the winter. The ski season is from November to April. Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin – the largest in the area – is over 5,500 acres in size with 24 lifts and over 220 trails.

The scenery got more spectacular as we approached Missoula, our stopping point for the night. We pull into town at around 9 and we’re deeply concerned when we saw the parking lots of motel and hotels brimming with cars. We quickly found a parking spot and walked to a handful of establishments to find all of them full for the night!

School was starting at the University of Montana the following week and parents and friends were in town to help students get set up in dorms and apartments. My heart dropped. Rich had been driving since 6 a.m. that morning and was showing signs of fatigue.

Fortunately, the desk clerks at one of the hotels knew of hotels in the area and made some calls. They found a room at a Motel 8 in Saint Regis, an hour drive from Missoula. We quickly gave the birds water, emptied the cats’ litter box, jumped into the shower then immediately conked out at around 11:30 at night.

Crossing Texas

18 Tuesday Sep 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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On Thursday morning, August 23rd, we set out from Round Rock, Texas with six cats, five birds, our house plants, and a small trailer full of miscellaneous stuff, including the office equipment and furniture Rich needed to set up an office since he’ll be working from home for IBM. Lucky guy!

Rich had built a carpet-covered platform in the back of the truck for the cats and placed foam between the back of the truck and the cab so the cats could go back-and-forth. In the very back of the truck was a large cage with the birds along with a kitty litter box (see the pictures in the previous article).

While I expected the cats to be difficult to handle, they were amazing travelers. After an hour or so of intermittent yowls, they settled down. The first day, Jujube, Pu’Yi and Lunetta chose to lie on top of each other on the floor in the back of my seat. The others, Ariel Anne, Zephyra and Goldakevtch sprawl in the back with the birds. The canopy of Rich’s truck has small windows, which we left open so there was plenty of air flowing in the back.

Throughout the day, the cats would migrate to the back or come in the front for some attention. When it got dark, they tended to stay in the front. In the afternoon, most of them would be in the back, sleeping together in a giant pile. Even though the cats can be snippy at home and hiss at each other, they were like best friends the entire trip.

Because of the vibration of the truck, the water in the birds’ water bottles would flow out. We therefore had to fill their water bottled multiple times during the day and spray them with water when it got warm.

Being it was August, I was deeply concerned about the weather. Miracles of miracles, the route Rich chose through eastern Texas was unusually mild with the temperatures lingering in the high 80’s and mid-90’s until we reach Amarillo, our stopping point for the evening. For most the day, the sun was hidden behind pale gray clouds as we passed through farm and ranch land in Lampassas, Brown, Taylor, and a multitude of bitty towns that skirt the Great Plains with names like Arson, Radium, Old Glory, Peacock, Roaring Springs, and Loco.

Because Texas received an usual amount of rain this year, everything was pleasantly green. As we approached Amarillo, however, the landscape became bleaker and significantly hotter. I crossed my fingers hoping our motel room had an outside entrance and our room was towards the back so we could sneak the cats inside.

Rich had made the reservations in advance. And since Microsoft was paying, he chose slightly more upscale establishments like Comfort Suites. As we approached the Amarillo Comfort Suites, I gasped. We’d been driving for hours without air conditioning since the truck was having trouble pulling the trailer with the air conditioning going. The temperature was hovering around 100… and not only was multiple signs posted on the doors of the Comfort Suites proclaiming not pets allowed, but the hotel had just four doors inside: One through the lobby, one through the back opposite the lobby and two on either side of the building.

Not good.

Thinking quickly, we requested a room on the first floor towards the back. We quickly launched a plan to park in a restaurant parking lot in back of the hotel. Rich removed the screen from the window of our room. My job was to snatch the cats out of truck, one at a time, climb over a short wall, run across a grassy area then hand the cat to Rich through the window, which he’d open and close as necessary.

We were lined up to go when one of the desk clerks from the hotel came out the back door to throw something in the dumpsters. Hearing the birds in the back of the truck, he came over to investigate. Fortunately, I had the tailgate up in the truck so he couldn’t see the kitty litter box. However, if he looked through the cage, he would have seen three sets of yellow and green eyes staring back at him. In addition, there was a very interesting tortoiseshell “bird” with a long black tail lying on top of the cage. And in the front seat were two more cats.

I tersely answered his question, hoping that he’d go away. No such luck. He kept asking questions. I needed to get him away from the truck so I yanked off the birds’ water bottle, which Rich had wired to the cage and explained that I need to fill the bottle with water.

“Come inside,” he offered. “We have cool water inside.”

“Oh no,” I barked, “They need special water. Yes, special water that I have in the front of the truck.”

I could feel Rich looking out from the window and wondering what was happening. It was a dreadful situation. I needed to get the cats out of the hot truck, but I could open the doors or lower the tailgate for fear that they’d run out or worse, the motel clerk would see them.

Finally, he went inside and I started migrating the cats inside. After racing back-and- forth four times and having to crawl on my hands and knees inside the truck, by the bird cage and over the kitty litter box, I grabbed the last two cats – Golda and Ariel – slide out of the truck backwards, raced across the grass with a cat in each arm, and chucked them at Rich through the window.

Rich, trying to grab both cats at once, ended up getting scratched. But, at least the cats were all inside! To minimize the presence of the cats, we locked them in the bathroom with their litter box and some food and water. We then went back outside and sprayed down the birds, who can better tolerate the heat, which was dissipating with the setting of the sun. An hour later, the temperature was in the low 70’s.

The next morning, at around 5:30 a.m., we boldly carried out the cats through the side door. After a quick breakfast, we headed for Texline, the last town before the New Mexico border.

Last Moments in Texas

17 Monday Sep 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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While my fantasy of leaving Texas was filled with elation, my parting moments were filled with tears and hysterics. I arrived on a steamy Wednesday evening. Nearly to the day, five years earlier, I had initially flown to the Austin Bergstom Airport to see Austin for the first time and sign papers to purchase our Round Rock, Texas house.

On that day, I gallantly skipped down the concourse to Rich’s eager arms. This time, I reluctantly wandered outside into the heat then called Rich who was parked near the airport, waiting for my call.

While we’d been separated for six-weeks, Rich was fatigued from weeks of fixing last minute things at the house, packing, and getting everything ready for our trip. Picking me up was simply another “to do” on his long list.

The next morning, we got up at 4:30 a.m., anxious to get started. Even at that early hour, my glasses steamed up as I walked outside into the thick, grayish humidity.

We’d decided in advance to have one last early morning breakfast at the iHOP down the street from our house. Every month or two, usually on a Friday morning, we’d go to iHOP for a decadent breakfast of runny eggs, hash browns, pancakes or toast.

Our breakfast seemed the last sane moment of that stressful day. The moving truck didn’t arrive until after 11 a.m. By the time, they parked and got settled, it was nearly noon. By then, the humidity was oppressive.

For the next eight hours, three men labored on-and-off at packing up our remaining furniture, boxes, building materials from our garage. They were horrifically inefficiently, working for a half an hour, resting for 15 minutes. Plus, they’d take a few things out of room so I had to wait until late in the afternoon to clean much of the house.

By 7 p.m., I was close to tears with exhaustion, frustration, and the oppressive heat. The air conditioner struggled to keep the house cool with the doors propped open.

When they finally left, Rich and I scrambled to do the final cleaning then tossed our grimy clothes in bag and hopped in the hot tub for the last time. We each downed a small bottle of Blackthorn Cider, which we’d served at our wedding and traditionally drink on special occasions.

Thoroughly snookered, I gathered up my suitcase and jumped in Rich’s truck. We drove to the Red Roof Inn down the street then hobbled to Chuy’s for one last Mexican meal. I don’t remember what I ate, but it was too much, too late at night.

After a fitful night, we drove back to the house, one last time, to gather up the cats, birds, cleaning supplies, and last bit of food in the refrigerator and freezer.

Rich hadn’t measured the bird cage and after bringing it outside, realized that it didn’t fit in the back of the truck. I struggled to clean up the back bedroom where we kept the birds and cats, using a worn out mop to slop up kitty litter, bird poop, and dust and dirt that had gathered under several large rubber mats that had been kept under the bird cages and kitty litter boxes. Meanwhile, the cats were running through the house and leaving dirty footprints where I was mopping.

And I couldn’t cram everything from the refrigerator and freezer into our two ice chest. It was heartbreaking to chuck perfectly good food in the over-flowing trashcan at the curb.

Hysterics ensued. I agonized not only over our present situation, but the realization that I was leaving a fabulous house where everything fit perfectly and looked so pretty. I knew that I’d have to settle for considerably smaller and less glamorous house in Washington (at least, until we could build on our lot in Anacortes).

Turning the bird cage on its side, Rich was able to get it to fit. With patience and much determination, I finished cleaning the last bit of the house and squished the last bit of food into the coolers. We crammed everything into the trailer we were hauling behind Rich’s truck. The cats were tossed in the back of the truck on a carpet-covered platform that Rich had built. And with a tear-streaked faced I said “good-bye” to a chapter of our lives and a house and plantings that brought us both much joy.

Good-bye to my herb garden, Japanese quinces, salvias, gardenias, irises, and flowering natives. Good-bye to my beloved kitchen with white tile counters and dozens of cupboards. Good-bye to our huge master bathroom with a coffee bar, complete with a little sink, refrigerator and microwave. Good-bye to our huge covered balcony where we used to watch lightening storms. Good-bye to ancient oak trees where we watched fawns and their mother feed. Good-bye to our cozy den where we watched NetFlixs. And good-bye to my hobby room with its bright green wall (for inspiration).

SOLD!!

18 Wednesday Jul 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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Monday, we put on our house on the market. By that afternoon, our realtor received an offer for full price! We were thrilled!
 
We don’t anticipate any problems and expect the house to close by August 17th. Rich will stay an extra week to get everything packed. I’ll then fly back to Texas to accompany him as we drive across the country in his Dodge Dakota with our six cats and five birds in the back. The back of his truck has a canopy so we’ll open the window between the cab and bed of the truck so the cats can walk back-and-forth and "help" Rich drive.
 
Microsoft will be moving our furnishings, which is fabulous!
 
It’s hard, looking at the listing of our house, not to feel a little sadness about leaving it. We had many memorable days in the house from sitting in the hot tub on warm summer evenings, watching the sunset as bats circled above to watching a lightning storm from the balcony, seeing a deer and her fawn eat the acorns from our oak trees, listening to the creek as it rushes after a rain storm, picking herbs from my garden, cooking in the spacious kitchen, sewing in my green-walled hobby room, working side-by-side with Rich in the office, and so much more.
 
With the price of housing in the Seattle area, there’s no way we can afford a comparable house. Nevertheless, it’s a relief that our house and that Rich and I will be together in Washington starting in late August!

Final Thoughts

01 Sunday Jul 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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I’m writing this blog entry from the Austin Bergstrom Airport… seemingly moments before I depart for Seattle and the next chapter in my life. It’s hard not to cry thinking back on the past four years. It’s been an adventure that I so desparately wanted to end, but now have second doubts in light of the uncertainty ahead.
 
As I drove out of the driveway of our Round Rock house – for the last time – I looked up to see a full moon. Doubtful that I’d closed the garage, I circled back and double-check, taking one more look. Inside were my six cats, which I probably won’t see again for another three to four months, depending on when our house sells. It’s painfully hard to leave the cats.
 
This was the house that I despised, but now have strong feelings of loss. The first year we moved into the house – which seemed enormous with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, large kitchen, living and dining room, plus a cozy den – we ripped out a large swath of lawn upfront, put in French drains, sculpted a dry creek bed then planted Texas native flowering bushes, grasses, and groundcover. Our efforts rewarded us with months of red, blue, pink magenta, yellow, and orange flowers that daily attracted butterflies, dragon flies and humming birds.
 
Last night, as the sun was setting, I wandered down to the creek to see it one last time. Many inches of torrential rain, days before, had turned the usually lazy creek into a rapidly flowing body of water that overflowed the banks and had whipped up blobs of white foam. Many parts of Texas, including Round Rock, have been under flood watch for weeks. When the water recedes, I’m sure the contours of the creek while be changed.
 
This morning, as I got in the car, I could hear the sound of the creek crashing over our mini dam. Usually, by this time of the year, there is barely enough water to cover the creek bed!
 
Part of my relocation package from Microsoft including real estate assistance. On Tuesday of this week, we signed up a realtor to sell our house. While the plan was for Rich to return from his pyrotechnic activities in Oregon (he’s presently setting up the show) and quickly work to get the house ready to sell, the realtor called on Thursday to say that she not only felt we priced our house too low, but had a potential buyer who wanted to see the house.
 
Thursday evening, therefore, I scurried to make the house look as presentable as possible, including putting a new bedspread on our bed, draping curtains in the living room, sweeping, wiping, and sticking stuff in closets. I also met with the realtor to give her a key to show the house while Rich is away. It would be astonishing if we got a bid before the house was even officially listed, but miracles happen… and may be this is the miracle we need to validate our decision to leave the comfort of our big Texas house for a compact tract house in Washington!
 
Below is a bouquet of amazing orchids that my co-workers at Dell gave me the day I left. It was an amazing gesture and I will greatly miss them.

Moving (Finally) to Washington

18 Monday Jun 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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I was going to title this article "Greener than the Grinch," but last Friday the seemingly impossible turned into a reality when a Microsoft recruiter called and extended a job offer.
 
In early May, I had a telephone interview with the hiring manager, which was a complete disaster. Needing a private place to talk, I slipped into the only open room I could find – a small team room next to a research lab at "D." The reception was terrible.
 
I had forgotten about the phone interview until late May when I received an email asking me to fly to Redmond. At the time, I was in New York. Nine days later, I was on a plane with a notebook full of stuff about  the position and Microsoft.
 
The morning of the interview, the recruiter told me that I’d be initially meeting with three people. If I did well (no pressure), I’d meet with two other people. The first interviewer had a similar role. The next was with another group. The third was the hiring manager. The fourth was a higher level manager within the group and the fifth was the general manager of the group. He asked the most unusual questions.
 
Giddy from the excitement of the day and starting to feel my internal clock wind down, since it was around 6 p.m. Central Time, I was flippant in my answers. When asked what the warning label on a bottle of medicine would read if I were the medicine, I responded, "Warning, highly explosive."
 
The words were so volatile that they flamed as they came out of my mouth. There was no catching or cooling them down as they escaped. In another response, I had difficulties recalling a time when I left work and felt regret for what I’d said. No matter how sharp-tongued my responses, I rarely ask forgiveness for speaking my mind. Honesty, even if painful, is better than deceit.
 
In spite of my less than practiced responses, the general manager seemed amused and when interrupted by his secretary for running overtime explained that he enjoyed our conversation.
 
After walking back to my car, I called Rich and told him that I thought I’d "nailed" the interview. My confidence faded with each passing day.
Finally, a week later, the recruiter called and said that the hiring manager wanted to interview more candidates. Rich felt it was best, for my mental health, that I write-off the job and move forward with my job search.
 
After ranting-and-raving for a few days about being unemployable, I heeded his advice and revised and reposted my resume to the Microsoft career site. I also applied for a handful of interesting positions.
 
On Friday, June 15th, I went to Lake Travis for a group off-site. Having gorged myself on queso (melted cheese with salsa) and chips, fajitas, swam three times, swatted at countless bugs, and joined my co-workers in lamenting the lay-offs at "D," I decided to stop at a gourmet shop to buy some Blackthorn, a sparkling apple cider from England that Rich and I had served at our wedding. If I had to spend my summer in Texas, I might as well slurp one of my favorite beverages.
 
I then headed to Garden Ridge, the world’s greatest hobby and home decorating store to lose myself in silk flowers, cheap dishes, pretty baskets, linens, and wonderful knick-knacks. After loading up the back of the car with my many finds, I heard my cell phone ring.
 
Figuring it was Rich, I headed home without bothering to answer. As I drove into the garage, I saw a giant hand-lettered sign, "You Got the Job!"
It took about two hours to reach the recruiter and discover that they intended to pay me more than "D," give an additional week of vacation… stock that vests over five years… benefits up the ying-yang… relocation package that includes 60-days of temporary housing, moving expenses, and much more.
 
I didn’t have to think about the offer over the weekend. My immediate response was "yes," and "when can I start."
 
Today, I gave "D" my two-week notice. On Saturday, June 30th, I leave Texas to start my adventure. With the help of Microsoft real estate services, I’m hoping Rich can join me in September after our Texas house sells.
 
Be sure to watch "Rajalary" for updates of my adventures…

Fields of Bluebonnets

10 Tuesday Apr 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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As I mentioned in earlier blogs, we’ve received an unprecedented amount of rain in Texas in January and March, making everything very green and awakening the wildflower seeds buried deep in the ground.
 
Along the freeways, you can see large patches of wildflowers. Bunches of Bluebonnets are popping up in people’s lawns (like our next door neighbor’s). Pastures, which are usually brown from lack of water are now carpets of color with emerald green grass and brilliant, red Indian Paintbrush, sapphire Bluebonnets, and delicate lilac blossoms.
 
Last Sunday, we decided to take a drive and capture the beauty of Texas’ wildflowers…

Turning an Ugly Duckling into a Swan

07 Saturday Apr 2007

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No fears. This isn’t a story about some poor duckling that survived a horrific event only to grow up and become the envy of the pond. It’s about our driveway. But no one wants to read about a driveway so I had to catch your interest somehow! Can you blame me?
 
Our driveway has been a source of distress since moving into our house. First, it’s huge, starting at one side of our property and gently circling to the other. At either end are iron gates. One is padlocked; the other has a recently installed solar gate opener.
 
We’d always believed that our driveway had been poorly asphalted and had been deteriorating for years. It had large patches with no asphalt, just gravel and dirt. With each rain storm, more of our driveway washed away. Construction across the street, in the past year, had irresponsibly and radically re-routed water runoff to our property, exacerbating the situation.
 
The arrogant local municipal utility district had not only built a street and failed to provide a way to capture and divert the runoff water, but allowed their silt-filled water retention pond to overflow, rundown a culvert, into a pipe then stream across the street and washout everything in it’s path − our gravel walkways, decorative rocks, plants, and driveway.
 
Once Rich solved the water runoff problem by working with the county and utility district to construct a ditch that routed the runoff water into the creek behind our house, he investigated repaving our driveway.
 
After a few phone calls, he chose a family-run company called Poor Paul’s Paving. They came out within the day and used a small bobcat to prepare our driveway for asphalting. They also informed Rich that our driveway had never been paved. It was composed of gravel and tar that had been flattened to form a drivable surface.
 
Needing to use the bobcat to lay the asphalt, they left it overnight at our house. No sooner had they driven away, Rich put on his work clothes and was outside using the bobcat to do additional work, like burying a water pipe under the driveway to attach a water hose. He also smoothed out an area by the garage, which we’d used to park our motor home and cars. We decided to pave this area instead of leaving it gravel.
 
A few days later, the Poor Paul crew − four brothers, their father and a niece − showed up. They also brought a paving machine and steamroller. An hour later, a truck showed up with the steaming asphalt, which was loaded into the back of the paving machine. Working quickly, the asphalt is laid down and somewhat smoothed by the paving machine. The brothers, on either side of the driveway, used shovels to build up and form the edges of the driveway.
 
The asphalt is super hot and we were told that if you accidentally touch or fall in the asphalt, you will instantly get a third-degree burn. After an area is asphalted, the steamroller goes over it several times. Everything is done very quickly.
 
Because of the size of our driveway and the thickness in which they laid down the asphalt, we needed three trucks full of asphalt. After they were done, and for an extra price, they sprinkled and "brushed in" fine cement powder so the driveway is now medium grey cement, instead of heat-absorbing black asphalt.
 
Our house with its new "cement" driveway looks amazing! Click on the pictures below to see the difference. A duckling driveway really did turn into a graceful swan.

Critter in the Citty Cottage

04 Wednesday Apr 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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Prior to moving to Austin, Rich and I didn’t live together. We had houses that were about four miles apart – a quick bike ride in the warm weather. In this manner, we were able to retain our autonomy and individuality.
 
Rich’s house was simply furnished with comfortable sofas and chairs with pictures of his family on the walls. In the backyard was a large vegetable garden. Extensive brickwork and pathways outlined the neatly trimmed grass surrounding the house.
 
My two-story off-white house with bright Wedgwood blue trim, in contrast, was wall-to-wall decorative furniture, antiques and knick-knacks. I had over 100 paintings, needlepoint pictures and photographs on the walls. My yard was a wonderland of plants and trees including a pond, fruit trees (plum, pear, aronia, cherry), herb garden, irises, hardy fuchsias, roses, bulbs (lilies, daffodils, hyacinth), and a huge eucalyptus tree that shaded my bedroom window.
 
When we got married and started to live together in Austin, we not only had to combine households, but adopt each other’s pets. That meant two ringneck parakeets, four cockatiels and five cats. The latter, Rich wasn’t particularly thrilled about having in the house so to keep the peace, we built Annie House, an outdoor heated and air conditioned house where the cats could comfortably stay.
 
Note: Rich has since become a cat fanatic and most of the cats are now in the house!
 
Annie House − named after my sassy long-haired Calico Ariel Anne − is in the middle of a fenced area, which previously was a dog run. The house is 8 feet long, 6 feet wide and tall enough for me to stand up. It was modeled after a Victorian child’s playhouse, except it has features you’d find in a real house.
 
The floor is 18 inches off the ground and covered in linoleum. The walls have beige paneling and there are two small, curtained windows. The ceiling not only has ceiling panels, but insulation. Of course, the roof has real shingles and there are two electrical outlets for a night light, heater and air conditioner.
 
Inside are large shelves with human-sized pillows for the cats to lie on. The blue pillowcases with chubby yellow bumblebees on them match the curtains. Also inside is a small cart with containers of cat food and water. There’s also a small kitty litter box. The cats can go in-and-out of the house through a small flap in a pint-sized door. A larger door on one end of the house allows humans to walk inside.
 
To keep out unwanted critters, like raccoons, we curved and attached long lengths of PVC piping to the fence. We then stretched deer netting over the pipes so the entire area is enclosed under a row of graceful, white pipes.
 
In January, Rich and I replaced the deer netting since it was looking ratty. We used a different type of netting and didn’t bother to cover the very tops of the PVC pipes. Within a short time, Jujube − Rich’s manly Tabby − figured out how to climb on top of Annie House, jump onto and walk down the netting and escape out of the "citty compound."
 
Several times, Rich added more netting, but each time, Jujube figured out how to escape. Disgusted, Rich decided to lock Jujube and Pu’Yi (my perfectly behaved, male silver-point Siamese) in Annie House by securing the flap in the door.
 
On Saturday morning, when Rich went to let the "boys" out, he noticed that the flap was goopy. He opened up the "human" door and was appalled by what he saw. Curled up on one of the pillows was a young raccoon. The rest of the house was in shambles — looking much like the aftermath of a tornado. The ceiling panels and insulation had been pulled down. The inside flap had been ripped off the small door. Pillows were on the ground. Kitty litter was scattered everywhere.
 
Happily, both Jujube and Pu’Yi were okay. They must have spent the entire evening hissing at the raccoon as it tore apart their house.
 
We regularly have raccoons visit Annie House. They go inside through the door flap, eat the cat food then leave a trail of muddy footprints. They even come in the house when the cats are inside because I’ve put the cats in the house at night and found footprints the next morning. However, this is the first time that one has been locked inside!
 
In the future, Rich promises to be more vigilant in looking inside the cat house for intruders before locking up the cats.

Colors of Spring

26 Monday Mar 2007

Posted by rajalary in Texas Life

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One of the advantages of living in Austin is the early emergence of spring. Long before the east coast and mid-west have thawed and the Pacific Northwest has cleared, spring bulbs and wildflower emerge in Texas. This year, we seem to have received more rain than usual, coupled with cooler weather. As a result, our plants and trees have already put on leaves and are now blooming.
 
Saturday, I picked a handful of fragrant narcissus. My miniature grape hyacinths, along the front pathway, were the first spring bulbs to bloom. They haven’t done as well as the narcissus or daffodils because they’re been disturbed numerous times when we put in the pathway and by rainwater washing away the soil. The local municipal utility district has finally fixed the drainage problem so our property no longer floods. The hyacinth can now start putting down roots and "stay" where they’re planted.
 
Our ancient redbud tree continues to reward us with a profusion of dark pink blossoms in spite of being in dreadful shape and held together with heavy cabling and lengths of an old garden hose. The blooms remind me of pink roses on cheap grocery-store cakes. There are no leaves on the tree, just bunches of dark pink, tissue-paper flowers.
 
Our Japanese quinces have finally taken hold. Even Rich commented on the splendor of their pale pink and orange-red blossoms. This makes me happy because I intended to plant quinces on our Anacortes, Washington lot.
 
In a few months, most of our front garden will be look like a Monet painting in shades of red, pinks, violets, yellows, and oranges as our salvias, agastaches, lavenders, lantanas, sages, and Mountain Flame bloom. It’s going to be our best garden yet so it’s a little sad that we’ll be leaving. Our first spring in Texas, however, we purposely pulled out the grass and planted a large garden to create memorable "curb appeal" that would hopefully lead to the rapid sale of the house.
 
In the backyard, I noticed four large clumps of lilies under our Japanese magnolia. I think only one variety − dark orange – is going to come up. Lilies are considered "salad" to deer so I didn’t spend a lot of money on expensive bulbs. The only ones that seemed to have survived are the dark orange ones.
 
Most of our trees now have leaves. This year, we’re once again going to have the trees professionally sprayed to prevent horrible web worms from eating the leaves. The worms can eat all the leaves off a giant tree in two or three days.
 
This weekend, I hobbled around using my walker with a plastic crate in one hand and scissors in the other. I used the crate as a seat so I could sit down and cut the lower branches off our crepe myrtles so they grow more like trees than bushes. Everything grows so slowly in Texas that I suspect the myrtles will continue to look like bushes for another ten years.
 
The warmer weather has also attracted a pair (or two) of cardinals. The male is nearly solid red. He’s the size of a small apple and as bright as a red Crayola. The female has touches of red, but it primarily medium brown. They are almost always within a foot or two of each other, whether on the ground or in a tree.
 
I haven’t seen a blue heron by our creek in a couple of years, which is disappointing. There are many creeks and small ponds in the area, which are probably more appealing. Crows, finches and sparrows are plentiful. It’s too early for hummingbirds, dragonflies, butterflies, and chubby bees. I’ve noticed a few reddish brown wasps on our porch. They like to build mud nests under the balcony.
 
Spring, even in Texas, is an exciting and colorful part of the year!
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