Goodbye Old House

Thursday July 28th  

Packed up, locked up and ready to go.

Melissa was having a tough morning.  She didn't rest well the night before and was grumpy.  About everything. 

We are really, really going to miss San Antonio.  It's a great city, and we've made dear friends.  I wasn't too sentimental about leaving the house initially though.  I was much more nostalgic about our home in Utah because I'd put in so much work into the house and yard and made it mine.  Plus Isaac was born there.

So I wasn't too sad about the house itself....until Corinna was born. 

It seems to me that the places people are born and places people die are sacred.  That house will always have a place in my heart as the birthplace of Corinna.  I liked being able to touch the walls and walk through the bedroom remembering.  I will miss that.

Dinner with a View

 The Tower of the Americas has been on Jonathan's lists of things to do in San Antonio ever since we moved here.  It's like the Space Needle in Seattle, but a bit taller.  We finally got around to it last week. 

 

The wee little squirt joined us for dinner.  

 San Antonio skyline

M & M Visit the Toilet Seat Museum

San Antonio boasts of the world's largest, and possibly only, toilet seat museum. Never one to turn down a unique opportunity, I decided to check it out!

Mr. Smith is a retired plumber and is 88 years old. He's also a real sweetheart of a guy and and thoroughly delighted in showing the kids around. He combined his profession with his love of art, and for the last 30 years has designed and created 885 truly unique works. Barney Smith has been featured on national television 3 times (The View, and a few others) as well as locally a number of times.

The museum itself is a slice of Americana. He has seats with Disney characters, buttons, antlers, games, puzzles, locks, keys, cell phones, computer components, a working piano key, religious verses, many states (maybe all 50 I'm not sure), visitor inspired seats (He made one just for us! It has a CTR emblem on it.), and significant historical events. The ones with historical significance include piece of the Challenger space shuttle with tribute to the astronauts who perished, a bit of the Berlin Wall, barbed wire from Auschwitz, a piece of Saddam Hussein's toilet (I didn't hear the back story as to how he got that, but I bet it's interesting), buttons from elections, politicians, military branches, and more. Truly a lot to see! Unprompted, Matthew informed Mr. Smith, "I really like your museum! I really do!" The kids were free to touch most of the seats and had fun pointing out all of their finds.

Here is Mr. Smith showing the children his favorite seat. It's based on Kipling's poem "When the Earth's last picture is painted," which he recited from memory.


And a closeup view:


It's a different museum alright. The kids had a good time though. So good in fact, that Melissa threw a fit when it was time to leave. "I don't wanna go! NO!" She dug in her little heels. That was a little embarrassing

Keepin' Busy Day 3

Matthew looking philosophical:


Went to the zoo yesterday. We left early in the morning to avoid the heat, but it was still a hot, muggy day. It really is the humidity. Didn't seem to deter the crowds though. We left the zoo around noon and braved the swarm of humanity heading towards the zoo. We played it smart; got there early and went to the back of the zoo first, effectively beating the worst of the heat and the crowds. Matthew and Melisa had a good time. Isaac got bored before the end so I had to push the stroller with one hand and hold the Isaac with the other. He's heavy!

Feeding the parrots:

Isaac petting the goat:


After the zoo we all took a break for a while. Matthew spent much of the afternoon drawing. We left for the airport to pickup Daddy late that afternoon and then stopped by the body shop to pick up my car which was in the shop all week. About a month ago I was rear ended at a light by a teen driver. She didn't stop to exchange information, but fortunately I got the license plate before she sped off. Thankfully she was insured and they covered the cost of repair and a rental. Took care of another ding at the same time which of course we paid for. They did a fantastic job, and it looks great! I am a happy woman! Our old Ford Taurus had a largish dent in it (that I didn't put there) for nearly the entire four years we owned it. Bugged me every time I drove it. So I'm very happy that our minivan looks great.

Keepin' Busy Day 1

Jonathan is out of town on business so I took the kids to the McNay Art Museum to keep the darlins' busy and not climbing the walls. Before we set off for the museum we went over the cardinal rules. 1. Speak in an indoor voice. 2. Look, ask questions, say what you think, but don't touch!!!

I left with only moderate expectations from the art museum.

I was impressed.

They had a number of works by Picasso, Renoir, Rousseau, Toulouse-Lautrec, and a gorgeous, large Monet painting of water lilies. There were a many other famous and semi-famous artists on display as well. The McNay also boasted of a large Edward Gorey collection with an area set aside for children to make their own "Gorey" scenes with backgrounds and cut out characters. I'm a bit oblivious to the art world and had never heard of him. His work is filled with odd, amusing characters, ridiculous circumstances and a fair bit of black humor. In some respects his work reminds me just a bit of Gary Larson, albeit with much more artistic ability. A word of caution, the tales for children are not really for children, and are a touch too macabre for the elementary age set.

The museum also contains artifacts dating back to the 1500s, quite a bit of modern art and sculpture, a section of religious alter art, and a portion we didn't even explore. The curators were quite helpful, and some of them loved explaining details and hidden pictures and meanings to the kids. According to Matthew and Melissa, the highlight of the trip were the scuplture and pond gardens. To their credit, Matthew and Melissa behaved very well in the museum. I let them blow off some steam outside and race along the beautiful grounds. Apparently many couples use the grounds as a backdrop to wedding and engagement pictures, and I can see why.

So it was successful first trip to an art museum (I took Matthew once to the Springville Art Museum, but he was a baby, so I don't count it). Next time I go though, I leave the kids and make it a date. Then Jonathan and I can lesuirely enjoy the works.

Images from the San Antonio Tea Party

Jonathan and I went to the Tax Day Tea Party in San Antonio. I parked at his office and we walked over to the plaza. Here are some images from the event.

It took place in the Alamo Plaza and an adjoining park to accommodate the crowds. I'm not sure how many people were there, but it was a LOT. Estimates range from between 7,000 to 14,000.


Texas flag waving proudly on a building near the Alamo:

We saw people of all ages, races, and walks of life. We overheard a elderly man assisting a tiny white haired lady probably in her late 80s. "So mom, what did you think of your first protest?" There were young babies, children, teens, college kids, middle-aged, hispanic, black, white, and asian. We saw flags, tea bags, signs, buttons, tricornered hats, baseball caps, visors, and of course cowboy hats.

Isaac's first protest:


I didn't think it would be an affair appropriate for Matthew and Melissa, but was pleased with how family friendly it actually was. Chants of USA! and very positive speeches were the order of the day. Still M&M would have been bored, so just as well I got a babysitter for them.

We were standing next to a family of 8 children with one on the way. They were extremely nice people and their children so well behaved. The lady asked if we brought water, and when we replied in the negative she insisted that we each have a water bottle from their stash. Then when Isaac got hungry, they offered me one of their chairs. Now I've nursed Isaac standing up many times, but it is much nicer to sit instead of supporting his (22 lbs?) standing. Very gracious people. We are very fortunate in finding great people wherever we go.

I can't find a link to a video of my favorite speech, so I'll just summarize. One of the speakers was born in Columbia, "a land where if you were born poor, you died poor." Her mother moved her family to America for the opportunities. You could just hear in her voice the love she had for America and for Texas. She was able to get an education and raise her children in prosperity in San Antonio. Like the rest of the speakers she feared the government encroachment on individual liberties (including economic) and takeover in the private sector. It's a poor summary I've rendered, so I hope I can find that clip....

It was a very polite, orderly crowd. Even the police were enjoying themselves.

Lastly a picture I took of the Alamo just before we left. The Alamo is surprising small, but inside it is reverent, like a church.

A close call

There are 4 music stations I can listen to in San Antonio: one each of classical, rock, alternative, and metal. Everything else is pop, latin, or country. My favorite is the alternative station; I like most of what they play but it's not stuff I've heard a thousand times. (Except for when they sometimes play country. Sorry guys, country is not "alternative." Especially not in Texas.)

But a couple days ago I'd turn it on in the morning driving in to work and get some latin crap. What the hell? I switched back and forth unhappily between the other stations. When I got closer to work I tried it again and this time I got the alternative station.

I thought some other station must have started up and was overpowering the poor little alternative college-radio transmitter.

But last night when I got the latin I decided to wait for the station ID to see what was going on. When the song ended the DJ started interviewing the singer, some fairly popular guy from Brazil who's won a few awards. (Although he's not that popular -- I tried to google him based on knowing that his first name was Alexander, he's from Brazil, and he's on tour in the US now including SA this weekend. I failed.) So the latin crap was from this guy's latest album to promote his tour. Presumably Monday all will be back to normal.

Whew.

The Rodeo

Wow. I have not been pulling my fair share of posts lately.

Last Monday I took the kids to the San Antonio rodeo. Actually the rodeo is at night, but during the day it is like a big fair/carnival. The rodeo is BIG deal in San Antonio. It goes on for 2 weeks. We got there right when it opened, and first took in a puppet show. Most of the jokes were over the Matthew and Melissa's heads, but they were mesmerized nonetheless because of the puppets and the goofy guy with the guitar. Then we spent some time in the petting zoo with the llamas, goats, baby pigs, and deer. (There was even a kangaroo and joey!) The animals were quite friendly and not the least bit timid around small people, so that was fun. We stopped by the hand washing stations and then I lost Melissa for about 4 minutes and about lost it myself. When we got there it wasn't crowded, but a swarm of people converged right around the tent as we were leaving. I called and called for her. She was RIGHT THERE literally 3 seconds ago! A woman noticed me yelling for Melissa and pointed back in the petting zoo tent. Found her and gave her quite the lecture about staying right next to mommy at ALL times. That girl is giving me gray hairs!

Matthew and his buddy Jonah spotted the inflatable bouncing area so of course we had to stop there to get out the wiggles. And there was only one entrance and exit so I couldn't lose curly top. We watched a cattle herding event, checked out the chicken and dairy exhibits (where we took a break for ice cream), watched the pig races, and did typical fair stuff. It was kind of fun to take the kids to a "fair" since we didn't get to go last year. September was just too crazy.

To finish the day I let the kids pick 2 rides and then we had hot dogs and went home. Melissa crashed in the car on the way back so I carried her in and tucked her in bed. Matthew and Isaac both took a nap as well, so I got a break myself.

I would post pictures, but unknown to me the camera's batteries were nearly dead. I only got one picture before the camera gave up the ghost. Too bad.

Downsides to living in San Anonio

• The churrascarias are twice the price as in Utah. Literally. (But less expensive than the one I ate at in Chicago. I was hungry, and I thought I knew the drill: who needs to see a menu?)
  
• Woot updates at midnight instead of at 11 PM. I am old now and almost never still awake at midnight. The really good woots are always gone by morning.
• Only McDonald's has play areas. And possibly Joe's Crab Shack but we tried that once and even seafood-loving Rachel was underwhelmed. Plus I can't help but think "I got the crabs at Joe's" when I see the sign.
• Major commuting freeway stretches with only two lanes in each direction? Seriously?
• No community orchestra (!)
• All the good Ultimate fields are in use by high school football teams
• There are no bike paths in the outer parts. Downtown, yes. Suburbia, no. (This one's for you, Dad.)

Decent People

Our family seems to have the good fortune of running into good people everywhere we go, people who really look out for others and go the extra mile.

I took the kids to the hardware store to get a curtain rod and drapes. I needed an eight foot rod to fit the windows. On the way out I was carrying Isaac, a purse, the cumbersome rod, and holding Melissa's hand. Matthew carried the shopping bag for me. Naturally we were parked far from the exit. A young guy, probably in his early 20s, noticed us limping along and offered to help. Thank you! As we walked towards towards the car he talked about how he enjoyed being an uncle. He didn't have kids of his own yet, but liked babysitting his nephew. He helped get the rod in the car and then turned around to go back into the store. What a nice guy.

A chair and the top to the armoire got damaged in the move. The moving company called in a furniture repairman to fix them. He came by took the chair and the broken piece of the armoire and return two days later with both fixed. The chair's repair is so well done that you have to look very closely to see crack where the arm broke off. Nicely done. He was a cheerful, pleasant man native to San Antonio, and in his 40s. After screwing the top in place to the armoire, I asked him how I could fix the tongue that the groove which held drawer rested upon. He took a look at that and said, "Oh I can fix that in just a few minutes." And he did.

Afterwards he said he would be willing come back and help lift the armoire to slide something under the front feet to raise it a bit so that the armoire wouldn't angle forward so much because it was front heavy and the doors would close better. He did come back when Jon was home, and together they lifted. After that, he fixed the doors so they aligned nicely, placed new catches for the doors, and stained a part that was a bit worn. We bought the armoire several years ago at a scratch and dent sale for a fraction of the original price. While a solid piece of wood furniture, it had some problems. When the furniture repairman was done, it was quite a bit better than we had bought it. He spent a good half hour fixing it, and when he was finished, he wouldn't accept any payment. We were stunned. I did give him some Almond Roca, but it seemed pretty poor compensation for his efforts.

Wow!

At the zoo

At the zoo
Originally uploaded by jbellis

By far, the kids' favorite exhibit at the zoo is "the riverbank,"
where getting sandy and wet -- especially, wet -- is encouraged.

They also have benches for timid moms and dads, so we stopped for a
good long splash.

The fun ended when Melissa persisted in throwing sand in the water.