It’s a pity that I haven’t written in so long, because I’ve actually had fun and interesting thigns to write about, but no time to do it. However, work is a little slow this morning, and while I wait for the next batch of documentation, I figured I’d get the site up to date.
Let’s see … backing up.
The cooking class was a blast! It was a lot of work. But I felt like one of the minions on Iron Chef - it was cool! Some of the recipes didn’t send me, but naturally the dessert was to die for and the mustard rub for the pork tenderloin is definitely something I’ll have to try making again. Super easy and just enough spice, although the white chocolate sauce for it took my head off. For a Texan, I have really wimpy taste buds. Beth and I were there washing dishes until about 10:30 pm, but we still had a good time. I’m planning to do another one, but the new schedule has come out and I haven’t signed up yet … Friday night or weekend classes are the only ones that really work for me, and since the same thing usually applies to everyone else, it means that I may not be able to get anything at this point. Oh well. I’ll try and see how it goes. 
That weekend Steve and I took advantage of Texas wildflower season and our unbelievable weather and drove out to Enchanted Rock for some hiking. I have been there many times, and each time, I seem to end up hiking up the rock, back down again, and going home. Not really in the mood to go up this time around, we took the loop trail, which is a four mile trail that winds its way around the park. We brought a picnic lunch with us, and found a shady spot (sorta) where we munched on (by then) slightly wilted lunchmeat and cheese and apples. The flowers were indeed fabulous, the first time in a long time I’ve seen wildflowers that at least *look* wild, as opposed to being seeded in huge banks along the highways (not that I’m complaining - the sight of giant swaths of bluebonnets always puts me in a happy mood). At the end of the trail was a small stream with a decent current that wound its way between the granite boulders, and we took a little time to lie on our backs on a big slab of stone and just listen to absolute quiet. Absence of humanity. It was perfect. There was the sound of water, birds, wind, and NOTHING else. I hadn’t had sunshine in so long that I drank it up. I left exhausted and restored - a good combination.
Sunday we went down to the Austin Fine Arts Festival at Republic Square Park and wandered around in the unbelievable weather, munching gyros and Amy’s Ice Cream and looking at amazing works that we couldn’t afford. We sat on the grass and listened to Elizabeth McQueen and the Firebrands, a band I didn’t know but who’s performance I thoroughly enjoyed. Another sun-drenched day. I had a few fave artists who I picked up cards for, but I don’t have them here … hopefully I’ll find them and check out their websites, and get them posted. Since I’m doing so well with that lately and all.
Then a basically uninteresting week passed. I did another dance solo at Mirage. It didn’t suck.
The following Saturday we did the Village at the Shores event at Auditorium Shores, as part of the Saveur Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. This has to be my favorite time of year in Austin - we usually have great spring weather, wildflowers, and festivals everywhere you look. At the Food and Wine fest, I got to take several mini-cooking classes from Central Market - one on seafood and one on hors d’oeuvres, two of my favorite things - and we saw Wolfgang Puck, Todd English, and Tyler Florence do their thing. They passed out recipes and wine to sip on while you watched, and took questions from the audience, which was insanely cool. The music lineup was great too - we got to see some of The South Austin Jug Band, Fastball, and Kelly Willis. Pair that with a giant mezze plate from the cafe and alll the free Fiji water I could drink and I was in heaven. We didn’t get to do the boat ride since you had to sign up in advance (which makes perfect sense, but we just didn’t know), and I was a little bummed about that. Next year! But we still had a great time and learned some new tricks; the event is well worth the entrance fee.
Another week passed. Nothing really happened. I did another solo, this time at Dancer Debut, which I didn’t feel horrible about. Dancer Debut made me feel old, but in a good way. I can’t believe I’ve been bellydancing for five years now!
Then this past weekend, I acutally spent the whole day Saturday doing some work on the new Mirage website, which I have finally taken live. You’ll have to tell me what you think and if you find any problems - other that the fact that the gallery page doesn’t work, which I’m in the process of building. I’m trying to use the HTML_wrap features of Gallery, and whlie it should be straightforward, it is screwing with my layout a little, and I have a devil of a time finding some of the display properties I’m looking for. Oh well, it will get there, and overall I’m pleased with the site.
Saturday night we had YUMMY homemade paella courtesy of Beth and Alex, and then Sunday I dragged Steve around town running errands. We FINALLY got the patio fixed up for the spring. I bought some new impatients that I hope will like our morning sun, and a new seagrass rug to dress up the concrete. I also got a fuschia, which I am really excited about, because I have been in love with their showy flowers since I was little. The folks at the nursery said they like full shade, which is good, since we have a lot of that. We added a new basil, some cilantro, and some curly parsley to our herb collection - here’s hoping they fare better than last year’s rosemary did …
Sunday night we tried a new fish dish - a tortilla-crusted redfish with a sour cream and salsa sauce, some jalepeno corn, and a mango and goat cheese salad with mint vinagrette - and had some friends over for dinner. It turned out really well! I loved the salad, and the corn was a nice change. We should dig into our cookbooks more often. It is sooooo easy to get stuck in a rut. And as someone who gets bored with food pretty easy as it is, that’s not a good thing.
I’m trying to get a trip to Scarborough Faire set up for next weekend. I hope it works out. I like going early in the season, before it gets too brutally hot.
I hope your idyllic April days are going as well as mine!
What were some of the art pieces you and Steve liked at the Fine Arts Festival? I’d be interested in seeing those links!
Ginger
May 2nd, 2005