Quiet, lovely things lately

Snapchat from Lake Travis

Things at the moment are quiet and calm at the moment and for once, I’m not complaining.  Sitting still and not doing something about it has never come naturally to me, however, maybe it’s old age or general mellowing out as we get closer to winter, I’m less prone to run around in circles to try and generate activity.  I haven’t been able to read as often as I typically like, so I’m doing some catching up on that front, nestled in some blankets on my couch.

There have been a rash of far too many freak accidents that have happened to people in my life and that sort of excitement is not necessary.  As in the case of most accidents, there’s not much required to make things go wrong and sometimes (oftentimes) it’s out of your control.  Below are some of the quiet, less exciting, little things that are making my life lovely lately:

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe - Somehow Tom Wolfe had flown completely under my radar (zing), which is totally annoying because now I’ll have to go back and catch up on all the books that he’s written.  And since he's been writing since the 60s, that's a lot of writing to catch up on.  However, it did give me the pleasure of discovering him for myself when I picked up The Right Stuff for a penny in Amazon's used books section.  The book is a nonfiction account of the pilots who became astronauts for the US space program, and Tom is ever-so-entertaining in his personal narrative of their experience, particularly after personally knowing some flyboys.  He doesn’t shy away from exclamation points!  Or rambling tangents!  Or anthropomorphism!  We could all afford to pick up a few writing lessons from him.  Apparently there is a movie (with Ed Harris!) out there based on this book, which I may need to check out.

Blundstone Boots - I’m not a trendsetter, and honestly, I’ve copycatted both lovely Freya from Nishaantishu as well as my male Aussie coworker on their choice of footwear.  Blundstones are an Australian footwear brand made in Tasmania and The Most Comfortable Shoes I Own.  They are giving my Dubarrys a run for their money (and at less than half of the cost).  As Blunnies are sturdy, comfortable, and waterproof, they’re often worn as paddock boots and under half chaps (for those of us who ride), but in addition to wearing them to the barn, I’ve also worn these on the plane and into the office, particularly if you get yourself a pair of the lovely dress series.  They’re unisex so make sure you read the sizing instructions as well as a few of the reviews to determine how they’ll fit you.

Semi-staycations - Last weekend B was in Austin for work, so I drove down to join him.  When we had visited in the spring with his parents, it was more of a whirlwind touristy trip with tours of the capitol and Hamilton Pool.  We didn’t so much explore the city as see all the sights and then move on to the next thing.  This time, we ate all the things and drank everything at our own pace and at our own leisure.  In the morning, we watched the fog burn off Lake Austin and a few races between the university rowing team.  We stood in line way too long at a taco truck (worth it) and drank a ton of local beers.  Austin was everything that I expected it to be - busy, green, and humid - but also casually prepared to show a tourist a good time and what it would be like to live in a little chunk of paradise in the middle of Texas.