April 2006 Part 1 Saturday, April 29, 2006 | |

April comes to a close in a couple of days, so I thought it would be an appropriate time to catch up a bit and recap. I'll do this in two posts, as a lot happened this past month.

It was Easter, and with that came lots of goodies for our son from all of his family members, be it his GaGa and PaPa B, G'Ma and Papa, his aunt Stacy and all the Zimmers or his mom and dad. He got lots of cool little things, nothing too large or over the top, just small reminders of the gifts we were given by Jesus with his death and resurrection.

It also meant his first organized Easter Egg Hunt, at the church we've belong to. When the hunt began, he went right to an area that was filled with eggs and where no other kids were... only his own curiosity could prevent him from getting all the eggs before the others arrived. As soon as he picked up an egg, he thought he had to open it right then and see what was inside... didn't realize that you first accumulate as much as you can, and then check out your loot.

The other good thing about Easter time is that my wife's brother and his family was in town... And we love seeing all of them. Especially our nephew who exudes high energy and youthfulness. Being six, he has a zeal for life that is to be envied, and is always fun to witness. Did I mention he doesn't shy away from a camera?

For me, Easter week was a good week, and ended with a bang. The entire week served as a good reminder of how I need to focus more on getting closer to God. The whole lenten season was a good refresher course on how we need to live the whole year through. It's almost like recharging your spiritual battery, so you can make it through another year.

Family

KT Tunstall Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | |

I first saw this fine new musician on iTunes from a free download of her performance on the Today Show. She's got a great voice, and a great show! What a talented young lady... enjoy!

KT Tunstall @ myspace.com

Music

Backyard Updates Monday, April 24, 2006 | | |

This past weekend, I took the opportunity to update some of the bare/empty spots in our landscaping in the back yard. I had three such spots to fill, and I wanted to add some flowers that were either perennials or annuals that act like perennials because we're so far south. My choices? Butterfly Iris, Snapdragons, Penstemon, Verbena and Aztec grass (not a perenial, but used for the borders).

Butterfly Iris (dietes bicolor): My father-in-law has some of these in his backyard and I really like them. They look to be really low maintenance, and they handle the heat and humidity here well.

Snapdragons (angelonia species 'Angelface Blue Bicolor'): I'm not too familiar with snapdragons, and at first mistook them for a penstemon, as they weren't labeled. However, after talking to the manager at Houston Plants and Garden World, he corrected me and also informed me that while they are an annual, they do act like a perennial here. I liked the sound of that, and the colors were great with the contrasting white and blue (looks more purple to me, but the species says blue).

Penstemon (Penstemon x mexicale 'Pikes Peak Purple'): This is the plant I really went to the nursery intent on getting, only I was hoping to find the Gulf Coast variety. The manager said they didn't carry that variety, but told me about the Pikes Peak Purple. The color goes nicely with the Snapdragons, maybe even better than the Gulf Coast would have. He also told me that they grow their penstemon in Willis, which is just up I-45 from me, so that told me it would grow in my back yard.

Verbena (Tapien Verbena 'Powder Blue'): Perhaps my favorite buy of the weekend is this low growing, border plant. Typically an annual, the Tapien Verbena is actually a perennial and the Powder Blue species is almost a light lavender. I've read that with large amounts of sunlight, the flowers will become more white. We'll see how the ones I bought go over time. Why is this my favorite? Unknowingly, this plant is a butterfly attracter. I know the Penstemon is supposed to be, but not 30 minutes after I got the Verbena in the ground, a lovely Gulf Fritillary was sipping on the nectar from the Verbena. As you can see in the picture below, I hadn't even had a chance to mulch yet.

Landscaping

County Fair Monday, April 24, 2006 | |

A few weeks ago, we had the chance to go to the Montgomery County Fair. A friend of ours had invited us to their booth at the BBQ cook off, and who are we to turn down free and good BBQ? So, we showed up a bit early and let our son take in some of the fabulous rides a county fair has to offer.

It was fun to watch the progression of his demeanor during a ride, especially some of the long ones, like the one below...

Step One: Full Attention



As the ride began, he was focused and completely emersed within the ride. To him, he was in control and driving the car.

Step Two: Curiosity



Time rolls on, and that brings curiosity on the part of the driver. "What's going on? Why am I only going in circles? Why can't we take this thing off-road damn it? What's that bug doing over there?

Step Three: Boredom



Curiosity turns in to boredom, or is it fulfillment? I'm too cool for this ride. I'm too sexy for this car.

Step Four: Full Attention



We go full cycle and return full attention. Ah, these county fair rides are totally awesome!

Montgomery County Fair

Things Change Wednesday, April 19, 2006 | |

A couple of weeks ago I decided to stop taking The Woodlands Express. No, that does not mean that I quit using public transportation, as I started using Harris County Metro for my long commute, a decision that figures to save me close to $1,000 a year.

The Woodlands Express, while it is convenient and the ride is nice, is expensive. A round trip is $8.25 and they offer no discount for buying in bulk. With Harris County Metro, the park and ride I use is only about 5 miles further than the P&R of The Woodlands Express. A round trip is $6 and that also includes a transfer at no additional cost for the bus that takes me from downtown to my office complex. That same transfer would cost me $2 a day using The Woodlands Express, bringing my total to $10.25 a day. That's a savings of $4 a day!

Sure, now I have to drive further, but those extra 5 miles are all highway and my car gets better mileage rates in return. I still have to fill up more often, about once every 11 days compared to once every 14 from before, but that's not a significant enough increase in cost to make up for those $4 each day.

One thing that has changed, aside from the cost, is the people. There's definitely a more diverse group of people on the new bus, which is a wonderful thing. I love diversity and I think there are many things to learn from being in mixed company. The people are still equally as nice, but are also more carefree. I like the new bus.

Commuting | Public Transportation