We ran to Dallas last weekend to see Peggy’s mother for Christmas, then came back to Austin to spend Christmas Day alone at home. We left on Friday to drive to Mississippi to celebrate with my father, spent a night in Baton Rouge, and got back home in time for New Year’s.

This is what I have been seeing repeatedly since we got home:

Allie actually had to be boarded while we were gone, and it had to be a special place because of her diabetes. She loves being around other dogs, but they cannot let her be as active as she wants to be. So, from the minute we got home she has been wanting to go outside. Since we live in an apartment, that means we have to take her outside. She won’t even let me take her harness off.

Fortunately, we love taking her for walks. Her favorite is to go down to the river (Colorado River/Lake Austin) and get in the water under the Pennybacker Bridge. And to hike up to the scenic overlook on the other side of the river. And to act like a dog while doing it. It is glorious to see such canine enjoyment.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, which means tonight will be fireworks. That will make for a quieter day tomorrow because she will still be afraid of the noise and will not be as eager to be outside. So we will take her out as often as she wants to go today. It’s the least we can do after her unfortunate incarceration.

We’ll go out to eat tomorrow and enjoy a little football. Then our friends come Thursday afternoon and our son comes Friday afternoon to stay for a couple of days. I am sure that I will have more to write this week.

But right now Allie needs to go for a walk.

Have a safe and happy New Year! 

So, I’ll admit it. I’m not the biggest Justin Timberlake fan. I was too old for the whole “boy band” thing. I have enjoyed his movies and his appearances on Saturday Night Live — it is obvious he has a sense of humor and is not afraid to look silly. But his music is not something I have ever paid that much attention to.

Until tonight.

For Peggy’s 50th birthday I took her to see Justin Timberlake at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here in Las Vegas. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen. There were all the big showy numbers that you expect and they were great. Dude is a flat out sick dancer. And the effects and sound were incredible.

But what impressed me most was a stripped-down set that he did with the musicians in his band. He came out and sat down at the piano and sang a song by himself. Then he picked up a guitar and did a couple of more tunes with the other bandmates. It was phenomenal, and it was a level of musicianship I wasn’t expecting from a Mouseketeer.

I said earlier that we weren’t able to get good seats for the show. Then, about halfway through the show, the stage started moving above the crowd, and we actually ended up with fantastic seats for about forty minutes of the concert. It was a great idea and a great way to connect with the audience.

I’m a fan now. I think he is one of those entertainers who can do anything. Kind of a throwback to the entertainers of the past who were all expected to be able to sing, dance, act and relate — you know, entertainers. It will be very interesting to watch him as his career continues and see what he does. How do you choose when you can do anything? Maybe you just keep on doing it all.

It was a perfect way to celebrate Peggy’s milestone birthday. And for a person who married his mirror, my mirror staring back at me, it was perfect for me, too.

Peggy and I try to be in Las Vegas every year, usually as close to her birthday as possible. This year we will be in Vegas on her birthday because we are celebrating her 50th birthday! That’s right — she is joining me as a half-centurian!

I have a big trip planned for her this year. We are scheduled to see a couple of shows and we will add more while we are there depending on what looks good to her. We are starting with “Jersey Boys” tonight at Paris. Paris has built a theater in their hotel to host Broadway plays, and this is the one currently in residence. It is a cool trend in Las Vegas right now with specific hotels opening theaters to host specific shows. “Jersey Boys” is one of our favorites, despite the posted sign outside the theater warning that the show contains “authentic New Jersey language.” It’s an accurate sign. It’s also a great show.

I have another surprise for Peggy while we are there, but I am not going to write about it beforehand so it will remain a surprise. Suffice it to say, this is going to be a fun trip!

We traveled to Las Vegas today on Thanksgiving and will stay through the weekend. It is cold in Las Vegas this week, so it will add some realism to seeing all of the Christmas decorations. Peggy is the wind beneath my wings, but there was actually a little snow beneath our wings as we flew into Vegas today.

I’ll keep you posted on how it all goes. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I have told you a little bit about Peggy’s “secret life” as a member of the cast of “Minnie Pause and the Hot Flashes.” After the death of one of our cast members earlier this year we were faced with the difficult task of finding a new cast member. Before Bette died she told us she wanted the show to continue, but we didn’t want to just find someone to play the character Bette had created. We wanted to find someone who could create her own character.

Pam and Steve were two of the first people Peggy and I met when we moved to Katy sixteen years ago. Steve was actually the deacon who visited us after our first time attending the church we eventually joined, and he invited us to the Sunday School class that he taught with Pam. They are both excellent singers. Steve sings tenor with me in a gospel quartet, and Pam has been a soloist with the choir for many years.

We didn’t know if this was something Pam would want to do, but she was the first person we thought of when we started looking. We knew she would be able to handle the musical part of the musical-comedy act. We weren’t so sure she would want to handle the comedy part of the act. Also, she is a good Baptist so we didn’t know how comfortable she would be with all the dancing. Just kidding.

Pam agreed to join us in early October, which meant she had about a month to learn the Christmas show. That is not such a big deal when this is what you do for a living — when it is something you do “on the side” it can be daunting. And, yes, that means she also has to learn the regular show at the same time… 

Peggy is the choreographer, so she has worked a lot individually with Pam. When Peggy was recruiting Pam to join the cast, she told her “Don’t worry about the dancing; I’ll teach you everything. Besides, we’re doing the Christmas show first and it doesn’t have much dancing in it.” Actually, the Christmas show has a lot more dancing in it than the regular show. Peggy wasn’t “selling” Pam — we just hadn’t done the Christmas show for a while and Peggy forgot how much dancing is in it. Plus, when you’re the choreographer nothing seems like a lot of dancing.

We did our first show with the new cast member today, and it was outstanding. Pam did a great job, and Steve wasted no time getting involved as a “roadie” with the rest of the guys. We knew they would be a great fit, and today proved it.

Added bonus, since the show was in the Dallas area Peggy and I were able to go check on her mother again this weekend. Two birds and all that.

Peggy and I traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a wedding this week. Our dear friends, John and Marcy, have a daughter who attended the University of Arkansas and she got married up there Saturday night.

If you have never been to Fayetteville, it is beautiful, and the drive up from Austin was quite pretty. Fortunately, we arrived in daylight since some of the roads getting in there are a little hilly for a flatlander like me.

The wedding was held outdoors and the weather cooperated. Gorgeous scenery and a nice cool day for an outdoor wedding. The reception was held in a barn. I mean, it is Arkansas.

After the wedding we got to hang out with folks we love. We sent the happy couple off with Chinese lanterns that only burned down a few trees — just kidding, but it was close.

We made the leisurely drive home today and went to one of our favorite places for dinner. Outdoor seating, great food, wine flights. What’s not to love.

Sitting outside in perfect October weather in Austin, Texas.

I hope the new couple is happy. I know I am.

My grandfather first bought season tickets for LSU football in 1948. When my parents graduated from LSU in 1955 they became season ticket holders, and in 1966 they added four more season tickets in the south end zone for the kids. I have sat in those south end zone seats for 47 years now.

This year, with the move to Austin, I sold our LSU tickets (just for the year) to a friend who would be able to use them and bought season tickets to Baylor football games. Now, it should tell you something about Baylor season tickets sales that I could wait until October of the current season to buy them and get decent seats. However, Baylor is moving into a new stadium next year and having season tickets this year will give us priority for seat selection in the new stadium. And it does not hurt that I paid less for both season tickets to Baylor than the “donation” I have to make to LSU just for the right to buy season tickets!

With recent events, this weekend was the first game we got to attend. Baylor hosted Kansas State and Peggy and I drove up on Saturday afternoon for the game. It was a nice crisp afternoon, we saw many friends we have not seen in a while, we saw a beautiful harvest moon, and we saw Baylor beat K-State 71-7. Wow. That is not being a very gracious host.

Baylor is very good, but Kansas State did nothing to slow down Baylor’s offense. After a lifetime of watching SEC defenses it was a real shock to the system. 71 points in a conference game is pretty much unheard of in the SEC, unless the game goes to five overtimes…

It was a great first night as a Baylor season ticket holder, and the game was over early enough for us to drive the 100 miles back to Austin and still go out to dinner. Now that is a win-win!

I’ll watch the recording of the LSU-Ole Miss game when I get home to remind myself what defense looks like…

Peggy made it home for my birthday. Her sister, Susan, came to Dallas from Tucson to relieve her at the hospital, so Peggy was able to come home on Friday. Her Mom is really sick, so Peggy will be going back soon. She just really wanted to be here for my first birthday in Austin.

My birthday has been an interesting day. When Peggy got home last night we unpacked a few more boxes — we’re in the strategic stage now, so the last boxes will be unloaded a little at a time. When Peggy woke up this morning, she said her lip felt weird. When she went into the bathroom it was quite swollen.

So, our first stop of the morning was at an urgent care clinic. The doctor determined Peggy must have gotten into something while unpacking that caused some kind of allergic reaction, so she gave her some steroids and a topical treatment and sent us home. We went and got breakfast and headed back to the apartment.

We continued unpacking until the LSU-Florida game came on television at 2:30. It was kind of an old-fashioned SEC slugfest — in other words, not particularly exciting — but the good guys won, 17-6. When it was over we started getting ready to go out.

We went to a really cool place in Austin called Chez Zee Bistro. They are famous in Austin for their desserts and other bakery items, but the rest of the food was really good, too. It’s got kind of a funky, Austin vibe. We took some pictures that Peggy doesn’t want me to post since her face is still swollen. So, I’ll wait to post this when she’s not looking…

All this birthday stuff had me thinking tonight. I lived in Katy for birthdays 36 through 50. I have never lived in one place for that long in my life. A lot of life happened in those nearly sixteen years. When we moved there Mike was in the third grade — he has now been out of college for two years. We are really excited to be moving on to this chapter in our lives, but we will certainly miss the friends we have left behind in the Houston area.

The half-centurian is now older than a half century. If it is all the same to you, I’ll keep going.

Yesterday I told you that I would be traveling to close on our old house while Peggy stayed in Austin and continued the unpacking process.

Not so fast, my friend…

The closing went off without a hitch. If you have never sold a home, it is important to note that closings are much easier when you are selling a house — way less stuff to sign. I was in, done and out in about twenty-five minutes. Six hours of driving for twenty-five minutes, but it was well worth it.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Peggy received a phone call from the director of the place where her Mom lives. She told Peggy that Mary was sick. More importantly, she told her, “If this was my mother I would be on my way to Dallas.” Needless to say, Peggy left immediately to head to Dallas.

When Peggy arrived, Mary was having difficulty breathing. Peggy took her to the doctor who almost immediately admitted her to the hospital. They’re not completely sure yet what is happening but it is serious. She will likely be in the hospital for a few days. Peggy is worried about missing my birthday on Saturday. I asked her how many times we have ever celebrated on the actual day? Mary is much more important than my birthday.

So, I am spending the third night in our new home by myself. Not exactly, with two cats and a dog, but you know what I mean. I am not feeling sorry for myself, especially with Peggy sleeping on a hospital cot in Dallas.

On a side note, Allie is enjoying being an apartment dog so far. She absolutely loves the fact that we have to take her on a walk for her to go to the bathroom. They have a dog park here on the premises, but I have not been brave enough to let her off the leash if other dogs are in the park. I’m pretty sure she thinks she is the star of the show in our new location. 

We are officially Austin residents. The moving truck got here yesterday afternoon and unloaded everything we own. And we got to work.

This is our first move in about ten years, but we have worked out a system that keeps things moving with amazing alacrity. We didn’t even try to get everything unpacked yesterday — we mostly just made sure all the major stuff got here — and then we went to dinner and got some rest.

Today the unpacking began in earnest. Here is our system that we have figured out that keeps us out of each others’ way and making rapid progress: Peggy unpacks everything and I break down the boxes. She needs to be in control of where everything goes and I need to be out of her way. She hates to mess with the boxes and I seem to be particularly gifted at removing the tape and breaking them down. It is a perfect separation of labor. And it goes fast!

We did take a little break to go to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants that overlooks the lake. She’s not a slave driver, as long as there’s a view…

It is now 9:00 and every box that we planned to unpack is empty. Not everything is yet in its final place, but it is all out of boxes. And all of the boxes are broken down, stacked and ready for the moving company to come back and pick them up.

Tomorrow I will drive to Katy to close on the sale of the house while Peggy remains here to meet with the inevitable workmen that have to come to any new home. And all of the boxes will be unpacked.

Have I mentioned that all of the boxes are unpacked?

I had a very pleasant surprise as Peggy came back this weekend to spend one more celebratory, stress-free weekend before we move next week. With the pending move I expected her to stay in Katy, but since everything is taken care of except, you know, the actual move she came to relax a little instead.

We got up early and went to the apartment to make sure all the floor work is done and the apartment has been cleaned. We both signed all of the lease paperwork. That completes everything we have to do on this end before we can move in.

We got done early and had time to get in the pool before watching the highly-entertaining LSU-Georgia football game. LSU lost 44-41, but what an exciting game. We were so excited we went back to the pool after the game.

We really are excited about the move. We haven’t had to deal with a move in about ten years, so we are ready to get it going. And I am ready to have her here with me for more than just weekends.

Since we got all of the apartment “stuff” done on Saturday we were able to just hang out on Sunday and enjoy our final weekend in my home away from home. I’ll be going home next weekend and then the movers will be coming on Monday. It really has been a blessing to have a place we enjoy so much as my temporary home. I am ready for something a little more permanent, though.

And now we will live close enough to come out here anytime we want.