It was well below freezing in both Dallas and Austin on Monday morning and I was fully bundled up with scarf and puffer jacket. As I write this at 6pm on Sunday, it’s above 80 degrees outside – a change of over 60 degrees in a week.
Will sent me this picture (a classic Will stance) with some street art in Oakland, where he was trying bikram yoga for the first time – this is where you do a subset of yoga moves in a very hot room – no thanks!
And the Ogans taunted me with this picture of their trip to Whistler. It’s nice to see Anne winning the gold in a house full of men.
I made a visit to Trader Joe’s once I got to Austin – I wanted to have some food in the apartment before Diana arrived on Tuesday evening. 
Lamb Vindaloo was the perfect dinner on a freezing cold evening. I also got some art together for the apartment – a picture of the Continental Club and a canvas of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s classic guitar that he played to fame in Austin. I tease McD that the guitar picture is the same size as her.
Tuesday began with another amazing sunrise (the only good one this week as most days started with heavy clouds and fog). I’m happy to share evidence that my breakfast included a nice mixture of vegetables for my omelet – it’s very nice to have the apartment and a refrigerator rather than living from a hotel.
I was able to enjoy a late lunch at El Alma, my new favourite Mexican restaurant. The fresh ingredients, flavorful sauces and unique ambiance make this a superior place – and it’s close to both the apartment and work.
Diana arrived at the apartment from the airport at about the same time that I got home and I was happy to have something on hand to prepare for dinner.
I had an early start on Wednesday to drive down to San Antonio for a series of work meetings. It’s been a while since I was in Finn’s birthplace and I found myself reflecting on a lot of memories from our 4 years there. The north side of the city, where we lived, has changed and expanded dramatically, while downtown and the south side are pretty much how I remember them.
Diana hosted my boss at “Wine down Wednesday” at the Catherine sky bar and then we walked across to Peche for another delicious dinner.
South by Southwest (SXSW) started this weekend and continues through next week. SXSW has evolved into one of the country’s leading cultural events, combining extensive music and film festivals with showcases for technology and politics. There are thousands of extra people in downtown Austin but getting around hasn’t been too painful so far – I think that might change as we head into next week.
On Saturday evening, Diana wandered across the parking lot to get some of the excellent ceviche that the Hyatt offers. She texted me that there was a good musician playing and so I walked over and joined her at the bar. The musician, JM Stevens, was very good indeed. He joined us at the bar after his set and we had a great chat for about an hour. Here’s his latest video for a new song. The video was recorded by a cinematographer based in Iceland at an abandoned air strip and JM’s part was added via Skype.
I think he has a really nice voice. He has a studio and produces other artists – Kevin Galloway (of Uncle Lucius) is one of his recent productions and I think it sounds great. We got into a conversation about the vintage 
instruments in his studio and particularly a vintage Hammond B3 and a 1930s era double high Leslie speaker. I liked his description of the B3 sounding like some “fog rolling into a recording’s landscape”. I’ll include a link to this album in the music section at the end of this post. JM recommended Cosmic coffee as a new venue that treated local musicians well and so we put it on our list for Sunday.
Sunday began with workouts, followed by a delicious brunch at El Alma. Diana’s crab Benedict with chipotle hollandaise sauce and corn cake base was amazing.
After brunch we found the closest grocery store and stocked up for the weeks ahead. That was followed by a quick stop at Trader Joe’s and we should be all set.
After all of that we went to Cosmic coffee (JM’s recommendation) and enjoyed drinks on the expansive patio. We laughed at the dog birthday party happening next to us. Presents, snacks, lots of dogs and a doggie photo booth!
I was sad to read of the passing of Mark Hollis, the creative genius behind the 80s and early 90s band Talk Talk. Here’s a link to an excellent article about his musical history and contributions:
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/28/698650688/mark-hollis-and-talk-talks-brilliant-nuanced-stubborn-visions?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20190302&utm_campaign=music&utm_term=
The Kevin Galloway album that JM Stevens produced, can you hear his vintage Hammond organ?
A solo track from Mark Hollis of Talk Talk fame (best enjoyed on a great audio system or through headphones):
I heard this new John Mayer song on the radio and really like it – such a great guitar sound:
Ray Charles classic albums, “New Sounds in Country and Western Music Vols 1 and 2”, are finally available on Spotify and I’ve been enjoying them very much this week:
And finally, here’s a duo of Swedish sisters that caught my ear – they call themselves First Aid Kit (always good to have on hand):