My Brother - FP Brewer and Soloist

Many of you know him as FP Brewer. While I admire my brother's beer making abilities, there are some other things I wanted you to know about him.

My brother is the type of person who does things and does them well. Ask him to make beer and it will be, quite literally, an award winner. Watch him clean the pool, and it is immaculate. Get an invitation to dinner and watch him produce the tastiest grilled chicken you've ever had. Witness his loving attitude as a father, husband, son and grandfather, and you will see greatness. Hear him sing and...well, my brother can SING.

I got a text message Monday -- he was going to sing the National Anthem at the Swashbuckler arena football game. I was visiting him in Louisiana with JP the last time he got this gig and we went --this was taken at the front entrance of the arena

On Monday, The Swashbucklers were playing - get this- the Corpus Christi Hammerheads in a championship game!!! Since this is Hammerhead country, the game was going to be running at our local Gattitown on the jumbo TV!! Praying he wouldn't be pre-empted by a commercial, me, Annie and Audrey headed over there to hear my brother sing. After some nerve-rattling technical difficulties were overcome, we finally had sound and a picture. There he was, in his khaki pants and dark shirted handsomeness, being introduced in the center of the arena.

I announced unabashedly to the whole room "that's my brother"!!! There was no music, not even a beginning note. He sang. Oh man he SANG! When he got to the "for the la-nd of the freeeeee"....everyone started clapping!... and when it was over, the whole room was clapping. I was so darn proud I cried right there in the middle of Gattitown.

My brother. Whatever he does it is done with quality and love and selflessness. I am so proud of him.

Going to the beach!

I hate to admit this - I've lived in Corpus Christi since Jan 2006, and I've never been to the real beach. I've gone to the man-made ones downtown or along the shore by the bay, but not the REAL deal. Not enough time, always have stuff to do, working to get ahead, going out of town, it never seems to end. BUT, this weekend, I went. JP made a special request, so I had to say yes. The beach wasn't at its best as Dolly purged just about every bit of seaweed (which, for you non-scientist types, is NOT a plant) up on the shore. That meant a lot of stuff stuck in the seaweed. No matter, we went for a 2 hour walk along the shoreline and had a blast. Saw some VERY cool birds including this Great Blue Heron.
Here's a close-up:
Others included lots of Caspian terns: Long-billed curlews: Short-billed dowitchers: Lots and lots of laughing gulls and ring-billed gulls, some pelicans that made my day, and birds that I cannot yet identify. I'm learning more about shore birds since coming here -- I was raised as an academic on forest/hardwood trees and associated songbirds and riparian habitat birds of Central Texas, so this is a whole new 'bird menu' for me. I researched eastern screech owls for five years in central Texas...they don't mingle with shore birds much. So, I'm learning....

Following our walk we went to a favorite seafood place - seating is outside at Snoopys and is next to a pier located right on the inter coastal canal: It's so relaxing to watch the sailboats come and go, the pelicans looking for a free handout as the deep sea fisherman come in, and drinking a cold beer with your freshly caught shrimp. Also located right next door is Scoopy's! -- yummy ice cream! Awesome -- a little sunburn, full tummies and I finally made it to the beach. It was so fun, and I'm thankful for JP's insistence on taking time off from cell phones and work and computers. It was a great day! It won't be so long before I return -- already making plans to bring Audrey!

Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture

Professor Randy Pausch - teacher, creator, father of three and a young 47 years old, died today. I should be working, but when a text from JP alerted me about this article, I wanted to take time to post this video. It is not the last lecture - you can buy his book or view entire Last Lecture videos on YouTube. He is exemplary and will long be remembered. And I apologize to my children for not allowing them to freely draw on the walls in their bedrooms. By the grace of God, they manage to grow up in spite of our mistakes and make us proud. Here's to Professor Pausch - may his words continue to inspire us all.

Rough Night: Dolly Won't Leave

Overnight there was wind, rain and more rain. Sheets of rain and wind that shook my apartment. Ella never left my side. The good thing is I didn't lose power. Today, I awoke (once more) to the sound of hard, pounding rain. Things are supposed to let up as the day goes on, but this system is moving sooo slowly. AND, the people on South Padre that had came and stayed for their vacations are stuck as the causeway is closed - and they have had NO power. It's a mess, over 15 inches fell there yesterday.
The big question for the day -- will JP's flight make it in? Will Southwest Airlines come through? We won't know till late tonight --- fingers and toes crossed. Corkscrew in glove box. Perhaps I can figure out a way to attach an inflatable life vest!

Dolly Can't Decide

Its noon: she's still sitting offshore, has built herself up to a Category 2 and is making us all quite anxious as she has moved northward, following the coastline.The radio station I usually listen to has gone MIA - so I've got on a Hispanic station. They have Hispanic storm watchers everywhere!! Fernando is downtown talking about a funnel cloud as we speak --all giving us the low-down on Dolly, in English. Along with rain and wind,there have been some road closures, flooding, power outages and stalled vehicle/accidents, but Carlos and Ramos are doing a great job of reporting the latest! The mariachi filled music keeps you happy and upbeat! Oh - thanks to Blue's driver, I've got plenty of merlot on hand should nerves require it tonight, and batteries for my radio so I don't lose track of my new buds Carlos and Ramos. Onward we go...Dolly, por favor deje Texas!

Audrey's First Science Lesson

Annie dropped Audrey off at my work on Saturday during an appointment. I took Audrey down to my classroom/lab. We went through some things that she found quite intriguing.... Audrey: "Momma,whas' this?"
Me: "That's a baby chicken in the jar."
Audrey: "Momma, get it out!!"


Audrey: "Beach ball!!! "
Me: "No Audrey, that's the earth. We live here" (point to the general vicinity of Texas).
Audrey: "Bouncy Beach Ball!"

(preserved) Starfish on table...

Handling the "starfursh" -- very carefully.

Audrey seemed to like handling specimens in jars, like these preserved earthworms:

And so she lined up some more...a turtle, snail, frog, jellyfish...

Discussing the unity and diversity found in organismal biology:

After serious thought she decided she needed more specimens:

So she went over to the cabinet to see if there were any more worth collecting:

But promptly left the jars and starfish when she discovered the COW (laptop computer on wheels cabinet!) I wish I could take credit for the paint job, but I am not artistic. (Paid a talented student for the terrific paint job after getting grant funds for the laptops and cabinet!) Ohhh so fun! She gave it a kiss bye-bye!

Hello Dolly!

It seems we are expecting a little weather. My university has cancelled classes for two days and since my students are missing a major exam, they're pretty happy I'm sure. The lines at the gas pumps make it look like the 1970's gas war (99 cent) days that are long over. Annie is leaving town - so are all my fellow faculty members and friends. Ella,the fish, the birdies and I will sit here and watch the winds from my 2nd story. I've stocked up on water (they turn off the water - I never could figure that one out. I mean, we're getting MORE water - leave it on!), tons of batteries and a bottle of wine. What else do ya need? I just hope the power stays on -- it's up around 100 degrees these days with a minimum humidity reading of 97% and even though I hate air conditioning and am always cold, I don't want to think about an extended period of time without it.

JP is supposed to come to town Thursday. Wanna take bets on whether the flight makes it? I bet it does. I bet this thing is gonna blow through Wednesday before I get to finish the bottle of wine -- certainly before I go through all this bottled water.

In the meantime, I'll try and do some work, maybe some blogging, singing with the birdies and maybe even get on the elliptical since my running is definitely gonna be curtailed. That's all provided we keep electric power going. Otherwise, I'm gonna high tail it to the nearest hotel room (that has electricity, i.e., air conditioning) with the birdies and the dog. The fish don't care.