5 thing Friday - Georgian wine, Reel Science, We Are Blood, Turkey Trot, pipes

{I'm a little late posting today!}

This week I attended another wine tasting at Total Wine - this one with wines from Georgia (the country, not the state!) 

These tastings are very affordable - usually around $20 - and often include some culture or history.

And always charcuterie!  I like that they are close to home, on weeknights, and very informal.

One of the winemakers led the discussion in his very beautiful accent and taught us that wine making originated in Georgia and has an 8,000 year history!  He said the Georgian people refer to wine as a gift of the Gods and it is part of their culture. Wine is still being produced there in quevri - underground clay vessels.  I tried several varietals I have never heard of.  The whole thing was fascinating!

On Thursday night I attended a movie at the Rollins Theater at The Long Center in downtown Austin.  Some of the information presented was really over my head, but the film was very good and included a live broadcast from the research vessel which is just off the coast of Uruguay.  It included a Q&A session with the scientists, but it was waaay past my bedtime so I called it a night at 9 something.

When my birthday dawned, the first thought that popped into my head today was I MADE IT TO 65.  Seems like a worthy milestone, frankly.  I have outlived a parent, two siblings, a husband, and my in-laws.  I took myself to Rudy's for breakfast and journaled until time to do donate blood.

Why donate blood on my birthday?

*because I'm healthy

*because it can save a life

*because I can

A nice bonus is that I got a voucher for half a dozen Tiff's Treats, and you know that OF COURSE I picked the Dubai chocolate ones.  I ate two and made myself freeze the rest for my lunches!

I also traveled over to the Honda dealership to pick up my Turkey Trot packet. (the line looked insane but went fairly fast)  As tired as I have been lately and still with shoulder pain, I will be lucky to walk the actual 5 miles Thanksgiving morning, but I will give it my best shot.  I think this makes 6 or 7 times I have done the trot, not every year, and the second one I have done virtually.

These turkeys trotted together in 2020.

As a way to remember Mark at Thanksgiving, we smoke his pipes at the firepit.  I ran over to the tobacco shop and grabbed three different varieties of pipe tobacco and a small new pipe for either me or The Girl to use.  I am looking forward to relaxing on the patio with my peeps and giving thanks for spending time together as a family.  Happy Weekend!

Gina 

Going it alone, the recap

We are in the last quarter of the year - can you believe it?  In about 2 1/2 months we will be ushering in a brand new year.  This time last year I was making plans to "get out there" and enjoy life with fun stuff.  Concerts, movies, shows, trips to the park with lunch...all of it.  By myself.  Although the year is far from over, here is a recap of some of the fun things I have been up to!*

January - Saw "The Last Showgirl" movie,  started going out for weekly coffee to journal.

February - Went to "Mesmerize".

March - visited Umlauf Sculpture Garden, 

had lunch al fresco at Mayfield Park, volunteered at Texas International Wine Competition,

that's me in the background with a wrist brace...

and saw "My Dead Friend Zoe" at Alamo Drafthouse.

April - Saw Chicago in concert at ACL Live, 

they were very good!

and started meeting a friend for beer or coffee every month.

Turnstile

May - Saw "Human Nature" science movie at the Rollins Theater, attended "Summertime" by the Austin Symphony, 

These were actually great seats!

and went to 2 of the the Drop In concerts.

June - Saw Stick Figure, Stephen Marley, and the Hip Abduction at the Germania Amphitheater at Circuit of the Americas.

this was an amazing show, I was dancing the entire time!

July - Saw "Waitress" at Zach Theater,

and went to a Hendricks gin sampling at Total Wine.

August - Hatch Chile Sampling at Central Market, and met with new book club at Hop Squad Brewing.

September - Saw Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra at Bass Concert Hall, 

met with book club at Holdout Brewing, saw "A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey" movie.

October - Symphony at the Long Center (Star Wars),

navigating downtown Austin is its own adventure!

Black Violin at the Long Center, meeting with book club at Austin Beerworks, Saw "Good Fortune" movie.

November - meeting with book club #1 at Meanwhile Brewing and book club #2 at The Draught House, Georgian Wine Tasting at Total Wine,  "How Deep is Your Love" movie at the Rollins Theater, and walking the virtual Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.

December - Meeting with book club at Central Machine Works Brewing, taking a spirits class at Total Wine, seeing the Austin Symphony (Home Alone music), going to Christmas Eve service at St. John's.

All on my own.  And you never know - I just might add to this list!

What fun will 2026 bring? 

Gina

*For posterity's sake, I think I will come back to this post and update the photos as I finish up 2025

5 thing Friday - freezer restock, gum parker, frozen treats, fridge magnets, strip center

I took advantage of a dreary and rainy day to grocery shop and restock the freezer.  I had used up the previous supply fairly well, even with my limited cooking.

I bought a package of carnitas meat to season, cook, and shred for easy meals. I estimate each package of this I stored cost me around 88 cents.

Did the same with some frozen chicken I already had, too.  Each package is about 5 ounces of meat and is packed in snack size ziplocs within a gallon ziploc.

I also separated out some pre-seasoned tilapia filets and some link sausage.

Then I stocked up on frozen veggies for those nights when I cannot deal with cooking a fresh one.  And I bought some pantry items to finish out. I'm all set for simple dinners.

Cleaning the garage recently I found this little guy, bought in 1981.  When my mother picked me up at the end of my first year of college, we stopped and had lunch in Giddings, then visited a shop on the main drag.  We both saw this "gum parker" and laughed, so I bought it; I think I paid $2 for it.  He has such a weirdly human face.  I don't think I ever used it to park my gum in, but it makes me smile to see him again.  I added him to my sewing room which is becoming a place for mementos to live.

Andy's sent me a 2 for $10 coupon for a small concrete, so I headed over there yesterday afternoon and bought one to eat, one to freeze for later.  But they were both so good I could have eaten both of them in one sitting!  I've been doing well with my daily walks so I'm not too worried about treats.  Plus, its summer.  And I'm a good girl*.

The magnets arrived for the fridges at work.  Maybe when people stop to admire them they will notice that I added a magnetic cup on each fridge to hold a Sharpie and posted a laminated sign asking them to label and date their things.  I clean both fridges out once a month and it takes maybe 30 minutes. I think the work breakroom should be a nice place to eat lunch.

There's a somewhat old school and slightly seedy strip center near me that we used to visit often.  Over the years the businesses have changed here and there, but some of them are still around.  Its kind of a cultural mish mash of restaurants with some other small businesses sprinkled in: karate studio, coin shop, cleaners, bakery.  I think I will check out the Nepali and Indian restaurant next week, just for fun and adventure.

Happy June!

Gina

*something my mother would announce as she scooped up her daily ice cream.

A fun thing to do - Austin Creative Reuse

Years ago I helped one of my teens set up a volunteer shift at this thrifty creative place in Austin:

But can you believe I had never gone to it myself?  That's odd to me as I love places like Hob Lob, JoAnn, Michael's...and at thrift stores I always gravitate to any crafty sections that might have notions or supplies or fabric.

I stepped into the store and was immediately mesmerized.  Its like a garage sale in a highly creative and organized place!  And they were doing a pretty good business in the middle of the day.

I spent most of my time in the sewing section going through crochet doilies, cross stitch kits, buttons.  But they had sections full of holiday things, school supplies, doll accessories, jewelry, yarn.  So much stuff - like a candy store for crafters.

And I ended up with some things I had been thinking about for Christmas crafts.  Three large plastic ornaments to fill were 25 cents each, two bags of clothes pins for $1, a small doily for $1, and a big ziploc of buttons for $2 that included many antique ones made of shell.  Cheap thrills!

When I got home I filled the ornaments with bits and bobs of crochet edging my mother had made long ago, before she lost her sight.  It will be a safe place to store them and a pretty feminine touch to my bedroom tree this Christmas.  And I think I will make snowflakes with the clothespins to tie on gifts.  Have you thought about Christmas crafting lately?

Gina

Tourist in our town - The Long Center

Last week I took myself to the symphony. 

It was late in the day - an 8 p.m. concert on a Friday.  Which would not have been a bad idea had I just been laying around all day Friday, waiting to go.  But of course I had mowed both yards, spread the rest of the mulch in the backyard, did some housework and meal prep, visited with The Girl...

Let's just say that a late night before a work day is not for me anymore!

Anyhoo, it was held at The Long Center in downtown Austin, which is a beautiful place.

I sat on the 3rd floor in front of huge windows, sipping my adult bevvie while I waited for the concert to be seated, and admired the skyline.

The show was "Summertime" which included the Porgy and Bess opera by George Gershwin.  I'm no opera aficionado, but I did enjoy the talent of the orchestra and principal singers.  Its maybe the closest I will get to Broadway.

Which is fine, because The Long Center has so many interesting performances to see - right here in my hometown.  Including Black Violin which I have tickets for in October!

In the summer, there are also concerts on the patio with the city lights in the background.  Free every Thursday, with all kinds of high energy music.  Maybe I will grab a friend to come with.  Either way, this will be the summer of music for me with several fun things to attend!

Gina