The plan is, even though it's January, to spend a few days on a solo canoe trip either to Lake Travis or to Lake Georgetown. The problem is that I want this thing to sail, and the trip is less than 2 weeks away. This weekend and last I've worked on all the components: the yoke, the mast step, and the mast and boom. Sail cloth is being shipped from South Carolina (5 bucks a yard, 5.5 oz dacron sail cloth, ebay!). The paradigm has shifted: do not spend months trying to make a perfect rig- this will mean it never gets done. Instead just make the pieces, often out of scrap, and see how they work together. Then redesign and remake the beta pieces. If I think of it that way then everything moves much faster. But will it move fast enough for Jan. 21st trip? Pictured is the yoke, almost complete, standing on end without the keels attached.

BELLS!!!

My first write up. Who knew when I was 2 years old, banging away on that rainbow-colored Fisher Price xylophone, that it'd ever amount to anything?

DWH Does NOLA

Two weeks ago we played a packed house in down town New Orleans. We also rode the ferry, ate crawdads, drank Abita, and savored beignets. And payed way too much for parking.

Best Scout Campout Ever

A very generous patron donated his land for our Scout troop last weekend: both sides of Onion Creek for probably a mile stretch. Great weather and some fall foliage made it the perfect campout. Zero injuries and dinner from Poke-e-Joe's were the icing on the cake.

Christmas Time!

Thanksgiving was great- had good time with the family, and a little time to make the yoke for the canoe's sailing rig. Now, bring on Christmas! Two years ago a good friend (whose name I will not mention without permission, as is my policy) had the pleasure of hosting a party featuring a traveling bard of the Yule, Julian Koster, who had achieved world-wide notoriety playing with the Neutral Milk Hotel project. The evening was magical, and the performance was spell binding, combining music, storytelling, and magic tricks. The next year was a great year for us- luck, or something more? Either way, it was the perfect start to a season usually filled with consumerism and void of brotherly love.
This year our friend was again chosen for the honor of hosting Julian, and this time the Music Tapes also. The set was of glowing plastic lawn decorations, an old film projector, and a mystical piano playing automaton. More music, stories, and magic (still don't know how he does it!). Two short videos to give you the idea of the sounds we heard. The first is of the banjo played with a bow (there is a digital blip in the sound at one point). The second is the musical saw played over sweet old-timey music (and me giggling- those musical sheep were just so gosh-darned cute!). The camera captured some sort of spirit orbs on this one. Not surprised.

East Travis County

I've very seldom been to Eastern Travis County, and had never been on the stretch of the Colorado River that runs through it until yesterday. The family and I took out the canoe to enjoy each other and the Indian Summer. There were a few tiny rapids, and after paddling upstream (and at times upwind) to lunch on a small island, it was fun to ride them back down. We moved at times 4 mph without paddling, according to the GPS. The trip and this book made me want to plan a bigger canoe trip even more than I had before. I HAVE to finish the sailing rig first, though. My idea is to spend 3 days in the boat from Pace Bend to Grelle Nature Area and back, and I'm not paddling the whole 27 miles if I can help it.

Halloween

There is no other time like it. Especially when you're 12. I've always loved Halloween, even the year I was Wolfeman and it took 30 excruciating minutes for my mom to dispatch all the fake hair we had glued to my face. It is the epitome of childhood: creative, free, exciting (a little scary- the good kind), and mischievous. These things are lacking in adulthood. This is Miles as "Stick Man. A Glow-in-the-Dark Homage to Popular Flash Game Heroes".