Monday, January 17, 2011

Scene & Heard: Bending Branch Winery, 6 p.m.


"With a wedding, there are two people getting married, but the wedding often takes on a life of its own. You end up looking around thinking, 'Who does all this belong to?'" — Woman chatting over a glass of wine with a friend in the tasting room

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Scene & Heard: North American Beekeeping Conference and Trade Show in Galveston, TX, 11 a.m.


"People always say the same thing: 'My local bee club sucks.' Bee clubs are all the same. All folks want to do is sit around drinking coffee and telling swarm stories... Develop a leadership roll in your club. Don't be a know-it-all, but work to become the go-to person. Help focus the club outwardly." — Bruce Boynton, NHB CEO, Firestone, Colorado (on how to take a more active roll in the world of beekeeping)



Thursday, January 06, 2011

25 Things I Learned How to Do in 2010


In my ongoing effort to impress you with my skills, I picked up a few new ones last year. I now know how to:

  1. Find my way around Austin
  2. Use an espresso machine
  3. Drive a stick shift (almost… I need to practice a bit more)
  4. Prepare Texas queso
  5. Identify three new wines based on their smell, taste, and appearance (vermentino, picpoul blank, tannat)
  6. Fold an origami tree ornament
  7. Properly use the phrase "y'all" (including the plural and possessive forms)
  8. Cook with bison
  9. Put together an event
  10. Ferment my own kombucha
  11. Make a shower curtain out of deflated birthday balloons
  12. Register a new LLC
  13. Play the bass (ditto the stick shift)
  14. Make my own gourmet soap
  15. Texas Two Step to Motown music
  16. Polish silver
  17. Use Quickbooks
  18. Grow outdoor plants indoors
  19. Bake gluten-free muffins
  20. Make a cake stand out of mismatched plates and tea cups
  21. Turn a dowdy skirt into a few dowdy snoods
  22. Meditate
  23. Fit backline onto a tiny stage
  24. Say the word "sin" in French
  25. Ask for help