Updates continue

We'll start with some humor -- Jason bought this magnet for his office while we were in Austin and it is hilariousity. I would like it blown up poster sized and hung in my home



So we headed home Monday afternoon and braved the traffic. Wasn't the best drive home ever, but it wasn't the mass hysteria I was ready for either. As we made the drive down 290 towards Houston, we looked around for the devestation that days of news viewing had prepped us for. The first hint was the billboards -- at some point they began to hang in tatters. Signs were busted out and as we drove on we started to see windows blown out in buildings, siding missing and entire walls blown off (sorry, titty bar at 34th). As we exited, we realized stop lights were no longer a part of this society, though the open McD's (well, at least the drive thru is open) was a beacon of hope. We arrived home to see our neighborhood like this:









That last one, if you can't tell, is where a tree crushed Karen's behind neighbor's iron gates. Bummer. I had never seen uprooted trees before and they are a sight. The grass pulls right up with them in sheets. It's insane. Course, it is nicer in the end than all the stumps we'll end up with. But this is a lucky neighborhood. Karen's BFF had her house hit with three trees and it just demolished the whole thing. We also went over to our house to check out the sunroom damage some more and see which tree did the deed (it was the pine I thought). We took 3 in of rain in there too and lemme just say the cleanup there was gross. Not to mention our kitchen toekicks were there so if they don't dry nicely, I may be...back at Ikea. Grrr. These took three months to get in, if you are keeping track



Must've been a scary storm, glad I wasn't here. But I was in Austin and it wasn't a bad gig. We had a blast hanging out with Andi and Chad over and over and eating our way through town. Jason and I made a commitment early on that we would not eat at a single chain restaurant while we were there (the Chik-fil-a we waited at while our room was getting ready didn't count). We did awesomely and hit up Baha Bob's, Opal Divine's, Pluckers, Backyard, Kerbey Lane, Zocalo's, Magnolia Cafe and even scored a home cooked meal out of Andrea. Not bad for refugees!











To pull ourselves away from the devastation online and on TV, we played a board game, Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture which we rocked at, visited the Capital and enjoyed the pretty Austin landscape and the odd people and places. Our favorite shop? Monkey see, Monkey do which had an amazing amount of cute monkey stuff and other funny things. I so want to be a sock monkey collector, but I am too cheap.







Anyways, there's our update. Today was just cutting and cleaning at both houses, and the job is certainly not done. As we drive around and see so many windows busted out, trees down, lights still out, lines for gas and so on, it reminds us that it will be awhile til normality returns. In the meantime, we'll enjoy our only two open restaurants -- Luby's and a Jack in the Box -- and count our blessings.