posted by Innertube on Feb 7
That time of year again and, once again, I’ll be missing it!
Well, not all of it. Friday was the official kickoff for this year’s festivities, with the first of the parties and parades scheduled for Friday and Saturday, so yesterday Tippy and I leashed up and headed over to the seawall for our mid-morning walk, timing it just so we could hopefully catch a little bit of one of the opening-weekend parades down Seawall Boulevard.
Float in Seawall Boulevard evening parade
The weather could not have been more perfect—it was an absolutely gorgeous morning, with searingly blue skies and mild temperatures that brought the people out in droves. And yes, they were everywhere, dressed in all their Mardi Gras finery and dripping in multicolored beads no doubt collected along the Strand the night before.
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posted by Innertube on Jan 21
Not exactly breaking news on CNN or anything, and nothing remotely significant for those of you out there in the world at large, but for the residents at 4806 Avenue O in the enduring burg known as Galveston, Texas—feline, canine, and, especially, this old monkey—a new backyard fence is, well, huge!
Tippy's new backyard kennel
They say that fences make for good neighbors. And while I’m sure that’s true, I’m also certain that they make for fewer lawsuits, especially when a frequent inhabitant of said fenced backyard is one up and coming American Pit Bull Terrier.
That would be Tippy, of course.
So, like a responsible citizen, not to mention paranoid owner of a potentially lethal canine breed, I began interviewing contractors to see if I could find one who could actually put up a simple chain-link fence. All I wanted to do was finish enclosing the already partially fenced backyard, and also construct a small dog run/kennel in the rear corner. All just chain-link, folks. Keep the dog in, keep it simple, nothing special. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Innertube on Jan 5
What ever happened to our alleged subtropical climate? What happened to the mild winters and extended growing season for flowers and fronds that I was so looking forward to? WHERE THE HECK IS GLOBAL WARMING WHEN WE NEED IT?!
Christmas Tippit
Okay, so with island temperatures slated to drop into the upper 20s by Thursday night, I’m off to wrap five outdoor faucets and all the copper water pipe feeding the garage apartment behind the house.
The pipe, although technically indoors, is nevertheless entirely exposed, the former owner of the property having never insulated or sheetrocked the ceiling or walls of the two-bay garage below the apartment.
The logic of this omission, perhaps, was that (a) it doesn’t freeze around these parts (ha!) and/or (b) should there be another inundation due to hurricane, with no insulation or sheetrock in the garage, there would be that much less soggy, moldy building material to tear out and replace. Although (a) has proven to be a vicious lie, the logic behind (b) does have some merit.
Fortunately, I have a new puppy, Tippit, to help me. (You were wondering how I was going to weave her into this story, weren’t you?) Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Innertube on Dec 6
Is this unbelievable or what?
Of course, I had been keeping up with the ongoing dilemma of what to do about all those grand old live oaks that were ravaged by the saltwater surge due to Hurricane Ike, stately sentinels that for a century had adorned the lovely Victorian section of Galveston called the East End. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Innertube on Nov 12
An historic treasure has returned to the island, even if every single board of it is brand spanking new. Murdochs is back!
Murdochs on the beach
After being completely destroyed by Ike’s wrath exactly fourteen months ago tomorrow, construction to rebuild this landmark tourist favorite has been in progress for some time now.
Early reports had the grand reopening scheduled for spring of 2010 so I was a little surprised, when driving by this afternoon, to see the front doors flung wide and a bright YES WE’RE OPEN sign taped to the glass. Ever the impassioned roving reporter, I decided to stop in and check things out. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Innertube on Nov 9
But probably not due to Tropical Storm Ida, downgraded now from hurricane status and graciously giving Galveston a wide berth.
Splish-splash!
Hopefully, this storm is the last, as the nervous season here on the island winds down to a happily uneventful close.
I took this shot on the way home from the grocery store earlier this afternoon.
Too bad a little two-dimensional Web photo can’t capture the full experience. Take my word for it, though—there was some rockin’ and rollin’ going on out there today. Very invigorating! And as one who’s piloted a small boat in chop like this before, let me tell you it’ll wake you up—and make you very glad to once again put your feet on solid ground!
