Las Manitas is - was - is - a downtown Austin landmark for the last 25 yeras. "Was" because it closed its doors yesterday to make way for an oh-so-Austin Marriott. "Is" for two reasons - one, we don't know yet for sure that they won't re-open in a new location, though it won't be the same, not being able to walk through to the back patio, and, two, because just as other Austin landmarks lost to us (Armadillo World Headquarters comes to mind), it will always be with us in our hearts, a little bit of Austin's soul, a little bit of what made Austin a place we want to live. We're slowly losing more and more of those as people love Austin, move to Austin, then change Austin to make it less what they moved here to experience and more the very places they moved from. What's next? Filling in Barton Springs Pool and building a swimming pool in its place?
There's been quite a bit of talk about the closing. Some of it is shared here
Texas Monthly Eat My Words: End of an Era: Austin's Las Manitas: Closed.
HotelChatter: Austin's Las Manitas Shuttered to Make Way for Marriott
ValleyWag: SXSW Hangover Joint Closes
Stevey: R.I.P. Las Manitas in Austin, TX
Austin Business Journal: Las Manitas Closes
Of course, this isn't the only time that Las Manitas has been covered by blogs and media. Some past reviews:
And the list goes on. We'll hope that they'll open in a new location - but it won't be the same.
The sign said it best, and it applies not only to Las Manitas, but to so many local treasures, buildings, businesses, countryside, that made (and make) Austin the desirable place to live that it is, things that have given way to replacements that could be found in any city anywhere in this country:
“Here was fought the battle for Austin’s soul. Austin lost.”
Las Manitas is, granted, just one. How many more can we afford to lose before we become Anywhere, U.S.A.?
Every year (this will be the 11th), the Austin Museum Partnership and member museum in the Austin area hold a city-wide, discover (or rediscover) Austin Museums Day - for free!
This is a great chance to get out and explore the numerous museums in the Austin area, ones you've seen before, ones you didn't know existed. You certainly can't beat the price!
This year, the date is September 14, 2008.
Museums participating are:
Austin Museum of Art - Downtown (I prefer Laguna Gloria, myself, but it's not on the tour)
Austin Nature & Science Center
Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
Butridge Gallery at the Dougherty Arts Center
George Washington Carver Museum
The German Free School (German-Texas Heritage Society)
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
Mexican American Cultural Center
Beverly S. Sheffield Education Center
South Austin Museum of Popular Culture
Susanna Dickenson Museum
Texas Folklife Gallery - Downtown
Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve
The links above are to the actual websites. The link to the Austin Museums Day at top will show you what activities are going on at each museum to celebrate the day, and when.
This is by no means a complete listing of Austin museums, just the ones that are participating in this event. This should, however, certainly be enough to keep anyone busy for the day! Hope to run into you there!
Labor Day means different things to different people. Officially, it is the day set aside to honor all of those who labor, without whose work we wouldn't have the society we do today. Everyone is supposed to relax from their labors (except the folks in the stores, presumably, for the Labor Day Sales), have a cookout, a picnic, go out on the lake, etc.
Labor Day, in Texas, also has become synonymous as well with the First Day of Dove Season, falling as it does on or near the first of September, opening day.
This morning I went out on the porch and heard the pop! pop! pop! of shotguns that will be a familiar sound between now and the end of the season. The dove population is high this year, we've been noticing, the drought not withstanding. Should be good hunting and good eating for those partaking in this annual ritual that goes back into the mists of time.
Some folks who move to the country without doing their homework and with no familiarity with these customs, their first September 1 panic at the popping sound of guns on adjoining properties. (This doesn't sound anything like the gunfire you hear in the movies or on television, by the way.) I usually advise that, if they're concerned about injury to themselves or their livestock as a result, that they first check the county records for the number of people (not actual hunters) who have been injured by gunshot wounds as a result of dove hunting in the country over the past, oh, 50 years or so. These are, after all, shotguns that are being used. Such research serves as reassurance. Likewise with the claim that their horses will panic at the sound of gunfire. Well, no, they won't, not unless YOU panic and they follow your lead. Mine don't even look up from the Very Important Business of Grazing, when dove hunting is going on in the pastures to the right and left of them. Neither do the cattle that are grazing in those pastures.
Even if you don't participate yourself, try to enjoy the sound, at dawn and dusk, of an historical country tradition - your neighbors hunting in a time-honored tradition.
During all of the hooplah and media coverage of Hurricane Gustav, I've been more than usually interested in every detail. My daughter Jess will be moving to the Cayman Islands for 3 months mid-September, and her friend Chad will be there as well (more about this in another blog). My son P.J., with his lady, Nicole, is supposed to be spending a 3 day weekend in mid-September in New Orleans. In addition, hurricanes in the Gulf can impact Central Texas, not only in weather, but in folks evacuating from coastal areas and needing shelter from the storm for them and their animals. Naturally, I followed Gustav's path and development with some concern.
To that end, I turned to my preferred internet weather information provider, wunderground. I had not realized before, since I generally use wunderground to track local storms, that it has its own set of blogs having to do with the weather. Over the past few days, I've been following Jeff Masters' blog predominantly - it's a great combination of technical information and down to earth, what-does-this-really-mean, plain English explanations of what's going on. Plus, he adds comments from folks who are on the ground in the impacted areas, which REALLY helps. It's a great resource.
He's got me hooked. When weather of a major import strikes again, you can be sure I'll be heading to wunderblogs, more than the mainstream media, to get the facts. Blogging strikes again!
With Gustav bearing down on the coast, and evacuations in progress, one of the major problems is finding stabling for those whose evacuees include their equine family members. A lot of arrangements are made on a one on one basis, or on equine lists at YahooGroups and such. However, the Horze Gazette has a wonderful resource, their Emergency Layup Directory, which lists facilities and individuals who have space for evacuated horses.
Please, spread the word on this one. It's terrifying to be running from a storm with horses, even worse to not know where you're going to be able to keep them until you can return home.
If you're able to take in extra horses in an emergency situation (which means, of course, being able to quarantine them in some fashion from your own), by all means let the Horse Gazette know. It's one way we can help those who are in harm's way.
"The Agent With Horse Sense" On your side whether you're buying or selling, whether it's a horse property or a house in town.
With a background raising Morgan horses and as a personal chef (among a myriad of other things, including legal assistant, small business owner, mother, middle management for a state agency, and several more), "The Agent With Horse Sense" is well-suited to find that perfect (or potentially perfect) horse property, find the perfect kitchen for the cooking enthusiast, and everything in between. My strong point for Buyers is that I listen - I don't try to sell you what's available, I strive to understand what you truly want and find that for you, whatever that might be.
For Sellers, I can give advice on how to best prepare your property to appeal to buyers (for example, I understand that, for most horse people, "The barn is more important than the house"), how to price it, negotiations, and all the other details involved in a successful sale, from the time you list until the last t is crossed and the last i is dotted at closing. In addition to the usual exposure offered by most agents, I know the special places where your property needs to be highlighted to appeal to the market that is seeking exactly that property. I try to look ahead and predict what bumps are likely to be in the road and know how to avoid/smooth them before we get there. Marketing unique properties requires thinking outside the box, as well as in it (you never know where you'll find that special buyer for your special property), and that's another area where I put my past experiences to work.
While I handle a wide variety of properties, some touch my heartstrings just a little extra.
Among those is rural properties, especially those for horses - I know the difference between "horse suitable" and "acres". Having not only helped clients find their perfect horse property, but searched for and purchased my own, I know how important fencing, horse shelters, access to water, kinds of soil and grasses, distance to the local feed store, agricultural exemptions, and such are. When you're looking for a horse property specialist, you want someone who understands these things - and, most especially, who knows what your horses need and understands that they are a part of the family.
Another interest is in helping to see that our world is just as beautiful and inhabitable for our grandchildren as it is today. To that end, I've attained my EcoBroker® certification and am constantly studying and learning ways to make homes not only more friendly ecologically but more comfortable and economical at the same time, thus serving today and the future.
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