Techies

When Shorty and I went to some Electronic Records Management training provided by our city's IT department, we dropped in on a few former library employees and our friends. We were treated to a tour of the "brains" of the city --- all these servers and back up systems and stuff. Pretty cool but I am no techy so I won't pretend to tell you what all these things are or what they do. I can tell you the guys seem proud to show it off and Shorty was very impressed by the volumn of equipment. Just row after row of all these cabinets!

The Big Kahuna

For lunch, we decided to try this new Vietnamese restaurant a friend had recommended. It's located about 1.5 miles north on San Pedro Avenue as you leave the library. It was delicious! Very authentic and reasonably priced. I had a pork/chicken sandwich and Mark had the lemongrass chicken on vermicelli noodle. The fresh spring rolls were excellent, the best we have found in town in my opinion.

They have not remodeled the place so it looks the same as the last restaurant that was there but they'll get around to it I was told. There's wifi and some entertainment planned for some of the space.

News Van

I saw this local news van the other day on the way home from work. I thought it somewhat funny that the news has to stop for gas too. :D

Theme Dayish: What Annoys Me About San Antonio

I saw this the other day and thought it was pretty and looked like some kind of pretty foreign script, BUT I really don't like grafitti on places that it is not sanctioned on. This is on the wall of the Central Library in downtown San Antonio. I consider most grafitti art, but only when the owners of public building allow it.

San Pedro Springs

We stopped and strolled around San Pedro Park the other day. It was nippy but warm enough to draw out many families for playing and grilling and just being outside. It was really nice. When I was this young, I also was drawn to any water. This little girl had to be told to go play while it's still light and then splash water later. She didn't budge.

Rodeo Time

It's that time of year again --- Rodeo SA. It's not as big an event as Fiesta (coming up in April) but there is a lot going on for the rodeo and it's not just calf roping and so on. There are lots of concerts, fairs and other festive activities. This is also big enough that it kicks the Spurs out of the AT&T arena for about 20 days or so and the boys go on an extent road trip to accommodate the event.

This is a sign we saw on the Frost Bank building as we drove south on Main. They seem to have a huge banner for the big events in town so we're waiting to see if they put one up for Fiesta. They are a big name here in SA.

Copper Kitchen at Southwest Craft Center

The Copper Kitchen is a wonderful, somewhat hidden gem at the Craft Center behind the library. This is one of the dining rooms, late in the afternoon otherwise it would be packed. Shorty and I grabbed our late lunch after the jaunt for photo ops at the Center. Great sandwiches, soups, cakes and yummy fruit bowls.

Inspection Station

I pass this inspection station every day on the way to drop off my nephew at school. I've never actually seen it open, so I don't know if it's in service or not, but what I noticed about this station is their creative rendering of the state of Texas. Look at the left hand side of the photo, near the bottom. :D

And then there was three...maybe two...

Yesterday Sarah and I met up to check out the new yarn store in SA, Yarnivore. Loved it. Smaller than Yarn Barn but very comfortable (with two sofas) and a nice knitter who answered a few pressing questions we've had on our minds. We'll definitely go back. Then we checked out a new restaurant called Oodles and chatted for hours. And whipped out our cameras once or twice. Naturally. Here's where Sarah tells me she's retiring from the DP. We're going to miss you Sarah!

You might have noticed that our blog is a little more sporadic in postings and that Sonia and Sarah rarely post anymore. So much is going on and with the girls at different libraries now (and Sonia not being able to find her cable to upload photos), I think our blog will probably be moving to the City Blogs list soon. My job has changed quite a bit as well and so I feel awful whenever we can get a daily shot up b/c I love doing this DP. When I go about life, I am almost always thinking, "oh, that would be a cool shot for the DP. Also, I so love reading the comments everyone makes. We will see what happens but if you don't find us in the daily list in the near future, you'll understand why.

Shadows on Wall

I took a pic similar to this a while ago, also on the wall of the Central Library's garage, but I could not forgo this shadow play. I love how you can see the details of the trees that are casting the shadows on the wall.

Blackbirds in Tree

I took this pic at the Southwest School of Art and Craft when Thien and I were over there for lunch yesterday. The children's nursey rhyme about blackbirds baked in a pie kept going through my head the rest of the day.

CSPAN's Book TV Bus

The San Antonio Public Library hosted CSPAN's Book TV Bus today at the Central Library. It was also supposed to make an appearance at Guerra Library, but had to cancel due to technical problems (the production lab being on the fritz). I was too chicken to go inside, but Thien was nice enough to do a drive by on the way back from lunch so I could get a pic.

Sunday Work

It's a beautiful day today. Blue skies and about 67 degrees. That's quite a change from the past week or two. Came in to work for a few hours. This is the view (not from my office) from 4th floor offices facing north. I like the looks of the church against the sky.

Control Valve

I've been trying to be better and taking the stairs more. I hadn't never really noticed this before, but on this day I happened to have my camera handy, and this struck me as funny, so I snapped away. I was thinking to myself as I chuckled, "I think we all need one of these."

Arctic Blast SA

Technically taken in SA as we were driving home on Tuesday, when the worst of the cold front was pushing through the area. It was exciting because it's something different and we very, very rarely get this kind of cold weather. The temperature lingered around and below freezing for several days, freezing the rain that was coming down. Shorty and I were talking about the cool sounds of the trees as they rocked with the wind. The ice on the limbs made the sound a bit spooky but we liked it! Shorty got some great shots of the ice formations and though they are in Floresville, just south of SA, I'm pushing her to post one of them for tomorrow. Go on, Shorty!

Freeze!

At least they are good natured about it all. Sonia and I passed these officers as we drove down Main downtown near the library. I did make sure to ask them for the photo before doing it just in case they have a problem with being snapped. We did wonder what they planned to do if some car zoomed by really really fast...hope quickly on the bike? Call for backup??

Stop at the blinking lights

Caught by a train. It seems when you are in a hurry this usually happens. Well, at least it's another opportunity to check out the camera and look around for a shot. And to check out the graffiti on the train cars.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Snow cones now?!

This is located at the San Fernando Cathedral downtown and a little old lady usually is selling the snow cones but as Sonia and I drove by today, I noticed she had disappeared! Sonia theorized she must have run inside, possibly to warm up?? It is so chilly out today (in the 50s) that I'm not surprised no one is buying a snow cone today. She's here EVERYDAY, rain or shine. Much like the postal workers!

Just Married

An ending and a new beginning, both of the year, and of this couple's single and married life.

More art and another bird

Hi everyone! Sorry about not posting for a while. With the holidays on us all and travels here and there, our posting fell behind. We still had a few visitors so thank you for coming back to check us out!

This is another art piece that has been donated to the library. It now sits in the lobby at the Central Library building downtown. It's a non-traditional holiday tree but I think of it as a tower. I like the cut paper designs and the light inside (though you can't fully appreciate the lighting affect since the lobby is always so lit up). I don't really understand the bird on top. And no, that is not a real bird though it's fooled many people. I wish there was a star on top or something else maybe. The bird just doesn't do it for me.

Click here for a close-up of the top.

The Birds!

When we leave the library and go south on Main, we pass the artpace gallery and I just love the place. Currently, this is the exhibit and I haven't gone in so I don't know any information about the artist or work. But I think it's pretty cool looking.

To see a different view and have a closer look click here.

Happy Tummy

This afternoon Mark and I went to Saigon Express on McCollough. I have heard several people say they've been there and of course people always ask me about it and since I had not been, I couldn't tell them anything.

I was turned off by their not-so-attractive exterior but we took the plunge and went inside. I thougth this was a nice little alter for good luck and continued blessings for the business. You see these alters in some restaurants, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai I've noticed. Many are not this nice so I snapped a shot.

Oh right, the food. Pretty darn yummy gang. We need to go as a group to see what you think. I had the equivalent of the Noodle House P31 (grilled pork with shrimp on vermicelli and fresh vegetables) and Mark had the lunch special sweet and sour chicken. Both were very delicious. I was particularly impressed by the freshness of the veggies. We also had an order of summer rolls (the fresh ones) and it was very good though a bit heavy on the veggies. The menu also included quite a number of vegetarian dishes. Two thumbs up on the food. Decor could use a little work.

Basketball Season

Thien mentioned going to a Spurs game and combined with college basketball there are always games to watch and keep track of.

I never was a big basketball fan until I went to Indiana University (a HUGE basketball school) and until I moved to San Antonio (a HUGE basketball city...since that is our only major league team!).

In the photo I was watching Duke play Indiana at a favorite sports bar, Fox and Hound.

Spurs Time!

My husband and I love the Spurs (even when they lose when they SHOULDN'T) and we get to go once in a while the AT&T Center. Last Friday night we saw the Spurs beat up the Clippers, very cool. That night was cold and drizzly, which seemed to slow people down in getting to the game as you can tell by the empty seats as the game started. By the end of the first quarter, we were full.

Some people complain that the Center is not very nice but we think it is actually quite a huge improvement over watching a game at the Alamodome, which was built for an NFL team, not NBA. There's just something about seeing in a game in person that is so exciting!

Have a great weekend!

Hi everyone, we saw this sign as we sat at a red light. It made me smile and I thought it was a nice sentiment. Everyone have a great weekend. I will probably not post until Monday. Not sure if the girls will be able to either. Tonight we go to the Spurs game and tomorrow we travel to visit family in Austin, north of here. Christmas season is here so it's off to two parties tomorrow night. Who knows, there might be some opportunities for DP photos. We'll see.

Northstar Mall

Lots of shopping going on around town. I'm almost done with mine but had to run to Northstar for a gift pick up. This is my favorite mall though there are several big malls in town, and now there are even shopping destinations like La Cantera and the Forum.

Northstar is located centrally so it's easy for most people to get to which means lots of congestion around this time of year. I don't even bother driving in that area Friday, Saturday and Sunday. CRAZINESS over there.

If you want a closer look at the famous boots, check out this shot. The boots recently got a cleaning, translation: a new paint job. It even made the news two nights in a row, that's how interested people are in those boots. Kind of funny. You will also notice there is a banner hung up with the boots. This refers to Tony Parker, of Spurs fame, and his gal Eva Longoria, yes, of Desperate Housewives fame. They just got engaged a couple of weeks ago. People are crazy for news of them. For the record, MY favorite player is Tim Duncan but I did want to post what's going on with other San Antonians.

Parking Meter Lamp

Yesterday's errand to get a parking card for Sonia turned into a photo opportunity when we got to the parking division office! Check out this funny lamp we saw. It would have been really funny if you have to insert coins in order to power up the lamp!

After this, the drive back was super adventurous (a bit of a scare) and we are still a little jumpy from it. Picture those Volkswagon commercials, you know, where the friends are talking and all of a sudden, bam! They get hit by another vehicle. It was like that for us but thankfully no contact was made. There wereloud brakes screeching and smoke from the tires. But we lived to write about it.

Friday Lunch

We were both off today, and had an errand to run, so I met up with Thien at the FireBowl cafe in the Quarry that Thien posted about a few days ago. I love their decorations on the wall, and they have added some fun Christmas decorations as well. I love at this place, you can pick your own veggies from a salad bar type area to include in your rice or noodle dish!

Alamodome

Taken out front of the Alamodome, where the NBA team Spurs used to play. Now it plays host to football bowl games, conferences, NCAA playoffs, and other events. It is also where we went recently for our city health fair!

Quarry Cinema

Sarah posted a shot of Quarry Market before. This is the theatre that is located there. It's two stories and in a great location for before or after shopping (Pottery Barn, Gap, Hallmark, etc.), dining (EZ's, PF Chang's, Alexanders, etc.), book browsing (Borders) or dessert (Amy's Ice Creams)!

Sun Rays

Another beautiful morning in SA and Seguin as well. Lately we have had the greatest weather. Cold at night, in the 30s and 40s, and then a lovely 70-80 during the day, no humidity. For South Texas, this is like heaven! To me anyway.

The sky was so clear on this morning and as I watched the sunrise, I caught these rays. Thought it looked pretty neat.

Tomorrow the library closes for a couple of days for everyone to eat, shop and decorate. In my case, I will eat and rest. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday. We'll try to post when possible.

Shiloh

I saw this yesterday on my way to Knit Nite. I thought it was funny because I thought of Angelie Jolie and her new baby. I do like the style of it though.

edit: Sunday, August 12, 2007
I'm still not sure about the story behind Shiloh, but I went there recently and the text seemed to have been painted over.

Knit Nite @ Ruta Maya's

Here's a lefty teaching another lefty how to knit.

Piñatas

I pass by this building everyday on the way to drop my nephew off at school. It's on the westside of San Antonio, Couples St. I think. I like the look of the painted lady—she always makes me think of an anime chickie.

Downtown Building

I snapped this building because I was struck by all the different bar styles or grills on such a small building. This is just a block south of the Central Library on Soledad. I kind of like it even with all its funny "textures."

Golden Parachute

I love the way this looks. I think the net is there to keep bird droppings and such off library patron heads, but I liked what the shadows and light created.

Hey Ladies...

I just had to post this picture when I saw how red this clown's hair had turned out. He was in the vanguard of the Veteran's parade. I think he was with the Shriner's.

Veteran's Day Parade

I came into town to do some work while my sister was at some thingie or other. I was lucky enough to be able to catch some of the Veteran's Parade. I walked along with them to the stopping point, snapping pictures along the way. I was in a bit of a quandry about which one to post, but I like the waving flags, the color guard and the crowd in this shot, so this is what you all got.

A big THANK YOU and MUCHAS GRACIAS to all veterans out there.

Jellyfish

Taken by my husband at SeaWorld.

I guess most people don't think of San Antonio as a tourist destination, but we are a large conference city. There is a SeaWorld in Orlando, San Diego and here.

Mini Pineapple

This is the cutest little thing I've seen lately and it cracked me up. We went to Central Market again on Broadway. Hope everyone has a great weekend. We are closed tomorrow here at the SA Public Library so I will not be posting since my connection is very slow at home.

Funny Sight to See

I am not sure what this building is but I just had to have a shot. Didn't have time to stop and find out. You should have seen the movement of the truck as my friend tried to pull over after I yelled oh please stop by there so I can shoot that! I do that a lot now. I wish I could win the lottery, quit my job, craft and travel around SA for shots. ;)

Graffiti

I was at a stoplight and I thought this was a funny site I was seeing. It looked as if the young man was showing off some of the artwork. Maybe he was the artist? I'm not sure. They strolled up and down the wall, stopping to gaze and discuss. This wall has been the home of some of the nicest graffiti art in town. One artist's work was featured in a Pepsi commercial several years ago.

No Entrance

We were coming back from lunch when we saw the fire truck pausing in front of the library. I was like heck, I bet we're not going to get a chance to go in, and we didn't. It wasn't too long of a wait, as it's been in the past, but I had to tote around my lunch until we got a chance to go in.

SA Zoo

I went to the Zoo yesterday as part of the City of SA's celebration for employees celebrating their 5, 10 or 15 anniversary of service. Hard to believe I've been here so long already (really 11.3 years, don't ask me why it takes a year of planning before I got to celebrate).

I'm from North Carolina and we have a state zoo there, which is different from SA, which is a city zoo. Here the zoo is in town and so land is limited though the zoo is a decent size. In NC, it was set out in a rural area in the center of the state (pretty much) and so there was a lot of room for the zoo and animals to spread out. Just a little difference I noticed.

Don't know who this couple is but they had a lot of fun with the snake folks. I did not touch it. FYI. More zoo pics here -- SA Zoo.

Westside Tree

We were at my sisters mother-in-law's house having a yard sale this day. I would have rather been at the airshow, but since the base isn't too far from here I still got to experience some of it. We got to see a good look at a stealth fighter.

Anyway I took this pic because I love this tree. It reminds me of a tree we had in the backyard when I was growing up. I don't know if it's the same kind of tree, but I get the same kind of feeling from it.

H.E.B. Central Market

I feel like a kid in a candy store when I go to the Gucci H.E.B. (AKA H.E.B. Central Market on Broadway). Look at all the selection of food and that's just the center aisle. To the left of this was the asian and sandwhich ordering stations. To the right was the meals packed and ready to go, to the front was more asian foods, also nicely packaged and ready to go.

I got a medly of asian food to go: sweet and sour pork—minus the sauce, a spring roll (fried) and some summer rolls (not fried).

The blurry image to the front of the pic is a woman in fatigues. There was a lot of soldiers about that day, I reckon because Fort Sam Houston is not too far from it.

Cruising

Sorry this took so long to post, I had computer problems. As some of you might know, I recently got married and we went on a cruise for our honeymoon. It was so much fun! We visited Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and Cozumel, Mexico. In each location we did a lot of snorkeling, but our favorite was here in the Cayman Islands where we got to swim with the stingrays. It was awesome, I know everyone is like, "how scary, especially after the Steve Irwin thing," but it wasn't like that. There was a lot of us and no one got hurt. The stingrays were so big and they felt weird. They just swam around our legs. It was super cool!

Dry Ice

Yep, that's ice she's holding but luckily she did not get a freeze burn. October/November means it's party time in SA. Actually, when is it not party time here? Let's see, Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls, Veteran's Day and then we roll into Christmas season. Wow.

It was a bit warm in SA this week so the ice did not last long though long enough to chill the punch.