Where Do YOU Volunteer?

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Ben Gomez Volunteers. Do You?

Multilingual and wonderfully unique in so many ways, 97-year-old Ben Gomez serves as a goodwill ambassador at the Old Bakery and Emporium in downtown Austin, Texas. Ben always has a smile and he truly enjoys helping visitors get oriented to our great city. In any language, Ben is un gran voluntario!



Bill Aguayo Volunteers. Do You?

At 67, Bill Aguayo helps Austin Habitat For Humanity build as many homes as possible. With his enthusiasm and leadership qualities, he not only is able to work on the construction of the homes, but he serves as a fundraiser from the corporate sector that will only give money and send volunteers if Bill is their lead on the team!



Marie Lou Volunteers. Do You?

At 82 years of age, she's been honored numerous times over the years, including a KVUE Five Who Care Award. For two decades Marie Lou Ledesma has managed the crafts closet at South Austin Senior Center where she tracks donations, organizes materials for use by the crafters, and generally makes sure all the crafters have what they need. She lifts the spirits of the volunteer artists who make crafts there, and the Center benefits through the funds raised by the sale of all crafts made at the Center. Best of all, everyone who knows her loves and respects who she is and what she does.

Food: Fish Tacos at El Arroyo

I'm not a fan.
I love fish tacos, but these are pretty lame. Priced at $8.50, you get two fish tacos (each with an ungenerous portion of bland talapia), a small pile of rice and a small bowl of black beans. Ok, the beans were good.
If you want fish tacos, go to Taco Deli. Or Polvo's. Or La Fuente. There are other places in Austin too where you can get quite yummy fish tacos. El Arroyo has been around a long time. They have a lot of fun with the sign in front of the store, that's cute. But skip the fish tacos until they start serving 'em with a little flavor.

Is This Art?

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McCarty General Store


The Sun Shines on Capital Area Food Bank


Light Lines


Studio Blues

Gruene, Texas

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Happiness On The River

Tree Rings (thanks Rebecca for the title!)

Holy Ceramics!

Cephas Glover at Gruene Hall

Spot of Beauty

Another Spot of Beauty

Pea Cocky

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Photowalk: Around Downtown

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Violet Crown, Downtown Austin

Bridge DNA

Long Center Short Story

The Skyline Is Growing Like Weeds!

City In Bloom

Food: Torchy's Taco's

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Pictured here is my lunch on April 12 from Torchy's Taco's (South Austin
Trailer Park & Eatery location). On the left is the Green Chili Pork
Taco (roasted pork carnitas simmered with green chilis and topped off
with queso fresco, cilantro, onions, and a wedge of lime, served on a corn
tortilla with green sauce on the side) and on the right is The Republican
(Grilled jalapeno sausage, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, in a flour tortilla
served with poblano ranch sauce on the side). Both were quite tasty.
Both were three bucks.
JeffCam rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (4 out of 5 hearts)

Composition: Clean & Simple

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Swinging From The Trees

Headshots: Belly Dancer Helen Ingram

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Food: Phil's Ice House

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Phil's Ice House: The Allendale Burger

Phil's Ice House, located on Burnet Road at Northland (http://www.philsicehouse.com), makes a dozen varieties of burger along with some awesome french fries and a few other sides. For a cheeseburger, fries and cup of water, the cost is just under $8 with tax.

The burger itself is pretty good, basically the same patty that hundreds of other restaurants get from the same wholesalers. It's not the thickest patty around but far meatier than those nasty fast food chains.

Unfortunately Phil's gave me a bad first impression by skimping on a tiny serving of fries. I took the basket back to the counter and asked "Do you guys normally give a stingy little serving of fries like this?" and the nice lady replied "yes ... but would you like more?" So all was not lost.

The fries are totally delicious; they serve a mix of regular potato and sweet potato fries. I can't understand why more places don't serve sweet potato fries! The bun was very bready; I don't like when it feels like there's way more bread than burger.

Overall I felt that eight bucks was too steep for a burger, fries and water. Unfortunately that's the going rate these days at Dans, Fran's, Five Guys (best burger in town, in my opinion), Hillbert's and the other good burger joints. Sadly, the days of a $5 burger, fries and coke are long gone.

Phil's Ice House: The Patio

ACC: Classmate Portraits

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Leanne



Emily



Joe



Amanda



Nicca

"Out There In The World"

My friend Rama told me recently that Sam and I seem like we enjoy "being out there in the world." She meant that we like to go out and do things, explore and play and have fun. She's right. We get out there a lot. Sam's quite an explorer, and he's growing into a good hiker. Yeah!

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Swinging From The Trees

Throwing Rocks at McKinney Falls

It's A Wonderful World

Photo Walk: Zilker Botanical Garden

Located on 30 acres inside Zilker Park in beautiful Austin, Texas, Zilker Botanical Garden has often been called “the jewel in the heart of Austin”. Theme gardens such as rose, herb and Japanese garden are interconnected with streams, waterfalls and Koi-filled ponds. The Hartman Prehistoric Garden recreates local dinosaur habitat. Recently I spent an afternoon shooting in the Garden; below are a few of my favorite finds.

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Trouble In Paradise



Green Is Good



Water Softener