The Inside.

The house is ready, you can come visit now.

Downstairs

The banister at Hyde Park Inn, Austin, TX.

Trellis

Plant growing up a trellis at Hyde Park Inn in Austin, TX.

Hyde Park Inn

Two weekends ago, Thomas and I check ourselves in to the beautiful Hyde Park Inn Bed and Breakfast. I used to live in Hyde Park and love the neighborhood, but have never stayed here on vacation. The house was just gorgeous and the price was right too! Our room was small, wood-paneled and balconied, and very, very comfortable.
It overlooked the pool. Thomas was still nursing his ankle sprain, a nice cool soak helped a lot at the end of the day.
That's our balcony.
Breakfast was served daily in the elegant dining room underneath us.
Fancy!
Breakfast was granola with berries and angel-food cake and some sort of egg-cheese-tortilla bake. There are so many places I love eating in Austin I expect yumminess and our kind hostess did not disappoint. She was very careful to have vegetarian options for us as well.
The formal sitting room contained many elegant, breakable things. They let us stay there anyways, which I though was sweet. In addition to all of the pretty things this room also contained a bowl of Hershey's Kisses, so it was pretty much my favorite place.
What great old home would be complete with out a great old porch? That's a very comfy swing, by the way.
Too hot right now to make much use of the outdoor dining table but I bet some great meals have been had here. I love old houses and this one is just stunning. The proprietors should really be commended on how much love they've given this place. We'd definitely go again.

House

Farm house on a sunny day in Dominica.

Burned Down House

This is the house down the street from me that burned down a couple of months ago.
It still smells like a bar and there is soot all over the sidewalk. You can see how the intense heat melted the shingles. For the longest time there were timbers poking out of the roof like burnt ribs. I missed getting a picture of that. The demolition has been going very slowly, I guess to facilitate various investigations.
There is soot all over the sidewalk.Despite serious damage to the interior and roof, the outside--stone and brick facade, windows, doors--is surprisingly pristine. I'm not sure if they'll try to salvage what's intact or do a total tear down. Either way, will the smoke smell ever leave?

Old House

I came across this old farm house in Plano right next to the Dart station and across the street from Haggard park, where the International Festival was held. I think it's beautiful and wish I could see the inside.

Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill in Seattle has beautiful houses with fantastique gardens.
I want to live in one!

The Troll

The Fremont Troll lives in Fremont. His hidey-hole is under the Aurora Bridge.
He eats VW bugs and is made of rebar.
This is me and the Troll.
Nearby grow some lovely cosmos.