Some months go by without much happening, others are full of activity. October was an active month. It may have something to do with temperature, we moved into nice cool autumn and it is as if people came out of a reverse hibernation, all of a sudden there was a lot going on.

Well, we have a new roof. It was in the works for quite a while but we finally got it organized. In selecting shingle color I looked for the lightest shade possible. It always struck me that in a hot climate, black roof is not a very good idea, and yet dark gray seems to predominate in Houston. We went with a light maroon and will have to wait until next year to see if it makes any difference. Every little bit helps. The roof was quite old, in fact it was two roofs. There was a wood shingle roof (probably the original - a result of a mass folly, since wooden roofs are an obvious fire hazard and now you cannot even get it insured) covered with composition shingles. Both were getting pretty old and when it started to rain very hard we had to have strategically located basins in the attic to prevent more extensive water damage. It was time! The whole procedure took three days (there is part of a car port which still remains to be done since they ran out of shingles and have them on back order). A group of Mexicans in running shoes climbed up on the roof and using pitchforks stripped the old shingles.
(Click on the picture to see a collage of the whole process.) The roof is pretty steep and of course full of nails and so I was a little worried about one of them falling off. But I guess the ones who tend to fall off, move into different lines of work. We were very lucky, since they started until now we had excellent weather with no rain. Hope it continues until they can finish the little piece that remains. Then we will have to wait for good rain to see how it holds up. In Houston, we probably will not have to wait very long. Now, if I could elevate the house by another 3 feet or so, I would feel quite safe.

October is a month of festivals in Houston and appropriately Octoberfest is one of them. It takes place in a house with a large garden located just north of downtown. It belongs to a German Singing Association and when it was formed (end of 19th century) the house must have been well beyond town limits. They put this on every year as a fund raiser and do a good job. Sausages, sauerkraut, beer and music. You would be surprised how a couple of beers can change otherwise respectable grown up people into fierce chicken dance competitors.

The other big fall even is the Renaissance Festival. We heard about it in Dallas.
(there are more pictures behind this one, double click it). Recreation of medieval England, people in period costumes, jousting competitions, overpriced sausages on a stick, turkey legs and expensive flat beer. Sounds kind of hokey - so we never went. Until this year. In the final analysis it is a little hokey and costs $20 per head to get in, but: it is located in very pretty pine covered rolling country less than an hour's drive from home. You can buy a discounted ticket ($17) at a Shell station on the way. And it is BIG! Several streets of pseudo-medieval architecture, lots of shops with trinkets, many venues with free entertainment (the one that sticks in my mind consisted of two jugglers getting a volunteer from the audience to hold a carrot in her mouth and then trying to cut it of with a big knife which they were juggling along with few other objects. They came very close to her nose - I would have been very uncomfortable.) But the best part is that it is not only the employees of the fair that dress up, a significant proportion of the visitors (maybe 20%) also wear clothes they normally do not put on when they go to the office. Some of them obviously take the whole thing very seriously. Inspiration for altered identities is not limited to medieval England but extends to covers of soft-cover science fiction romances and thus truly spans the galaxy. If there are any visiting aliens from other solar systems, they could easily hide here.

With Halloween only a few days away, the neighborhood is getting decorated again. My favored display reflects some of the more recent political realities - click on the picture and read the sign.








This is just a counter. If you click on it it will take you somewhere else but you can always return to my page by using the back button at the upper left part of your browser.