Thanks Austin - 2013: Relax! You're in Austin!

Keeping up an annual tradition on FBtA, this post is about thanking Austin, as in six years it has become a rather beloved hometown for not only the two of us bloggers but our Texan-born twins as well.   Last year we thanked Austin for being reliably blue in a red state.  This year, after watching a short video from NYTimes.com that my stepmother sent me that highlights Austin's laid back style, I would like to give thanks to Austin for being warm, comforting, relatively accepting and cool all at the same time.  Hard to think of many cities of over half a million people that qualify as "mellow" and "laid back," but Austin is certainly both of those things.

Got Sunchokes? An Unusually Good November Haul at the Austin Farmers Market

Clockwise from far left:  Bok choy, watermelon radishes, mixed salad greens, whole garlic, persimmons, sunchokes (jerusalem artichokes), Dai Due roasting hen, heirloom tomatoes, Richardson Farms chicken sausage, pears, sweet peppers, poblano peppers

Texas Flood: Austin Gets Soaked, and No Statue is Spared

Credit: Reagan Hackleman (https://twitter.com/@rhackleman)

We got some serious rain a few days ago.  It was not a joke at all, as a lot of damage was done.  Nonetheless, one small bit of amusement that the storm begat was this photo that freelance photographer Reagan Hackleman took of the iconic Stevie Ray Vaughan statue at Auditorium Shores up to its waist (and last few frets) in water.  I wonder if Mr. Willie did any better?

HOW TO HELP:  Please consider helping victims of the flood.  If you are interested, there is plenty of useful information on the Statesman: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/how-to-help/nbdrt/.  Or contact the Austin Disaster Relief Network, American Red Cross, or Salvation Army.