Poker Night

Next Friday, May 8th, is Poker Night hosted by Rev. Mike Adams. All donations benefit the All Saints' Rector's Discretionary Fund. Come out next Friday, play cards, visit with friends, and root for the winner. It could be you :-)

Camping at Canyon Lake

Last week we went on our first TNT camping trip of 2009. You remember, the rainy weekend. The one where it poored all day on Friday. That weekend. Friday night - last bit of shopping - in the rain. Saturday morning - packed the car - in the rain. Drove to San Marcos - let the dogs stretch their legs - in the rain. Got to the park - SUNSHINE! It was steamy, but it was clear, sunny, and beautiful at the lake!

Lee and I carpooled to Canyon Lake on Saturday morning with a carload of food, charcoal, and gear. Cali and Ela rode in the back (and did fine until we started home). The ride was pleasant, and I only got us lost once - big thank you to Lee's iPhone for putting us back on course. Lee and I arrived a little before noon, checked in, set up camp, and had lunch. Misty, Brian, Rob, and Ewan arrived just as we decided to take the dogs for walk. Misty and Rob stayed at the site to set up their fabulous new luxury-accommodations tent (good looking, spacious, air mattress - the good life :-) while Brian and Ewan joined us for our walk along the lake shore.

A note about the shoreline - the water level at the lake seemed very low. There was a lot of beach between the regular shoreline and the water. And the beach was absolutely covered with nickel-sized clam shells. Lots and lots and lots of shells. Lots. We looked at the Potter's Creek campground website when we made the reservation, but none of us had been there before and the photos on the website didn't tell us much. The lake is blue, clear and cold, shallow at the beach, and deep at the dock. Some sites have trees, some don't. Some have level ground good for a tent. Some don't. So here is my advice: If you go tent camping at Potter's creek, register for a site away from the lake. The sites closer to the lake seem less workable than the ones further away. We registered for sites 98, 99, and 100. We parked vehicles at all three but we set up camp at site 100 - it was much nicer than the other two sites.

As we returned from our walk Lindsay called to let us know that she and Don were delayed in town but still planned to join us. We took some time to soak-in the music from our neighbors (Rob's reactions were a riot) and watch Cali and Ela go nuts on their zip lines when the deer came strolling through the campsite. We also got a call from a mysterious new person named Cas. Cas wanted to know if there was still room to join us. We started with one slot open and then Henry had been forced to drop out that morning - we missed you Henry - so we had plenty of room and Cas decided to join us. He arrived in the middle of the afternoon with a new tent, ice to top up the coolers, and a complete willingness to do dangerous-but-helpful things with lighter-fluid on our behalf. Welcome Cas!

Don and Lindsay made it to the campsite a little before dinner time. The charcoal was hot and they set to work chopping vegetables, Top Ramin (the seasoning packets are important here), and ground turkey to make their traditional "hobo dinner." Lee and I grilled some veg, made a salad, roasted some corn with tomatoes and chilies, and charred some chicken fajitas. Brian and Misty contributed sausages and buns (many flavors of sausage selected by the "we can't make up our mind so bring everything" method). Misty taught us to eat radishes whole - yummy! We all shared our dinners & coolers full of beverages, and we supped mightily.

As the sun went down we stretched our legs, read, drifted in the hammock, and enjoyed the twilight. Eventually the air began to cool and the food coma wore off and we gathered around the camp table to play Apples to Apples. We roasted marshmallows over the last of the coals and made smores. The milky way made a brief appearance over the lake, but as the temperature mellowed some whispy clouds settled in and the sky relaxed for the evening.

The next morning I rolled out of my tent early and went up the hill to the bathhouse for a shower. Ela was asleep at the foot of my tent, so I left her there. When I came back a few people were up and Misty was walking Ela. Apparently Ela got up when I left and barked the rest of the campsite into the new day - my bad. Misty had just rescued the poor noisemaker from my tent when I started back down the hill from the bathhouse. We met in the middle then walked down to start the coffee.

We enjoyed a restful breakfast, discussed the virtues of Turkey Bacon (every piece looks *exactly* like every other piece), and spent some more time at the shore. I spent the morning quietly wishing for a kite. I'll put it on the list for next time. We broke camp a little before noon. Everybody seemed interested in another campout - I'm certainly looking forward to the next one.

Here are some more photos from the trip. They are in a Set at Flickr, presented here via a Slideoo. Click on the + to advance the slides. Click on the - to back up. The + and - are hidden until you hover your mouse over them (on the left and right edges of the Slideoo). The hidden bar at the bottom of the Slideoo will let you slide through the pictures.





The full size Flickr slideshow is here.

The photo set is here.

Spiritual Growth Retreat

Just wanted to let you know that the Episcopal Church Women are hosting a Spiritual Growth Retreat on 13-14 March 2009. The retreat will be held at Camp Allen. The deadline for signing up is 06 March 2009. The registration form can be found on the Spiritual Growth page (scroll all the way down) on the Diocese of Texas ECW website.

The topic for this year is Getting Closer to God Through Trials presented by the Reverend Bobbie Knowles. Below is the description of the retreat from the ECW brochure:

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:28 that, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” James 1:2 says, “Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many
kinds.” Through her experiences The Rev. Bobbie Knowles will
help you realize how you too can get closer to God through the trials you experience. You will learn that God’s grace is really sufficient to get you through any and every situation in your life. You will discover that
when your trials seem too hard to bear, God does provide a way of escape and through those trials you emerge a much stronger person. Because of the many trials in her own life Rev. Bobbie has learned that there is always grace within the trials
one encounters. She also realizes that when we come close to breaking down, we begin to touch those things that break us and in that breaking, our true nature
emerges. Only then do we appreciate that we are actually strong enough to bear these trials and that is when we begin to allow God to get closer to us, as we get
closer to Him.

Rev. Roberta Knowles, aka Rev. Bobbie, has been the Vicar at St. Philip the Joy-Giver Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas since June 2007 after serving as the Assistant Priest of St. James Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas.

And here are some great reasons to attend the retreat:

• Establish, re-establish or deepen their personal relationship with
  Christ.
• Learn how to yield to the actions of the Holy Spirit and experience His presence as He works in and through them.
• Join with other Christian women in sharing the trials in their own lives as they discover they are not alone.
• Meet new people and make new friends.

I will be attending the retreat, and would love to see some of the All Saints' Twenties and Thirties ladies there!

Christmas Caroling

What a great turnout! Thank you everyone for coming!

Yesterday was All Saints' annual caroling trip. Thirty people (including quite a few from our Twenties and Thirties group) met at the church, divided in to two teams, and carpooled out to visit homes throughout the city. We sang "Angels We Have Heard On High", "Silent Night", "Good King Wenceslas", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and other caroling favorites and we enjoyed cookies, punch, and conversation with the folks we visited.

I had a great time. If you couldn't make it this year put it on your calendar for next year (we usually go the week before Christmas).

All Saints' Twenties and Thirties Women attend Episcopal Church Women Annual Retreat

Last weekend was the Diocese of Texas Episcopal Church Women Annual Meeting and Retreat. Four Twenties and Thirties members attended the retreat: LisaDiane Etheredge, Misty Hopper, Lindsay Porter, and Lee Read.

The retreat is two days at Camp Allen, including fellowship, worship, and workshops. The weekend started with an opening service. Bishops Wimberly, High and Harrison were present. Also, Canon to the Ordinary Ann Norman and Bishop-elect Andy Doyle were at the service. There is a banquet on Friday night; during the banquet we elect new officers for the Diocesan ECW. I was nominated (prior to the meeting) to be Communication Chair on the Diocese of Texas ECW Board of Directors. Lee, Lindsay, and Misty were good enough to vote "aye" to elect me and the rest of the new board members.

We attended three workshops. Our first workshop was How can I keep from singing with Brother Gallagher of Holy Cross Monastery. We were not, in fact, able to keep from singing. We practically sang ourselves hoarse. We sang some songs we knew, and some we didn't, but we sang with gusto, and some of us sang with skill - I won't name names ;-)

Our second workshop was Top ten misconceptions about the Saints, led by the Reverend Mary Vano of St. David's Austin. The presentation was interesting, and there was some fun discussion. Among other things we learned that St. Clare is the patron saint of television.

The final workshop we attended was Walking the Labyrinth with All Saints' own Elizabeth Gibson. Elizabeth gave a great introduction about preparing to walk. We got to spend plenty of time on the Labyrinth, and I believe we were all touched by the walk. The workshop was very popular - lots of different people from different churches attended, but there was a strong All Saints' showing!

The final organized event of the weekend was the Closing service, Morning prayer, including the installation of the new Diocese of Texas ECW Board of Directors. at the time of the retreat, the existing Diocesan ECW President was Anne Hart Rea, also an All Saints' parishioner. Her three year term came to a close at the Closing Service. She did a great job serving on the Diocesan ECW board. Everyone spoke well of her, and I am sure she will be missed. I have some big shoes to fill when it comes to representing All Saints' on the Diocesan ECW Board of Directors!

Misty, Lindsay, Lee, and I finished our weekend with a walk down a lovely trail. Camp Allen has lots of pine trees, and the ground was littered with needles and pine cones. We collected some pine cones for the kids at All Saints' to use to decorate advent wreaths the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Austin Convocation Twenties and Thirties Picnic

We are organizing a picnic for young adults in the Austin Convocation. The event will be held at Northwest District Park in Austin on Saturday, July 19, 2008 from 11:00am to 1:00 pm. We hope this event will foster fellowship and communication amongst the young adults at the various parishes in the Austin area.

This is a family friendly event - children are welcome. Bring your family :-)

All Saints' will provide hamburgers, hotdogs, veggieburgers, and condiments. Please bring a side or dessert to share. We have the OK from the city for beer and wine at the picnic.

We have reserved Area C at the park. The park has a public swimming pool (small admission fee to swim), playgrounds, ballfields, indoor restrooms, and plenty of parking.

Click here for a Google map of Northwest Park.

Hope to see you there!

- Joey

Eeyore's Birthday 2008

Hope, Diego, Trent, Billy, Lindsay, LD, and I went out to Pease Park on Saturday for the 45th annual celebration of Eeyore’s Birthday in Austin. It was a beautiful day to play outside - moderate temperature, cool breeze, bratwurst, and beer. We spent the day people watching, wandering past vendor’s booths and through drum circles, and cheering for the jugglers and the band.

I am glad we went out to the park early in the day. The park really started to fill up by 2:00 and I enjoyed walking through the park before the crowd got very big. Of course a big part of the fun is the crowd and there was a lot to see this year, but I was moving slow that morning and needed the time to warm up.

LD, Billy, and I met Hope and Diego at the bean bag toss at about 11:30. Trent joined us a few minutes later. I ate too much blue cotton candy and watched Diego decorate the world with sidewalk chalk. Tigger was on stage to hand out prizes for the kid's costume contest. Trent and I browsed through all of the booths but could not find honey sandwiches, honey cones, honey candy, or honey wheat beer anywhere at the party - this seems like a serious thematic oversight on the part of the vendors.


We stayed until mid-afternoon, but after the sack races we took one more turn through the big drum circle, past the "free hugs" sign and headed back up the hill and out of the park for an early raspa dinner at Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs (mmmm... more sugar).

See you there next year.

- Joey

Camping at Guadalupe River State Park

Hi all!

Don - thanks for posting your pictures from the trip. I like the picture of Brian and Ewan very much.

The TNT trip to Guadalupe River State Park was splendid. Early Saturday morning LD drove out with Lindsey and Don to stake our claim to some adjoined campsites (a reservation guarantees campsites but does not specify which campsites - like open admission at the ballpark). They chose nice sites - reasonably separated from neighbors, vehicles, roads, and each other by a screen of trees, yet close enough to each other to allow us to share one fire ring. From our campsite it was a short hike to the river and the amphitheater and it was just a brief stroll to the playground and the bathhouse (a campsite with electricity and hot showers - luxurious!). If I didn't say it over the weekend - Lindsey, Don, LD, thank you.

When I go camping I (as a general rule) do so with the intention of putting a little distance between me and other people. To facilitate this, I associate camping with backpacking. I am more familiar with packing for a backpacking trip than packing for a camping trip where the car will be no more than a few feet away. That said, I got a little carried away by the freedom that came with a car worth of space - I packed enough chairs, cookware, boardgames, and food to furnish and stock a small apartment. And I wasn't the only one. Don and Lindsey had more than adequately provisioned their van and Brian and Robert, who got to the park just before me, brought their own car-load of supplies.

I arrived at the park just in time to lock my car and join the others for a hike. We chose a well marked trail and headed off into the brush. The trail meandered through gold meadows and from time to time we caught a nice view through the trees to the river sixty feet below us. We followed the trail about an hour in a winding loop that led back to our campsite. There we we met up with Misty and Ewan and began to set up camp.

When the tents were up a few of us set out to find a way down to the river. The hillside was not difficult, but just before we reached the river we came to the top of a limestone embankment about twenty feet tall. After a few minutes search (and a superb clifftop jog - the cliff is out away from the trees and the sunshine felt good (maybe I just don't get out of the office enough)) we found a fissure down which we scrambled into a briar patch though which we limboed to reach a trail at the bank of the river. We walked a little way down the trail and came upon a group of anglers. Misty asked one of them for directions back to camp. She politely informed Misty that a trail wide enough to drive a truck on was only a few feet from where we were standing. We eventually used that trail to get back to camp, but I liked our way better.

We spent the night on traditional camping activities: roasting potatoes, sharing dinner (including Don and Lindsey's 'Hobo Dinner' recipe), making smores, drinking hot chocolate, and telling stories around the fire. It was nice to spend some free time with friends. It was nice to see the stars.



In the morning we had a big breakfast of rolls and fruit, bacon and eggs, tea and hot cereal. Don and I stayed at camp to play Pente while everyone else went down to the river and the playground. At lunch we roasted hot dogs, and cooked sauerkraut and beans over the fire. We broke camp a just before two o'clock and drove home in a gentle rain that began just after we left the park.

I am looking forward to our next camping trip. Maybe something in mid-summer to better accommodate swimming :-)
- Joey