High art - Texas style

The parents came to Austin for a Fall visit, before our beautiful weather begins to get serious. For the first time in years I'll have a real winter! At least temperature-wise, since snow rarely happens in our corner of the US. Dinner with Susan's sorority began the fun, resulting in bellies full of tasty Tex-Mex and our first family photo in ages:



The following couple of days brought football fun (another win for UT!), a wonderful breakfast Sunday morning with Austin friends and family at Mother's (all Natural) Cafe and Garden, then a walk around the surrounding neighborhood of Hyde Park.



Our jaunt led us to a group of bag pipers practicing in a park next to the Elizabet Ney Museum. Bag pipes have such an ancient, poignant sound and I can never hear them without pausing to listen. I suppose I get it from my parents who bee-lined it to the impromptu performance. Once we'd had our fill, we took refuge from the increasingly warm day by ducking into the studio of Ms. Ney. Although I had never been to her museum, I realized immediately I knew her work. She is probably one of our state's most prominent sculptors, having immortalized numerous Texas historical figures, including Stephen F. Austin (with us, below). What's more, she was a world renowned artist in her own day, having received lengthy, intimate commissions with royalty around the world, most notably in Bavaria where she spent time at the Neuschwanstein Castle. Now, there are museums devoted to her all around the world! But, she called Austin home, and her works and studio here were gifted to the University of Texas. All of this was accomplished by a female artist in the mid-1800s! What an exotic life to have led nearly 150 years ago.