by Phil Houseal | Oct 24, 2019 | All Articles, Education, Events, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
October 22, 2019–As with many a Halloween decorating scheme, this one started with a simple idea that got out of hand. In five years a few floating candles have blazed into a full-blown reproduction of the magical Diagon Alley from the world of Harry Potter books and...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 8, 2019 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Aug 7, 2019–As an elementary science teacher, I was perennially fascinated by the fascination dinosaurs held for all students. I now have a granddaughter who requested a dinosaur theme for her 3rd birthday, and she was talking Triceratops, not Barney. So when I...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 11, 2019 | All Articles, Events, Philosophy, Venue
July 10, 2019–There is an artist I want to see. She is coming to “a major theater” in “a nearby city,” so I went online to look at seating and pricing. All seats were $29.50. Giddyup. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. Like sprinkles at a 4-year-old’s...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 13, 2019 | All Articles, Education, Events, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
June 12, 2019–It was a gazillion years ago, but I was able to accomplish a rare financial feat–to finish college with more money than I started with. How? First, I was an extreme cheapskate. I lived in a one-room apartment with no appliances. I used the space between...
by Phil Houseal | May 30, 2019 | All Articles, History, People of the Hill Country, Venue
May 29, 2019–I’ll bet many of you have driven through the town of Hye, Texas, and not even realized you were passing by a 100-year-old dance hall. I know I’ve made that journey between Stonewall and Johnson City countless times, and only had eyes for the old...
by Phil Houseal | May 23, 2019 | All Articles, Events, Food, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
May 22, 2019–I first came to the Texas Hill Country in 1978. Yet I’d never visited Castell. Last weekend, I fixed that. The Castell General Store–which is essentially Castell–was celebrating its Testicle Festival. As auspicious an event as any for finding out...
