2018 – JANUARY PLANNING MEETING

This post, 2018 – JANUARY PLANNING MEETING was written by Diva Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt Blog.

On the Thursday before our planning meeting the low temperature in my garden was 15°F – we’d need layers, I guess. But by the time we got together that weekend the middle sixties made it feel like spring so Mindy and Annie dressed accordingly.

Does the background in their photo give you a clue where we met?

Let’s go around the table – Karla (with a broken foot) joined Mattie and Sugar.

Sugar leans over to join Sophia and Mindy.

Now Mindy hangs with Buffy and Annie. Have you guessed the location yet? It’s a very special place.

Will colorful tableware filled with delicious food make you know where we are?

It was a wonderful breakfast and we loved being together. Then that final irresistible touch – croissants with strawberry butter.

Ta Da – it’s Chez Zee! (So glad Mattie took this photo and shared it.)

We set up the dates for the year’s garden projects, crossed our fingers and went back out into the real world.

This post, 2018 – JANUARY PLANNING MEETING was written by Diva Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt Blog.

2017 - JANUARY PLANNING MEETING

Although the winter of 2016-2017 as a whole was warmer than average, when the few really cold days hit they really hit! On the morning of the planned meeting day the low was 18F.

The Divas wanted to try a new restaurant and Sugar suggested Snooze – a Denver-based “A.M. dining experience”. It was crowded but the food was fine and they had a great time. On a hot day a crowded restaurant might not be fun, but on a cold day Crowded is Cozy!

It was a good start to the year ahead. http://snoozeeatery.com/locations/nlamar/

 (I’m not sure whether this photo came from Mattie or Mindy. Glinda (that’s me) blurred the photo to remove the other restaurant patrons.)

This post 2017 – JANUARY PLANNING MEETING was written by Diva Glinda/Annie in Austin for the DivasoftheDirt.blogspot.com blog.

2016 - JANUARY PLANNING MEETING

This post, 2016- January Planning Meeting, was written by Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt blog. 


January is the month we Divas of the Dirt hold our planning meeting. We've been to many local restaurants over the years and been sad to see quite a few favorites close. How I wish we could still meet at Elsi's on Burnet!

Should we try an old favorite or a new one this year? How about this - some of the well-known Austin restaurants have several locations so let's try the far NW Austin branch of long-established Kerbey Lane. Since it's popular and busy, we'd better plan on a wait for a table.

Sophia and I got there first and got our names on the list, followed quite quickly by Karla and Mattie.

With Mindy arriving at almost the same time.

We chatted while we waited and before we knew it, five Divas of the Dirt were at a long rectangular table in the middle of the restaurant.

Soon Buffy arrived and a bit later Sugar and Annie came in.

Most of us had seen each other at Mattie's New Years Eve party, but the eight of us never seem to run out of news and conversation, no matter how often we're together.

The food was delicious - my choice was a Chicken Verde omelet.

but other Divas went for the Signature Dish of Kerbey Lane - those famous Gingerbread Pancakes!

The only drawback to the restaurant was how loud it was, making it very hard to discuss setting up the 2016 meetings. We managed to get that done, but as happens so often, our ideas of what would happen in 2016 bore little resemblance to what actually happened in 2016. The first two months went as planned before the schedule rapidly disintegrated under pressure of weird Central Texas weather, health issues, strange accidents and sad losses in our extended families.

But for that day - we were together! We had a great time, and were all fired up for a new gardening year.

This post, 2016- January Planning Meeting, was written by Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt blog.

2015 - January Planning Brunch at East Side Cafe

This post, "2015 - January Planning Brunch at East Side Cafe", was posted by AnnieinAustin/Diva Glinda to the divasofthedirt at blogspot dot com blog. If you are reading it elsewhere this copyrighted material has been used without permission. 

Our January meeting is a planning meeting - we leave the work clothes and garden gloves at home and head off to a local restaurant for conversation and brunch while we set up the calendars.
This year Sophia suggested a trip to East Side Cafe - one of those iconic places that make Austin into Austin.
Buffy immediately approved - she's such a fan that she bought their cookbook on her last visit. Some of us had been there before but it would be a first visit for others.


For brunch on a Saturday we'd need reservations - it's a very popular place. Mindy took care of the reservations and the usual flurry of emails followed, setting up carpools and sharing directions. 

The Divas of the Dirt had a great time at East Side Cafe - a pleasant room, well-made, inventive dishes with quality ingredients and as always, we had lots to talk about. The midday January sun streamed strongly through the windows, washing out the photos but sun is so welcome in mid-winter.

Mindy, Sophia, Sugar, Mattie and Karla are glad to be together.


Since Annie and Glinda were sitting on the shady side of the table they were the only Divas in focus that day!


Would that sun shine on our project days in 2015? Would we bake in heat or would we be rained out? Since this is Central Texas, the odds were that our workdays would swing wildly between hot, cool, wet, dry, overcast and sunny, muddy and dusty.

February was set as the first meeting of 2015 with Buffy taking her turn as hostess... you'll have to come back to find out!

This post, "2015 - January Planning Brunch at East Side Cafe", was posted by AnnieinAustin/Diva Glinda to the divasofthedirt at blogspot dot com blog. If you are reading it elsewhere this copyrighted material has been used without permission. 

2014 - January Planning Brunch at Satellite Bistro

This post, 2014 - January Planning Brunch at Satellite Bistro, was written by Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt blog.

When Mindy suggested that we have our 2014 planning brunch at a new place called the Satellite Bistro, we were intrigued and immediately said yes.

The year had started off with some very odd and unsettling events and we needed to be together somewhere fun.

The food was just fine (Salmon croquettes! Pecan Salad! Crab-stuffed Avocado Salad! Migas!) and we had a good time, but there is something weird about the Satellite's lighting that makes everyone really look out of this world ...


None of us has blue hair or blue teeth in real life!

Everyone was there but Mindy & Buffy's photos were blurred. Otherwise you might think they have blue hair and blue teeth, too.

This post, 2014- January Planning Brunch at Satellite Bistro, was written by Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt blog.

2012 January Planning Meeting

The Divas of the Dirt meet at a local restaurant every January to set months and make plans for the coming year. We had such a good time at Manny's Uptown Kitchen (near the Crate & Barrel on north Research Ave) in January 2011 that we decided to go back in 2012.

The previous rotating calendar wasn't working so we tossed it & started from scratch, with each Diva pulling the name of her month from the bowl.  Sophia will start off the year in February, we'll skip the hottest months and use early November as the 8th month. 

As always, the food at Manny's was utterly delicious!

and as always we had a great time catching up.

But gosh-darn it! We can't go back again... in February Manny's Kitchen announced that the restaurant would be closing. We're sorry that Manny's is gone, but very glad we got to be there.

2011- JANUARY PLANNING MEETING AT MANNY'S

Buffy had a craving for applewood bacon, so she suggested Manny's Uptown Kitchen for our annual planning meeting - we were glad she did. The Divas of the Dirt arrived at the Gateway Shopping Center in drizzle and mist on a gray Saturday morning.
In just a few minutes the people in charge had our group set up in the cozy & comfortable main room. Other commitments meant a few Divas of the Dirt had to leave early and/or come late. Diva-Sugar was out-of-state, so she couldn't be there at all. We set up the schedule for the year as best we could: Mattie was returning for sure but Sugar's return was still a question mark. And since we garden in Austin, the weather, as always, would be a bigger question mark.


There was no question about how we liked Manny's - the food was wonderful and the service impeccable. Pancakes! Omelets! Blintzes! Yum! Five of us lingered for conversation and decided we want to come back to Manny's another time.

NOT A NORMAL WINTER

It's already the end of March and we haven't completed a single Divas of the Dirt project!

The planning breakfast at Z-Tejas on 6th Street worked out fine with no more than the usual conflicts in dates. But we've had rain twice when we should have had a meeting. And it's been a very hard winter in our Divas of the Dirt gardens - this January we saw temperatures in the lower teens - not what we or our plants are used to- so our gardens need help!

Buffy had the Divas visit her house at the end of January - Mattie has taken a leave of absence for the time being and Diva Sugar, one of the original group of Divas, is now able to return to the group. It was sad to see that some plants - like Buffy's Staghorn- didn't make it
Others looked delicate, like Buffy's Acanthus AKA Grecian Pattern Plant, but came through the cold just fine


These succulents took a hit - guess some will grow again and others need to be replaced.
Sophia's magic microclimate of a front garden amazed me (Glinda) and Diva-Annie when we visited her in March -

Sophia's Four-Nerve Daisies were already to bloom


And Sophia's Yellow Bulbine - a plant that froze to black ribbons all over Austin - was alive, unfrozen, and budded for Spring. How does she do it?
Oz and I were ready when the Divas came here couple of weeks ago, but the heaviest lifting was done with a fork - we had a Soyrizo, Red Pepper, Potato, Cheese & Egg casserole, Corn Muffins and Blueberry muffins - accompanied by a thunderstorm and a downpour of more than an inch.

So no work - but we still enjoyed being together.

Fingers crossed for April!

Brunch at Trattoria Lisina

We Divas of the Dirt enjoy cooking for each other during the rest of the year, but in January we like to meet at a restaurant. The declared reason is that we need to set up the calendar of project days for the coming year but the real reason is that it's fun to be together.Mindy had already been out to Trattoria Lisina in Driftwood - she didn't have any trouble convincing us that we needed to see this Tuscan-inspired destination with its adjoining Mandola Winery. The winery is a venture of Damien Mandola who with restauranteer nephew Johnny Carrabba hosts the cooking show Cucina Sicilia on PBS. There may be cedar scrub all along the roadside on the drive out, but once you pull into the complex, you're in a Hill-Country version of Tuscany. Across the way is a young vineyard and the landscaping enhances the illusion.The food may be a little pricey but it was absolutely delicious - beginning with bubbly Prosecco, breads and olive oil. We moved on to Calamari and Bruscette topped with Cannellini Beans, Tomato/Basil and Chicken Liver...then finished with Gnocci, Clams, Pizza, Minestroni, Insalata, Cannelloni Lisina and Osso Buco.


Next time you see us we'll be back in our gardening clothes - here's hoping 2009 will be a good gardening year for all of you and all of us. Happy New Year from Buffy, Glinda, Sophia, Annie, Mindy, Karla & Mattie