out the front door...



boo bash sack racing



hays street bridge



siclovia



chalk it up

 

freckled streets



bright hues

 

diwali festival

 

accordian festival

wow. to think it's been since summer that i've last updated our blog.  time sure is flying by!  thanksgiving break is already around the corner.  last month we celebrated our one year in the house and the shots above are some of the awesome events we've been able to enjoy recently. 

the dig is heating up...

and i'm not talking about the weather...our dig hill neighborhood association voted to support the establishment of a microbrewery on a city owned lot located near the outer edges of our neighborhood.  there are of course different views and opinions on the issue everywhere.  from what i can tell by monday night's meeting, many are for it, some are skeptical, and a few are fervently opposed.  very interesting... it appears the city seems to think so too by the looks of these stories from sa current, ksat news, and the express news.

on a side note, dig hill is finally getting the much anticipated historic street signs installed.  woohoo!

we ♥ dignowity hill...

there are so many great initiatives in the works in dignowity hill and it has been an absolute thrill for us to be able to participate and contribute in any way that we can.  sometimes,  i reflect back on the preconceived notions i held about the neighborhood during the initial stages of our house hunting and  i always end up shaking my head in disbelief at how little i really knew about the community's history, significance, beauty, and people. it's like befriending the outcast and realizing, hey you're not as bad they said! ha, ten months in and we are absolutely DIGGING our community ;) ok, to the fun stuff.  let's see...

there's THE EASTSIDE SPROUT...

our community is starting up a second garden in dignowity hill at ella austin community center called the eastside sprout.  we are in the beginning stages and looking for volunteers of all skill levels and ages. we were just approved recently for funding by green spaces alliance and look forward to the fall season which will start off our first planting efforts. i wasn't a "dig" resident when the first community garden took off so i'm so excited to be a resident now and help out from the very beginning.  i'm so looking forward to meeting even more community members and enjoying the fruits of our labor together.

there is also THE EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE...

our community is also planning to build a partnership with saisd's bowden elementary, one of the elementary school's in our community.  as a teacher, this is right up my alley and i'm psyched to see that our committee is growing to include members outside of our community who really want to make a positive impact on the children. insight and support from communities in schools and san antonio youth literacy are really helping us build a strong foundation for our committee and we look forward to beginning a mentoring program in the fall and a "saturday school" type program in the spring. in this program, students and their parents will meet with volunteers and fellow community members who will teach a unique skill. we are currently still in the planning stages and hope to present our plan to the neighborhood soon so that we can start recruiting volunteers and mentors.

and there is THE FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE... 

 now, this one is really tony's baby.  but since i went to the last meeting for him, i have to share what may be in the works. it's a halloween block party.  that's all i'm throwing out since it's the very early stages of planning.  but many cool ideas were thrown around at the meeting and there's much potential for good ol' scary and neighborly fun in october.  it's gonna be a treat!

there's also talks of a MICROBREWERY... 

eugene simor, owner of alamo beer company, would like to build a microbrewery on a city owned corner lot near the restored haystreet bridge which is located in dignowity hill.  tony and i absolutely love this idea because it would bring more attention and economic interest to our side of town.  this will be san antonio's only microbrewery in the city and would help shine a light on the beauty of the dignowity hill historic district.  hopefully, it will also help others in the city think again about their preconceived notions about the eastside.  simor has already presented his plan to the city and neighborhood association and many of us our thrilled.  however, there are some residents who feel that the microbrewery would bring only traffic and noise into the neighborhood.  they feel that a skate park would be a better solution for the use of the city owned corner lot. the neighborhood association will take a vote this monday to choose its stance on the issue.  we'll be there!

and just yesterday, we attended a BURGER FEST!

so this isn't in the works since it just happened yesterday and it's not organized by our neighborhood per se, but still it's pretty awesome and just down the street,  it's the all-american burger festival! it was our first year to attend the event and we look forward to chowing down again next year.  yum!


what's in between your buns?



cheers...

the new year began with several firsts: hosting the new year's eve family party in sweet pea, making menudo with my mother and grandmother (yum!), and enjoying the fireworks at dignowity and lockwood parks which overlook the city. we walked to the park to see the city's annual downtown fireworks.  however, when we got there we were stunned to find out that we could also see fireworks being popped across san antonio. in neighborhoods stretched across the city, a rainbow of fireworks popped in and out of the distant horizon. and for once, the celebration of the new year was not one of just close friends and family but of community as well. cheers...

castro elves at work...

i remember growing up with neighbors sending a little sweet treat our way for the xmas holidays. i always thought it was a sweet gesture and of course couldn't wait to do the same. tony and i have yet to officially meet a couple of neighbors on our block and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. i love peppermint bark and have always wanted to make some, so i did.  tony found an amazing recipe from a coworker called brickle that he wanted to "kick up a notch", so he did.  mom castro told tony about a haystack recipe that he wanted to try, so he did that too. and voila!


peppermint bark, yummy



brickle, a perfect salty and sweet treat

haystack, butterscotch flavored crunchiness

adorable labels from amy pluck with a little castro touch

head elf
i thought it would be perfect to dress up tokyo as a reindeer and bring along...
but it didn't fly with tony.  maybe next year...