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The power of pie

September 12, 2006

My cousin Kathy and I pulled into the exurban edge of West Austin around 8 p.m. last night. We would have been home a bit sooner, but we had to make one last stop in Marble Falls at the Blue Bonnet Cafe.

 


The reason for delaying our return home from our “recapture our West Texas youth” tour by about 20 minutes was simple: The Blue Bonnet’s pie prowess.

Therestaurant is “world famous” for its food, especially its wide dessert section, which is limited to pies.

I know what you’re thinking. I’m in Texas and we Texans have been known to exaggerate now and again, but it is certifiably “Texas famous,” so that’s good enough by our standards.

However, the Blue Bonnet’s Web site does list the national publications that have included the café’s cuisine in their best-of lists (I’m not going to argue with “Road Food Magazine,” are you?), as well as its diverse customer list. That’s enough to qualify it for world renown in my book.

So it was a pie stop. One key bit of info you need when you drop by the Blue Bonnet: They don’t take credit cards, so have your $11 plus tax for a full pie purchase in cash.

As for the pie itself, I got the traditional Texas pecan and Kathy picked up a lemon meringue. I’ll let you know the results of my and the hubby’s personal taste test when we dive into the dish.

Financial bites: In the next day or so, once I sort through and tally all my sales receipts, I’ll also give you an accounting of the final cost of our trip. I also have to get Kathy’s accounting of what she picked up so we can reconcile our expenditures and make sure neither of us overpaid our shared travel expenses.

But I will not — repeat: NOT —  be providing any numbers on the pounds gained on our West Texas jaunt, pre- or post-Blue Bonnet pie!

We also took a few extra minutes to check out the view of Lake Marble Falls, essentially the stretch of the Colorado River between Lake LBJ and Lake Travis. The photo above is looking down river. The light was fading and it was a bit overcast, but it still was beautiful.


 

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TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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