Entry #31

Entry #31

Saturday, January 7

7:30 p.m. We’ve decided that it would be a good idea for the kids to start cooking meals with us, and Noah's first suggestion was homemade pizza. He got as far as pouring the yeast into warm water, then ended up talking to a friend for more than an hour. Guess who ended up learning how to make pizza dough?

David and Aidan didn’t get home until nearly 7:00 p.m., since they went to the archery range, something that David promised Aidan since he purchased a bow with gift money from his uncle. (Aidan likes to point out that he does NOT want to hunt; he just likes aiming at targets, most of which he’s drawn on a large cardboard box.) 


David told Noah he should come with them the next time, forewarning that the store/office was decorated with taxidermy. Before Noah had a chance to respond, Aidan said, “There are trophy heads on every wall in every place in Texas, so get used to it.”

Sunday, January 8

7:00 p.m. We ventured to Houston today, taking the kids to their first art class at The Glassell Junior School, an affiliate of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. While they were at class, David, Izzie and I walked around the Museum District.

What’s really unusual about this area, and Houston in general, is that the layout of this sprawling metropolis is completely unpredictable. While most museum areas are strictly public spheres, in Houston there are two enormous private residences just across the street from the MFA, one of which has a topiary “herd” of longhorn bulls displayed in the manicured front yard. (The bull’s balls are big enough to see clearly from the sidewalk.) Sidestreets are all residential, too, with lots of sprawling yards and gracious homes.

After class, we drove through an area called The Heights, and were pleasantly surprised to see an array of charming Victorians, bungalows, Craftsman homes, and interesting contemporary ones, too. We also drove by some esoteric museums, including a Dali-esque “art car” museum and a telephone museum. (I imagined the displays there getting smaller and smaller and smaller...)

Before crossing the railroad tracks, we got stopped by a seemingly endless train, so we parked and went in a place called “Heights Station,” which looked potentially interesting. The entry featured the usual tired furniture and trinkets, but the back of the store was chock-filled with an array of entertaining (and wildly overpriced) memorabilia.

There were countless signed autographs by musicians, entertainers, and athletes, Southern artifacts, a vertiable Elvis shrine, and a surprising amount of Grateful Dead memorabilia, including a guitar pick signed by Jerry Garcia. I had no idea that John Travolta recorded his own album, nor that an sloppily autographed magazine cover of George Lopez could fetch $99 (or at least be priced this high).

I can understand that the Frank Sinatra/Sammy David Jr./Liza Minelli ticket might be valuable, since two of the three are now-deceased legends, but George Lopez?

What surprised me most were the ebony-glazed Aunt Jemima and Uncle Mose salt and pepper shakers, asking $199 for the pair. I guess they can be viewed as historic artifacts or purely offensive. Take your pick.

We quickly learned the meaning of “the wrong side of the tracks” once the world’s longest train finally departed. Within minutes, the area changed from charming to downtrodden. Now I understand how the guy who sold David his car said he lived “near” The Heights. It was close in distance, but otherwise, a complete world away.

Monday, January 9

11:00 a.m. For the first time since last night, the rain is finally starting to abate. I think Texas might be heading out of the drought if this keeps up. I’ve never seen so much water pour down for so many hours on end, with nonstop lightning and thunder. Aidan asked if school was going to be canceled because it was so dark and wet. I grew up having the occasional “snow” day, but never a “rain” day. The only time schools shut down here is when they have ice storms, which I have yet to see.

4:00 p.m. To keep the kids upbeat at the beginning of the school week, I told them we’d have “Ice Cream Monday” on Mondays (as opposed to sundaes on Sundays, I guess). We usually end up going to one of the frozen yogurt places around here. Today, the kids wanted to go to Orange Leaf, mainly because they like tasting as many samples as possible then serving themselves in cauldron-size cups. Aidan also likes the fact that they have mochi bits there (a type of Japanese dessert made with sweet rice flour).

The yogurt store is adjacent to a tanning salon. I happened to look into the salon as we passed and noticed that the very bored-looking receptionist talking on her cell phone was a distinctive shade of orange. It’s good to take advantage of employee discounts, but there comes a time to draw the line...

Tuesday, January 10

9:30 a.m. While driving the kids to school, someone was trailing me a bit too closely. I said something like, “I wish people would stop driving up my rear,” to which Noah retorted, “Seems like you need a ‘back horn.’” Now that would be a great invention!

It’s cold and gray and overcast today, a far cry from the balmy weather we had last week. I wore my duck boots for the first time in awhile and really appreciated the fact that I could walk through deep puddles with Izzie and still have dry feet. However, I realized that between my down vest, turtleneck and duck boots, I might as well be wearing a sign that says, “I'm not from around here" (or "Damn Yankee," more aptly). Perhaps I should bedazzle my vest.