Going Back to Houston, Part One

Dean Martin had a big hit in 1965 called Going Back to Houston. That has been running through my mind this morning as I looked at pictures from our recent trip to visit the Gibbs in Houston. I arrived Saturday, May 2; Kris had arrived the week before for an adventure in Canton (sorry, no photos). We had a great time; Debby is a great hostess. Of course, we ate ourselves silly, did some hunting and gathering, saw several movies, as well as spending excellent down time by the pool.

"HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS" - welcome to
the Baptist Bible Belt

The hibiscuses at Debby's are in bloom

Oporto Cafe for Portuguese tapas: fantastic

Central Market to get fixings for Sunday dinner

Debby kept me in shape with morning walks

One of the beautiful lakes in their neighborhood

Lunch at Americas: black beans and carnitas

The lovely ladies after lunch in the Woodlands

The next evening at Rice Village (near Rice University)

We were going to have dim sum but the place was closed on
Tuesdays (who knew Chinese celebrate 5 de Mayo?),
so we had a great meal at Ruggles in Rice Village instead

Ian drove us around downtown Houston -
this is the Medical Center near Rice University

Alison arrived on Wednesday and we went to Chuy's,
her favorite Mexican restaurant, for a 6 de Mayo supper

Kris, Alison, Debby, Hilary, Ian, and Brian (Ian's brother)

Ian made cheesecake for Sunday dinner, so I made the
trifle I had planned for Alison's homecoming instead

Thursday we spent in the Galleria neighborhood,
starting with a delicious lunch at Houston's

My favorite way to shop - you've gotta love
the great seating areas at Nordstrom's

We finally had dim sum back in Rice Village

A few of the yummy things at Yum Yum Cha

The next post is the second half of the adventure, so keep reading.

OXO

D.

Houston Trip 2009, Part Two

The fun just kept on going. On Friday, Hilary took the day off and we went to town again. We started with lunch at the Hobbit Cafe, a particular favorite of Katy Kathryn. It was charming and the food was really delicious. We stopped for cupcakes at a cool store called Crave Cupcakes before going downtown to the Angelika Film Center to see Valentino The Last Emperor, a documentary about Valentino Garavani, the famous Italian designer. For Project-Runway addicts like us, it was very interesting. That evening before dinner we visited Memorial Park in Houston. The late afternoon sun made it look particularly beautiful. We ate dinner at a most interesting place called Charivari, run by a Transylvanian chef. It is high-brow with a slightly dowdy European feeling. The service was intentionally slow and the crowd was mixed with a preponderance of older folks (it almost felt like a club). My pork cutlets were delicious.

Saturday we spent around the pool and for supper we had a cookout at home. Sunday after church, we flew home just in time for Mothers Day dinner with the family. I made and froze everything before I left, so preparation was a snap. We missed Ollie's birthday, so we celebrated with him on Mother's Day as well.

We thought of Katy Kathryn

Really delicious food - Deb and I didn't order, we just shared

The ladies at the Hobbit Cafe

Tasty cupcakes by the thousands disappear
from this place every day

Hilary with our share of the thousands

In the heart of downtown Houston

To the artsy film center to see Valentino

Two thumbs up

The Gibbs/Brown/Taylors, post film

Memorial Park on a beautiful afternoon

Supper at Charivari

Alison looks up from her book to pose for me

Kris sought the shade but still got some color

Hey that's Dickie!

The mothers on Mother's Day

Happy birthday, Ollie!

Thanks so much to Debby et al. We had a super-fun time. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

It's Just a Trip, Not a Secession

We are headed to Texas for a week. We will be returning on Mothers Day (family dinner at 6:00 instead of 5:00) and have no intention of seceding. Kris is already there with Debby experiencing first hand the wonders of Canton. Katy will take me to the airport tomorrow (Saturday) and I will join them in Houston. I will post a full report upon our return (that's a promise, not a threat).


That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Graduation Weekend

With lots of family in town there were many things going on apart from graduation. There was good food, visiting, reading, shopping, museum visits, and dinner at Emily's Sunday afternoon. Sadly, the Youngs left on Sunday morning; they were missed at the family dinner. Today (Monday), we took Grandmother to SLC to spend the week with her sisters. We stopped at Chadders for lunch on the way.

Thursday evening at Janet's

Saturday morning shopping with Finn

Finn examining the bubbles at the
Dan Steinhilber exhibit

A quick pause in the rain for a photo

A very sad parting as the Youngs left for Arizona

Princess Heaven at Em's on Sunday

Chocolate-faced princesses

Lunch at Chadder's in American Fork

Grandmother will be in SLC and Kris is off to Texas for a trip to Canton with Debra Sue, so things will be a bit dull here. We will be in touch if anything interesting develops. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Katy Kathryn Is a College Graduate

On Friday, 24 April 2009, Katy graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts. The family attended the College of Fine Arts Convocation in the de Jong Concert Hall where she was presented an empty envelope signifying the hope of an actual diploma. (It will be sent once every possible effort has been exhausted to extract an unpaid fee or discover some other undotted "i" or uncrossed "t" .) Later that afternoon many gathered at our home to wish her well and share a traditional graduation meal. The weather held and people stayed to visit even as a cold front began to move through, turning the evening chilly. It was a wonderful day marking a great accomplishment. We are proud of you, Katy.

The Y outside our window was
lighted especially for Katy

Wahoo!

Proud parents with the graduate

The family, supportive as always

Graduation salad, bread, strawberries, brownies and cookie bars

Steve, Tom, Aunt Vic, Jade, and Ann

Katy, Jeff, Taylor, Eliza, Hansen, Amy, and Millie

Unrestrained mirth, visiting, and lots of running around

The strawberries were a great hit
and disappeared completely

I'll report the rest of the weekend's activities later. That's all for now.

OXO

D.