Odds and Ends from Reno

The last few days in Reno were eventful, but with my camera out of commission, there were not so many pictures, just what I captured on my iPhone. We shopped for food, took furniture for repair, house-hunted, ate sushi with the Harts beside the river in downtown Reno, attended a soccer game in the rain, went to church, cooked Sunday dinner for the Breretons, watched some Project Runway, and in general had a great time.

So why doesn't Harmon's offer slots?

 A possible contender in the house hunt

Breakfast with Carla Sue

 Palmiers dipped in hot chocolate

 He looks great with a mustache

 Project Runway on the laptop

 A chilly early-morning goodbye

 Bert the Bus is for sale at the bottom of Zolezzi

 The first glimpse of Utah: salt as far the eye can see

 Home again, home again, jiggidy jig

It was a fun trip. Thanks to the Hastings for a great time. Not much coming up, so this may be all for a while.

OXO

D.

Anna's Birthday

Wednesday, September 18, was Anna's birthday. Kris and I shopped for some food and flowers before joining Anna to pick up Rob at the airport. We had a good lunch at a fun little place called the Dish Cafe. Returning home Rob and I made a cake for Anna and in the evening we had a super dinner at the Twisted Fork. At home again, we enjoyed a small birthday party with presents, cards, singing, and some chocolate cake with custard.

 At the Dish Cafe

 Rob, back from SLC

 Birthday cake and flowers

 Each candle represents a decade (almost)

Happy partiers

More to come, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.

Reno in September

Monday, 16 September, Uncle and I had a quick morning walk because we had plans to do our home teaching by taking out a pesky tree from Welda and Loraine's yard as soon as it got light. Hank and Colette provided a nice hiatus with brunch at their cabin. By afternoon, the tree was in the city compost heap.

Tuesday morning early, we headed west to Reno for short visit with the Hastings gang. We made a stop in Winnamucca for lunch at the Griddle. In Reno, Rob was absent, attending to interviews at UMed in SLC. The rest of the family was in residence.

 

A spectacular Monday morning sunrise over Y Mountain

 Brunch with H&C

 Monday's sunset was pretty good, too

 The Nevada DOT welcomed us 

 Fine diner food

 An impromptu recital

 Anders has taken up the viola

If Clara learns to play the violin, they could have a string quartet

Today is Anna's birthday so there will be further adventures, but this is all for now.

OXO

D.

Back to Provo

Tuesday, 10 September, was our last full day in Houston. We returned to Market Street for a movie and late lunch. We saw Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, which was well acted, but in the end the characters were all still mired in their misery. What did I expect? Lunch was provided by Jasper's. Wednesday I helped Debby hang family photos in the den while Kris washed our sheets and remade our bed. We packed and with all that completed, drove to Yia Yia Mary's for a Greek nosh: good but very filling. Not the best thing for me when I am going to fly.

Annie's flight from Dallas arrived just after ours and she gave us a ride to Provo and introduced us to Popeye's Chicken on the way home. Provo was in the midst of a series of storms and we were lucky enough to catch some wonderful summer downpours. Thursday, Meagan fed us and friday evening we went with Rod and Vic for dinner at Ruby River. 

 Market Street in the Woodlands

 A green and pleasant spot

 With lots of stores for these ladies to check out

 Lunch at Jaspers

 Greek food on the way to the airport

 Looking back at Houston from Hobby Airport

 Home to the rain

 Lots of "moisture"

 After the storms

 A quick check of the temple project

This mountain frequently manages to be spectacular

So we have returned but will be off again on Tuesday for a few days with the Hastings in Reno. This, then, is all for now.

OXO

D.

Out and About

Sunday we drove to Kingwood for church. It was Claire Hacker's farewell. Claire is a Gibbs family friend and was a great help to Hilary when she moved to China and invaluable to Debby during her recent move. I made a roast-beef Sunday dinner and that evening Debby hosted an open house for Claire. Many of the attendees were Katy's Texas friends and all sent their love to her.

 Open-house prep by Chris Brown

 Debby and Bishop Chappell; Ross Tolman and Claire in background

Alison, Katherine, Debby, and Kris

Monday we went to Market Street where the ladies "gathered" prior to viewing The Butler. Returning home, I finally took the plunge in Debby's beautiful pool. When Alison finished teaching, we drove cross country to the Tomball freeway for supper with Gordon and Alison at Lupe Tortilla. After dinner we drove to Alison and Gordon's new home project. The house is coming along and the setting is beautiful with towering pines. The trip home to Debby's took less than 15 minutes, so the location will be very convenient. We polished off the day with a viewing of Star Trek Into Darkness on the big screen with killer sound!

 Market Street

 Cinemark in the background

 Dickie takes a dip

 Lupe Tortilla

 The Reese ranch

All they need is the pitchfork

 This is the way to watch movies!

More to come, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.

All Work and No Play, Make Dickie a Dull Boy

We have been working hard getting all the details pulled together, so we rewarded ourselves with an outing. We started in Kingwood at the former house, picking up a few odds and ends, and then proceeded downtown for a movie at the Sundance Cinemas: Austenland. After the movie we went to Rice Village to an English store, and then for an early supper at La Griglia, a really fine Italian restaurant in River Oaks, River Oaks is an original Art-Deco shopping center, now full of upscale stores and restaurants.

Saturday we finished a few projects before going to Costco to pick up some things for an open house that Debby is hosting for Claire Hacker, a friend who is mission-bound. We met Gordon and Alison for lunch at Just Burgers, a greasy spoon with great burgers and wonderful onion rings. We finished the day with a screening of Now You See It in Debby's killer screening room.

The girlies at the Sundance Cinemas in downtown Houston

 La Griglia 

 Funky and fun La Griglia interior

 Houston Costco on a Saturday: strangely

my idea of a good time

A run-by fruiting of the Houston Temple on the
way to Alison and Gordon's

 Lunch at Just Burgers in Klein

Now You See It on the big screen: awesome!

The work is 99.9% complete so more adventures are afoot. But that's all for now.

OXO

D.