The girls decided it was time for a game night, so after the kiddos were down for the count on Saturday night, they came to my house. We asked Dee to come, too, but she had been away from home during the day and needed to seriously get her stuff together for going to the Quilt Festival in Houston.
We played 2 or 3 games of Mexican Train dominoes and then decided to switch to another game. Everyone except Wendy wanted to play Pictionary. In playing past games of Pictionary, Wendy has kept us in stitches. She would typically either draw a very detailed picture or a series of clues that meant nothing to anyone except herself. An example of her detailed picture: the thing she was supposed to draw was "boil." She drew a stove, complete with the burners and controls, drew a pot on one of the burners and at last some bubbles which indicated boiling water.
Robin and I are usually the players you want to team with. Carolyn can't draw...period. She just moves the pencil around, laughing, and saying, "I can't draw!"
Carolyn and Robin happened to be sitting on the same side of the table, so they were a team and Wendy and I were a team. We started slowly, but all of a sudden we were on fire. Wendy's drawings were good! And quick! And to the point! Mine weren't that good, but Wendy guessed the answer anyway. Sometimes she would guess the answer before I got started good. She would say the answer and since there was no real reason for her to have guessed it from what I had drawn, I would say, "Huh? What did you say?" She brought her A-game, that's for sure!
We decided that it's way more fun to be doing the drawing and guessing than to watch someone else do that, so we made our own rule that both teams would participate at the same time. The winning part was fun, but not as much fun as the drawing and guessing. And laughing at our drawings.
It was after midnight before we ended our game night. Lots of fun!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Garlic Cheese Grits
You may remember the souffle fiasco from a few days ago. What I didn't say (at least I don't think I said it) was that while I was eating it I was realizing that Garlic Cheese Grits was probably what I meant to cook.
So I made Garlic Cheese Grits this evening. What it loses in fanciness it makes up for in taste and, unfortunately, calories. Of course, you don't have to eat the whole thing at one sitting. In fact, I probably couldn't even if I wanted to. The recipe fills a 2 1/2 quart casserole to within an inch of the top. When I say I probably couldn't, I really mean I couldn't possibly.
It has some of the same ingredients as the souffle...just much more. Instead of a tablespoon of butter, try a stick of butter! Instead of a cup of cheese, try 4 cups. Plus you cook 1 1/2 cups of grits...that's the amount of dry grits you pour into the six cups of boiling water. It's a buttload of cooked grits. And it takes an hour and 20 minutes to cook. The recipe, not the grits. The grits only take 5-7 minutes once they come to the boil.
The nice thing about it is that it's so good reheated. Put some in a skillet in the morning to go along with your omelet & bacon. YUM! Wayne wouldn't like it as it's flavored with garlic. So, it's all mine.
I made a note on a post-it and stuck it to the souffle recipe. It said, "You like Garlic Cheese Grits a lot more than this and it's a lot easier to make." That ought to take care of that. At least I will have warned myself. Sort of like "Back to the Future."
So I made Garlic Cheese Grits this evening. What it loses in fanciness it makes up for in taste and, unfortunately, calories. Of course, you don't have to eat the whole thing at one sitting. In fact, I probably couldn't even if I wanted to. The recipe fills a 2 1/2 quart casserole to within an inch of the top. When I say I probably couldn't, I really mean I couldn't possibly.
It has some of the same ingredients as the souffle...just much more. Instead of a tablespoon of butter, try a stick of butter! Instead of a cup of cheese, try 4 cups. Plus you cook 1 1/2 cups of grits...that's the amount of dry grits you pour into the six cups of boiling water. It's a buttload of cooked grits. And it takes an hour and 20 minutes to cook. The recipe, not the grits. The grits only take 5-7 minutes once they come to the boil.
The nice thing about it is that it's so good reheated. Put some in a skillet in the morning to go along with your omelet & bacon. YUM! Wayne wouldn't like it as it's flavored with garlic. So, it's all mine.
I made a note on a post-it and stuck it to the souffle recipe. It said, "You like Garlic Cheese Grits a lot more than this and it's a lot easier to make." That ought to take care of that. At least I will have warned myself. Sort of like "Back to the Future."
Finally...a cool front
The front finally blew in a little while ago. I was sitting in the kitchen, finishing up Friday's crossword puzzle, when I heard the wind and saw leaves flying past the windows. I walked out to see if it felt as cool as it looked like it would. No, not then, it didn't.
So, I've come upstairs to pay bills. Of course, I have to check email first and then blogs I follow...Happy Anniversary, J & G!
The bills will wait for a little bit. I'm going to play a game first. Karen, the mail carrier won't be her for several hours.
It started raining, so I thought I'd go check that out. I remembered how good my car looked a few weeks ago after being thoroughly soaked and then wiped down in the garage, so I grabbed the keys and moved it out onto the driveway. I should have turned it around so that the back (which NEVER gets cleaned good, even in the car wash) could really get pounded. But that would have meant getting out of the car with the rain in my face (which doesn't bother me, but I just did my hair yesterday and it's still looking really good!)...or climbing to the other side, so I didn't do that.
Going back through the house, I listened for any water dripping in the house. The front windows often leak, and we used to have a problem in the attic when the rain and rain was coming from just the right direction. The draft created between the two attic vents on opposite sides of the house would pull the rain right into the attic. Wayne opened the attic stairway one time and rain was pelting his face. The stairway is probably a good 20 feet from the vent! So, we keep that vent covered, which defeats its purpose.
Last weekend, during that big (several inches) rain, I heard water dripping and saw it was coming from the ceiling by the fireplace. I guess the flashing needs tending to on the roof. I had to take everything off the mantle and put a towel up there until it stopped dripping.
We've had so many water issues over the last decade:
So, I've come upstairs to pay bills. Of course, I have to check email first and then blogs I follow...Happy Anniversary, J & G!
The bills will wait for a little bit. I'm going to play a game first. Karen, the mail carrier won't be her for several hours.
It started raining, so I thought I'd go check that out. I remembered how good my car looked a few weeks ago after being thoroughly soaked and then wiped down in the garage, so I grabbed the keys and moved it out onto the driveway. I should have turned it around so that the back (which NEVER gets cleaned good, even in the car wash) could really get pounded. But that would have meant getting out of the car with the rain in my face (which doesn't bother me, but I just did my hair yesterday and it's still looking really good!)...or climbing to the other side, so I didn't do that.
Going back through the house, I listened for any water dripping in the house. The front windows often leak, and we used to have a problem in the attic when the rain and rain was coming from just the right direction. The draft created between the two attic vents on opposite sides of the house would pull the rain right into the attic. Wayne opened the attic stairway one time and rain was pelting his face. The stairway is probably a good 20 feet from the vent! So, we keep that vent covered, which defeats its purpose.
Last weekend, during that big (several inches) rain, I heard water dripping and saw it was coming from the ceiling by the fireplace. I guess the flashing needs tending to on the roof. I had to take everything off the mantle and put a towel up there until it stopped dripping.
We've had so many water issues over the last decade:
- Wayne flooded the downstairs when he fell asleep while the tub was filling
- The front windows leak when the rain is from the south
- Rain comes in the attic if the rain is from the north
- We had a water pipe leak in the garage which required jackhammering and rerouting water to a faucet outside
- We recently had a leak inside the wall between the kitchen and the former back porch. If we had gone the whole route, it would have required some $$$, so we just capped it there and lost an outside faucet in the back
- The AC drain clogged this summer and water dripped into an upstairs bathroom and then ran down to the master bathroom and ruined that ceiling...again
- Now we apparently have a leak at the fireplace
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Cheese Souffle
Cheese souffle is one of those recipes that once I get it in my mind, I can't get it out until I actually make it. I've been reading The Julie/Julia Project, a blog that started in 2002 and was the beginning of the idea for the movie about Julie spending a year cooking her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." In one of the posts, she talked about making a souffle, which made me start thinking about it, until I decided to do it. I've made souffles a number of times...I even have a recipe in my personal recipe notebook for a smallish one which only calls for 3 eggs...not a monster 8 egg souffle. So, I decided to make it last Sunday.
I had just run and emptied the dishwasher, which was a good thing, as you will soon understand. I got out my recipe and also the Joy of Cooking cookbook. I wanted to see whether the eggs needed to be cold or slightly warmer for optimal results...70 degrees is what Joy of Cooking says. So I got the eggs out and put them in a bowl of lukewarm water to take the chill off. Got the butter out and the smallish straight-sided casserole dish I thought I usually used for souffle. I buttered the dish and then had my choice of grated parmesan or flour to dust the inside of the dish. My parmesan (in the green can) was shredded...so flour, it was.
Now that the dish was ready, I could start on the white sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 1 tablespoon of flour, cook and stir for a minute or two over medium heat. I used a whisk for stirring. Remove from heat, add 1 cup of milk, some salt and cook and stir until it's a white sauce. Joy of Cooking suggests a firm white sauce. I didn't stir continually, so on breaks from stirring I tended to separating the eggs.
So far, I have used one casserole dish, 1 pot, 1 tablespoon and 2 measuring cups (one for dry and one for wet) and a whisk. Not that bad. The butter is put away, the flour container is put away...I have the hand mixer out and the bowls for the eggs; a small one to let the white drop into, a medium one to drop the yolk into, and a slightly larger one to whip the whites in when I get them all separated. I needed two bowls for the whites, because you have to be sure none of the yolk gets into them, otherwise they'll never whip up right.
Okay...the white sauce is ready...I've beaten the yolks and slowly added the white sauce to them while continuing to beat (so as not to cook the eggs upon contact with the hot sauce.) Put it back on the heat and add 1 cup of grated cheese and stir until it melts. Put that aside until the whites are ready to fold into the mix.
Things are going great! The oven is heated to 475 (I know...it seems high, but you turn it down after 10 minutes) and I'm being super efficient. I beat the egg whites till stiff, but not dry and then dump it into the sauce. I carefully fold the whites into the sauce until it's combined. Now you're supposed to spoon it into the prepared souffle dish. Uh-oh! I have way more mixture than is going to fit in the dish that's prepared. Crap!
First I try making the dish taller by pulling two lengths of foil and folding them to fit around the dish. Thinking it would help it stick to the inside of the buttered, floured dish, I grab the stick of butter out of the fridge, unwrap it and spread it on one side of the foil. Then, I realize I need the side that's facing the inside buttered and floured, too. I'm going faster now...buttering and planning how I'm going to make this work. It doesn't work. Okay...open up the bottom of the foil and place it over the rim. No...that's not working. Nothing is going to help except a dish that's the right size. Now I rush to find a bigger casserole dish and butter it. Hands dripping with butter, I open a cabinet and get the flour container out. Still dripping with butter, I grab the sifter inside, get some flour inside it and take the dish and the sifter to the sink to dust the inside of the dish. I shake the flour around and get it distributed and finally pour the souffle mixture into the dish, then place it in the oven and set it for 10 minutes.
I'm looking around the kitchen at what started out as an organized and efficient exercise in making a souffle. There's the stick of butter that looks like I've tried to strangle it. There's the now greasy flour container, a powdery coating of flour on the countertop around it. The sink is decorated with clumps of flour. There are dirty dishes all over, including the nicely prepared, but too small, original dish. It looks pretty horrible. Once I started cleaning it up, however, it went pretty quickly. I had almost enough dishes to run another load in the dishwasher.
When the timer went off, I turned the oven down to 400 and set the timer for 22 minutes, breathed a sigh of relief and went upstairs until it was time to take the souffle out of the oven. When I opened the oven, the first words out of my mouth were, "You mother!" The damn thing was lower than it had been when I spooned it into the dish and was way too brown. It hadn't fallen, it had just shrunk! Son of a....
I ate it anyway, peeling back the top and bottom and eating the inside, which was okay, but not wonderful. Then I ate the top and bottom, too...I'm a glutton for punishment.
I had just run and emptied the dishwasher, which was a good thing, as you will soon understand. I got out my recipe and also the Joy of Cooking cookbook. I wanted to see whether the eggs needed to be cold or slightly warmer for optimal results...70 degrees is what Joy of Cooking says. So I got the eggs out and put them in a bowl of lukewarm water to take the chill off. Got the butter out and the smallish straight-sided casserole dish I thought I usually used for souffle. I buttered the dish and then had my choice of grated parmesan or flour to dust the inside of the dish. My parmesan (in the green can) was shredded...so flour, it was.
Now that the dish was ready, I could start on the white sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 1 tablespoon of flour, cook and stir for a minute or two over medium heat. I used a whisk for stirring. Remove from heat, add 1 cup of milk, some salt and cook and stir until it's a white sauce. Joy of Cooking suggests a firm white sauce. I didn't stir continually, so on breaks from stirring I tended to separating the eggs.
So far, I have used one casserole dish, 1 pot, 1 tablespoon and 2 measuring cups (one for dry and one for wet) and a whisk. Not that bad. The butter is put away, the flour container is put away...I have the hand mixer out and the bowls for the eggs; a small one to let the white drop into, a medium one to drop the yolk into, and a slightly larger one to whip the whites in when I get them all separated. I needed two bowls for the whites, because you have to be sure none of the yolk gets into them, otherwise they'll never whip up right.
Okay...the white sauce is ready...I've beaten the yolks and slowly added the white sauce to them while continuing to beat (so as not to cook the eggs upon contact with the hot sauce.) Put it back on the heat and add 1 cup of grated cheese and stir until it melts. Put that aside until the whites are ready to fold into the mix.
Things are going great! The oven is heated to 475 (I know...it seems high, but you turn it down after 10 minutes) and I'm being super efficient. I beat the egg whites till stiff, but not dry and then dump it into the sauce. I carefully fold the whites into the sauce until it's combined. Now you're supposed to spoon it into the prepared souffle dish. Uh-oh! I have way more mixture than is going to fit in the dish that's prepared. Crap!
First I try making the dish taller by pulling two lengths of foil and folding them to fit around the dish. Thinking it would help it stick to the inside of the buttered, floured dish, I grab the stick of butter out of the fridge, unwrap it and spread it on one side of the foil. Then, I realize I need the side that's facing the inside buttered and floured, too. I'm going faster now...buttering and planning how I'm going to make this work. It doesn't work. Okay...open up the bottom of the foil and place it over the rim. No...that's not working. Nothing is going to help except a dish that's the right size. Now I rush to find a bigger casserole dish and butter it. Hands dripping with butter, I open a cabinet and get the flour container out. Still dripping with butter, I grab the sifter inside, get some flour inside it and take the dish and the sifter to the sink to dust the inside of the dish. I shake the flour around and get it distributed and finally pour the souffle mixture into the dish, then place it in the oven and set it for 10 minutes.
I'm looking around the kitchen at what started out as an organized and efficient exercise in making a souffle. There's the stick of butter that looks like I've tried to strangle it. There's the now greasy flour container, a powdery coating of flour on the countertop around it. The sink is decorated with clumps of flour. There are dirty dishes all over, including the nicely prepared, but too small, original dish. It looks pretty horrible. Once I started cleaning it up, however, it went pretty quickly. I had almost enough dishes to run another load in the dishwasher.
When the timer went off, I turned the oven down to 400 and set the timer for 22 minutes, breathed a sigh of relief and went upstairs until it was time to take the souffle out of the oven. When I opened the oven, the first words out of my mouth were, "You mother!" The damn thing was lower than it had been when I spooned it into the dish and was way too brown. It hadn't fallen, it had just shrunk! Son of a....
I ate it anyway, peeling back the top and bottom and eating the inside, which was okay, but not wonderful. Then I ate the top and bottom, too...I'm a glutton for punishment.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The bug man
The guy who sprays my house was here this morning. He's been coming here for probably 25 years or so. I'm going to hate it when he retires. He also sprays Wendy's house and Carolyn's house and Robin's, when she lived in the little house close by.
Anyhoo, I was in the kitchen working the Chronicle daily puzzles when he was finishing up and he told me about a scare he had last week. He suddenly had double vision. One second everything was normal, the next he was seeing double. So, his wife hurried him into the car and they went to see the doctor. He had a cat scan, an MRI, probably a doppler something (from how he described it,) in other words, a very thorough examination. Finally, the doctor said he must have one of those GOK's. "What's a GOK", Israel asked? The doctor's reply..."God Only Knows!"
In order to remember to tell you about this, I wrote GOK on a small post-it and stuck it to my forehead. It was on my shirt first, but wouldn't stay on. I'm just glad it finally fell off my head before I went somewhere wearing it!
Anyhoo, I was in the kitchen working the Chronicle daily puzzles when he was finishing up and he told me about a scare he had last week. He suddenly had double vision. One second everything was normal, the next he was seeing double. So, his wife hurried him into the car and they went to see the doctor. He had a cat scan, an MRI, probably a doppler something (from how he described it,) in other words, a very thorough examination. Finally, the doctor said he must have one of those GOK's. "What's a GOK", Israel asked? The doctor's reply..."God Only Knows!"
In order to remember to tell you about this, I wrote GOK on a small post-it and stuck it to my forehead. It was on my shirt first, but wouldn't stay on. I'm just glad it finally fell off my head before I went somewhere wearing it!
How lazy must I be?
I'll tell you how lazy...too lazy to even have someone here to clean my house!
I haven't had anyone here to clean in a number of years, since the last housekeeper died.
Well, you know...I take that back. I did have someone here to clean a few times a year or two ago. She didn't speak much English, but seemed to know what she was doing. It got to where she didn't come when she was supposed to, however. She would show up a day or two later, not to work but to explain why she hadn't come...then she would say she would be back the next day to work, but she wouldn't show up. Finally, after a few cycles of that, she just never showed up again. Pity...she made some pretty good tamales that her husband would sell. He would bring them by, piping hot, straight out of the steamer. I could eat half a dozen without even pausing or even sitting down.
Recently, someone else was going to start cleaning. She actually supervises (at night) others who clean at hospitals. But, she has a few houses she cleans during the day. She came and looked at my house and estimated how long it would take to clean it. I thought everything was set, but then she said that she couldn't find anyone who wanted to clean with her on a Saturday...I didn't like the idea of someone coming on Saturday, but her weekdays were full. Anyway, she said that she had a cousin who would be willing to come on a weekday, (the old bait and switch!) so I agreed to that and to $10 an hour.
N.G. (new girl) worked at Carolyn's house first. At Carolyn's house, N.G. worked for about 7 hours and never made it to the master bathroom. N.G. did, however, go into Jax's room and spent who knows how much time tying the bumper pad (which Carolyn had removed, washed, folded, and stored under the changing table) back into the crib. N.G. also went into Carolyn's home office (which Carolyn had told her not to worry about) and proceeded to "straighten" the piles of bills, mail, papers, receipts, etc. that were on the desks in there. Not only did she straighten them, she moved them and other items in the office into drawers and under the desk. She took the box of computer checks and TAPED it shut and then stowed it away in the drawer of a secretary in there. Who knows how long all that took! Carolyn was busy with patients, so she couldn't be checking on her constantly. Oddly, Carolyn wasn't freaked out much about the office invasion...she said it motivated her to go through all the newly straightened piles...first, searching for things that needed attention (such as the tuition check she had written for Kate's school that was in one of the piles) and bills that needed to be paid and others that needed to be filed.
It became clear that N.G. had probably not cleaned house for anyone else before. Although young, she has 6 children and her mother lives with her (and probably does all the cleaning.) Anyway, after hearing about all this, I was prepared to spend my morning with N.G. when she came to my house, working alongside her and showing/explaining what I expected her to do. N.G. apparently doesn't have a complete grasp on English, although I felt like she understood what I was saying.
So, the first time she came here, we worked together in the master bathroom and on through a few more rooms downstairs and I was pretty satisfied. She was here for 4 hours, which is about as long as I can stand having someone here.
The next time she came, she went right to work and cleaned the master bath, the powder room, she vacuumed/swept/dustmopped/wet mopped the appropriate surfaces. And I asked her to dust the dining room table and chairs. It took her just under 3 hours, working steadily. I handed her $30 and she said I should pay her $40. I explained that she had worked for 3 hours at $10 an hour, so I was paying her $30. Reluctantly, she took the money, but told me that next time it would be $70 for 4 hours. Huh? I repeated what she said and she agreed that I heard it right. So, I said, "Well, I guess this will be the last time then." So, she left...never to return.
I did arrange for someone else to come...someone else who is new at cleaning for other people. But, it just hasn't worked out for her to be here yet. I was out of town or had something else going on a couple of the days she was scheduled to come, so had to cancel. Then, she was supposed to come today. But, yesterday, I decided that I just didn't want to have to do the preliminary straightening before she came and I also didn't want to go through training someone new, again. I called her yesterday to cancel permanently. That's how lazy I am!
I haven't had anyone here to clean in a number of years, since the last housekeeper died.
Well, you know...I take that back. I did have someone here to clean a few times a year or two ago. She didn't speak much English, but seemed to know what she was doing. It got to where she didn't come when she was supposed to, however. She would show up a day or two later, not to work but to explain why she hadn't come...then she would say she would be back the next day to work, but she wouldn't show up. Finally, after a few cycles of that, she just never showed up again. Pity...she made some pretty good tamales that her husband would sell. He would bring them by, piping hot, straight out of the steamer. I could eat half a dozen without even pausing or even sitting down.
Recently, someone else was going to start cleaning. She actually supervises (at night) others who clean at hospitals. But, she has a few houses she cleans during the day. She came and looked at my house and estimated how long it would take to clean it. I thought everything was set, but then she said that she couldn't find anyone who wanted to clean with her on a Saturday...I didn't like the idea of someone coming on Saturday, but her weekdays were full. Anyway, she said that she had a cousin who would be willing to come on a weekday, (the old bait and switch!) so I agreed to that and to $10 an hour.
N.G. (new girl) worked at Carolyn's house first. At Carolyn's house, N.G. worked for about 7 hours and never made it to the master bathroom. N.G. did, however, go into Jax's room and spent who knows how much time tying the bumper pad (which Carolyn had removed, washed, folded, and stored under the changing table) back into the crib. N.G. also went into Carolyn's home office (which Carolyn had told her not to worry about) and proceeded to "straighten" the piles of bills, mail, papers, receipts, etc. that were on the desks in there. Not only did she straighten them, she moved them and other items in the office into drawers and under the desk. She took the box of computer checks and TAPED it shut and then stowed it away in the drawer of a secretary in there. Who knows how long all that took! Carolyn was busy with patients, so she couldn't be checking on her constantly. Oddly, Carolyn wasn't freaked out much about the office invasion...she said it motivated her to go through all the newly straightened piles...first, searching for things that needed attention (such as the tuition check she had written for Kate's school that was in one of the piles) and bills that needed to be paid and others that needed to be filed.
It became clear that N.G. had probably not cleaned house for anyone else before. Although young, she has 6 children and her mother lives with her (and probably does all the cleaning.) Anyway, after hearing about all this, I was prepared to spend my morning with N.G. when she came to my house, working alongside her and showing/explaining what I expected her to do. N.G. apparently doesn't have a complete grasp on English, although I felt like she understood what I was saying.
So, the first time she came here, we worked together in the master bathroom and on through a few more rooms downstairs and I was pretty satisfied. She was here for 4 hours, which is about as long as I can stand having someone here.
The next time she came, she went right to work and cleaned the master bath, the powder room, she vacuumed/swept/dustmopped/wet mopped the appropriate surfaces. And I asked her to dust the dining room table and chairs. It took her just under 3 hours, working steadily. I handed her $30 and she said I should pay her $40. I explained that she had worked for 3 hours at $10 an hour, so I was paying her $30. Reluctantly, she took the money, but told me that next time it would be $70 for 4 hours. Huh? I repeated what she said and she agreed that I heard it right. So, I said, "Well, I guess this will be the last time then." So, she left...never to return.
I did arrange for someone else to come...someone else who is new at cleaning for other people. But, it just hasn't worked out for her to be here yet. I was out of town or had something else going on a couple of the days she was scheduled to come, so had to cancel. Then, she was supposed to come today. But, yesterday, I decided that I just didn't want to have to do the preliminary straightening before she came and I also didn't want to go through training someone new, again. I called her yesterday to cancel permanently. That's how lazy I am!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Big D
This is a long one...sorry!
Dee and I flew out of Hobby at noon on Monday and arrived at Love Field before 1. Smooth trip...so far. We deplaned and made our way to the baggage claim area, where we discovered that one of my bags, the one in which I had packed my make-up, tennis shoes, thyroid medication and swimsuit. We waited around a while as they checked in different areas and asked the baggage handlers, then filled out paperwork and left my phone number.
Wanda was already there, having taken an earlier flight out of Austin. Dee's brother, William, and their mother, Gladys, were there to pick us up. William took us to Gladys' home in Oak Cliff, where we took our luggage inside and then got into her Volvo to head toward Plano to visit Dee's sister, Sally & husband as well as Sally's daughters and their husbands/families.
None of us had eaten lunch, but Wanda and Dee both needed to get to a Walgreen's to get prescriptions filled and I wanted to buy make-up in case my bag wasn't found. Wanda's prescription got filled pretty quickly, but Dee's needed to be transferred from an independent pharmacy in El Campo, so that took longer...in fact, we finally left without it, and went back about 5 or 6 hours later to pick it up.
I ended up buying about $150 worth of stuff...replacing almost everything that had gone missing. Well...it's makeup and it would get used even if they found my bag. But, there were other things, such as the cursed 10X (worst invention ever) mirror, eyelash curler, makeup brushes, etc...things that I would return if my bag was found before I opened them.
We ate at an On the Border somewhere in Plano...3 of us had fish tacos, which were very good (and very big) for about $6.99 each. And then we went on to Sally's house where we visited with her for a while. From there we went to Cara's house in Allen and visited with Cara, Phil and their two little boys and then on to Jana & Matt's new house, just a few blocks away. We returned to Cara's to have pizza, salad & beer.
Then, back in the car to Walgreen's, where Dee's prescription was finally ready and on to Glady's house, where everyone except me was able to get comfortable...my scrubs were also in the missing bag.
By the way, I had been talking with the airport throughout the afternoon, updating them on where I would be if/when the bag was found. Before we left Allen, I had heard from them that the bag was found and would be delivered by midnight...which it was, or at least very close to midnight. So, I will be taking a few of the items back to Walgreen's when I get home. Wanda takes the same dosage of Synthroid as I do, it turns out, so I could have taken one of her pills, if necessary.
Tuesday, we lazed around Gladys' home for most of the morning and then finally left about noon or so. We headed down to the temporary quarters of the Office Equipment Company, the family business. The temporary quarters are just a few blocks from Fair Park. From there, we went to the old location of the Office Equipment Company...right in downtown Dallas, a few blocks from Dealey Plaza, the school depository building, the grassy knoll, the triple overpass...you get the picture. It is a 5 story building that has been home to the family business for many years, though not when the Kennedy assassination occurred. They are renovating the building, changing it from 5 stories and a basement of new and used office equipment and furniture, to 5 stories and basement space to be leased to other companies. They will retain part of the first floor for their own business.
Dee's nephew, Brad, took us through the building, explaining what was being done. It is a historical building so they are taking care to restore, rather than replace, wherever possible. The top floor is well on it's way to completion, with much restoration done. However, there is still plenty of work to be done on that floor as well as the others. I can't wait to go back next year and see the completed building.
Brad explained that when the building was constructed, back in the early 1900's, I believe, it was allowed to build onto an adjoining building. The Coca Cola Company was next door and one of it's outer walls became an inner wall for this building. The Coca Cola building was torn down long ago, but you can see part of "Coca Cola" on a couple of floors inside this building. In another area, part of the slogan "fresh and delicious" is visible on a couple of floors.
We then went to Bolsa for a late lunch. The weather was very pleasant, so we sat outside and enjoyed wonderful sandwiches. The waiter treated us to a fabulous dessert, called "White chocolate rum tile with bruleed bananas." After that we headed to Cedar Hill to a new shopping area called Uptown and then on to William and Glynda's home nearby. Their daughter, Stacy and her two sons were visiting from Spring, so it was great to see them, too. Glynda, just 6 weeks out from a knee replacement, actually stood in her kitchen making manicotti for us. She did warn us not to use a ziplock bag to stuff the cheese in the pasta. A little unexpected mishap led to cheese everywhere during the process. It was delicious and we certainly appreciated the trouble she went to.
Wednesday was Fair Day! We got underway much earlier and got to the temporary Office Equipment quarters by about 10 AM. William drove us the few blocks and let us out at the front gate. We had decided that we were going to get a scooter for Gladys this year. We had quite a hike to get to the scooter rental tent. Once she got on, it didn't take long for her to get the hang of it. We didn't go into as many buildings as we have in the past. Just a couple, really and then the crafts tent. We didn't want to buy anything this year since we're flying, so basically all we were worrying about was getting our Fletcher's Corny Dog and beer. Oh...and we hunted down the fried butter and had that. We figured out that they probably froze small balls of butter, dipped them in batter and deep fried them...the result was like a roll that had been buttered on the inside. Very good!
Here's Gladys enjoying "San Antone Rose"
And here we are with our corn dogs! We're like Blanche Dubois...we have to depend on the kindness of strangers.
When we were ready to go, we had Gladys ride the scooter to the front gate where she and Wanda waited while Dee and I took it back to the tent. We got to the front just in time for William to pick us up. We rested at home for a few hours and then got dressed once again to have a drink at the Belmont Hotel and then dinner at Smoke next door to the hotel. I think Smoke might actually be the hotel's restaurant, but I'm not sure. Don't get me to lying! A gentleman at the next table at the Belmont offered to take our photo for us. And here we are...
Poor William had to chauffeur us one more time the next morning when Gladys' neck was stiff. She could barely turn it from side to side, so he gathered us up and dropped us off at Love Field. It was a lot of fun...Gladys always tries to make sure we have interesting things to do. We were seriously busy this trip...never a dull moment. I won't even mention the water leak problem that was discovered in her guest bathroom or the hazardous material problem at the airport which caused much waiting in line as we were leaving!
But I will mention that as we deplaned in Houston, just as we stepped onto the jetway we see Will Manske waiting to board our plane. He wasn't going to pilot the next leg...but he was flying to Harlingen where he would be piloting a plane from there...to San Diego, maybe...I don't remember.
Here are a few photos of the building in the process of being restored.
This is a view of Old Red Courthouse from the sidewalk outside the downtown Office Equipment Company building.
You can make out part of "Coca Cola" painted on the wall in this photo. It was originally the outer wall of the Coca Cola Company building.
This is one of the middle floors, not as far along in the restoration process.
This is probably the top floor, which is closest to being complete. The floors are hardwood and have been revealed on all floors.
You might be able to make out the man who is sitting on the window sill while working on the window. If you click on any picture, it will open in a new window, much larger. Use your browser back arrow to get back to the blog.
Dee and I flew out of Hobby at noon on Monday and arrived at Love Field before 1. Smooth trip...so far. We deplaned and made our way to the baggage claim area, where we discovered that one of my bags, the one in which I had packed my make-up, tennis shoes, thyroid medication and swimsuit. We waited around a while as they checked in different areas and asked the baggage handlers, then filled out paperwork and left my phone number.
Wanda was already there, having taken an earlier flight out of Austin. Dee's brother, William, and their mother, Gladys, were there to pick us up. William took us to Gladys' home in Oak Cliff, where we took our luggage inside and then got into her Volvo to head toward Plano to visit Dee's sister, Sally & husband as well as Sally's daughters and their husbands/families.
None of us had eaten lunch, but Wanda and Dee both needed to get to a Walgreen's to get prescriptions filled and I wanted to buy make-up in case my bag wasn't found. Wanda's prescription got filled pretty quickly, but Dee's needed to be transferred from an independent pharmacy in El Campo, so that took longer...in fact, we finally left without it, and went back about 5 or 6 hours later to pick it up.
I ended up buying about $150 worth of stuff...replacing almost everything that had gone missing. Well...it's makeup and it would get used even if they found my bag. But, there were other things, such as the cursed 10X (worst invention ever) mirror, eyelash curler, makeup brushes, etc...things that I would return if my bag was found before I opened them.
We ate at an On the Border somewhere in Plano...3 of us had fish tacos, which were very good (and very big) for about $6.99 each. And then we went on to Sally's house where we visited with her for a while. From there we went to Cara's house in Allen and visited with Cara, Phil and their two little boys and then on to Jana & Matt's new house, just a few blocks away. We returned to Cara's to have pizza, salad & beer.
Then, back in the car to Walgreen's, where Dee's prescription was finally ready and on to Glady's house, where everyone except me was able to get comfortable...my scrubs were also in the missing bag.
By the way, I had been talking with the airport throughout the afternoon, updating them on where I would be if/when the bag was found. Before we left Allen, I had heard from them that the bag was found and would be delivered by midnight...which it was, or at least very close to midnight. So, I will be taking a few of the items back to Walgreen's when I get home. Wanda takes the same dosage of Synthroid as I do, it turns out, so I could have taken one of her pills, if necessary.
Tuesday, we lazed around Gladys' home for most of the morning and then finally left about noon or so. We headed down to the temporary quarters of the Office Equipment Company, the family business. The temporary quarters are just a few blocks from Fair Park. From there, we went to the old location of the Office Equipment Company...right in downtown Dallas, a few blocks from Dealey Plaza, the school depository building, the grassy knoll, the triple overpass...you get the picture. It is a 5 story building that has been home to the family business for many years, though not when the Kennedy assassination occurred. They are renovating the building, changing it from 5 stories and a basement of new and used office equipment and furniture, to 5 stories and basement space to be leased to other companies. They will retain part of the first floor for their own business.
Dee's nephew, Brad, took us through the building, explaining what was being done. It is a historical building so they are taking care to restore, rather than replace, wherever possible. The top floor is well on it's way to completion, with much restoration done. However, there is still plenty of work to be done on that floor as well as the others. I can't wait to go back next year and see the completed building.
Brad explained that when the building was constructed, back in the early 1900's, I believe, it was allowed to build onto an adjoining building. The Coca Cola Company was next door and one of it's outer walls became an inner wall for this building. The Coca Cola building was torn down long ago, but you can see part of "Coca Cola" on a couple of floors inside this building. In another area, part of the slogan "fresh and delicious" is visible on a couple of floors.
We then went to Bolsa for a late lunch. The weather was very pleasant, so we sat outside and enjoyed wonderful sandwiches. The waiter treated us to a fabulous dessert, called "White chocolate rum tile with bruleed bananas." After that we headed to Cedar Hill to a new shopping area called Uptown and then on to William and Glynda's home nearby. Their daughter, Stacy and her two sons were visiting from Spring, so it was great to see them, too. Glynda, just 6 weeks out from a knee replacement, actually stood in her kitchen making manicotti for us. She did warn us not to use a ziplock bag to stuff the cheese in the pasta. A little unexpected mishap led to cheese everywhere during the process. It was delicious and we certainly appreciated the trouble she went to.
Wednesday was Fair Day! We got underway much earlier and got to the temporary Office Equipment quarters by about 10 AM. William drove us the few blocks and let us out at the front gate. We had decided that we were going to get a scooter for Gladys this year. We had quite a hike to get to the scooter rental tent. Once she got on, it didn't take long for her to get the hang of it. We didn't go into as many buildings as we have in the past. Just a couple, really and then the crafts tent. We didn't want to buy anything this year since we're flying, so basically all we were worrying about was getting our Fletcher's Corny Dog and beer. Oh...and we hunted down the fried butter and had that. We figured out that they probably froze small balls of butter, dipped them in batter and deep fried them...the result was like a roll that had been buttered on the inside. Very good!
Here's Gladys enjoying "San Antone Rose"
And here we are with our corn dogs! We're like Blanche Dubois...we have to depend on the kindness of strangers.
When we were ready to go, we had Gladys ride the scooter to the front gate where she and Wanda waited while Dee and I took it back to the tent. We got to the front just in time for William to pick us up. We rested at home for a few hours and then got dressed once again to have a drink at the Belmont Hotel and then dinner at Smoke next door to the hotel. I think Smoke might actually be the hotel's restaurant, but I'm not sure. Don't get me to lying! A gentleman at the next table at the Belmont offered to take our photo for us. And here we are...
Poor William had to chauffeur us one more time the next morning when Gladys' neck was stiff. She could barely turn it from side to side, so he gathered us up and dropped us off at Love Field. It was a lot of fun...Gladys always tries to make sure we have interesting things to do. We were seriously busy this trip...never a dull moment. I won't even mention the water leak problem that was discovered in her guest bathroom or the hazardous material problem at the airport which caused much waiting in line as we were leaving!But I will mention that as we deplaned in Houston, just as we stepped onto the jetway we see Will Manske waiting to board our plane. He wasn't going to pilot the next leg...but he was flying to Harlingen where he would be piloting a plane from there...to San Diego, maybe...I don't remember.
Here are a few photos of the building in the process of being restored.
This is a view of Old Red Courthouse from the sidewalk outside the downtown Office Equipment Company building.
You can make out part of "Coca Cola" painted on the wall in this photo. It was originally the outer wall of the Coca Cola Company building.
This is one of the middle floors, not as far along in the restoration process.
This is probably the top floor, which is closest to being complete. The floors are hardwood and have been revealed on all floors.
You might be able to make out the man who is sitting on the window sill while working on the window. If you click on any picture, it will open in a new window, much larger. Use your browser back arrow to get back to the blog.
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