Tag: houston

Randomness

Some random things to show I don’t live completely in the past.

Writers.

Recently, Tim and I attended Michael Thomas Ford’s signing at Murder By The Book. MTF looks very solemn in this photo, as he was listening to a question from a reader. But there were a lot of laughs at the event, because he’s a funny man. He was there to promote the third in his Jane series: Jane Bites Back, Jane Goes Batty, and Jane Vows Vengeance.

Current-day Jane Austen as a vampire whose nemesis is the undead Charlotte Brontë; who finds love and unusual potential mother-in-law conflict in upstate New York; and who can talk to three-legged chihuahuas and ghosts: What’s not to love?

Aesthetics.
Coke introduced the white polar bear can to raise awareness of the threat to the polar bear and its habitat due to climate change. In partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, Coke committed three million dollars to the campaign. Consumers reacted poorly to the Coke can, either because of their devotion to the color red or because they confused the white can with Diet Coke’s silver can. Coke stopped production of the white polar bear can and now shows the bears on the traditional red can. I’ll bite my tongue on all the things I could say about this–except to note that I loved the white can.

Art.

We had an honest to goodness Craft Night last week! Lindsey and I both painted. I’d vowed that when Project Runway All Stars ends, I’d return to working on the Bottle Caps and Friends series.
I hope to hang it somewhere this year.

Adorability.
Last October, I spied this tiny Starbucks cup at Target and shot it (left). As adorable as I found the shot-glass sized cup, there was no point in sharing the photo because of the lack of scale. Then on a recent drive-through, I was given a little sample of Starbucks cherry pie in one of the shot-glass cups. Notice how the logo has changed in the interim, with the Starbucks name vanishing to leave only the mermaid.

Family. Our nephew Aaron is visiting for a few days. On Monday, he, Tim, and I went to Houston Camera Co/op so Tim could look at external flashes; Aaron could look at potential new cameras (he’s going Canon, because that’s what he’s learning on, and Canons still make me drool, even though I’m a Nikon owner); and I could learn what to do about the smudge that I keep having to photoshop out of all my pictures. The REALLY helpful gentleman (pictured with Aaron, beyond Tim in this photo) who assisted me has SOLVED MY PROBLEM by showing me how to get to the innards of my camera (if ONLY I’d read the manual–bad tech writer!) and delicately clean away the smudge. This will save me a lot of time with my photos, so I’m quite happy.

Home. I saw a photo online of a grouping of globes displayed in a home. I liked it, but I have only one globe. I moved it from my office to my living room and added some of my crystal balls, my Manhattan snow globe, Tom’s childhood marbles, and other globe-shaped items next to it. There are twinkly lights there, too, so the crystals glisten at night.

Friends. In addition to being my nephew Josh’s birthday, March 12 is my late friend Tim R’s birthday. We dropped by the cemetery to leave wind chimes on his crape myrtle. I wonder if they’ll still be there the next time I visit? I say that not because people steal things, the way they stole from my parents’ gravesite. The other things left over the years are all still there. I just don’t know if it’s too big to be allowed to hang from the tree. We’ll see!

Anubis!

Two or three weeks ago when I was on an errand run, I spotted this in the Galleria area. How handsome is he? LOVE.


In looking for info about the statue online, I found this from last November. I wish I’d seen him then, but I guess that’s what I get for avoiding the Galleria during the Christmas season.


Theron Linscombe, right, looks back at the Santa hat he and Adonay Vasquez, partially hidden, put on top of the 25-foot, 7-ton replica of the ancient god Anubis that was at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and transported to Post Oak Boulevard for the holiday season, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, in Houston. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Michael Paulsen, via The Daily Edit.)

Legacy Writing 365:55

Today I shot about 60 photos of the Northeastern Trail Riders–it’s Go Texan Day–and this is my absolute favorite shot of the bunch. They’re both so beautiful, but I particularly love the younger girl’s expression. I vowed this year I would get up early and catch more of the riders, but I was busy doing stuff until 5 a.m.–isn’t that ridiculous?–so of course I slept in. I felt very fortunate to catch this group heading west on Memorial Drive as they arrived after their six-day, 100-mile ride from the town of Cheek, outside Beaumont.

What a great experience it must be as a kid to belong to a community of trail riders, feeling connected to a tradition that dates back not only several decades related to Houston’s Livestock Show and Rodeo, but also to their ancestors who made this ride when they migrated from Louisiana to Texas.

I had a special request to find out the story behind this photo that’s included as part of my banner collage:

The only family tradition I can claim here is that like me, some predecessor cut off a horse’s nose to get a photo of the rider. In this case, the rider is my grandfather. Other than that, I don’t know what the story of the photo is. He did come to visit us when we lived in Colorado, but as my brother pointed out when I asked him, Papa was much older on that visit than he is in this photo. I don’t know if this was taken on a trip out west, but the landscape sure looks more western than like his home in North Alabama.

As I dig around through stories my father wrote, maybe I’ll find some clue about the photo. Regardless, I like this glimpse of my grandfather on horseback, so I share it as indicative of the spirit of those willing to explore new territories. Yeehaw!

…and toes

Be sweet to your feet on Valentine’s Day.

I started with a soak in my Dr. Scholl’s Foot Bath Massager. Heated water and gentle vibration to relax the feet. While I was soaking, I was nearing the end of Dean James’s latest Cat in the Stacks Mystery, File M for Murder (written under the name Miranda James). I picked this up the other day when I went to an event at Murder By The Book, where Dean, Avery Aames, Melissa Bourbon Ramirez, and Kate Carlisle were signing their new books.


Dean/Miranda with Daryl/Avery.


Melissa/Misa and Kate.

Check out their sites and read their books if you enjoy a mystery.

Now, back to me. Here are some UNSPONSORED products I used to indulge myself in a pedicure.


Heel to Toe’s Rejuvenating Spa Foot Soak added to the foot bath. A foot massage with Diabeti Derm’s Foot Rejuvenating Cream. (You can see a little corner of a Whitman’s Sampler ad in the photo. Have a piece of chocolate while you soak if you’re into that sort of thing!) Finally, a coat of Sinful Colors’ Tokyo Pearl, then a light coat of OPI’s Gold Shatter, and a top coat of Sally Hansen’s Super Shine.


Happy toes!

Hope you’ll do something nice for yourself today, too. And while you’re at it, check out Rex’s feet.

Legacy Writing 365:39


Looking east from Neartown to Downtown Houston

This is a photo I took in 1999, one of many I’ve taken of Houston’s multiple skylines (Downtown, Uptown, Medical District) from different angles over the decades I’ve lived here. I’ve had two opportunities to work in skyscrapers downtown, and both of them were so miserable that all the magic of working there became lost on me, but I still love the buildings.

The first was a temp job requiring someone with Mac experience. This was during a time when those skills were difficult to find. Since I’d come to Houston from an industry in which Macs had been used and had my own Mac, I was proficient in all its major software. Though I was in the middle of a miserable cold, I needed the money, so off I went on a Monday morning to report at 8 a.m. It was an hour-plus drive into downtown from where we lived (about twenty-five miles). I had to pay to park. I went to some ridiculously high floor–maybe in the 50s–and the person who’d requested a temp wasn’t there. I was taken to a department and put at a desk near where two young women were talking about their wild weekends. Now and then, they’d glance at me out of the corners of their eyes, and it was clear they had no idea why I was there. Neither did I, and my head felt heavier and heavier. All I wanted to do was put it on the desk and go to sleep.

By 9:30, neither of the Party Girls had done one bit of work, but they’d had lots of visits from other employees. That’s when my contact person arrived. I began to understand, even through my stuffed-up head, what was going on. She was an admin manager and had no use for the Party Girls. She took the work from both their desks, making a comment about how overloaded they were, and handed it to me. As I worked, the Party Girls finally sat down, but they were obviously on the phone whispering to each other.

I worked until noon, when the manager came and told me where I could find places to eat and encouraged me to get some lunch. We rode down in the elevator together, then she went her way, and I found a place to eat soup. When I went back to the office, the Party Girls were huddled with some man I hadn’t seen before. They faded away, and he came to my desk and told me I was being released for the day because there wasn’t enough work to keep me busy.

I was delighted to leave. I drove to the bookstore where my former manager had been transferred to croak out the story to him. From his office, I called the temp agency that had sent me there and was told the reason the company gave for releasing me was because I’d lied about my Mac skills. I’m glad my head didn’t explode all over Tim W’s office. The next time that agency called me with an assignment, I declined. They mailed me a check for my four hours of torture, but I was probably in the hole after gas, parking, and lunch.

I think that was the only bad temp experience I ever had.* However, my future Tale From Working Downtown is worse than this one.

*ETA: I am wrong. I remembered another bad temp experience. But all the rest of them were pretty awesome.

In and Around The Compound


I know you’ll all be glad to hear that both my watches have been re-batteried and are up and running. The one on the right, by the way, is the one whose dead battery all those years ago prompted the purchase of the one on the left, as described in my previous post. I had the new batteries put in at Silverlust, one of my favorite shops in Montrose. I have a ring from there that Tom bought me, and another ring that my mother and parents-in-law jointly gave me one birthday. Not only does Herschel custom-make some incredible jewelry, but he’s a longtime donator of merchandise for Scout’s Honor’s silent auction fundraisers. I was lucky enough to win a silver pendant with a citrine stone (LOVE citrine) in 2010.

Several years ago when I took in the watch on the right (it was a Christmas present from Tom about twenty years ago) for a battery, Herschel also replaced some of the marcasite. He takes great care of his customers.

Another Houston place I’ve been meaning to talk about is Happy Fatz Cafe in The Heights. If you love hotdogs, you HAVE to visit this place. And if you don’t love hotdogs, be aware that one of the owners originally got into the food industry by making some TO-DIE-FOR desserts. You can visit their Facebook page for more information and to see their menu. They will substitute veggie dogs for their Hebrew National Kosher Beef dogs. Kathy S has treated me to great lunches there twice.


A sample of their delicious desserts.


Walking in to order at the counter.


Kathy S’s Lotus Blossom.


I like my dogs basic (mustard and ketchup); their scrumptious bread makes this a real treat.


Happy Fatz also supports local artists; I’m working on a series that I hope to hang there later this year.

Just off of Heights Boulevard on White Oak, Happy Fatz is the place for desserts and dogs.

Speaking of dogs, when my sister was here in November, we had a talk about foster dog Penny. As those of you with dogs and cats know, the annual cost of caring for a companion animal can be a little daunting. Tom and I budget for Margot and Guinness, and Tim budgets for Rex and Pixie, and it didn’t seem possible that we could make sure another dog would always have the care s/he needs. My sister told me that if we decided to adopt Penny, she would pay dog support. That was generous, but I still wasn’t sure we were Penny’s best option. All of The Compound foster dogs have gone to what I think were the perfect forever homes for their needs and personalities.

Then a few nights ago, Tom, Tim, and I were talking, and I said, “Seriously, who can offer Penny a better home than the one she has here?” She adores Pixie and Rex, and their level of play is just what she needs. She and Guinness are good napping buddies, and even Margot has almost played with her on occasion, which is HUGE. She has come a long way from being a dog of the streets, skittish around people and reluctant to accept affection, to being a full member of the pack at The Compound. She even plays with Sugar when she visits, lets Jim, Lynne, Rhonda, and Lindsey (her original rescuer!) give her affection, and happily curls up next to Kathy S for a good scratching.

So really, Tim’s post today just made it official.

And now Pixie has a true forever sister to cuddle with.


Pixie P. Lambert and Penny D. Lambert.