Greetings from Dallas

Thanksgiving on Thursday at the home of friends of my swimming/book group friend Lynn.  Peter and I gatecrashed a group that has been meeting up on Thanksgiving for years...now three generations together - children and grandchildren...and they made us feel completely welcome!  Turkey and all the trimmings.  It could have been Christmas but no crackers and silly hats and no flaming pudding!  Lots of delicious pies though.

Grilled chilles…I forgot to take the picture before tucking in.
Peter is eating what's left and I had half his clams.

Friday we set off for Dallas for the weekend and after finding our hotel room (suite) negotiated the Dart system and took the 'train' to Mockingbird Station to the Angelika, a version of Cinema City.  We saw 'Nebraska'.  Peter gave it 8 out of 10 (a little slow in places) but I gave it 10.  Thoroughly recommended.  It got a round of applause from the very interactive and appreciative audience.  We talked about it long over supper at a nearby restaurant Central 134 - also highly recommended.  It had the slightly artificial atmosphere of a hotel restaurant but the food was excellent.  I started with a plate of small grilled peppers with a red pepper sauce and Peter had clams in a delicious broth.  We both followed with bavette steak on a pea puree with heritage carrots and fingerling potatoes.  All very good...and a good bottle of Italian wine.

Bavette steak

Actually 'Nebraska' was our second film of the week. Things seem to be improving on that front.  We also saw 'Philomena' which we both gave 9 out of 10!

The hotel opposite

Christmas decoration made from car parts

We spent Saturday at the Dallas Art Museum, a completely confusing building - we had to ask how to find rooms constantly, but very enjoyable nonetheless.  We started with a special exhibition of Hopper drawings showing how he prepared for many of his paintings.  Then a spell in the cafe for coffee then off to explore the other rooms.  Back to the cafe for lunch and then finally across to the sculpture collection opposite.

Here are some of the things we liked, in no particularly order.

Artfully arranged water fountains

 

Waiting for the gizmo...

We had to get new car insurance last week.  Apparently we were mis-sold insurance (no prior history of US car insurance in the previous 6 months) and the policy was cancelled.  The poor woman who sold it to us was sacked!

The new insurance is more expensive (surprise!) but here's the thing.  They are sending us a gizmo that plugs into the car somewhere near the steering wheel and records how you drive over a 30 day period.  The higher you score (for smooth driving, no sudden braking, steady speeds etc) the more you get off your insurance - up to 30%!  If it arrives soon the car will actually be stationery in the airport car park for a good proportion of the next 30 days...

A cold Sunday in Brenham

It was cold on Sunday and the wind was damp and penetrating.  For want of something better to do before the concert in the evening, we drove to Brenham where a farmers' market was advertised.  We've been to Brenham before and enjoyed wandering round the old downtown area, but yesterday was no day for loitering outside.  We purchased beans, small sweet peppers, Longhorn beef mince, Longhorn smoked beef sausage and some local cheese and left them in the boot of the car, which was as good as a fridge, and then went in search of lunch.  We spied somewhere that looked busy - Smitty's - and took shelter there.   The menu turned out to be anything fried!  So Peter had a hamburger, which he insisted on eating with a knife and fork, and I had chicken fried steak…BIG mistake.  I believe it's a southern delicacy.  Maybe it was the way Smitty ruined it, but it was HORRIBLE.  A bit of meat that had been pounded to within an inch of its life and covered in what looked like breakfast cereal and fried.  I must have ingested a week's worth of salt!

Smitty's was a family restaurant in the front and the bad boys lurked at the back where there were televisions on every wall, slot machines, pool tables and dart boards.  How about this for a television screen!

They also demonstrated a sense of humour…I think!

It says "We don't dial 191"

Owooooooo! 

On the way back to the car I spotted something in a window that perfectly summed up what I thought of lunch!

Reveille

Miss Reveille

Now, having read the title of this post, you're probably thinking…wake up call.  Pronounced 're-valley' in the UK, 're-vayee' in France where it comes from and 'revel-ee' in the US.  And Reveille (revel-ee) is the name given to the collie dogs who are the mascots of Texas A&M.  Just one dog at a time and the death of a mascot is a serious business.  See the web page for a recent memorial service.  The dog is often respectfully referred to as Miss Reveille, Miss being a curtesy title in Texas and used in conjunction with someone's first name.  So at swimming I am sometimes referred to as 'Miss Ruth' and sometimes as….well, never mind.

Apparently (and I heard this at a dinner party, so…) when the dogs die they are buried within sight and sound of the vast football stadium, Kyle Field,  and with a view of the score board through an archway.   At some point it was decided to move the mascot cemetery for some reason and they (still talking about the doggie remains) no longer had a view of the scoreboard, so during the games someone stood in front of the graves writing the scores on a chalk board and holding it up for the dogs to 'see'.

Kyle Field 

Now an electronic score board has been installed opposite the burial place…

Other traditions are that if the dog barks in class (they go where the handler goes) the class is dismissed and if the dog goes to sleep on the handler's bed, the handler has to sleep on the floor.    This place is full of traditions…you couldn't make them up!

Goodbye Halloween, hello Christmas

Special slow cooker to take a 12 lb turkey...

Pile 'em high

Real ones! 

Yes, the shops are full of Christmas stuff.  Oddly enough there is no commercial sign of Thanksgiving.  Everyone eats turkey but I haven't seen any sign of fresh turkeys in the supermarkets, just frozen ones, and no talk of ordering the turkey in advance.

A Liss Bros fan

Amazingly, a young couple who are doing up a house in Luton (I think) have recently acquired a piece of Liss Bros furniture that they seem delighted with.  It's being used as a shoe cupboard and this picture is from their blog from which you will see that they took the provenance of their new purchase very seriously.

We've several similar pieces of oak furniture by Liss Bros.  The brothers, each craftsmen who had served their cabinet making apprenticeships, lovingly created quality pieces to their own designs.  Using only the finest raw materials they produced high quality pieces of furniture.  This 'shoe cupboard' comes from a range of practical oak bedroom furniture which mellows to a honey gold.  Pieces such as these are turning up in antique shops (see above left) and are fast becoming collectable.

The couple's work on their house takes me back to the three major house renovations that we have done over the years.  Have a look at the wonderful brickwork at the back of their house and the real sash windows!

Good luck to them!

Surprising statistics

This month's viewing figures for this blog…

Entry	Pageviews
United States	369
United Kingdom	122
Malaysia	49
Germany	13
Ukraine	11
Azerbaijan	2
China	2
Latvia	2
Peru	2
Russia	2

Rather surprising until you realise that most people have probably looked at the blog by mistake! 

More food...

Leg of lamb 

It's a while since I bothered you with information about food.  We have 4 very nice people coming to dinner tonight and I am cooking Ottolenghi's lamb shwama.  Here is the lamb ready to go into the oven after marinading for 24 hours.  It's clearly from a Texan sheep.  I have never seen a leg of lamb so large. It weighs 8 lbs - about the size of a decent baby!   It's a shame really that we can only get 6 round our dining table because really this baby would feed a dozen people easily!  

Also ready for the oven is a dish of courgette, aubergine and tomato nestling on a bed of caramelised onion and sprinkled with thyme.

Veggies

Homemade (what else) celery soup to start.  The lamb is being served with mixed wild and red rice tarted up with some raisins and a bit of this and that and Greek yoghurt on the side.

The lamb has already been in the oven for 4 hours and the vegetables have now melted into a delicious jam! The whole house smells good.

And the bonus is that the postman just arrived with two parcels from the UK…a Masai top and a dress which I purchased online.  The dress is a little on the fitted side…more work to be done there Ruth…but the top is just right.  I've put it on immediately and have my best hostess smile ready!

Penny pinching…or just plain sensible

I went to a hairdresser recently and paid $50 plus tip for an OK hair cut.  It actually looked very good on the day, but rather quickly thickened out to a somewhat bouffant style!  I had another appointment booked for next week (in time for Thanksgiving, don't you know) but I cancelled it in favour of Classic Cuts next to the supermarket.   Walk in, no wait, hair cut for $11 plus tip.  And really, it's just as good as the $50 affair.

And here's a wacky 'selfie' to demonstrate!  Mm.  Perhaps I should have combed my hair before taking the picture...Yes, I know I'm bonkers!

A step too far...

Went back to the Sechuan restaurant we like and were greeted with hugs by the hostess.  Because we're friends of Chinese friends of hers we were honoured with a glimpse of their new menu items.  All nicely printed in Chinese, so the thoughtful lady provided us with her mobile phone so we could see the new menu in English.   Careful comparisons showed that the new items were various renderings of chicken feet, pork intestine and beef tripe, so I'm afraid we stuck to the old menu.  Delicious food…and I'm having the leftovers for lunch!

Hot walking

A walk yesterday in what turned out to be very hot and humid weather despite the fact that it's November.  We planned 7 miles beside Lake Somerville, but in the end only managed 4.5 miles. It was 85F with 60% humidity and I was turning beetroot and ready to expire - a fact that managed to communicate itself to the vultures!

I won on the National Lottery!!!!

Yes, my numbers came up!  I won £71.
Ha! Ha!  You thought you were going to have to start being nice to me!

Try anything once, again...

Another first!  My first live basketball game.

But first you have to get through the car park which, because tomorrow is the last home game of the football season, is full of huge trailers.  Now think caravan and then multiply it and add a long distance coach and you get somewhere close to the size of these things!   People have come for the game tomorrow and brought with them outdoor seating, tables, BBQs, wood burning fires, play pens, kids toys, satellite dishes for the TVs and even rugs and a large square of 'lawn'.  It was very difficult in the dark to get a photo, but there's a woman sitting outside watching TV which is on the outside of the van…and there are two more huge screens inside.  I've heard that some people drive to College Station for the football and sit and watch it on their outdoor TVs because they don't have tickets!

The player in white on the left is from Ipswich!

Having walked through the car park slack jawed at the sight of these monster trailers we took our seats!  (I was picked up and taken to supper before the game by Lynn and her husband.  Lynn is someone I meet at both water fitness and the book group.)

Like many sports there seems to be relatively little continuous play and a lot of 'time out', high fives,
repositioning, and breaks.  During the breaks the student band strikes up vigorously.  The dancing girls come out and perform.  Young boys run out with cloths and wipe up the sweat from around the basket. During play the students at each end stand and, choreographed by cheer leaders (men), they run through a complex series of gestures, grunts, drones and slogans that are designed to encourage their side and discourage the opponents by turn.  Then there's the sudden wave of popcorn aroma as a family of father and three small kids all walk past with a bucketful each! All in all, never a dull moment and a great spectacle.

Of course I could write a whole post on what I think of girls in sequinned tops gyrating and leaping and tossing their long blond hair.  What sort of messages are you sending out girls about your bodies, your minds, your self-esteem, your worth…don't get me started!

Oh, and we won!

Try anything once...

...but I drawn the line at this! Can you read the label?  Can you see the eye?

A telling off in Cartridge World

Took the printer cartridge in for a refill yesterday.  Courteous, serious man behind the counter.  When we have done with the pleasantries...asking after each other's health...I remove the cartridge from my carrier bag and explain that I need a refill.

Man:  What you have brought in here is the cartridge and the drum
Me: Oh, yes.  I didn't realise. (So?)
Man: Was the toner light coming on?
Me:  Yes, and I've given the cartridge a good shake...(see, I know what you're supposed to do...)
Man: This is the original cartridge that came with the printer
Me: That's right...
Man: They don't have much life in them.
Me: Yes, I know...
Man: Was the drum light coming on
Me: No (If the drum light was coming on I'd be talking about that...oh, never mind!)
Man: The drum should last longer than the cartridge but when the drum light comes on you will need to change it.
Me: Fine (thank you for telling me the obvious...)
Man: Here is your cartridge replacement
Me: Thank you (this is taking a long time)
Man: You should not have brought the drum in
Me: Oh? (now what!)
Man: Didn't you know they are light sensitive?  You are very lucky it's not sunny today, you could have completely ruined it.
Me: Thank you for telling me that...(thank you for making me feel small and a real idiot, but who knew? Did you ever read that in a handbook?)
Man: Your total today is $54.07
Me: Thank you...(hands over card)
Man: You saved $18 by coming into Cartridge World (but you don't deserve it!)
Me: Goodbye, thank you for your help, have a nice day (and book your place at charm school!)

I'm swimming in the rain

Just swimming in the rain
What a glorious feeling
(Something's wrong with my brain)
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The chlorine's in my eyes
And I'm ready for...

a hot shower, a strong coffee and a toasted muffin with pecan nut butter - ah!  That's better!

Jazz night in Bryan

Drove up to Bryan this evening (on my own, Peter having gone off for a series of meetings in Florence, Portsmouth and London) and met up with Patricia Cleere for a Jazz night.  It was held in the basement of a hotel and Pat was disappointed by the low turnout.  However, the music was very enjoyable, varied and featured lots of guest players...many of them retired professors from A&M.   Reminded me of Mojo's without the dancing!

Pat and I and a friend of Pat's polished off a bottle wine and Pat and I ordered food.  I was introduced to many people and when I came back into the room from a short visit to the ladies/restroom it was noticeable that people looked up, nodded and smiled!  Such friendliness!  I must have shaken the hands of 6 complete strangers on my way out of the door at the end. Drove home...driving and drinking laws are probably the same here, but people's attitudes to them are very relaxed.  I can't speak for the po-lice though...

Historic marker dedication

On Saturday afternoon Peter and I attended the unveiling and dedication of a historic marker recording the history of the little Ibarra School for Hispanic pupils that existed on the site before desegregation of schools.  Many 'old' pupils attended along with their families, the decedents of the man for whom the school was named, together with a whole posse of important people...the Mayor, the chair of the Brazos Valley Historic Committee and other elected people.  There was a lot of handshaking and applause for individuals  The opening prayer was prayed, at some length, by a Baptist minister and then after several speeches, the local Catholic priest, in fine lace, prayed some more and in some detail before withdrawing a small plastic bottle from the folds of his clothing and sprinkling holy water on the marker.  It was an impressive occasion and one marked by many photographs of people proudly arrayed in front of the marker.  Here is our own contribution...on the left Patricia Cleere who is on the College Station Historic Committee, in the middle yours truly who has been transcribing the memories of the Ibarra school former pupils and on the right, Anne Preston who runs the Brazos Valley Oral History Project and for whom I 'work'.

In the evening a Chinese colleague of Peter's and his Chinese wife met us for supper at a newly opened Sechuan restaurant, which was full of Chinese students eating...a very good sign.  The food was delicious.  Very spicy!   I am taking Patricia (see above) there on Wednesday evening.