The rugrats are coming..! The rugrats are coming..!

The Web Guy and the rugrats.

After a lovely spring break vacation (the university allots a three day weekend for staff - no I am not complaining...).  I am now in the midst of preparing for the impending invasion of teenagers.  One fifteen year old Prince and a twelve year old Princess shall grace the halls of the manor.  This also means that there shall be new rules/realities within the manor.

1. The day shall not begin before 10 am AT THE EARLIEST!
2. The carefully laid out plans of the Lord (Me) have a great chance of being tossed aside by said teenagers.
3. The Lord of the manor (Me) shall lose all control of the viewing habits within the manor.
4. The Lord of the manor (Me) shall have to deal with an overly pampered and hyped up Cat of the manor once the Prince and Princess return to the corn of Indiana (He gets this wide-eyed, manic look on his face that screams "Play with Me!' for about a week after they leave).

Now...having understood what is about to happen, I am thrilled beyond belief and the impending outbreak of pandemonium.  Thank goodness that I live in this area because there is no shortage of things to do.

The Bayou City Art Fair is this upcoming weekend.  If you have not been to one of these, I cannot recommend it enough.  I am finally going to visit NASA's Johnson Space Center.  Then there is the mandatory visits to the Houston Zoo and the Museum of Natural Science.

My son has already decreed that he MUST schedule a visit with his Houston friends which I have no idea what that may entail.  Maybe a visit to the Galleria Mall (... that IS what these teenage types do isn't it?).

So, I have cleaned the apartment and made the beds.  I have stocked up with snacks.  Life is going to be grand!

There just comes a time...

Here we come a' marchin' towards the holidays.  There are beautiful lights up at the Houston Zoo (I am going again... and again), there are magical elves putting up decorations in the office building, the students are sweating out finals...

Life is just good this time of year.

I am going to make the 14 hour drive up to see my folks and kids in Springfield, IL for the Christmas break.  I plan on making some chocolates for everyone to try and gather a handful of hot sauces for everyone to taste.  I know that I have been writing about all of the wonderful places to go and visit here in the Bayou City, but for me it always comes back to the food.  Always has...

You see, I am definitely NOT a hot sauce person.  Anyone who knows me can attest to that, but my son likes the stuff.  Anyway, in the Galleria shopping mall there is a place called the Pepper Palace that we always have to stop in and try.  So, I bought a pack of samplers for him to try and share with his cousins.  For his sister, I am making some different flavored chocolates. Everything from strawberry, to pomegranate to cayenne pepper.  Once again...food stuffs.

Now... let's just hope it doesn't blizzard during the drive.

Experimental theater with puppets

I am excited.  Tonight, a group of us will be attending a show at the Catastrophic Theater.  It will be my first visit to this theater and I am really looking forward to it.

The little ones visit went very well and I am still dealing with an over stimulated cat.  The furry grey boarder was constantly played with by my kids and now that they are gone, he is going through some type of withdrawal.  I am getting this psychotic "play with me now" stare right before he jumps onto my thigh with his claws bared.

During their visit we had a marvelous time going to the Bayou City Arts Festival.  This is an amazing display that happens twice a year and if you have not gone out to see it then you are REALLY missing out on something.

Once again, the Houston Zoo, The Houston Museum of Natural Science and Miller Outdoor Theater came through magnificently.  The outdoor performance was a celebration of the hispanic culture here in Houston and featured a Columbian Salsa band that really had everyone dancing.

Now I just have to find my way to the Renaissance Festival before it leaves in December...

In a week...

In seven days, my two sidekicks come back to Houston...and boy, what a weekend is on store.  As usual, there is just so much going on here.

Of course we will have to start off the weekend with a trip to Galveston.  Since there are no oceans or gulfs in Indiana, they love to hit the beach.  Next is where the mayhem will ensue.

The weekend of October 12th and 13th has the following wonderful events.  The Bayou City Arts Festival, The Texas Contemporary Arts Fair, The Texas Renaissance Festival (opening weekend) The Houston Food Truck Fest (Haute Wheels Houston), the Houston Italian Festival, and a couple of other things...

On top of that is the usual fantastic fare at Miller Outdoor Auditorium and the Houston Zoo.

On Monday I was hoping to take the kids on a tour of the Johnson Space Center (NASA), but with the government shutdown we may not be able to do that.  Oh well, it would not be hard to talk them into going back to the beach...

...and a conversation about bats...

Okay... Where to begin... Or for that matter, where to end.

This weekend I witnessed garbage trucks being choreographed, sat on a lawn and watched an outstanding Houston Grand Opera performance, checked out a Greek festival, went to the zoo and even had a wonderful conversation about bats in a central american country (if memory serves, it was Costa Rica)...

Trash Dance at 14 Pews

Started Friday night with a movie called "Trash Dance" at 14 Pews.  This was an absolutely charming and funny movie about a choreographer in Austin that spent time with the city solid waste management folks and then created a performance using the trucks and the employees as the dancers.  After the film, the director of the film and one of the cast members of the film held a fun Q&A session and then there was a reception outside.  I, went off to the Down House for a bite and a drink.  Great evening.  This would have made my weekend, but...

Then on Saturday I spent a good part of the day looking for (now, get this...) a lawn chair so I could see the Houston Grand Opera.  Yeah, I know... I was thinking the same thing.  I texted a friend to say "I just feel weird shopping for a lawn chair to go see the opera".  But that I did even though I never could pull the trigger on the purchase.

As I have discussed before, the Houston arts community really embraces everyone.  The Ballet, the Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony, and the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company all have free performances for the public at the Miller Outdoor Theater.  I am not sure you will find that in every city.  Bravo Houston art folks!

Anyway, the performance of La Boheme was phenomenal.  For folks that are new to the opera, La Boheme is a good one to start out watching.  The story line is wonderful (if you have ever seen Rent, that was based on the opera),  Puccini's music is easy to listen to, and my goodness, can these folks sing.

Miller is a wonderful venue.  You can sit on the lawn and there are ticketed seats.  They do not charge for the tickets, but you do have to get tickets for the seated area.  Then they make two announcements before the show.  At ten minutes before, they warn all of the ticketed patrons that they have to take their seats and then at five minutes they release the empty seats to everyone.  So while I did not make it to get a ticket, I did get a seat once they released the tickets.  A great night.

Then on Sunday was a wonderful trip to the Houston Zoo to visit some family members that live in the primate area...  :-)  What a fantastic weekend.  I do love this city.

Theatre, the Zoo, and a walk...

I went out for a walk around Hermann Park on Sunday.  Saw my boss at the zoo with her daughter, and got to talk theatre with a volunteer costumer from some place called the Woodlands (evidently it is a suburb).  It was a beautiful 75 degrees and life is good.

The Museum district here in Houston is really a wonderful area.  I love the idea that all of the major museums are in one area of the city and it is even better that Hermann Park is right there.  A museum (in my mind) is all about discovery and exploration.  Whether it be art, history, animals, medical devices (at the museum of medical something or other), we all visit these places to discover or awaken a part of ourselves.  What better time than this to go for a walk..?

Now I will admit to being a bit disappointed at the size of the Houston Zoo.  For a city this size, I was expecting some thing much bigger.  I grew up going to the St. Louis Zoo so my expectations may be a bit unfair.  Having said that, the Houston Zoo is a beautiful place.  The layout and design of the place is really nice and relaxing.  The highlight of the visit (aside from the company), was the orangutan that had a small blanket covering his head that made him look like Yenta from "Fiddle on the Roof".  I love animals...

Later I got shorn at a Sports Clips...you know, every six months whether I need it or not... then fell asleep watching the Super Bowl.  A great weekend.