The Road to Dallas....

As I type this, Bill Cherry and his wife are on their way to Dallas, to their new home. We met them for dinner last night at a little Greek restaurant near the Johnson Space Center. We've all had dinner there before... I've always described it as more "Bohemian" than Greek. The menu is a combination of Turkish and Greek, with a little something else tossed in that I cannot identify. My friend F up in NY would know what the "mystery" spices are and where they come from, but I haven't got a clue.

This little restaurant would be right at home in New York's Greenwich Village.... the waitresses look as if they've just arrived from (New York's) Soho, the Christmas decorations are kept up all year round, tables and chairs have never matched, nor have the plates, flatware, or even the floor surfaces in different parts of the restaurant. They have a deli counter for to-go orders, plus shelves and more shelves lining the perimeter of the rooms, all filled with foods from Greece, Turkey, Italy, Spain--- hundreds of jars and cans and packages with beautiful labels.

When Bill came here to tune my piano this week, I gave him three books for his new Dallas house. One book called Southern Interiors, another titled Laura Ashley Color, and another one called Outdoor Garden Projects. I knew the books would inspire both of them as they decorated their house and made it into their home. Last night at dinner, I gave Bill some dried seeds from the white begonia plants I have growing all over our yard. Every time they've been to our house, either Bill or Patty would ask me about those begonias. Well, now they'll have some for their own home.

I also did a small 4x7" watercolor for Bill....... two large red cherries with green leaves... in the middle of one dark stem, I painted Bill and along the other stem I painted Patty. I thought of that yesterday while I was eating some fresh cherries, and quickly decided it would be fun to try to paint it for them. I showed it to my husband when he got home and he thought it was great, so I wrapped it up for the Cherrys. (If my husband had thought it was silly, I would've just put it into my file of paintings that never see the light of day.) I happened to have a small frame to fit the Cherrys, so in it went and it looked even better. Both Bill and Patty smiled when they opened it, and laughed out loud when they saw their first names incorporated into the stems of the fruit. Perfect gift!

Last night was an early dinner and an early parting.... they had last-minute packing to do and they planned to get an early start this morning. Bill and Patty promised to get their guest room all set up.... we promised to visit.

Galveston has lost one of its famous BOIs. Instead of BOI standing for "Born On the Island," it now means "Bill is Off the Island."