Bread and Chocolate

Bread........ one thing about staying with the family up in Magnolia-- they had a bread machine. A Pillsbury bread machine....... wonderful, warm, fresh bread every morning we were there. And as easy as pie to make--- just fill up the machine with all the ingredients and turn it on. Within two hours, you have the most delicious bread and your kitchen and breakfast room smells like a bakery. Along with the machine came a recipe booklet for all different kinds of bread.... you can make a different bread every day of the month if you'd like to.

The morning after my husband and I got back to our own home, we walked into our kitchen and said: "What? No fresh bread?" I fully intend to look in the stores for a Pillsbury bread machine.


Chocolate..... we had homemade Swiss chocolates sent to C and her family, and to the family up in Magnolia who were our hosts during the hurricane. We wanted to send them something, and the chocolates that are shipped from Vienna, West Virginia (Holl's Chocolates) are truly the best-tasting Swiss chocolates in the world. (In our humble opinions, and in the opinions of everyone we've ever sent them to.)


All is getting right with the world again. Mickey Kitty has begun to chase the other cats around the house, Gracie is waiting by the front door for my husband to come home from work, another season of The Apprentice has begun, and the lawn service came today and cleaned up all the remains of Hurricane Rita. The garage is back to normal, with all of the outdoor stuff out of it and my car back in there. There is just one yard decoration in the backyard now.... my Mexican lady statue that I found at a yard sale a few years ago. Except for the few chairs on the open deck of the backyard, there isn't anything popping up out of the flowerbeds except flowers. Gone are the ceramic bunnies and ducks, gone are the decorative wooden birdhouses that sat on the fence. The chipped pieces were tossed into the trash, the other things went into donation boxes.

Same for the front yard.... just a few garden ornaments are out there... other things were tossed away or taken away by the guys who take care of the lawn. I don't know what possessed me to put all that stuff all over the yard. I think it was our trips to the Hill Country...... up there, the yards and flowerbeds are filled with all things cute. When we traveled up to the Hill Country, we came home with lots of cute-sy things to put into the flowerbeds. Then I found more stuff at yard sales to decorate the yard. All gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. I am thoroughly cured of trying to make our Clear Lake garden look like a Hill Country estate. One hurricane threat was all I needed.... all those cute little things would've been flying around our yard and everyone else's during the high winds of Rita last week.

Last week. Has it been that long already? Rita today, gone tomorrow.

Rita on The Mind....

I guess you just can't get away from Rita. No matter where we go, everyone is still talking about it, and I imagine that's just a natural thing to do.

My husband and I went into League City today, both getting haircuts, then going to the post office and out to lunch. I had a bunch of packages to send to eBay buyers, some of whom had been waiting for over a week. The mail was held up due to the hurricane, so their payments didn't reach me till yesterday. Everyone understood the situation down here, of course, and the buyers have been very patient.

The ladies at the post office were asking everyone how they fared during the storm, and everyone was asking everyone else how far they drove and how long did it take to get where they were going. More often than not, people didn't even have a destination in mind... they were just driving to get away from the coast.

We went to the Greek restaurant in Kemah for lunch. We've been going there for well over ten years now, so we're friendly with the owners. He asked us where we went during the storm... and told us that he stayed right at home. We're hearing that from a lot of people... they just waited in their homes and listened to the news. When they heard that the storm had taken a different path, they just stayed right where they were. Which is what my husband and I are planning to do the next time. Get ready to leave, but don't plan on leaving till the day before it's supposed to hit, and just hope that the path it takes doesn't cut through Galveston and Clear Lake.

I think running away from the hurricane was just emotionally exhausting. I still can't believe how drained and worn-out we all are feeling. You'd think we'd been walking for 15 hours, instead of driving for 15 hours. Nearly everyone we've spoken to feels the same way, so it isn't just us.

Most of the small businesses are still closed, most not opening till tomorrow or the next day. My husband doesn't have to be to work till tomorrow, and the schools are all closed till tomorrow. The larger stores are open, and I'm sure the Mall is up and running with business as usual. Last place I'd want to be right now is the Mall...... not in the mood for shopping, and I'm not in the mood for much of anything else. I'm just taking things slow and getting every last little bit of things looking right and normal here at the house.

Mickey Kitty is back to his cute little self.... running around and chasing the other cats-- something he hasn't done since before the hurricane. While I was blow-drying my hair this morning, Mickey Kitty had a little adventure which involved the rose-covered topiary that I had filled with miniature teapots and teacups. I didn't hear the crash, but when I walked through the dining room this morning, I saw the little teacup tree on the floor, and there was Mickey Kitty, just sitting there next to it and looking at the remains.

He saw me looking at the mess, and all I said was "Oh Mickey Kitty, what have you done?" He sat right down next to the little tree and looked me square in the eye. I just picked him up to make sure he didn't cut himself on the broken teacups and then kissed the tip of his nose and told him not to worry. Silly tree was always a little lop-sided anyway. I took everything off the tree that wasn't damaged and threw the rest in the trash can, tree and all. This afternoon, I took another little table-top tree out of the holiday closet and decorated it with the little teapots and teacups.... and tucked in all the little pink roses to make it look less like a Christmas tree and more like a topiary. This one looks better than the one that Mickey Kitty knocked off of the buffet, so my sweet kitten did me a favor.

From now on, till Mickey Kitty gets a little older, I will have to remember that he has a fascination with silk flowers. Either that, or he thought the little teacups on that tree were just the perfect size for a seven-pound kitten.

Grocery Shopping, Post-Rita

My husband and I went to the supermarket this afternoon. The shelves were half-full throughout the store. Lots of produce, but you could easily tell which items were pre-Rita, and which were post-Rita. Needless to say, the pre-Rita produce was just sitting there.

The store was relatively quiet, even though there were a lot of people walking around with shopping carts. Women were hugging friends, and asking how they fared during the storm, and everyone was asking everyone else how far they got along the Gulf Freeway as they tried to get past downtown Houston before the storm hit.

The supermarket is currently undergoing an update in their floor plan, so everyone had to walk through the store aisle by aisle to find what they were looking for. One woman turned to me and said that she couldn't deal with the confusion in the store after dealing with the confusion on I-45. I knew exactly what she meant, and when I told my husband what the woman told me, my eyes filled up with tears.

I know we're all okay, and our home is just fine, but when I let my mind wander and start thinking of what might have been, had Rita unleashed its full fury on Clear Lake, my eyes just puddle up with tears.

I've cancelled my piano lesson for tomorrow.... no sense in going, being that I haven't touched my piano in more than a week. My piano teacher was disappointed... not because I'd be missing a lesson, but because she wanted to discuss the storm. I don't want to discuss the storm, which was part of my reason for cancelling. By next week, everyone will feel better, and the storm will be further away in our memories. Hopefully.

All of my cats are just sleeping the days away since we got home... even Mickey Kitty, the baby cat. I don't think they slept well while we were up in Magnolia, and I guess they're making up for lost time. Same with me and my husband... we're sleeping soundly, not waking up till 8:30 or 9:00 every morning, which is very late for us.

While the cashier was ringing up our groceries at the supermarket today, she told us that yet another hurricane has just left the coast of Africa and is heading across the Atlantic. Oh goodie.
Maybe we should all start driving to Magnolia right now.

Tea for Three, Post-Hurricane Rita.

As crazy as everything seemed this morning, as I raked up piles of leaves and small branches, and started to take yard stuff out of the garage, the day was put into perspective for me by my young 14-yr-old friend C.

C phoned me to ask if we could have a little tea party-- just me, and C, and her friend L. I asked her when she would like the tea party and she said, in a very quiet little voice: "Can we have it today, Miss Larrie? Please?"

I know C, and I know she wouldn't have asked for this if she didn't really need it. "Of course," said I. And I told her to call up L and decide what time this afternoon would be good for them both. Within fifteen minutes, C called me back and said "How about 2:00?" I have never gotten the dining room all set and looking pretty in so short a time. Out came teacups and pretty plates, and I even made up little placecards for the three of us.

So that's what we did....... "Tea for Three," at 2:00 this afternoon. I didn't have much in the house for a tea party, but we made do with what I had-- small sandwiches with pimento cheese filling, very small White Castle hamburgers (which were frozen, and my husband cooked up for us), and I had half a dozen shortbread cookies and some dried fruit, and chocolate kisses.

I had bought the little teapots for both girls last week, so I set them out on the table, along with special teapot-topped teaspoons for them, and half a dozen kinds of tea, and the little porcelain teabag holders that I found for them. The girls were thrilled.... their own teapots! And special spoons! I showed them how to brew and pour the tea, and how to cut the crusts from the sandwiches and arrange the plates.

Plus, I had fashion books for them, that I had bought and put away for Christmas gifts, but I used them today for their tea party favors, and they were so happy with them-- they're pop-up books, with fashion paper-dolls from different eras in the history of fashion.

We played the Tea Bingo game after we had our tea and talked about what we all did during the evacuation and the storm. The girls wanted to play the Tea Bingo game a second time, and my husband called out the letters for them as I washed and packed up their teapots. Their mothers had driven both girls here, and I drove them home when we'd had our fill of tea and Tea Bingo.

I've said it before, and I'll continue to believe it--- children are the most important treasures in this world. And whether they're your own, or if you're close to them and just love them as if they're your own, every little thing you do for them, no matter how small, is remembered for a lifetime.

We were very lucky in Clear Lake this past week....... lucky that Hurricane Rita didn't slam into Galveston and Clear Lake with a Category 5 impact, and lucky that we can count our blessings as we rake leaves and make tea for two little girls.

Back home........

We left Magnolia today at a little after noon.... and pulled into our driveway in less than two hours. Sure beats the 15-hour drive of Wednesday, from our driveway to the house in Magnolia.

I am so glad to be home. Our house was just fine..... lots of little tree branches tossed around the yards, and the flower gardens look as if a giant walked around in them. The screen-porch wasn't damaged, most likely because we took everything out of it, and everything out of the backyard. The big Live Oak tree in the corner of the yard is still standing, thank goodness. I was worried about that falling, and wondering which direction it would chose for its landing spot.

My husband and I both cried when we got back home. We know how blessedly lucky we were to have gotten in touch with C and her parents when we realized we would never be able to drive to Dallas. I still find it hard to believe that a two-hour drive took us 15 hours on Wednesday.

Gracie was just the best-behaved dog, all the way in the car during the ride (and we stopped to let her out from time to time), and at the Magnolia home of R and A and their son J. Even my four cats...... they were quiet during the car ride, and very quiet in Magnolia. They were comfortable in the laundry room there, and I kept going in there to let them know we were still around and didn't just drop them off and leave them. I was so worried about how AngelBoy would react to all of this, but he did just fine. In fact, he turned into a lap-cat while we were up in Magnolia. Every time I picked him up, he cuddled into my arms and didn't want to leave--- very different for AngelBoy, who likes to stay close to me but doesn't like to be held for more than ten seconds at a time.

What is amazing to me also is how comfortable we all were up in Magnolia. We had 8 people in that house, plus the 5 dogs and 4 cats. We had to keep the dogs separated for most of the time, but we all took turns letting them inside the house, out in the backyard, or closed up in our bedrooms. We all played cards, watched CNN for the hurricane updates, read books and magazines, cooked together, did laundry together, and just talked and talked and talked. We said it was like being away at camp.

The owners of that Magnolia house, who have been friends with C and her parents for some years now (they used to live on C's street before moving up there), will soon be moving to Colorado. (The husband's job transferred him there and the house is up for sale.) We asked R and A where we would go for the next hurricane, after they moved away. It was decided that we'd have to either drive to Colorado, or ask the new owners of the house to take us all in.

Beautiful homes up in Magnolia. They look like Clear Lake homes, but they're sitting on lots of acres--- either three acres, five, or ten. That's a lot of land to be mowing and taking care of. Some of the home-owners up there have horses. The night just before the storm hit there, we could hear some of the neighbor's horses kicking up a fuss in their stables.

Our house is looking like home again. Some of the furniture is back on the screen-porch, everything in here that we put up higher (in case of flooding) is back in their usual places. I've got tons of laundry to do...... lots of towels and blankets that we used to cover the car seats and put into the cat-carriers to make them soft and cozy. But tomorrow is another day.

All I can say is that we are so grateful to our new friends up in Magnolia. They graciously opened up their home to us and our pets at a moment's notice, and they did so just because we were friends of C and her parents.

I was on the cell-phone with our friends in Dallas during that 15-hour drive as my husband and I inched along in the evacuation traffic going north of Houston, and I was crying and P was crying, and we were both so sad that there was just no way for us to continue driving to their Dallas home. We promised that we'd drive up to Dallas and visit them as soon as we could..... except we'd both be in one car, without the dog and the cats, and we wouldn't be running from a hurricane.

I am so glad we're home and these past few days are behind us. I have loved this house from the moment I first saw it, but I was never so happy to see it as I was this afternoon.

Treasured Objects

It was amazing to see what people were bringing with them as they evacuated the coastal regions of Galveston and Clear Lake.

One man driving a black pick-up truck had a leather recliner in the flatbed of his truck, along with a very large and new-looking barbeque grill, and a fairly new motorcycle. The driver had his dog in the passenger seat of his truck, and he sat there looking out at the cars around him.

Another family had a crate of chickens on top of the roof of their car. Still another had two bird-cages in the backseat of their vehicle, each cage holding a beautiful parakeet. The seat belts were fastened around the cages to keep them in place.

Another large pick-up towed a trailer with two horses, and there were two bales of hay tossed into the flat-bed of the truck.

Most of the cars had adults in the front seat and children and/or pets in the back seat. My own little Thunderbird was just big enough to hold AngelBoy's carrier and Mickey Kitty's carrier. My husband had ShadowBaby's carrier on the passenger seat of his car, and Gracie was in the back seat, next to Rusty in his carrier.

The only things I tossed into my suitcase were a few changes of clothing, my cosmetics and daily hair-stuff, and my telephone book with names and addresses of family and friends. I took the deed and the insurance papers for the house, and all of my good jewelry. I have lots of favorite things around the house, but I took nothing else. The most important thing on my mind was to get our "kids" and us away from what was said would be the third deadliest storm on record.

If we had to do this all over again, I would not take two cars. I would pile up all four cat carriers in the back seat, and I'd sit back there with them, giving Gracie more room in the passenger seat next to my husband. Taking the two cars was a big mistake... very stressful driving, having to follow my husband's car, especially after dark, when a lot of the back roads we took (to get away from the Gulf Freeway parking lot) were pitch-black. Motorists were very nice, though, when they knew that one car was following another--- no one tried to cut in, everyone was very gracious in letting drivers get where they needed to be.

We were all going so slowly on the Gulf Freeway that you got to "know" who was on either side of you, or behind you. For hours, the car behind me had two people in the front seat, and no one in the back seat. The driver was a very large-sized woman, and next to her was a smaller, but still large, version of herself. I guessed they were mother and daughter. For miles and miles, for hours on end, I was able to see them through my rear-view mirror. And for all of those miles, all they did was eat. They had tupperware bowls filled with foods. Sometimes they had plastic spoons, other times they had plastic forks. For most of the times, they just used their fingers. Eat and eat and eat and eat. I swear they were getting me hungry and I wasn't even really in the mood for food. I just munched on spoon-sized shredded wheat and drank bottled water as I drove.

I was happy to have the cell phone with me. I couldn't call my husband in his car ahead of me, since he doesn't have a cell phone. (I told him I'm buying him one as soon as we get through all of this.) I called my sister a bunch of times, especially late at night as I was getting tired-- she told me she'd stay awake till 3:00 in the morning.... and that really helped a lot with the late-night into early-morning driving.

I also called my dad, and my Aunt Dolly. They were happy to hear we were driving away from the coast, but sad that we had to leave the house. "The house is just a house." That's what I told both of them. The most important thing was to get away, and take our precious pets with us.

But as I said... if we had to do this again.... I'd get all of us into just one car. And as soon as I heard of an approaching hurricane, I'd make hotel arrangements somewhere north of Houston, but not as far away as Dallas. And I wouldn't wait till just two days before the storm hits to start driving out of Clear Lake. The time to leave would have been on Monday. That would've gotten us out of the coastal area without having to crawl along at two miles an hour on the Gulf Freeway.

And I wouldn't have taken the time to let my husband board up the windows. The house looked positively sad as we left it. Boarding up the windows does you no good if a 40-foot Live Oak falls on the roof. So what's the point of boarding up 20-year-old windows?

Magnolia is a country town. The house we're in sits on three acres of land. The house next door to this can't even be seen through the trees, but I can see their horses roaming around the pasture in the morning. Very pretty up here... feels like you're miles away from the city, and you truly are. On a normal day, getting to Magnolia from our house would be a two-hour drive. The fact that it took us 16 hours to get here still just boggles my mind. We still just can't believe it.

We're just grateful to be here. When I think of all the people who ran out of gas and couldn't find a station that had any left, and all of the people just driving north with no place to go... we are very lucky indeed.

Waiting for Hurricane Rita

We left Clear Lake on Wednesday, at about 5:00 in the afternoon. My husband and I each took our own cars.... I had AngelBoy and Mickey Kitty in my car (both in their carriers, of course) and he had Gracie, along with Rusty and ShadowBaby.

We drove all night long, headed towards our friends Bill & Patty in Dallas. We never made it. Dallas was just too far to drive, and there wasn't enough gas around, and not enough roads between Houston and Dallas.

Thankfully, we knew where our young 14-yr-old friend C and her parents were headed--- a little town called Magnolia. We saw the "Welcome to Magnolia" sign and my husband pulled over to the side of the road. We managed to contact them via cell phone, and got directions.

We are now all together.... Magnolia is less than two hours from Clear Lake. We left home at 5:00 Wednesday and didn't get to this house till Thursday morning. That's how long we were driving. And thankfully, we were able to find a gas station that still had gas to sell--- and only because my husband got off of the Gulf Freeway and tried to find alternate routes heading north of Houston. So we were driving, me following my husband's car, from 5:00 Wed. till 9:00 Thurs. morning. Unbelievable. I have never felt so stressful behind the wheel of a car.

There are eight people in this house, five dogs, and four cats. We sat down to dinner last night and I told everyone it felt like an episode of "The Waltons."

All the dogs are getting along, except for our Gracie. She is just used to being an 'only dog' and she wants to keep it that way, so we're keeping her away from the other four. My cats are all in the laundry room here.... they spend most of the day sleeping in their carriers, even though they are free to walk around the little room. I was happy that they all behaved in the car... I thought the long car ride would make them all sick, but I guess they knew we were trying to keep them safe, and they were just fine.

We're watching the hurricane news on television, and we were happy to see that the hurricane won't be hitting at Category-5 strength. My husband boarded-up most of the windows on our home before we left. It was sad to leave the house under those conditions, and we've never left in a storm before.

The owners of this house, who are friends of C's parents, are the most gracious couple. They've opened up their hearts and their arms to us, and my husband and I both had tears in our eyes when we pulled into their driveway yesterday morning. Had it not been for R and A, we would surely be sleeping on the side of the road in our cars. There was just no way to make it all the way up to Dallas.... we left Clear Lake too late for that trip, given the evacuation circumstances. We won't make that mistake again.

For now, all is just fine. We're all sharing in the household chores, each family has a large bedroom to share, and the house has two bathrooms. The dogs have a huge yard to run around in, the cats are as content as possible in the laundry room.

Now we're just waiting to see how and where Rita hits into the coast.

Hurricane Rita........

.... Katrina, now Rita. Does that mean to beware of things that end in "a?"

We're going, we're staying, we're boarding up windows, we're taking every last bit of furniture from outside and on the screen-porch........ going, staying.........going........

Four cats...... a cat carrier for each. They'll be the hardest.......... Gracie will be the easiest. She just needs her leash and her food. We all need water, which we have.

Our friends up in Dallas said to drive yesterday, drive this morning, drive now. We need to take both cars.

The neighborhood is very quiet. Even the saws have stopped, so I guess anyone who was going to board up their windows has already cut the wood. Last night, I heard the electric saws going till after midnight.

The cats are getting skittish....... they know something is up.

I'm getting skittish too. Last thing I want to do is leave our house.

Oh Goodie.... Another Storm

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to New Orleans.... and I guess the mayor of that city thought it was safe, because he announced that residents could go back into the city if they wanted to. And so they did, creating traffic jams on the roads leading into The Big Easy.

Mother Nature, however, vetoed the mayor's suggestion. Now that the next hurricane is heading towards the Gulf states, the mayor withdrew his "welcome back" to the people of his city. I guess they've had to turn around and find a high and dry spot again.

I've seen some homes in our area with plywood boards up against their windows. I think the people who put the boards up are those who've lived through bad storms before and had their windows damaged. We have those big sheets of plywood--- they're up in the rafters of the garage, left there from the previous owners. We've never used them.

If the storm seems to be gaining strength, I will go around the front and back yards tomorrow and take away all the decorative garden things that are sitting around. As my Dallas friend Bill said--- "Take away anything that could become a missle in the wind." (He knows all the cutesy little things I've got around the lawns and in the flower-beds. Enough "missles" to destroy every window in this house.)

Hard to believe that a hurricane could even be on the way...... the weather has been absolutely beautiful....... blue sky, bright and sunny, and broiling hot. Typical September weather for here. Hopefully, Hurricane Rita will blow herself out to sea. Or at least, blow herself away from New Orleans and Galveston.

Scrabble Night

What started out as a slow and lazy morning turned into a busy afternoon. My husband spoke to our young friend C around lunch-time, and within the hour, we arranged a pot-luck dinner and Scrabble game. Myself and my husband, and C and her parents.

The funny thing is that I had been wondering if any of our friends liked to play Scrabble--- for the simple reason that I had found tiny stick-on replicas of Scrabble letters, designed for scrapbooks, but I knew they would be great for placecards. Now if that isn't a reason for an impromptu party, then I don't know what is. I bought those little letters over a year ago, and tucked them away with my invitations and placecards and party things. The special part of those little letters is that they're made of thin wood blocks, so they actually looked like mini Scrabble letters on the heavy cardstock that I used for the placecards.

Well, I have to say that not only did they make the perfect placecards for tonight, but everyone was surprised and happy to see their names spelled out in Scrabble letters at their place-settings. Turned out to be the perfect thing to make everyone smile as they went into our dining room tonight. Even my husband was surprised, because I had just tucked them away after I bought them so long ago and he hadn't seen them before this evening.

The potluck dinner turned out very well....... I made crawfish cakes (my own crabcake recipe, except I used crawfish), plus a tossed salad, fresh guacamole, warm bread, and steamed broccoli. C's mom brought a corn/avacado/tomato salad, and asparagus in a light vinegarette dressing. My husband went out to Goodies Creamery and came back with four flavors of their homemade ice cream for dessert. Hard to pick out just four flavors when they offer 88 choices.... and it's the best ice cream around here, bar none.

We played Scrabble after dinner, with two teams.... girls against the guys. We thought of the "C factor," being that it's hard for a 14-yr-old to compete against four adults, so we let C look at the dictionary from time to time, and I gave her a few hints about the letters she had. Poor thing had more consonants than vowels for the whole game. The guys won, but only by two points. We girls demanded a rematch, of course, but decided to save it for another night being that it was already getting late. We all had fun, and that's what counts.

Georgie-W

I watched Georgie-boy on television last night as I did my exercises. He's learning how to read the teleprompter very well, don't you agree?

I listened to every word he read, until he got to the part where he said the government would be ready to aid citizens in case of attack or threats of natural disaster, terrorists or weapons of mass destruction.

As soon as I heard him say "weapons of mass destruction," I grabbed the remote and switched to the home decorating channel. I swear, if I hear that man use that phrase one more time, I think I will just scream. Someone needs to smack him on the side of his head and tell him to "Snap out of it!"

He has not only worn out those words, but he has burned them at the stake, buried them alive, nailed them to the fence, and shoved them down our collective throats since the first time he read them.

And wouldn't you think that even someone with Georgie-boy's limited thought processes would have the sense to turn to his speech-writers and say "Now don't y'all think I've said those words enough by now?"

Give us all a blessed break, Georgie.

Niko Niko's

That's the name of our favorite Greek restaurant in the Montrose section of downtown Houston. We went there the other day, to meet our friends K and B for lunch. Lucky them, they live just ten minutes away from Niko Niko's, and we meet them there a lot when we're in that area. Then again, we live twenty minutes away from Babbo Bruno's, and whenever K and B drive into Clear Lake, we go there for dinner. So the "luck" is even on both parts.

Niko Niko's used to be the smallest little restaurant, with lines of people waiting to order their food, and other lines of people waiting for tables inside or outside on the patio under umbrella-covered tables. All waiting patiently, I might add, because the food is always delicious and the owners and their employees are always so nice.

Last summer, Niko Niko's expanded their kitchen, their patio, and their dining area. Now they have three times the space in all those sections. The food is still as delicious as it was, their menu is the same, their employees (who have been with them for many years) are still there also. K told us that Niko Niko's stayed open for all of the renovation work, except for the two weeks when they re-did the kitchen.

We were all wondering if the restaurant would lose any of its charm or its home-y atmosphere when they made it bigger, but we're happy that it didn't. It is still the same little Niko Niko's, only a little bit bigger, with the greatest Greek food, the happiest employees, and a very gracious owner who remembers all the faces of her regular customers.

Niko Niko's is the only restaurant around that makes me break my "no French fries" rule. My husband always gets their fries with his meal, and I always take one or two. Sometimes five or six, as was the case the other day. The French fries are entirely homemade... cut by hand, fried in the best olive oil, then seasoned by hand. The only fries I've ever had anywhere that taste like the ones my grandmother used to make-- the only difference being that my grandmother cut her potatoes into round slices, rather than long thin slices. One bite of a Niko Niko's French fry, and I'm back in my grandmother's kitchen in Queens.

Woooo-Hooooooo!

The following little tid-bit was sent to me by a friend of mine in North Carolina. Being that this philosophy sounds like something my dear friend Frankie used to always say, I felt it needed to be added here so we all can refer to it from time to time:


Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather one should skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOOOOO-- HOOOOOOO.... what a ride!"

(I would request just one change in the above, being that I don't drink martinis--- I'd like chocolate in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Mango-Peach or Ginger-Apricot would do nicely.)

In Search of Teapots

(Or is that tea pots?) I guess it works either way.

My two young 14-yr-olds loved the tea party so much a couple of weeks ago that not only do they want to have another one ("Soon? Can we do it again soon?").... but they also want to learn how to brew and serve tea.

That's what I like-- a mission. Off I went today with my friend A, in search of tea pots for each of the girls. Easier said than done. We went to the antique shops in League City. Now wouldn't you think that a town filled with tea rooms would have lots of tea pots for sale? (Or maybe that's why the pickings were slim, because all of the tea pots are in the tea rooms there.)

We did find tea pots... all colors, all shapes, all sizes. Most of them, however, were either too big (for their small hands), too expensive (I don't need them to be that antique), or too heavy (if it's heavy when it's empty, it will weigh too much when it's filled). I saw that at the tea party--- the girls could only manage to pour from my smallest tea pot, so I really need two-cup sizes for them.

I found one today, a white china two-cup tea pot, with tiny pink and green flowers on it. A nice shape to it as well-- not too tall, not too round. Just perfect for C's small hands, and it won't clash too much with C's lavender and white tea cup & saucer. Now I have to find one for C's friend L, whose tea cup is blue. Her hands are also small, so I'll look around for a two-cup pot for her also.

I had been looking on eBay for tea pots, but now I see that that might not have worked. Until you actually pick up the tea pot and hold it as if you were pouring, you just can't tell the "feel" of it. So we'll just keep looking. I'm sure it won't be too long before I find the perfect one.

While we were out and about in the shops, I bought the girls some flavored teas, so they can try different flavors and brands. Both C and L were adventurous at our tea party, trying each of the four different teas I brewed.

A and I also talked about The Red Hat Society, which was easy to do because we were sitting in the tea room surrounded by lots of Red Hat accessories. I read the book about The Red Hat Society a couple of months ago.... interesting book, wonderful ideas. I've thought about starting a group, with about 8 women. I've only spoken to A about it, and I won't mention it to anyone else around here till I'm sure I want to do it. I'll see...... after I give it more thought.

Right now, I'm looking for one more perfect tea pot, and planning the Halloween party for next month. Always something. A says I'm getting eccentric. I think she's right. But I do believe I always was..... the eccentric part was just hiding, waiting for the right time to come out.

Nearly Midnight

I swear, I don't know how the days just get away from me the way they do. Nearly midnight now, and I didn't get to exercise today, and I played the piano for less than an hour this afternoon. I've been working on the music from Walt Disney's "It's a Small, Small World." The melody is simple enough, but the chords are confusing. I've been trying to practice this when my husband isn't home because I've played it so much now that he must be sick of hearing it.

I did, however, finish the book I was reading: "Swan," by Frances Mayes. She's the author who wrote "Under The Tuscan Sun," which was made into a movie not too long ago. I didn't see the movie, nor do I plan to... but I will read that book.

"Swan" is the name of a small town in Georgia, filled with unforgetably southern characters. The book captures you from the beginning and carries you along effortlessly. Interesting story about a family and the secrets they keep and the past they discover. My sister found this book on one of the bargain shelves of Barnes & Noble and told me I needed to find it. She said it was a "keeper," and she was right.


Mickey Kitty has been inside the house so much now that he doesn't like being put out on the screen-porch anymore. And he knows when he's about to be put out there because I take off the little stretch-string with his little bell on it. I keep that on him when he's in the house, just so I can find him easily, but I take it off when he's on the porch because I don't want him getting that string caught on the wicker furniture out there. Can't be too careful when there's a kitten in the house, cat-mama that I am. So now he sits out there by the window, meowing at me when I put him out on the porch for the night. He wants in, I know, but he's still too little to keep in the house all night long while we're asleep.


I went shopping for party-favors today for the Halloween party. I found some great scented candles-- they smell like candied apples. I bought a dozen of those for the ladies, along with a dozen small pumpkin-shaped bottles of bubbles--- cute little things with a tiny wand to blow two sizes of mini-bubbles. I had mini champagne-bottles of bubbles at one of our New Year's Eve parties and everyone enjoyed those, so these will be fun too.

We changed our minds (or should I say that I changed our minds) about the theme of this Halloween party. Instead of having the Dinner Mystery Theatre, we're going to stick with Charades. We always have such a blast with that, so I don't think we should ruin a good thing. Plus, everyone joins in to play Charades, but with the Mystery Theatre play, only a third of the group would have parts, which lightens up the energy in the party. Better to just stick with what works, so everyone enjoys the night.

I still need more stuff for favors, but I'll find them along the way. This is why I get started so early with all the preparations...... it takes time, but when you give yourself extra time, it doesn't seem so much like a difficult thing to do.

After midnight now........ it's been a long day, and tomorrow will be another one. All I can say is.... I'm ready to go back to Disneyland.

Tonight on CNN......

A reporter was interviewing an old man in New Orleans who had stayed in the city during the hurricane. He lost everything.... his house and everything in it. The reporter asked him if he thought he made a mistake by staying, and if he'd agree to move out of the city. The man's response was that he didn't leave because that was his home, and he'd do it again if he had to. He also said he wouldn't be moving... for the same reason-- "This here is my home."

The same reporter asked the man if he was angry because of the loss of his house. The man's reply: "This isn't the time to be angry. This is the time to rejoice. I'm alive, and my family is alive. This here that we lost is just material things. We've still got each other."

I wish to the heavens that CNN would keep showing that interview, instead of focusing on the less than one percent of New Orleans' citizens who made life a living hell for those inside the Superdome. There will also be a small segment of any society that will try and bully their way through the world. Unfortunately, that segment gets most of the media's attention.

The quiet people, the ones who tried to protect their children, their homes, their pets, their city.... those are the ones that we see and hear less of. And those are the ones who can teach us the best and the most important lessons.

The Weekend Sneaks Up.........

How did it get to be Saturday already? The days are just flying by, it seems. But I've been saying that a lot these days. Maybe it really is true..... the older you get, the more quickly time seems to pass.

There was an interesting item on CNN the other day. The Powers That Be in Houston have planned to relocate all the Louisiana residents who are now in the Astrodome-- before Sept. 16, I believe the date was. And why did they pick that particular date? Because the first football game will be held at Reliant Stadium that weekend. The brand new football stadium is right next to the Astrodome. I guess they don't want their precious football fans to be inconvenienced by having reality stare them in the face.

I have a feeling that New Orleans will never again be the same. I'm sure it will be rebuilt after a time, but the flavor that once was will not be there again. How could it be, with all the people making New Orleans New Orleans being shipped off to other states.

And if I hear one more person saying that "the people in New Orleans are just different," I think I will just scream. That statement isn't being made in a positive light, which is why I'm taking exception to it. One thing that I wish people would just understand: no matter where we were planted on this planet, no matter what language we speak, no matter what color we are, no matter what our customs are--- we are all the same. THE SAME. THE BLESSED SAME.

There isn't a person walking this earth that is any better than the next person. Some may have better lives than others, but that's because different and/or better opportunities were available are were taken. And even the word "better" in that sentence is relative. There are people who think they have better lives but who are totally clue-less in all that is good.

And what prompted this outburst? A donation box at one of the stores, and one woman who tossed in a bag of canned goods while saying out loud: "I just don't know why on earth I should have to give food to people who can't get out there and get a job and get their own food!" -- She made eye-contact with me as she started to walk away, and I'm sure she knew that I heard every word she said. I thought of telling her how uncharitable she was being, and how un-Christian-like she was with her judgment, but I didn't say a word. I'm old enough now to know that when people are ignorant like that, there's no way that a few words are going to enlighten their closed-up minds. And I'll bet that woman wasn't from Texas. And I'll also bet that she had no friends or family from either Mississippi or Louisiana.

Anyway........ today is shaping up to be a cloudy day. Dark sky, thunder, and rain is very likely to find us pretty soon. Perfect day to get busy with the invitations for our Halloween party. I've already started on the party-favors and prizes. I'm planning to invite our young friend C and her parents, along with C's friend L and her parents. C is getting old enough now to be invited to our Charades group. Hard to believe that she's not a little girl anymore. She is definitely growing into a little lady........ who loves to have tea parties, and still loves her Barbie dolls as well. Our friends K & B said to me that C has had a "story-book" life. Indeed she has. And that's what has made her such a special child.

Speaking of that special child.... C's mother asked me if my husband and I would "take responsibility for C" should anything ever happen to her and her husband. Without a moment's hesitation, I told her that of course we would. L (C's mom) asked me if I needed to think about that, or talk it over with my husband before giving a definite answer as to being C's legal guardians, should the need ever arise. I told L that my answer was already "definite," and my husband would totally agree with that. Then I asked her why she chose my husband and I, rather than someone in either her family or her husband's family. She told me that when she and her husband talked this over with their daughter, C told them that she wouldn't go with anyone else except us.

So now I know why C always says to me "I love you more!" when I tell her that I love her. Lately, I've been countering her response with "I love you most!" .... and now she's coming back with "I love you most-est!" What a kid...... I just love her to pieces, as they say down here.

Mickey Kitty Rules...

Leave it to the tiniest kitten to crown himself "King." Which is exactly what Mickey Kitty has been doing. He has managed to curl up in AngelBoy's favorite napping spots, no matter how many times I've told him not to upset that blue-eyed cat. Just what I don't need-- AngelBoy feeling slighted. He's been pretty good, however, when Mickey Kitty gets onto his favorite chairs. I always know when that happens, because AngelBoy will walk around the house till he finds me, then curl up near my feet and look positively pitiful.

Mickey Kitty's favorite thing to play with now is a pink plastic straw. He bats it all over the house, chews on it, runs with it, hides it under furniture and then looks surprised when he finds it not two seconds after hiding it. The first straw got so beat up that I gave him a new one--- a yellow one. Which he didn't like at all. (Who says animals don't know colors?) He pretty much ignored the yellow straw, then I gave him another pink one and all was right with his little kitty-world again. He's now on his sixth pink straw. I've got a container filled with plastic straws in pink, yellow, green and orange. I had bought them for my young friend C, because she likes to use a straw with her chocolate milk. I will have to tell C that Mickey Kitty has dibs on all the pink ones.

Rusty (oldest cat) has now found a way to beat me at my own game. I thought I could better control his food intake if I kept him out on the deck, away from the food bowls of the other cats and Gracie. Rusty doesn't turn his nose up at dog food when he's searching for something to eat. Now he's into bird food, however. I've been giving the bread crusts to the birds these past couple of mornings--- the crusts that I cut from the tea party sandwiches the other day. The birds are loving the bread, but some pieces end up on the ground underneath the feeders. It didn't take Rusty long to discover that source of food....... so now he's sitting underneath the feeders and waiting for the bread crusts to fall to the ground. Rusty has never heard of a low-carb diet.

The hummingbirds are back...... lots of them in the yard this summer. They usually arrive in mid-August and stay around for a couple of months before they head off to Mexico. Mickey Kitty has never seen hummingbirds before and it's the cutest thing to watch his head moving around as he tries to keep up with the flight-path of those fast little birds.

After The Storm with Oprah

After all the news on CNN, and all the articles in The Chronicle, it was great to watch Oprah's show yesterday and today, and see what's really happening in Louisiana and New Orleans. I swear to the heavens, if Oprah ever decided to run for president of this country, she would get voted into office in a heartbeat. And finally, finally, Oprah was the first person on television to suggest we should stop using that word "refugee." Honestly...... the people who lost their homes are Americans. They're not from another country. They're not using the U.S. as a refuge.... this is their home, no matter what state they're from and no matter which state they're going to in order to get their lives back in order.

In my opinion, that's what this country needs... someone "in charge" who isn't a politician, someone who isn't afraid to suggest (or tell) people to do the right thing. Someone who doesn't owe anyone any favors, who stands to gain nothing from publicity photos, who can give direction in a clear-cut, sane way without stumbling over speeches that have been written by someone else. Every time I hear Georgie-boy on television, I could just cringe.

During all of this news coverage of the hurricane, we've seen newscasters as they've either cried or fought back their tears. We've watched as "celebrities" like Oprah, John Travolta, Chris Rock, Lisa Marie Presley (and so, so many others) who have hugged the citizens of the storm-ravaged states--- really hugged them, with their arms firmly around them, and the tears just streaming down their faces.

And then there's Georgie-boy, reading his notes, his brow lined with worry--- not worried about the people who lost their homes and families and friends, but worried because the decisions he makes will affect his political standing.

Give unto us a blessed break, Georgie-boy.

The Morning After....

Couldn't get to sleep last night and I was up way past midnight. I don't know if it was too much tea in the afternoon, or the late dinner we had with our friends K and B. (They live near downtown Houston, so every time they drive into Clear Lake, we all go out to Babbo Bruno's for dinner.) Not that we ate that much dinner.... B ordered an appetizer, K ordered a light meal, and three-quarters of my dinner is now in my fridge, waiting to be re-heated. My husband enjoyed his dinner last night, though, being that he wasn't at the tea party and faced with all those plates of sandwiches and sweets. (Just whose idea was it to make that much food anyway?)

I got out of bed last night and turned on the television for a few minutes. CNN was still showing everything going on in New Orleans and the surrounding areas. I can't watch that before bed-time... gets me too upset. I quickly shut the TV off and went back to bed and sat up on my pillows reading a book. I've got that little book-light that we had found in the bookstore when I took C & L there after last month's Midnight Tea Party. C found the little lights tucked on one of the bookshelves and we each got one... lets you read in bed without having to turn on a bright lamp.

My friend BH has family who lost everything they had after Katrina blasted through New Orleans. BH called me the other day to let me know she was going to drive into Louisiana, and she told me about her son and his wife losing their home and everything in it. They (along with their three children) are now living in Lake Charles (Louisiana) with BH's mother. Thankfully, BH's mom has a house big enough for all of them, plus it puts BH's mind at ease that her mom isn't living in that big house all by herself.

When BH called me, she was at Wal-Mart, shopping for clothes and things to bring to her son's family. I asked her what size her daughter-in-law was, and she told me "just your size." I went through all of my closets and drawers and filled up two big shopping bags with slacks, shorts, tops, pajamas, shoes and handbags. I even looked into my Christmas closet and pulled out some stuffed animals and games and books that I keep here for little kids who stop by during the holidays.... so I filled up a bag with those things as well.

Amazing how many things you can part with around your own house when there's someone out there who needs them more than you do. I drove over to BH's house the other day with the shopping bags so she wouldn't have to stop by here on her way to Louisiana. She was busy enough, trying to get everything she thought her son's family could use. Before she left Clear Lake, she also stopped at the local food bank where my friend A volunteers her time. They've been innundated with donations since the hurricane, and BH was able to bring some non-perishable food to her son and his family.

It's going to be months and months, if not years and years, before New Orleans and the surrounding towns are able to pull themselves back together and carry on with day-to-day life. Such devastating loss over there, and until they can drain all that water and find out what's underneath, they don't even know how many people have perished.

Tea Party Night

What a great afternoon! Everything worked out so well, and we all (7 of us) had such a nice time. Of course, there was more than enough food (both sandwiches and sweets) but that's the better way to do it-- have more than you need, rather than needing more than you have.

The table looked very pretty with the pink tablecloth, and the porcelain lady figurines for the centerpiece, with pink & ivory china, gold flatware, and fancy goblets for water. Platters and plates with all the different sandwich-squares, and the cookies and tarts and quiches. Everyone loved the miniature china teacup-placecards, and they were happy to be able to take them home as party favors.

I used four teapots so we had our choice of four different teas, and that worked out very well.... the teas stayed nice and hot and the teapots were big enough to hold plenty of tea. My young friends C and L even brought their own antique teacups with them... the ones that I had given them at our Midnight Tea Party last month. I didn't expect them to do that, but they were so happy to have their own cups that they wanted to use them again, so that's what they did.

C made me a wonderful poster-collage, which is now taped to the back of my sitting-room door. She cut out pictures and words that reminded her of me, and looking at it is very flattering. And L came in with a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses, which made the dining room sideboard very festive.

Both young girls dressed up for the tea party. C had on a long blue lace skirt, with a blue top and a blue beaded/fringed belt. She had on bracelets from the jewelry show, and the pink pearl necklace that was mine when I was a little girl. I had given that to C when she turned 13 and she wears it for special occasions. L wore a white dress with pink and green swirls, and she wore the multi-colored rhinestone pendant that I had given her at our Midnight Tea Party. It was so nice to see that the girls took the time to fancy themselves up, and they truly enjoyed the whole idea of an "afternoon tea."

We all had fun picking out the photographs of the "tea ladies," and then we played the Tea Bingo game, which was very competitive for C's mom and L's mom. It was fun to watch them both playing to win, win, win! C and L had fun with the Tea Bingo game, and of course, they said they could make up their own Bingo game for their game-nights with their friends.

Both C and L were surprised with their gift bags...... earrings from Disneyland, and their initials on key-rings (decorated with Mickey & Minnie Mouse), plus a pretty pen & notepaper set. Their moms, along with our friends K and B, got to pick out books from the fiction and non-fiction books that I always have here for party gifts. Such a better idea to let everyone pick out their own books.... I've given away so many books now that there's no way I can remember who has read what and who likes which authors.

My husband came back from his office with paper teacups for all us..... inside of each teacup envelope was a photo of us sitting in a teacup, which was a fun way to end the afternoon. Amazing what computer-magic and a creative imagination can do!

I have given tea parties before in this house, but they've been larger ones where I've invited lots of neighbors and friends. Those parties were fun also, but because the number of women ranged between 15 and 25, there was no way for all of us to be at one table. What happened was that smaller groups made circles around the living room, dining room, breakfast room and the porch. Today we had a group small enough to be seated around the dining room table, but large enough for a party atmosphere. Seven of us today, but if I put both leaves in the dining room table, I can seat twelve.

It's been a long day....... busy from early this morning, getting everything ready, and having everything look so pretty on that dining room table. Not to mention the baking that started a couple of days ago. But it was all worth it, every bit of it. Just to see the expressions on C's and L's faces.... they just looked at everything on the dining room table and squealed like little girls.

There is no better way to make yourself feel good than to do something for a child.

More Tea Things....

Never let it be said that I take the easy way....... I've just spent nearly an hour deciding on how to decorate the dining room table for tomorrow's tea.

I decided on a pink damask tablecloth, with a darker pink & burgundy crocheted doily for the center (a large round one). On top of that pretty doily, I will set out porcelain figurines of ladies holding tea cups. Those are from my collection of Josef Originals that I usually keep in a closed curio cabinet. Time to bring them out to the table, being that they'll go so well with the tea party.

I have a table-top Christmas tree that is filled with miniature teapots and tiny cups and spoons. It took me a few years to fill up that little tree with all the tea things (all of which came from resale shops and yard sales, as did the little tree and the porcelain ice-bucket that it's sitting in). Each branch of that little tree has a pink rose in it, so it has always looked more like a topiary than a Christmas tree. I was going to put that in the center of the dining room table, but then that would interfere with conversation and vision, so I've got that in the center of the sideboard in the dining room.

The baking is all done, and I've cut a cantaloupe into melon-balls and put them in a pretty crystal bowl. Tomorrow, I'll cut some strawberries into fan-shapes.... this way there will be some fruit on the table with the other sweets.

Sandwiches have to be left till the last hour or so.... that will be tomorrow's job. Always last-minute things to do before any party, but that's the way it goes. Along with the fun of having the party is the "fun" of getting ready for one.

Gorgeous day today...... sunny and warm without being too-broiling hot. I read The Chronicle this morning, but didn't listen to CNN today. The Chronicle was filled with stories and photos of the people from New Orleans. They keep calling them refugees. I don't know if I like that term.... it sounds so negative, so self-defeating. And what the people from New Orleans need is a fresh start and a hopeful outlook, not a grim reminder of where they've come from.

Mickey Kitty Explores the House

Each and every day now, Mickey Kitty is discovering new things around the house. He is still fascinated with shoes, and continues to un-tie the laces on my husband's "Dockers." Mickey Kitty found his way into my closet one morning and was hopping from one open shoe-box to the next in there, totally delighted with the selection. I've since learned to make sure my closet door is latched tightly.

Mickey Kitty has also found more Victorian fans around the house. I have quite a few of them... both for decoration and to use for hot flashes, and he loves to spin those around on the floor. He found the one that I keep on my night table in the bedroom, and he was disappointed that the fan wouldn't spin on the carpeting. No problem... he carried the fan into the foyer and made it spin on the tiles there.

Plastic straws... another thing that Mickey Kitty can't get enough of. He will roll around on the carpet with one, biting it and tossing it in the air. Then he'll carry it to the tile and kick it from one end of the breakfast room to the other. And he seems to love it when his toys end up under the sofas in the house....... he makes a running dash underneath the sofa, then races out the other side with his prize.

This little kitten also loves the faux leopard afghan that I keep at the foot of our bed. Mickey Kitty somehow manages to roll part of the afghan up into a ball, then he'll nap with his head resting against the rolled-up part, and the rest of his body curled into the soft leopard.

ShadowBaby and Mickey Kitty have come to some sort of truce. Neither one is chasing the other, and both are very content with one another now when they're out on the screen-porch together or in the house. I keep telling ShadowBaby that's he still the baby-cat around here, but I know he doesn't believe me anymore. Mickey Kitty has taken over the role of baby-cat and the others are just getting used to it. Somehow, it's all working out. Thankfully.

Also, thankfully, Mickey Kitty is using any litter box that he's closest to when the need arises. There are boxes in both bathrooms, in the laundry room, and on the screen-porch. Mickey Kitty has used all of them, so I don't have to worry when he's in the house now. Unlike AngelBoy, who will only use a blue litter box, Mickey Kitty doesn't seem to mind the colors of the boxes. Which, in my opinion, is perfect----- the last thing I need is another prissy, picky AngelBoy-type cat.

Getting Ready for Tea.....

I spent most of the morning baking cookies for Monday afternoon's tea party. Two kinds of bar cookies (pecan, and chocolate-chip/coconut), plus I found a ready-made cookie dough from a downtown Houston specialty market, so I tried those (chocolate chunk pecan) and they taste like I spent an hour mixing the batter. I also have Italian biscotti from Babbo Bruno's, so I will serve those as well.

Tomorrow, I will clean the house, open up the dining room table, and take out the china plates and tea cups and serving pieces that I'll use on Monday. Then on Monday morning, all I will have left to do is set up the table and make all the little sandwiches. I bought enough things to make four different kinds.... smoked salmon and cream cheese, turkey and swiss on whole wheat (which I will bake in the oven), mini quiches that just have to be popped into the oven, and the staple of southern tea parties-- pimento cheese sandwiches. The birds in my garden will have fun with all the crusts that I'll be cutting off the bread slices, so they won't be going to waste.

I also bought Pillsbury crescent rolls, which I can fill with pumpkin pie mix and crushed pecans (delicious!-- tastes like mini pumpkin pies when they're baked). I've also used those crescent rolls and fixed them with pesto sauce and grated cheese, so I may make some of those as well.

Then the tea......... I have enough tea pots to make five or six different flavored teas, but I think I'll just pick three. No sense in making this more difficult than it has to be. It's been enough work already, but it's all worth it in the end.

I made placecard-gifts with miniature china cups & saucers.... I put a chocolate truffle in each of the cups, and tied the name-tag to the cup handle with sparkling ribbon. I've got gift bags all set for my two young girls (C & L), and for the ladies, I have books for them to choose from, plus they can take home some of the cookies.

I had sent away for a Bingo game for tea parties....... very nice set of blue and white Bingo cards with blue chips..... and instead of calling out numbers (as in traditional Bingo), the caller will pick cards that correspond to the squares on the Bingo cards which are filled with all things related to tea-- such as Cinnamon Tea, Sugar Tongs, Petits Fours, Honey, Raspberry Tea, Shortbread, etc. We'll have fun with that after we have our tea and goodies.

And then there will be the "tea ladies." I had cut out pictures of elderly ladies drinking tea..... all wearing strange little hats and wildly-colored outfits. On the backs of each, I've written a description of the "personality" of each of the ladies. So every one here will choose the lady they think they would like to call their own, then read the character traits on the back to see if they match their own.

The afternoon should be lots of fun, and a nice diversion from the CNN station that continues to show the aftermath of Katrina. New Orleans citizens are still trying to get out of their city, and are taking buses and planes and anything that is moving away from Louisiana. I wonder how many will choose to make their homes in other states now. Still very sad, and heart-wrenching to hear every day. My sister called me last night and the night before, each time asking me "What on earth is going on down there?" -- As if I were in charge of all the rescue efforts. I told her that she needs a break from CNN.

And Life Goes On...

My husband's mom always said this to all of us: "No matter what happens in this world, life does go on in a sensible way."

And no matter what happens around the world or around the corner, the right thing to do is to keep your own little pocket of your own world as calm and as serene as possible. With that in mind, I called our young friend C to find out if she was ready for another tea party.

I had promised C and her friend L that I would host another tea party before they got too busy with the new school year. I told them that I would include their mothers this time, and I'd also invite a few friends of my own.

With the school schedule barely started here, C and L are already busy with classes, homework, and after-school activities. The only free day for C was this coming Monday, which is the Labor Day holiday.

So that's the day. Better to just do it now for the girls rather than hold off any longer. Before we all know it, I'll be busy planning the Halloween party, and then comes Thanksgiving and Christmas right behind that.

I've given out the invitations (cute cards decorated with tea cups) and planned the menu for Monday. I've already started on the placecards and the party favors. I'll go shopping for groceries tomorrow afternoon, then I'll be cleaning on Saturday and cooking on Sunday.

And as I type, I'm hearing thunder and it's starting to rain. I hope this rainstorm doesn't find its way to New Orleans. Heaven knows they're wet enough over there as it is.

From New Orleans to Houston...

That's where bus-loads of people have been driven since conditions at the New Orleans Superdome became unbearable. No electricity, no phones, no fresh water, no plumbing facilities. No place to go and no way to get there.

The Houston Powers-That-Be have turned the Astrodome into a shelter for the people from New Orleans. Buses started arriving yesterday and the Astrodome has been filled with blankets and cots, and even a play area for the kids has been set up.

I watched the news tonight and there were residents of New Orleans who have vowed not to go back there. Some of them had blank job applications in their hands and they're determined to make a new life for themselves in the Houston area. As one man said: "Why go back? Ain't got nothing there no more."

So sad. And the more you watch the news, the worse it makes you feel. My husband gave a check to the Red Cross yesterday and now we're just hoping that the money being collected gets to those who need it. I watched a news program last night and the frustrated people in New Orleans said they haven't seen one person from either the Red Cross or the Salvation Army. Honestly... how long does it take to get something organized? Louisiana is not that far from southeast Houston here. President Bush was on television urging people to send cash and checks to the Red Cross. He said not to donate food or clothing or blankets. "Just cash." A statement like that makes people wonder, Georgie-boy.