Japanese Birthday Dinner

We had a last-minute invitation to the local Japanese restaurant tonight, to celebrate the birthday of C's dad. They didn't know they were going out tonight.... weekday dinners out always depend on the amount of homework that C has to do.

Nice restaurant, and very close to the subdivision..... great food, but I've never seen the parking lot all that crowded there, which makes me wonder if they've been getting enough business to stay in business. We have so many restaurants here, and everywhere else between here and downtown. I remember reading somewhere that Houston people eat out more often than any other American city of this size and population. Which doesn't surprise me, given the reasonable prices of the majority of restaurants here. (Not counting many of the downtown restaurants... I'm sure their prices are higher there because the rents are higher.)

And then we have the small country towns where you're lucky to have one little cafe and one chain restaurant-- and that's it. No choice at all, which makes me think that mostly everyone in those tiny towns just don't go out to eat.

Anyway.... nice dinner..... a nice surprise for us. I had dinner all cooked and ready when C called to invite us, and she was disappointed that I had already cooked. Not a problem, I told her.... it was cooked, but we hadn't eaten yet because I was waiting for my husband to get home from the office. I just covered everything up and put it in the fridge, called him at work to tell him of the change of plans, and changed clothes and got ready to go out. I wasn't in the mood for what I was cooking anyway.


We watched "Out of Africa" the other night, and I finished reading the book this afternoon. As always, no matter how many times I've seen that movie, watching it is like seeing it for the first time. The scenery, the music... it's all just a feast for the eyes. Now that I've read the book, I know I will want to read it again, so it's up on my bookshelves. The last time I watched "Out of Africa," I was living in New York. It's been a long time, but the magic of the movie was still there.

So many books on my bookshelves that I'm hoping to read again. Will that be possible? Can you read everything you want to read in just one life-time? And what about the books you want to read more than once--- is there time for those as well? The one with the most books wins. The one who has read the most books wins. I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again--- I can buy books faster than I can read them, and I don't think I've ever gone into a bookstore without finding something I want to read-- and that goes for the bookshop in the local library as well.

In a perfect world, there would be time enough for every book you wanted to read, with extra time set aside to re-read your favorites.