What Have We Been Up To in Houston?

We've been in Houston for almost three months and now we're getting ready to leave on Saturday and head West for a few months.

We came here primarily so I could spend time with my ailing Mom and help my sisters with her care. It's been a very challenging time dealing with hospitals, nursing homes, medication issues, etc., but Mom is now settled in at a small group residential home and they are taking good care of her. This has not been an easy journey for Mom or for her daughters, but we are extremely fortunate that our family works well together as a team.

I have also really enjoyed spending time with Dad, and my sisters Pilar and Catherine and their families. My nieces are growing up so fast, that I feel if I look away for a moment they'll be grown and gone. Rachel is a high school senior and an outstanding student. She has been accepted to several very good universities, and also been offered a number of scholarships. So she is in the enviable and much-deserved position of being able to take her pick. I am very proud of Rachel and happy, happy that she is reaping the benefit of her hard work. Sarah will be starting high school in just a few months, and she is also an excellent student - I have no doubt she will also make her mark in high school. They are both great kids and I love them dearly.

In early December, Pilar and John hosted a gathering at their home in Beach City for Lynda's birthday. We boarded Sydney and Barley at a nearby Pet Paradise, and spent the night at Pilar's house. Catherine, Roger, and the girls also stayed over and we had a very nice time. And Lynda got her Angel Food cake, which is her favorite!

One afternoon, I went with Catherine to take Sarah to her horseback riding lesson and we ended up chatting with a woman who told us that HEB has great snow crab legs. So we decided to have a crab feast! About a week later, Dad came over to Catherine's and Lynda and I picked up a bunch of snow crab clusters, baby potatoes (which we roasted), and corn on the cob. Yummm!

Christmas was bittersweet this year: on one hand it was wonderful to be with the family, and the kids make the day so much fun, but Mom was not well enough to be with us and we missed her. Nonetheless, the company was great and the food delicious. As always, Catherine and Roger were gracious hosts!

Lynda went to Tennessee to spend Christmas with her parents. But before she left, Rachel and Sarah gave us a Christmas decoration for our motor home.

We have also been able to visit some friends here in Houston, including Donna and Charles, Brad, Noreen and Ron, and Don and Lois. This was the first time Don and I have seen each other in 23 years and it was great to catch up! And we also met up with Debbie and Wayne, RV friends we met in Alaska a few years ago... they were working at the KOA near Lake Conroe and we met them for lunch at Vernon's Kountry Katfish.

Houston is a city of amazing diversity, and we have thoroughly enjoyed a variety of Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Tex-Mex food over the past three months. Coming from Knoxville, Tennessee we are not used to so many choices of so many types of food. We love it!

Now that things with Mom have settled down, we've decided to travel for a few months. We're leaving on Saturday and will return to Houston the middle of May so we can visit Mom and attend Rachel's graduation.