Monkeys & Baklava

The past few weeks have been busy ones! 

One of the coolest things about living in a major metropolitan area is the huge variety of cultural events & fun festivals.  Last weekend we went to Houston's Greekfest at St. Basil's Greek Orthodox Church (http://houstongreekfest.com/).

Back story: my mom used to work for a Greek accountant who did the books for basically every Greek restaurant in Asheville.  When she would deliver paperwork to them, she sometimes took me. And due to a wonderfully generous food-sharing ethic (yum), they would feed us.  A lot.  So as a kid, I got seriously spoiled on authentic, homemade Greek food. 

It was also a great introduction to Greek culture, and my travels to Greece years ago cemented my appreciation for it.  I would LOVE to go back to Greece someday soon!

The festival was on the smaller side but very lively and fun - they had beautiful architecture:

 

Dancing:

And, of course, FOOD!!!  We had gyros - delicious!!!  And then had to go back for some baklava.  I also got a kourabiedes (a buttery nutty cookie covered in powdered sugar).  Both were SO unbelievably good.  Homemade baklava is absolutely divine. 

 (In fact I totally forgot to take the picture until I had already taken a bite).

Then last week I went to The Big D (Dallas) for work.  It was a great trip!  I got another training certification, which is always awesome, and got to meet a bunch of new coworkers in our Dallas office.  And in my free time in the evenings, I had a little adventure! 

Noel enjoys a show called "Fast & Loud."  Who am I kidding?  I enjoy it too.  :)  It's a show about a garage in Dallas that refurbish old cars into really gorgeous customs.  Noel mentioned to me that if I "happened" to go by their garage and "happened" to buy him a t-shirt, he'd be really happy.  So!  Because I am a kind and loving person who has a high tolerance for rush hour traffic, I totally went to Gas Monkey Garage and parked and stalked them while they made an episode of the show.  And bought him some stuff.  And also a shirt for myself. 

 

 

I even got a picture of Richard Rawlings, the star of the show!

 

 

 

We've been doing some work on the house too, including pimping out our pergola.  In case you weren't aware, Houston gets a bit sunny...and hot...  So we enjoying our beautiful pergola because it's unbearable.  But!  We refuse to submit.  So we made some linens to go on top, installed shower rails on 2 sides, and bought some pretty sheets to act as sun shades on the sides.  Success!!  We love it.  Makes it feel like an outdoor room now. 

And the outdoors are a-blooming!  Our hibiscus is now growing back nicely but is still only about 8 inches tall.  But our canna lilies are already blooming nicely! 

We also had a run in with a squirrel that was like a 3 Stooges routine.  Look at the size of this monster squirrel!!

So I tried to get a picture of him, but every time I would sidle around one side of the tree, he'd inch around the other side.  Then I'd go back the other way slowly, and he'd inch back around the opposite way.  It took...way too long to get this picture.  And of course, Noel was laughing at my inability to not try to get a picture of said squirrel, because I have in fact been bitten by a squirrel before when trying to feed it.

And because a blog post isn't a blog post without it, the requisite Cat in Box photo:

(Note - Poe seems to fit in this box slightly better than Sammy does.)

In which I feed alpacas and buy yarn, because I can't not buy yarn.

Lately I've been thinking about how big the world is, and how many things there are to learn how to do - mosaic tile, stained glass windows, masonry, woodworking, welding....and how there are so many opportunities to go out and learn some of these things. 

So this weekend I was fortunate enough to have a bit of a learning-related adventure!  On Saturday morning, I met a group of fellow yarn enthusiasts (read: knitting nerds) for a tour of the Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Ranch in Navasota, TX.  We had a great tour of the ranch, and got to pet and even feed some of the 70 alpaca that live there.  The area where the ranch is located is so pretty - hilly, lots of trees, and right now covered in wildflowers (including, yes, bluebonnets - the national flower of Texas).

The ranchers were super nice and showed us all about the caretaking of alpaca, which is in the camelid family (think llamas) that come from the Andes in South America.  They're known over the world for the awesome softness of their fleece.  And they're really cute too!

We saw some funny ones with derpy-derp haircuts:

And some whose fleece grows in wavy locks:

There were also BABIES.  I LOVE THEM.  And Noel is very proud that I did not, in fact, bring one home with me.

This one is called Sweet Talking Man.  He was a charmer.  :)   

The ranchers raise these alpaca to both sell to breeders, and for their fleeces for yarn (they shear them - no worries about alpacacide!)

There might have been some yarn for sale there.  I might have accidentally bought some.  It's hard not to, when you just fed the little guy whose fleece made the yarn!

So we had lunch there, and then went to a gorgeous yarn shop in Navasota called WC Mercantile - such beautiful stuff in there!!  And they have lots of supplies for spinning yarn as well, and that might be something I'll do in the near future (since I don't have any other hobbies - sigh).

Anyway, we spent the afternoon there learning how to dye yarn!  It was really fun, and honestly much easier in some ways than I imagined.  I can see how people get addicted to it.  We got to keep the skein of yarn we dyed, and I was so happy with the way mine turned out:

(Purple, blue, teal.  Of course.  I am in a very happy rut).

Now to find patterns to use for all this gorgeous alpaca fluffiness!

Nailed It!

Ah yes, Photorama time!

Noel and I have been very busy lately, what with working on the house, the garden, work (duh), and a little bit of traveling.  Photographic evidence below.

First, the house!  We've been working on fixing up our entertainment center.  When we moved in, it looked um....DIY.  And not necessarily in a good way.  We're updating it, fixing it, painting it, and doing some design work on it. It will be fabulous.  Now, I don't have any pictures of it that I can show yet (I want to display it all when it's finished), but I did want to show something that amazed and astounded me.  Despite all of the moving of large pieces of wood, the sanding, the caulking, the nailing, and the painting, I have somehow managed to maintain these:

Yes, they're real.  And yes, they're also hot pink.  Because summer.  Usually when I get vain about my fingernails and paint them, they understand that polish=self-destruct, and usually one or more will break within about 2 hours. 

But!  So far so good.  Anyone for bowling?

Ok, so next on our list of photos (I know that first one was a life-changer, so try not to get overexcited that more Time Magazine caliber pictures are on the way).  Our garden has started to produce!!  We have the weirdest, biggest mutant cucumbers ever.  (Except for Cukezilla a few years ago, that looked more like a small watermelon).  Behold the Bounty!

Summer squash (that will be fried this week), okra, little tomatoes (Noel says they're great in salads), and 2 types of cucumbers.  The one at the top is what most people think of when you say the word "cucumber."  The others at the bottom look like what most people think of when you say the word "prickly oversized zucchini monster."  They are, in fact, cucumbers.  The biggest we had so far was SEVENTEEN INCHES LONG.  That's...not normal.  But it tasted good!

We're freezing the okra for cooler weather, when it will be chopped up and fried.  Yum.  The squash won't make it through the summer.  :)

And although we were excited for the pretty squash, Loki was not impressed.

Next up, we have work.  Now my job (as a trainer/speaker/coach type) sometimes has awesome perks.  One of them happened last weekend (before Memorial Day weekend) with a speaking engagement in The Big D (and I do mean Dallas).  We packed our bags for a 2 day/2 night stay at a luxury resort! 

Samson helped with the packing.

We stayed at the Gaylord Texan, a gorgeous property in Grapevine, TX.  I don't know if any of you have ever seen a Gaylord hotel (other than you, Rachel, who has also seen the one in Nashville that is INSANELY HUGE).  But they are astounding.

The outside of the main hotel:

Also, the weather was gorgeous.  Bit warm, around 90, but beautiful skies, which we could see all the time in the hotel, because the Gaylord properties all have massive atriums (atria?) as the centerpiece of the hotel! 

(Thing In Sky!)

Because of the massive atrium setup, they have essentially a small town inside the hotel, complete with restaurants, shops, entertainment, gardens, trees, walking paths, etc.  At dusk they had these little lights all over the paths.

The Gaylord Texan has (surprise surprise) a Texan theme to it.  This area below was designed to look like San Antonio, and even featured a replica Alamo!  Do you see the little river in the middle of this picture?  It flowed all through the atrium, winding its way around little model train displays, gardens, restaurants, and seating areas.

Here is the same spot at night so you can see how pretty it was in the evening:

The food was some of the best we have ever eaten (seriously, I could eat their lobster bisque every day and be happy).  The staff was exceptionally courteous and efficient (even with my 2 am complaint about the screaming tweens in the next room - tip to parents: nobody thinks your loud obnoxious untrained children are as charming as you do).  There was a spa. Massages were had.  Even the breakfast delivered by room service was phenomenal.  My workshop also went very well. 

My only major quandry?  Why is it that all major humongous hotels have hallways that look like they came straight out of The Shining?
 

CREEPY.

Happy Year of the Snake!

Last weekend we celebrated the Chinese New Year (this year is the Year of the Snake - time to declutter and prepare for good business/finances!).

Now one thing that surprises people (particularly us) when first visiting Houston is how culturally diverse this city is!  We have a huge Asian population in Houston, and I was told that the reason is the climate here is similar to the countries from where they originally came.  It makes sense: there are a lot of people here originally from China, Vietnam, India, and Malaysia, and the climate here would be easier for them to grow crops (especially rice) that they're familiar with, as well as available seafood, etc. 

Since we have such a sizeable Chinese population here (we actually have TWO Chinatowns - an older & a newer!) we joined up with some friends to see some celebrations.  But first, we met for food.  And here I must confess: I really had no idea what to expect.  I had gone to the older Chinatown once, and it looked like anywhere else in town, just had a lot of Asian restaurants.  The newer Chinatown is...like traveling in a whole different country.  All the signs had Chinese on them, logically!

Also, I'd like to take a moment to apologize to my sister, who is traveling to China soon - I totally forgot to tell you about this when we were on the phone).

We went to see the Dragon dances, but unfortunately we were too late.  However, we saw this person, who represents a Chinese deity of wealth.  Kids got their photos taken with him.  I liked his hat.

 Since we missed the Dragon dances, we decided to head to dinner.  We ate at a Malaysian restaurant - we had chicken satay and I had chicken curry.  Noel had a shrimp dish.  Yum!  (I love curry, as long as it doesn't burn my face off).

 Afterward, we headed to a grocery store in the same shopping center.  I couldn't resist the photo op.  Here are some cookies and snacks on the shelves:

(Dare I mention that Noel bought the pink panda cookies?  Because he totally did).

I was more intrigued with the butcher shop.  Here we have a selection of various sea cucumbers and yellow eel.  Hmmm...

Exactly how does one prepare sea cucumber? 

And just when you're stuffed full of eel chunks, what's for dessert?  Green Bean Ice Bars. 

 

So I really wanted to try these, but Noel was so grossed out I decided not to bother.  Maybe next time.  :)  I did end up buying some rice balls with peanuts in the middle (we haven't tried them yet) and Noel got some other cookies that were called Japanese mochi balls - they were chocolate flavored and looked promising.  But they were gummy.  I don't mean they had a jelly filling or anything - they were entirely like a huge chocolate gummy bear.  GROSS.  We threw them out. 

 

The panda cookies though?  Delicious.  If not slightly emasculating.

 

So last weekend we also went to the Kemah boardwalk.  It's an old-fashioned oceanside boardwalk with rides and shops and restaurants.  We've driven past it a hundred times when we first came to Texas, but never stopped becaust it was always crazy full of people (summer weekends, so of course it would be).

 

However, on a brisk winter day, the crowd was manageable.  They had a two-story carousel!

 

 

 

And a lighthouse with requisite palmetto trees.

 

 

 

In typical Thing In Sky form, a wooden rollercoaster (too cold to ride or I would've been on it!)

 

 

 

We stopped at a fun rockabilly shop too, and I got an ADORABLE dress with a green Tiki on it.  Fab.  Now I just need a place to wear it!  (This seems to be a common theme with my clothing purchases of late).

Noel's Brief Visit Home!

Guess what?  Noel actually got to come home for a few weeks!  We decided to celebrate his return (and all the major holidays we didn't get to spend together) by going on a long weekend to San Antonio.  We really enjoyed the trip and took tons of pictures!  So without further ado, here is our trip!

First off, a coworker told me that there are caves in them thar hills (about 20 minutes outside of San Antonio).  Who knew?  Neither of us had ever been into an underground cavern system, and it was awesome - really, one of the most impressive and awe-inspiring things I've ever seen.

Even the entrance was neat!

Underground, we saw a tiny little bat (couldn't get a picture without scaring the little guy) and lots of weird formations, including a set of pools of water: 

Some places in the caves looked like something out of Lord of the Rings.  So incredible.

I had a hard time telling if my pictures were turning out well.  So I took a bunch - this is one using a flash:

And this is the same location without a flash (slightly blurrier but really impressive):

So yeah, a foray deep into the earth.  Also, we expected it to be cold, but it was actually 70 degrees inside and 99% humidity.  Needless to say, sweaty.

Since my discovery of enchiladas with mole sauce, I've been diligently seeking another restaurant that serves it.  Found one in San Antonio, within walking distance of our hotel.  The food was good, but we were more impressed with the Christmas Tree that was the ceiling of this place:

Fiesta!!

We also paid a visit to the San Antonio zoo!  It was neat - heavy on birds, but they had some big animals too:

A gorgeous snow leopard that was eyeballing us:

A HIPPO!!  Swimming!!! 

I love him.

Hee hee.  Did you know that Hippopotamus is Latin for River Horse?   They aren't exactly....as graceful as a horse.  Also, a female hippo is one of the most dangerous animals on earth.  But still - so cute!!  :)

Ok, those of you who are scared of snakes?  Look away now.  Those of you who aren't afraid of snakes?  You will be...

The fattest reticulated python ever.  Its body is at least 20-25 inches around.  Seriously - did they just feed this thing a walrus? 

Next up is a picture that cracked us up:

Please note that the pirahnas are all staring directly at us.  Not moving, just staring.  It was...unnerving.  I think they were sizing us up.  Really.  Would we taste good with mole sauce?  Why yes.  Because everything is better with mole sauce. 

There was a pedestrian shopping area in San Antonio that was neat too - live mariachi bands and check out the flags:

We ate basically everything in San Antonio.  YUM.

What else did we see while Noel was in Texas?  Why the rodeo, of course!  And not just any rodeo.  The Houston Rodeo & Livestock Show is in town, and it kind of a big deal.  As in, it's HUGE.  World BBQ cookoff competition, major bands playing (Miranda Lambert, Alabama, etc.)  And of course a rodeo!  This was Noel's first ever rodeo in person, and I told him that we were doing it in the wrong order.  It's better to see the little local rodeos first, THEN move up to the big time.  But we went against tradition and saw the PBR rodeo!

Ok, so admission: I thought that PBR rodeo was named for the beer, PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon).  Actually it stands for Professional Bull Riders.  But it's also sponsored by the beer.  Cuts down on confusion I guess.

We were sitting at the end of the field, so we could see the bulls being herded into the chutes to be ridden.  These guys really have this down to a science, how to separate the bulls into different pens, shift them into others, coax them into the chutes, and catch them once they've been ridden.  It was impressive!

(p.s.  Aunt Betty?  There are some cowboys for you in that picture - enjoy!)

Also impressive?  The size of these bulls.  Mom?  We'll have to try to go to this if you're in town during the next Houston Rodeo.  You'd like it.

They even had a fancy light show at the beginning, and PBR lit up in fire!! 

So Noel was very impressed with the rodeo, and now is committed to going to county fairs when they come through so we can see the rodeos again. 

However.  That ends the time that Noel was here.  Only 2 weeks, and he's off to his next job, this time in New York City.  (Being a new Texan, I can't help but say "New York City!?!" like the Pace picante sauce commercials).  He flew there a few days ago and will be there for probably 5-6 weeks.  City slicker!  He won't know what to do when he leaves NYC (population density: 67,000 people per sq. mi.) and gets back here to the land of There's Nobody For Miles. 

Speaking of the farm, I got motivated yesterday to get out in the gorgeous sunshine and did some landscaping.  First, the before picture:

And the after picture!  I made a small retaining wall out of some leftover bricks, planted some petunias, lavender, and 3 red azalea bushes around the front of the house.

 

Now we just have to keep it watered so it'll all thicken up and grow pretty.  Fortunately we've been having rain lately, so that'll help.

So that's the update from the farm for now!  Hope you enjoyed it!