it takes practice

Raine practiced riding her bike this past weekend. She got it for Christmas, but she's still a little intimidated by it. She's got the training wheels, and the helmet, but its going to take some time for her to get familiar enough to really take off on it. You can tell, it takes some concentration to ride.

She also has a scooter, which she got last year. She started off slowly and hesitantly on the scooter, too, usually only one foot on the thing at a time. Once she found a friend to ride with, her skills grew quickly, and now she zooms around the neighborhood with a couple of other kids. I try not to watch too much.

Sooner or later, though it was bound to happen. The crash. The skinned limbs. The drama. It was this evening, and she skinned both elbows. Not too bad, really, in the cosmic scheme of things, but there was blood! (Raine hates to see her own blood.) We washed and antibiotic ointmented and band-aided, and the tears were not long lasting. The experience of healing, and knowing that these things don't last forever is part of her learning experience and practice.

kemah boardwalk

Just when you thought I was done talking about our trip to Houston, out com some more photos. One of the side trips we made was to the Kemah Boardwalk. Yeah, I had never heard of it before either, but it was still fun. We got to see Galveston Bay, complete with boats, a marina, people fishing, and numerous sea birds, including the pelicans I caught on the posts.

There were some rides on the boardwalk, and we road the little train around the boardwalk, Raine, Elaine and I. It was fun, although the whistle was rather shrill, and Raine picked the first car to ride in, of course. Ron also took her on the ferris wheel type ride. She's finally a little better with heights, and enjoyed the thrill.

We met cousins Mark (Elaine's husband) and Steve (who lives in the area) and went to Joe's Crab Shack for lunch. While it isn't a DDD eatery, it is one of Ron's favorites. We did enjoy the seafood, and chatting.

Raine stayed overnight with Steve and his family, for an adventure with 4 wheelers and her cousin Claire. Much fun was had.

Elaine led us out to the boardwalk from Houston, with sketchy directions, and intermittent use of her turn signals. She is very nice, and put forth a lot of effort to get us there, which we appreciated. It was fun to explore part of the area that we had never gotten to before. Of course, after such a long time since either Carl or I were there, there is a lot of places around there we haven't explored...

no good solution

I've been debating whether to write about this today, but it has been on my mind the past few days, and became a reality today.

Not long ago, Carl adopted Lee, a friendly mutt who found his way into our hearts pretty quickly. He was good with our other dog, Dixie, and with Raine, and seemed to fit well into our family. There were a few problems of course, he emptied the cat food a couple of times (how does a dog his size slither silently under a chair?), but Carl got a gate thing figured out and built.

Then the escapes began. First he climbed through the fence on one side of the yard, into the neighbor's yard to visit with their dog. The neighbor helped us move our fencing panels around to close that route, but the Lee's desire to escape seemed to escalate. Every few days, Carl had to walk through the neighborhood looking for him, following the pointing fingers of the neighbors, "He went that a way..." Each time Ron and Carl would examine the yard, and the fences trying to patch whatever hole Lee had found or created. Mind you, Dixie stayed in the yard each time. Finally, Carl chained him up, and still he broke through one of the boards on the other (not basically new) fence and climbed through. Carl had to move the chain, and go out and unwrap him periodically.

How much is too much? I mean we really like Lee, but we feel responsible for any problems he might cause while roaming the neighborhood, which we are not happy for him to do. We certainly don't want to find him run over, and we live near a fairly busy street. Not to mention fees associated with repeated pick ups from the dog catcher. But, he sure doesn't want to stay in our yard. Carl made the decision, finally, that he would take Lee back to the shelter. It wasn't an easy decision, and we all discussed the alternatives, and possibilities. We have bonded with Lee, and it isn't easy to feel that failure.

I debated posting, as I know there are people who will look on us badly for giving him up. Thinking we weren't serious about adopting him, or didn't do enough to keep him in the family. Maybe they are right, in some ways. Still, how much should it cost? How much change should it take? The yard has successfully held Dixie for 7 years, with only a couple of escapes, easily mended. She was not going out with Lee. He went from going through a pretty rotten fence to being actively destructive to make his way out. Where do you stop the escalation? How much of a cage do you have to subject him to? As you can tell, I'm still conflicted. I feel bad, and sad, even though I think Carl did the right thing. Maybe, just maybe, writing will help me come to grips a little better.

third planet

One of the cool places we found while we were hanging out in Houston is called Third Planet. it is a comic and game store, and not a small one. Every available space was crammed with stuff, and I'm sure we did not see all of it by any means. They do have a website, and a presence on facebook, as well as myspace and twitter, and they had a lot of fun stuff for all us gaming geeks.

I think I mentioned that I scored a Trek beanie... and I will share his Vulcany goodness with you now... They also had a lot of Tim Burton movie figures, super heroes, Star Wars, goth dolls, along with anime, games games games, and books, as well as, well, comics. A very unpreposessing storefront that was just way too much fun to explore.

all over but...

Tomorrow we leave for home. We've had a good visit with everyone. Raine really enjoyed her adventure with Steve and Claire. She got to go four-wheeling, and even drive! I think much fun was had.

We got to another of the DDD places for lunch today. It was called the Pita Cafe, and features Bosnian cuisine. It was yummy. I had stuffed bell peppers, while Ron and Carl went for the mix plate, that had chicken and beef kabobs, lamb, a kind of beef sausage link, and beef that was stuffed with cheese and mushrooms. Everything was delicious. Ron ate his cheescake from the deli, and it was fabulous. Oh My Goodness, was it. I tasted it, and it was just sooo good, I could have (but I didn't) hurt myself with it.

We got to a used bookstore, and the place I thought was going to be a huge fabric store, was instead a small sewing machine shop. Sigh. I did get to a quilting store near where my aunt lives, and that was fun. We also got to spend a really nice evening visiting again. Sometimes, visiting with your relatives can help you refind, and refine, your place in the world... and it was in a really good way. Positive reinforcement for me for wanting to take this trip in the first place.

so, today...

We went south of Houston to where one of my cousin's lives. We got to see Galveston Bay, and a marina with a lot of boats in it. There is a boardwalk, and we enjoyed the beautiful day, the ducks, seagulls and pelicans. The boardwalk has a small amusement part type area, and we road a little train around the boardwalk, and Ron took Raine on a ferris wheel. She's been wanting to go on one for a while, even though she's been afraid of heights. Then we had a nice lunch.

When we were done with lunch, my cousin wondered if it would be all right if Raine spent the night so she could play with his kids, and they have all sorts of toys. Well, she was a little sceptical at first, but when he pulled out the four wheeler, she was sold. He even offered to let her drive a little. "bye Mom!" Hopefully, she'll be willing to leave tomorrow...

I'm not uploading pictures, but... I am TAKING pictures. I promise. I did actually remember to put the camera into my purse. Today. Except for getting lost today, on the way home, it was a great day.

today's finds

We got a lovely, leisurely start today, the hotel-provided breakfast was nice. Especially because we didn't pay extra for it, and we didn't have to work to prepare it. We went to a bookstore called Murder By The Book, and scored both new and used books. Not too many, but still fun. Next door was a little coffee place. Not a starbucks kind of thing, but where they sold mugs, and gourmet kind of coffeemakers, and lovely beans. And yes, of course, we got a little. The lady in the shop recommended the Tanzania Peaberry as her favorite, so, that's what we got. I'll let you know how it is.

Next on the list were two gaming stores. After a few traffic flow issues, we got to the first, which was mostly miniatures. The other was a combination game and comic book store, along with a LOT of geek-a-licious paraphenalia. I scored a little Vulcan beanie-guy. Dev, I got their card because they had a some Nightmare and Corpse Bride stuff that you would be seriously interested in, AND carried a line of goth dolls I thought you would like, too. REALLY!

So, after that, we went to Kenny & Ziggy's new york style delicatessen restaurant. Pricey, but OhMyGoodness! For a picture of what we were eating, check out Carl's facebook post. I packed the half of the sandwich on that plate to take home. I also got a slice of cheesecake to take home for Ron. Then, wouldn't you know it, I walked aff and left them at the cashregister when we walked out. DOH! A call to the deli when we realized was made, and they allowed as how they could put my package in the fridge and we could get it tomorrow. ARGH!

Later in the afternoon, we made it to the airport to pick up Ron, and he finally got to meet some of my Mom's side of the family... and they got to meet him. We on for lunch with a couple of the cousins, near the water, yay. It seems like it will be a good day.