En vacances

I've just submitted that article I've been working on, so now I'm really on vacation. Kathleen and I have plans today to go out to lunch and then a Houston Symphony concert. We're hoping to get to the gym this morning, too -- something I really could use after the sumptuous snacky dinner we had last night. Freddy made me a glass of kir -- white wine from France with a little splash of blackberry liqueur. Delicious! And we had various puff-pastry hors d'oeuvres and foie gras (which I tried and didn't love) and chips and dip. And peanut butter cookies with Hershey's Kisses in the middle. This, after Kathleen's homemade Reubens for lunch. I'm going to be as big as Texas by the time I get back. But I'm enjoying it!

Abby participated in Patrick's recreational therapy yesterday, and had a good time. They played board games, and she got a little bossy ("Patrick, it's your turn now!") but it was nice to have some structured playtime, and good for both of them to practice their social interaction skills. We then ran some errands and Abby got to see a dog being groomed at Petco -- something her wonderful therapist had recommended, because Abby is so into playing dogs lately.

Houston is an interesting landscape. There are no zoning laws here, no planning boards, so many of the residential neighborhoods are subdivisions, which protect homeowners from having commercial development spring up next to them. Kathleen and Freddy live in a gated community, which is very nice. The houses are closer together than I would have imagined, with all this land down here. Smaller yards than I envisioned. But there's still a nice sense of privacy, with fences and the way the houses are angled in their cul-de-sac.

There's an interesting opinion piece about urban planning and what it means for development and economic growth in today's Houston Chronicle. I'm not sure I agree with it, but it can certainly give readers an idea of the mindset of many Texans on this issue.