Springtime In Texas

Finished With School For The Day

Highland Park Dress Code: NO FLIP FLOPS

Well, it's 7:45 and Beth just drove off with Marisa to drop her off at school, less than a half mile away.  Why walk when you can get a ride.  In fact, none of my grandchildren walk to school as if it's anathema, not cool or something like that.  Or I am just a typical curmudgeon wondering 'why can't they be like we were, perfect in every way.'  I think the latter is the truth.

Yesterday was another busy day for both Beth and Marisa, but not for Evie and me.  Marisa was up late, up early, keeping up with the demands of a rigorous curriculum and a 4.32 GPA.  Beth was teaching an ESL class in the morning, working on prep work for school in the afternoon, as well as getting some tutoring for Algebra II.  Obviously, her math teacher, Trout, did not teach her very well!


So, what did Evie and I do?  We drove to the largest mall we have ever been to, North Park, with flagship stores, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.  It's three levels,  with 235 stores, and a vast courtyard, with lawns and trees, in the middle of the village. 

North Park Mall's Courtyard

We went basically to get in a good walk but ended up doing some browsing, unable to resist the temptation.  We did resist buying anything, or rather, most of what we liked even when reduced was close to a hundred bucks, not quite a TJ Maxx. It was fun to people watch and we were struck by how friendly everyone was, whether shopper or storekeeper.

Ultimate Selfie With Foot And Mirror :)

We were home by 12:30 and I had leftovers, the stir fry for lunch, then took Cody out for a walk.  Beth came home around 1:00 and we did not do much early afternoon, just hanging out.  I did get in a nap, read some more of the second volume of Don Winslow's Cartel Trilogy, THE POWER OF THE DOG.  Around 3:00, Evie and I drove off to Trader Joe's to pick up some things for Thursday night's dinner, the makings for chili because everyone was going to be busy around dinner time.  And we, of course, picked up a few more goodies including chocolate bars to take home to Chautauqua.  Everyone was home by wine time, so I opened a new bottle and we relaxed until it was time for Evie and me to pick up dinner, Texas fried chicken at Bubba's Cooks Country, the local chicken outlet.  It's what is also served to inmates for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Highland Park's jail.  As food writer David Lebowitz said:

"To say I was in crispy-skinned heaven is an understatement and I was trying to be prudent after a week of stuffing my face with Mexican food in Mexico. But if faced with an entire chicken, fried, I could without question eat the entire platter. Or yes, the whole extra-crispy bucket."

Texas Fried Chicken

Fortunately, we ordered ahead because there was a line of 20 waiting to order, a popular place.  We realized the pick up was at an outside window so we did not have to wait in line.  We got the family pack, with amazing rolls, fries and a quart of cole slaw.  We sat around the table, licking our fingertips, as we ate the chicken and rolls with butter and honey.  We were a happy quartet of Bubba fried chicken eaters.

Frying Chicken

Marisa quickly went up to her room to study after we finished dinner.  There was little cleanup, just throw away the boxes and bags and wash a couple of plates.  We then watched TV until 10:00, some Colbert, basketball, and an HGTV network show.