On the evening of December 11th, we had a delightful dinner with some friends. They were heading to Denver to spend Christmas with their kids, and we were looking forward to spending some time with Josienne, Jared, Julius, and J. Noel, our Ohio family coming in later in the week.
All was going well, and we were planning on cooking some nice Vegan meals, seeing some shows (A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker) and also visiting Sugar Land to see Quinn, Roxy, Renee, Zoe, and Ree, our local family. It was going to be a great holiday after a hard year.
Sunday and Monday were fine, and we were starting to anticipate the week with joy. Tuesday, I started to feel run down. Seeing how rapid the new Covid variant, Omicron, was spreading, I decided it would make sense to take a test. There is a rapid antigen testing station a couple of blocks from the house (across the street from the D&Q Beer Station, the best beer store in Houston) and also a Walgreens two blocks away where you can get a legitimate PCR test.
I took the antigen test with little trepidation. I had a mild sore throat, and a slight cough. A simple cold.
The test seemed to confirm that:
But I still had the appointment for the Rapid PCR test on Friday. I would go when that popped up.
Thursday I was just laid low. I felt like I had a very bad cold, or even the flu. We have a management meeting every day, and it started at 9:30 that Thursday. I am never late, but I could barely drag myself to the computer to log on at 9:35. The team was already engaged, and when I turned on my camera and mic, I could hear them audibly gasp. Oh boy, I must look really bad. I said that I could not make the meeting, and I would talk to them later. They were not surprised. (Later I was told that if I felt as bad as I looked, I should go to the hospital) So I spent that day in bed.
Friday, though, I did not really feel that bad.
I was able to get to Walgreens and go through the drive-through to get my test.
I must admit that I was just a tiny bit worried a couple of hours later when the results came in:
Well, boy howdy. This was an unwelcome development.
I spoke with Doreen, and we were trying to decide what to do. I texted with sister Ree and asked what she thought.
The Roes were in the air, so we could not talk to them until they landed.
We decided that the best course would be for me to isolate as much as possible in the house, eat outside whenever possible, and have everyone mask up.
I sent Josienne a note to call me as soon as they landed.
She called me about 3:00 (that was about an hour and a half earlier than we had thought they were landing. They came perilously close to seeing our house as it really is, as opposed to the way we want people to THINK it is!) and agreed to our plan. Risky, yes. But both she and Jared are vaccinated and had Delta, the kids are both vaccinated as well.
Since the plan was set, I need to make sure we had sufficient vegan food for the trip.
That mean ratatouille:
and Bean Curry with Potatoes:
and Oh! My Goodness! Those were both delicious.
But the best thing was seeing everyone. Lulu was so pleased to have so many new hands to pet and massage her, I don't think she will ever get over it:
She loved having these kids who were just waiting (and flexing) to get dog kisses
Having J Noel and Julius here was just a blast. It was the right amount of foolish kid stuff combined with loving niece and nephew stuff. What fun we had!
And that first night the weather was fantastic. We were able to sit outside comfortably, on the night that I was undoubtable the most contagious.
Julius and Lulu became the best of friends. Julius was so taken with Lulu that when he was out with the family for a short time, he came back and told Lulu that "I missed you so much, I had to pet another dog." I told him to remember that line when he was 16.
That evening J Noel received her birthday gift, an American Girl doll named Samantha. She was very excited to have this doll, and she (the doll) participated in many of the activities in the upcoming week.
The next day, in continuing the team of big open places, we stopped by the Post Houston (a new development) that had a big food court.
There is a Norwegian Chef at that food court, from Bergen. I did not eat there, but I will.
They have a lovely rooftop garden, with a great view of downtown.
As you can see, it was a rainy day.
Rain, rain, rain
Loving siblings. I think this is when the story was told about how J Noel will call her brother Julius when she gets thrown in jail in Mexico, and he will rush down to bail her out. Siblings are important.
But it was so rainy, that we decided to head home and create the Roe Village. You will see photos of this as they develop.
And, of course, Lulu needed some petting.
Doreen had collected graham crackers, sprinkles, gum drops, candies, lifesavers, and more to create this candy village. Roe Village.
It was an engineering feat.
You can see some detail here.
Doreen incorporated feedback from Julius and J Noel after they visited a park in Chicago. Here she is explaining the impact that their feedback made.
At the Top of the Mount!
When showed this small source for the fountain cascade, Doreen asked J Noel if she thought it was magic that so much water could come out of such a small trough. She replied, "Magic, or good engineering". Love that kid.
We had a nice visit to Hermann Park. As you can see from above, there was a train ride, and J Noel drove the train.
Very colorful.
The Young Engineer
Julius and I had to handle Lulu on the golf cart
Beloved Nephew and Aunt
All Aboard!!!
Later that day, the 'rona-free were on their way to see A Christmas Carol (which I find a fine reason to pick a man's pocket every 25th of December). But it got cancelled. So Doreen was able to get tickets to see The Little Mermaid (or was it The Littlest Mermaid?) and so everyone got all dressed up and headed downtown. Then that was cancelled, too. So they traveled down to Discovery Green to see some lights and wander about.
And of course, with the ringing of the bells, the angel got her wings.
And boys get angel wings, too!
So that brought us to Jared's Birthday! It was also the day that the non-infected folks went to see The Nutcracker. You can see that J Noel was all ready for it:
Mother Daughter all ready to dance.
All the Roes lined up
Everyone ready to go to the show!
That evening we went to the Zoo Lights. Three of these four people are native Texans!
And the painted ponies go up and down.
Surreal.
Lulu needed more attention
The old Roe house was for sale, so we went to take a look! and to recreate a favorite photo:
Here's the house!
And the Master Bedroom.
Then back to the house for a tea party! Doreen has a tea set that her grandmother gave her. Now she gave it to J Noel and Samantha.
Would you like some tea, ma'am?
I don't mind if I do!
A very merry party!
And now all the Roe Houses in the Roe Village are complete!
Everyone had a chance to pick out the house they wanted. There are plenty!
And a Church!
Lulu is saying, "Please don't go! You're mine, now!"
But then WAY too soon it was trip for a return trip to Ohio.
All are packed and ready to go
But we are very sad to see them go.
We had a great visit. The conversation was entertaining, the children were good, the show (I am told) was great, and they left too soon. I would have been happy to have them for another week!
So maybe we cam make this an annual tradition, and we would also like to take a trip to Ohio to see what Buckeye country really looks like.
Until soon.
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