A Time for Happiness

I was able to attend another Inprint Houston Reading series event at the Cullen Theater which is at the Wortham Center downtown (named after Gus Wortham one of the founders of American General).  Kazuo Ishiguro or simply "Ish", was reading from his newest book "The Buried Giant".  He was previously most know to me as the writer of "The Remains of the Day". 

 

I loved his reading and the subsequent interview.  Although born in Japan he was raised in London after the bombing of Hiroshima and taught both east and west disciplines, giving him a unique perspective.

Also this week was the annual SEARCH luncheon recognizing the Board of Directors and thousands of volunteers who have organized to bring the Houston homeless population down over the past 10 years from a constant 10,000 people for so long to closer to 6,000.  I like this group a lot and have been so glad to help.

I then headed out of town for a few days with thoughts from the verse from Ecclesiastes 3.  I'm no bible scholar but I follow the King James version easiest, it sounds most like poetry to me.  This verse has been quoted in so many songs, plays, movies, beginnings, and endings, it's universally known: 
 

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

It gives a sense there is order to the world and life and a reminder to never give up.   For me right now it's a time of extreme happiness. 

Houston Rodeo

It's Rodeo time!  This is one of the most beloved times of the year in Houston and considered the "signature event" of the city. 

It's a month long program that has lots of tradition and history.  It begins slowly with various trail rides throughout the state and they all come together and end up in Houston on the last Thursday of the month of February to kick off the rodeo season.  I love watching as they ride into town.  They come right up Allen Parkway and pass my office, it's a gorgeous parade. 

They hold a roundup near City Hall then parade out to Reliant Stadium where opening night is the world famous Bar-B-Que contest. 

The rodeo itself is like any professional sport, it takes a lot of talent and work to be on the circuit. 

The show features championship rodeo action, livestock competitions (mutton racing for the kids), concerts, a carnival, pig racing, an International Wine Competition, shopping, sales and livestock auctions.  This rodeo has drawn some of the world's biggest recording artists, including Kiss, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Selena, Bon Jovi, ZZ Top, Taylor Swift and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.  This year I had the opportunity to go one evening after works with a customer/friend Bill Elliott and we saw Florida Georgia Line who put on a great show. 

Until next year. . .

Charleston, SC - The Wedding!

I couldn't wait to board my 7:20 am flight to Charleston in anticipation of seeing family and friends and enjoying Jake and Gina's Wedding Weekend.  It's finally here.

Temps/climate: ranged from 71 and cloudy with a few sprinkles to 80's and sunny over the weekend.

I checked into beach cottage:  it was only a few miles from where the rehearsal dinner was held.

It was a great fit for us, cozy, and within walking distance to the beach.

Sue and Ted, Sara, Vivian and Grant arrived along with lots of other wedding guests.  We stopped first at Jake and Gina's to say hello and grab a quick snack, and also to check out their new ice cream maker and card(s).  The "Greats" loved the boxes it came in. 

Next day we took a walk on the beach and enjoyed hanging out together as a family - something we rarely get to do. 

photo courtesy Sara Schleutker

The following day I was able to hang out with a special friend and stop by my favorite shop on King Street downtown Charleston. 

Tyler and Gabby got to town and they too were hanging out on King St and surprised me with this shirt.

That night was the rehearsal dinner at the fabulous beach house. 

The next day was wedding prep.  We had a wonderful stylist stop by the house to do everyone's hair - really fun.

 

And then the wedding itself was everything it ought to have been, perfect.

I have wonderful friends and family and am so happy to have spent this time together making one of the most special occasions in my life so much more.

Newport Coast, CA - Pelican Hill - Part Deux and Atlanta, GA

So if Pelican Hill is an awesome place to go one time, it's double down super awesome to go twice in back to back weeks, and from a travel perspective it's an easy "to and fro" from John Wayne airport. 

Here's an example of what one of the rooms looks like.  I set my remote to FM music and then timed it and the fireplace to a 30 minute sleep setting, left the balcony door open to get the sea breeze, and drifted off.  Decadence.

And this time around I had an opportunity to play golf but decided to pass for a walk along Crystal Cove Beach.  It would have been almost sacrilegious to play with someone of my lacking skills anyway but the course is breathtaking.  The Ocean South course is a contrast of scenery with brush gardens framed by sage and eucalyptus trees and then deep chasms at every side of the greens. The sheer variety of vegetation on the course is beautiful and you can smell the sea breeze throughout.

From here I headed straight to Atlanta for a quick day trip.  Didn't see much but night sky and rising full moon - out the door at 5:15 am, home by 8:30 pm.  The contrasts of travel keeps everyday interesting.

Thinking about it being a terrific week.