Reality of Being Back in the USA

Impressions from yesterday:

When we turn on Sawyer Street on the way home, I still get a chill up my spine when I see the Houston skyline.

The garden is a mess even with having a gardener two times a month. The gardener tries really hard to keep the garden under control but I want my garden controlled but not with shrubs in neat clipped shapes. I know I'm weird because that isn't the way that 95% of the gardens in Houston are maintained.

The sprinkler system has been off since sometime when we were here in August. I have some plants that look anemic due to lack of water.

The house is looking unlived in because we can't have house plants since we aren't here. There is just a spirit of homeiness that is missing from it because no one is here. We still have things out of place because of the preparation in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Rita along the gulf coast of Galveston. All of those things need to be put back where they belong.

Our neighborhood has some changes. Some more old houses are being cleaned up and several are for sale. Two wonderful renovated houses are still for sale. It is like there are some changes but still no changes.

The streets are wide, clean and smooth. You don't have to dodge in and out of cars parked on the curbs in order to drive down a street. Washington Avenue seems like a huge expanse of roadway with curb parking on each side for the most part with 4 lanes of traffic. Traffic lights work. Street signage makes sense and is consistent. Studemont Street is still under construction.

The Kroger grocery store on West Gray has been refurbished. It is sparkling clean, organized and spacious. There was live music in the store. The vast array of fruits and vegetables looked beautiful and there were big aisles where two or three big grocery carts could pass each other. The cost of pomegranate was 2 for $4. Mangoes were $.69 a pound. Aged beef filet mignon was $16.99 a pound. Butter was $2.99 a pound. Jumbo eggs were $.89 a dozen. A huge wine selection from all over the world and the prices were less than in Mexico by about 1/3.

Today my reality is Houston. In a couple of weeks my reality will be San Miguel de Allende. I think I'm a polygamist because I seem to be in love with both places.