txn4art

I've always had mid-size terriers or terrier mixes with short coats that I adopted from shelters when they were young adult pups.Terriers are lively, smart, loyal, hardy, and make great watchdogs. However, they require training with gentle firmness and consistency or they'll quickly take matters into their own paws. It isn't unusual for someone to acquire a terrier for its cuteness and then get rid of it when they discover its lively, headstrong personality. I'd love to adopt a kitty, but most terriers never learn to tolerate cats. When a terrier mix has fox terrier or Jack Russell ancestry, most other moving creatures are considered fair game!

Oh, please...no "boutique" grocers, "Aldi" types or small NYC-style neighborhood markets for downtown, EADO or the near East End! What's needed is a major, full-size supermarket for the thousands of central and east side Innerloopers who actually cook meals, entertain at home, have pets, clean house, use paper goods. Chic specialty grocers like Phonecia and Whole Foods are wonderful places and fun to shop, but they're no substitute for an HEB or a Kroger Signature store.

De nada, PurpleDevil! I'm a native Houstonian "of a certain age" and have witnessed many changes here. Only recently, I've become aware that there are other people who are actually interested in preserving some of our city's history instead of throwing it into the nearest dumpster or stuffing it into an unmarked file cabinet.

What streets are adjacent to these areas? Which subdivisions?

Security seems to be lacking at grocery stores, even in what one would consider "good" areas of town. My vehicle was broken into in the parking lot behind Trader Joe's on Shepherd in the middle of a weekday afternoon. That shopping center (a Weingarten property) has no cameras and no security patrol, as I found out later. On another occasion, I was shopping at Costco on Richmond and a woman managed to distract the staff and push a cart loaded with items past the cashiers and out the door without being stopped. Amazingly, I recognized her as a notorious shoplifter who had been arrested at the Galleria Lord &Taylor store when I worked there. And let's not forget the petty theft incidents I've seen at Disco Kroger on Montrose. One of the funniest was the woman who opened a package of Oreo cookies, stuffed her mouth full of them like a squirrel, and then hid the damaged package behind others on the shelf. This may not sound like much of a misdemeanor, but shrinkage adds up and grocery prices go up.

Okay, jokesters...listen up! When I visited a branch of the HPL yesterday, I asked about the new cards. It seems they work just like the old cards, except they have new color and graphics and are paid for by HEB. I didn't examine them closely, but you can bet they have an HEB logo somewhere on them. Apparently, the launch of these was scheduled just after the start of the school year to promote reading/library use AND the grocery chain's involvement in education.

Another sign on the building is for Joseph Finger, the architect who designed Houston's City Hall as well as other local buildings in the Art Deco style.. The small metal decorations and the light fixtures on the edge of the canopy in the old photo are interesting details.

The Houston History Association website may have additional sources for photos of Houston's past.

There has been water standing in the old basement excavation for weeks. Surely someone had reported this to COH as a health hazard?

Have you seen those huge, industrial-size jars of Nutella at Costco? I believe they're available as a 2-pak.

As it currently stands, the Eastwood Transit Center is seriously underused. A spur from the Green Line along Elgin/Lockwood that terminates at the ETC could very well provide a link with commuter bus lines running from suburbs and towns along I-45.South. At this time, there's still enough property across from the Eastwood Transit Center to build parking lots or a garage for drivers who don't want the expense or hassle of downtown parking. Since the spur would run along a wide, esplanaded street that bisects the UH main campus, the main engineering problem would be getting the light rail tracks over or under the Union Pacific line and I-45.

I'm a native Houstonian "of a certain age" who has watched our city evolve. Thanks for bringing up some good memories.

Yes, I noticed it was gone and also wondered what happened to it. Wasn't it "Field of Vision", a permanent installation by the late Houston artist Bert Long, Jr.?

We lived in Eastwood in the mid-1950's and I believe that taqueria was originally Rettig's Ice Cream Parlor. A neighbor's son worked there as a soda jerk.

Are you familiar with Houston's East End and what Frank Liu's companies have built recently in the area? What do you think would be the best redevelopment plan for the former Finger's site?

Texas has 6 or 7 different climate zones. Before you decide to plant anything, you should do some research on the Texas A&M website to see what trees, etc., are best for your purposes in the part of Texas where you live.

Paulownia trees are widely advertised in magazines by mail-order nurseries. They are considered invasive and are not recommended by reputable landscape designers or gardening experts in our area.

Interesting idea, but seems like it would be very high maintenance.

1. Zapp's Voodoo Potato Chips. Costco has them in great big bags. If I see them, I have to turn around and go down another aisle or several bags will somehow end up in my cart. 2. Ben and Jerry's Phish Food Ice Cream.

I remember seeing the building when I was a very small child and being very impressed by its unusual shape, but never went inside. Years later, I asked a longtime resident of a nearby neighborhood about it. She told me that the cyclorama became damaged beyond repair due to a leaking roof and a hurricane, and the building was subsequently demolished. Chester Snowden, one of the artists mentioned in the article, was still active in Houston in the 1960's.

When I asked Councilman Gallegos about this several months ago, and he thought the Quiet Zone would be implemented "in a month or so" Apparently this hasn't happened. I work at home and still hear the horns at the Lawndale Ave. and Telephone Road crossings during the day. For the past couple of hours this evening, they've been sounding long and often. Some nights, there are "dueling horns" between 1:00 and 2:30. Any updates on East End's first Quiet Zone from our COH councilman or SuperNeighborhood leaders would be welcome.

White bread was what most Southerners ate at that time. Wonderful homemade cornbread, too! When I was a child, my aunt from Chicago came to visit and was appalled at how few good bakeries were in Houston. She was used to neighborhood bakeries selling Swedish Limpa Rye, European-style pastries and other delicacies. A marvelous cook and baker, she offered to make homemade bread while she stayed with us, but the only types of flour sold in local grocery stores was all-purpose white (bleached) and SwansDown Cake Flour -- no bread flour, whole wheat flour, or any of the other types now available.

I forgot all about that brand! My parents bought it for awhile, too. Seems like our parents were interested in nutrition, although mine were considered "health food nuts" because they always had a salad and a vegetable along with the usual meat and starch for dinner every night.

To answer your question -- yes, I remember Holsum Bread. Fair-Maid Wheat Bread was what we usually had at home. I believe the bakery was sold to the Rainbo Baking Company in the late 1940's or early 1950's. My parents thought the quality of most locally available bread was poor. They preferred 100% whole wheat bread, which was not popular or widely available in the Houston during the 1940's-50's. Rye and pumpernickel were not widely available here either -- nearly everyone ate only the softest white bread and for kids' sandwiches, any trace of brown crust was cut off. A few bakeries in town made "Louisiana French bread" loaves, which had somewhat of a crust and were considered a specialty item. The Federal Bakery - small and locally owned -- was downtown and occasionally we would buy a loaf of dense, delicious whole wheat bread there.

Does anyone really believe this?