toadfroggy

Well, there's the Hare Krishna temple on 34th in Garden Oaks. I'm not sure it has been completed, and I'm pretty sure the neighbors consider it an eyesore, but it's certainly memorable.

I love a big sycamore for the variety it adds to the treescape, but as trees go, sycamores are not very good neighbors. There was one smack dab in the middle of the lot next door to me, and I was so glad when it was removed. They shed leaves the size of dinner plates and any wind at all would bring down large branches. A big one around the corner from me came down not long ago and took out its neighbor's front porch on the way down.

There's this one around the corner from me: http://search.har.com/engine/216-Munford-St-Houston-TX-77008_HAR35371547.htm I don't know about the garage situation because it's got at least one garage apartment, and technically it's not in the Heights, but otherwise, it might be the kind of thing you're looking for.

Check this listing: http://search.har.com/engine/5650-Meadow-Lake-Lane-Houston-TX-77056_HAR75670659.htm

Well, Mark, you could do what others in the Heights do with their ditches...fill it with rock. It would still serve its water-handling purpose, but also give you a surface you could drive on in a pinch. Of course, I don't know what that might do to your drainage fee.

I got one of the letters. It was a "public meeting notice". I did not attend, but it was scheduled for January 24th. The stated issue was a request for an MSD on the site by a party called Heights Block 39, LLC. The underlying issue was groundwater contamination by various chloroethenes. I don't completely understand the MSD thing, but it appears that such a designation would limit the owner's liability for historic contamination. The owner will still have to clean up the site, but not to the extent of making the groundwater potable. I didn't attend because it seemed like a non-issue to me.

That's definitely not a house for everyone, nor even everyone with a spare $1.6M. I think it's beautiful and it's certainly unique, but that's a pretty public corner with the park right there and the back of the school about a block away and the house kinda screams "look at me". I couldn't live there because I'd be feeling like strangers were gawping, trying to see in my windows all the time.

Nevermind. I only just realized this issue is way old.

For genealogical purposes, I don't find it all that useful. You'd have to go back a lot further than 1940 to reveal something to me that I don't already know about who's who on the family tree. However, I found it interesting from a journey-back-in-time perspective. For instance, I looked up my address and found that in 1940, my tiny house was occupied by five people--man, wife, and three school-aged children. He sold paint for a living. It's interesting to see glimpses of people's lives, particularly things that just don't exist anymore--like folks sharing their home with boarders, or indicating a vocation like "cotton oil salesman". I've spent some time at the site and nearly every page has something that brings a "well, lookie there" reaction, but it's so time consuming to page through that I'm glad I'm not depending on it for information.

I went by there for the first time in a while. It's not just Schlotzky's going in there, it's also Cinnabon! They've got me.

I think Hermann Park is already a pretty good equivalent to Central Park. It only fails in the comparison by not being adjacent to the downtown core even through it is adjacent to TMC. I like the plans they have for Buffalo Bayou, but the park, such as it is, is already there. We've got some great parks, folks. The major rub being that one must drive there.

I was about to start a thread about this myself. I've never seen them this bad. It's the middle of the day and I just got around two dozen through the slap method--it would be satisfying except that it doesn't even put a dent in the swarm. I hate wearing repellant, but I think I'm gonna have to...and also put some on the dog where he can't lick it.. They're driving him crazy too.

Park Place Pharmacy stayed in business for a long time--long past the time that any other independent pharmacy might have lasted in that location. I think the nail in the coffin was that they were burglarized once too often. It was a great place. They had a lunch counter and employed two bee-hived waitresses. You could buy hand-packed Oak Farms ice cream that they sold in plain white quart-size containers....I don't recall any flavor but vanilla, but I'm not sure. Across the street from the pharmacy was the office of John Ruiz, MD. Dr. Ruiz was the doctor that brought me into this world. That was a great building, too. A 1950's white stucco Art Deco style--curved walls, glass block windows, etc. It stayed around awhile after Dr. Ruiz retired, but that area never seemed to be able to support much commerce after the 60's. Houston history trivia: Dr. Ruiz was just a GP, and except for being a truly wonderful human being, wasn't of any note in his own right, but his son, Richard went on to become a very well known and distinguished opthalmologist, and his grandaughter Kathy went on to become a celebrated chef. Anyone else remember Goggie's pizza down the block on the circle (when there was a circle)? Its brush with greatness came one night when Sonny and Cher, in town for a concert, were spotted eating there. Thanks for the post. As you can tell, it evoked a lot of memories for me.

I'm so glad you guys remember Sid dying right before air time one evening. I remember that, too, but I was afraid my memory was a bit creative. Was Sid the one that was known for "ta-da-da-dum-ta-dum Presidio, Texas!" when announcing the hottest spot on the map or was that someone else?

While dressing appropriately was more important, there was an element of status as well. Men wore suits, ties, dress shoes everywhere because, in general, only the working class appeared in public in anything less. It was what you donned in the morning, every morning, unless you were going to engage in some activity that dictated otherwise. I remember my grandfather wearing suit, tie and a hat just to come over to our house. I also remember Grandpa wearing khakis to go fishing, for instance, but to the day he died (1967), he never once put his legs into a pair of bluejeans. That was just not done except by those people. And I'm not so old--55--but we always wore dresses to school until I got to junior high. It was the dress code. Go Texan day was extra special because we were allowed to wear britches. It wasn't so much about dressing to "go downtown", because it was what you did to go anywhere; it was the default.

Buffalo Glass. No website that I know of, but they've been in business for a long time, and can pretty much do it all if it involves glass. I've used them several times for various projects. They know their business.

My suggestion: do the Menil and St Thomas University area.

For your pups: http://www.houstondogpark.org/

I noticed yesterday that the structure directly west of this is taped off. I think it's a parking structure of some kind and I always thought it belonged to the church next door. Maybe it's just taped off for safety reasons, but could it also be part of the Walgreens project?

There are few things on earth better than a good mac 'n' cheese. The Smith and Wollensky version is the bomb. I've discovered it's also good with crabmeat, but whatever additional ingredients there are, it's all about the cheese. Gruyere--absolutely! This place is dangerously close to my house. I'm going to be so fat.

There is a replacement product http://www.gaf-weatherside.com/ available at Oshan http://www.olshanlumber.com/ I can't help you with the installation, but the GAF website has instructions.

I don't know about credit cards, but Wayland may fit your criteria otherwise. www.waylandconstruction.com

I was out in the yard Saturday at mail delivery time and two USPS guys came by. One was obviously the trainer, and one the trainee. Just thought it might be of interest. I'm in 77008.

I use the large heavy-duty paper bags that my sister gets for free from the city of Pasadena. They're great because besides being biodegradable, they have a flat bottom and will stand open. I've seen them for sale at Home Depot or Lowe's, I forget which.

Love it that there's a grocery cart in the picture.