toadfroggy

There's a rumor circulating that the newly redone sections of Cortlandt flooded badly on Saturday. Can anyone confirm/deny?

The March, 2009 newsletter of the Sunset Heights Civic Club includes the following:

"Our "Second Saturday at Halbert" was canceled due to the weather, but we got some trash pickup done the third weekend which was beautiful. Right now the side of the park next to Cortlandt is a staging area for the Cortlandt reconstruction project as are residents' yards."

Just FYI, but perhaps you should contact SHCC with your concerns since they are apparently actively involved with park upkeep.

I'm really torn on the issue. I'm less than a block east of Yale and so it is my main north/south route. A resurface is definitely needed, but I'm not so sure about widening. The loss of trees would be a major drawback and I don't think it would be good to widen it if they'd be doing so with the idea that they can increase the speed limit. However, I think the neighborhood might benefit if increased traffic enhances the street's attractiveness to commerce. I mean it's mostly commercial already, but looks so run-down in spots that some desirable businesses might be scared off.

And while I'd personally be OK with it being done as a three lane like Studewood, I think there is too much traffic and too much turning on Yale for that option to be really practical. One thing I think they should consider if they widen it, is to add signal lights at more intersections to cut down on folks barreling through. Of course, I barrel through at 40 MPH myself and grumble when I get caught at a light, but I'm not such a princess that I think the city planners should cater to my routine.

If they end up cutting trees and widening it and succeed in making it a major thoroughfare, it will certainly change the character of the neighborhood. If that happens, I'll grieve with the rest of you guys, but in the long run we may all come to the conclusion that it was a good thing.

Both of these projects are on my regular walk route and I'm ready for it all to be over with. The Cortlandt project actually extends north of 22nd. They have it torn up to Aurora or 26th or so. I don't understand why they did some sections and not others, though. Is it all about street drainage and some sections drain better than others, so they only fix what needs it? Seems like that would only shift problems from one block to another, but I don't know nothing 'bout drainin' no streets.

This is my parents' church. My grandparents were charter members.

There was a time when it was pretty popular for weddings. It really is a lovely building. It is well-proportioned, and unlike a lot of modern churches it has a long center aisle. What I remember about the Jack Jones wedding was that it was chosen for just that reason.

The building is long paid-for, but the congregation is struggling. They've consolidated with others in the area, but still don't have the numbers to pay the bills, so the building doesn't get cared for as it should.

I don't travel White Oak much, but there are definitely chickens in the Heights, including a few doors down from me. Also, there are/were two or three guinneas over on Columbia, about the 2100 block, but I haven't seen them in the last few weeks.

So, is Textile still only offering the prix-fixe tasting menu? I thought they were planning to open with that, but then go with regular menu options once they got past the opening weeks. I want to go, but talking my eating buddies into plunking down $130 each hasn't been easy. It would make it easier if there was at least a possibility of getting out of there for less.

I don't have a problem with the PO on 11th, but I don't go in there very often because it's pretty easy for me to drop by the main PO (on Franklin) between work and home. What I hate, that seems to happen a lot lately no matter which PO you go to, is when all the machines are out-of-order.

I had a driveway and garage done a little less than a year ago. Some of the things you are uncertain about may be dictated by the city. In order to get my garage slab permitted, the city required it to be a certain elevation above the street grade. They inspected it for compliance and even required an alteration to the forms before the pour was done. That, of course, dictated the driveway grade.

I still haven't addressed the landscaping that needs to be done so that my driveway doesn't look out of place because I've been fretting over the drainage issue. The run-off from a heavy rain still takes the same routes to the street (I have a ditch in front rather than curbside gutters) as it always did, but I was afraid of what would happen if I leveled the rest of the yard to the driveway. Fortunately, the landscaping guy that I talked to a few days ago seems to think an inexpensive drainage system will do the trick. I'm still not completely comfortable with how it will all work out, and I wish I could have budgeted some money for landscaping at the time, but I was just too flat broke.

By the way: the flatwork was expensive--over half the total project, but in comparison to the old, broken-down asphalt, the change is remarkable. I'm glad I did it even though I still mourn over all the money it ate.

There's a kind of furniture row out on Fondren south of Westheimer. A few chains and lots of smaller retailers; a variety of price points and quality. Google search for furniture in Houston and include "Fondren" as one of your search terms. You'll see there's quite a list, but it's probably more useful if you're just looking for something specific. If you need a whole houseful, you may find it too time-consuming to shop that way.

I think Rooms To Go is probably average quality. Won't be good enough to hand down to future generations, but good enough to last until you tire of it. Another similar outfit: Room Store (www.roomstore.com). If your taste is a little less conventional try Home Source. No website that I know of, but they have a store on Post Oak and a warehouse out on Sam Houston Prkwy.

It cracked me up that they showed all those bare, tagged feet at the morgue, and the naked guy being treated at Ben Taub. I wonder how much of the footage was staged. I really liked seeing all those forgotten faces and hearing those old Houston accents. What a time capsule.

I vote Austin because it still makes sense to fly to Dallas. You can't get to Austin any faster by air than you can by road, so rail would be nice.

But I really don't see HSR working as a one-route thing. I think it has to be the t-bone.

I was there. There wasn't a lot of useful information provided. In fact, Captain Holloway bent over backwards in trying to not talk about specific crimes. There were a lot of statistics bandied about. Two statistical tidbits of interest: 1) Burglaries are way up in the Heights compared to January of 2008, and 2) The 4 residential robberies so far this year compare to zero for January, 2008. I didn't take any notes, so if my recollection is flawed, perhaps someone can correct me.

When pressed about whether there was one suspect or multiple suspects in the home invasions, Captain Holloway did say something like (paraphrasing), "We don't think this is the start of some major serial action."

I gotta say though, Sheila's demeanor was surprisingly warm and genuine. She came across completely differently than the vibe she usually gives off. I can't say she won me over, but I could begin to see how she's gotten to where she is.

Ummmm, how many Centerpoint employees are out reading meters on SATURDAY ?!?

There was a Centerpoint guy on my street last Saturday morning. I saw him out my bedroom window and then saw him go around and down the driveway to the back. He also made face-to-face contact with my next-door neighbor in the process of getting past their gate. He had on a uniform shirt. I had a twinge of anxiety when I first spied him, but once I saw the Centerpoint patch, I relaxed. I still watched him, though, cuz you can't be too sure.

This person is not interested in burglarizing an empty house but rather entering an occupied home and committing a robbery possibly inflicting harm on its occupants.

As a woman living alone, I can't tell you how freaked I am about this. I know it's largely a game of odds--of being less attractive to a potential thief than your neighbor, but this guy or these guys appear to be unfazed by ordinary deterrents. I'm double-checking doors and locks and still losing sleep over every little bump in the night.

The thing I miss the most about all the old department stores--their dining rooms. The Bamboo Room at Joske's; the great view and the great desserts at Marshall Field's, etc. I remember how sophisticated it would feel to lunch at those places in the middle of a shopping day. Sakowitz had these great snack breads that they'd serve from enormous trays that would circulate constantly. There were some things on that tray that I wish I had the recipe for. I'd also love to have the recipe for Foley's oatmeal cookies. But alas....

I"m also a single, middle-aged female. I live for several years at a place called The Gael. It's a Gables property within walking distance of Highland Village and just over the fence from Central Market. The security is pretty good--controlled access, but you'd want to make sure to be on an upper floor. It's no bargain, but I loved the location.

I'm not sure I really buy the rationale for backsplashes; at least not as how they are all the rage. I mean, it makes sense to me to provide a transition between the countertop and the wall surface so that the place the two planes meet is wipeable and not a collection site for detritus, but beyond that, I think they're primarily cosmetic rather than functional. We talk a good game about the functional merits of various kinds of counters and backsplashes and combos of the two, but I really doubt there's much practical difference for the average homeowner. One of my pet peeves lately is the notion that kitchen surfaces should be indestructable. Whatever you use will be out-of-style long before it's worn out anyway. So, my opinion is that you should install or not install whatever you think looks pretty.

There aren't any Starbucks in the Heights.

And where is Nicholson?

(not trying to be a jerk, just asking...)

So solly. I assumed I offered sufficient info. The "Heights Starbucks" is on the south 610 frontage road at Nicholson, or alternatively at 28th St and Nicholson. Nicholson runs parallel to Shepherd and Yale and is about halfway in between.

Let me know what you think of your piadini.

Slightly askew of the topic, but if you haven't tried a piadini from Starbucks, you really should give it a shot. I don't know how widely available they are, but the Nicholson Starbucks carries them. It's sort of a turnover made with an herby flatbread. They offer two varieties: sausage and spinach/mushroom. Both have scrambled eggs and cheese. I haven't tried the spinach/mushroom, but I'm addicted to the sausage piadini. I think it runs about $3.50, and it's not a lot of food for the price, but it's a really unique taste experience.

My favorite burger is Goode Company's Mesquite Grill (you know, the taqueria at the corner of Westpark and Kirby). Parking is a PITA and there's not much seating except for the patio which is only semi-climate-controlled, but a mesquite-grilled burger is hard to beat flavor-wise. The set up is build-your-own similar to Fuddrucker's, but you can grab a beer from the cooler while you're waiting in line to order like at other Goode places.

The clientele is very West U, so whether you think that's good or bad, that's what you get.

We are looking to purchase a holiday home in and around the Houston area.

We are looking for a property within:

- 60 minutes of Houston INternational

- 30 - 45 minutes of the coast

- outside hurricane zones

- within 30 - 60 minutes of national or state parks

- within 60 minutes of child appropriate tourist attractions (i.e waterparks, zoos, space centre etc)

- with lots of local amentieis - bars, restaurants, cinemas, shopping, supermarkets, golf etc

- ideally with a honky tonk nearby!!

- safe neighbourhood

As we are from the UK we have no idea where to look so any pointers would be great as there are so many houses we like but we need to narrow down our search location.

Thanks

Anne

You're just messing with us, right?

You may also want to consider Spring Branch or thereabouts (zips 77080 and 77055, I think). I don't know the area well, but I've heard it's seeing a revival based on the I-10 expansion. I would imagine it's still pretty spotty, but I'll bet you can hit all your targets there.

Wasn't there also, for a brief time, a monorail at Hobby Airport?

The "boulevard" is definitely Main. That's St. Paul's Methodist in the right foreground and it fronts on Main.