04/06/2007

Today was a chilly, albeit sunny, day in Houston. Nick, Nathan and I all headed into the heart of the city for our weekly farmer's market trip. In my opinion, the market is one of the best features in all of Houston. The farmer's are all local growers (and some, I suspect, may not be able to find work in any other field due to their citizenship status). The selection of fruits and vegetables is incredible! The prices are always good, too...and, they are always negotiable. Nathan enjoys the attention of all the Latinas who swoon and fuss over him in a language he doesn't understand. He accepts compliments regardless of their language of origin.

After we visit the market, we always walk next door to El Bolillo (the local Mexican Bakery). You can smell the goodies from the bakery before you open the door...it is wonderful. I usually just get a small loaf of white bread and Nathan gets one of the various cookies they've made for the day. The selection is overwhelming and the menu changes regularly. Nick is more adventurous and often tries a couple items that are hard to identify as they aren't familiar to us. The bakery doesn't label any of their goods...as if they expect only customers from south of the border who would instinctively know what is in this unusual pastry or on top of that slice of....bread? cake? The guessing is half the fun. We are rarely disappointed. The exception being the one time Nick thought he'd spotted a cream cheese danish and it ended up tasting like butterscotch. How could we have known? Oh well. Nathan is certainly not one to complain. He is happy to consume almost anything. In fact, he unpatriotically wolfed down a cookie shaped and colored to look like the Mexican flag without a second thought. What a cutie he is!

Today was the first time I've seen sweet corn at the market. I suppose it is just coming into season. It was a bit pricey: 2/$1.00, but I insisted on getting four ears. You can imagine the pained look on Nick's face as he calculated how much more money eating this fresh corn would cost than wolfing down a $.33 canned version. He even asked me, "Isn't the corn in a can sweet corn?" I said, "Yes, it is, but it doesn't taste the same and we all know it." We had the corn for lunch and it was delicious. I, for one, think there is nothing equal to fresh corn-on-the-cob (so long as it's not sticky!).

Tomorrow is the Easter Eggstravaganza with a special egg hunt for children Nathan's age. I plan to go without Nick as he has some Starbuck's training he needs to attend. Bummer! The weather is supposed to be pretty cold...a high of 51 degrees! Brr. We'll have to bundle up! I'm sure Nathan will enjoy being around all the people. He is social like his Dad! As for me, I could really take or leave a crowd (usually leave for that matter), but if Nathan is content, that will make my day much easier. I'll be signing off now--if I'm going to be in the middle of 30 egg-hunting toddlers I will need my rest. I can imagine the chaos that will ensue when the children discover that they have to share the eggs. "But, Johnny, you didn't find that egg...that egg belongs to Susie. No, no, NO hitting, Johnny! I'm so sorry (directed to Susie's mother). Let's try and find our own eggs, OK? (attempting to lead Johnny away by the hand as he lets out a wail and sits down on the grass to sob) There are lots more eggs, Sweetie. Here, honey, look what Mommy found (Johnny throws the new egg with disgust and yells again to let his Mother know that what he has lost to Susie is irreplaceable)...." I can't wait.