Each year we have planned our travels to take us to Dallas to see my sister Julie. Last year she had Covid 19 so we stopped at the curb of her house just long enough to pick up some packages and wave at her through her front door.
This year we are all well and even-though the Omicron variant is rampant in Dallas and across the country, we are all covid free, vaccinated, boosted and over due for a visit! Julie lives in Richardson, an upper middle class neighborhood of lovely brick homes and manicured lawns. Her house is on a corner and has a parking pad on the side of the garage just long enough to squeeze Gladys in out of the alley and out of harms way of speeding garbage trucks. The image above is from two years ago, but nothing has changed, so no harm done.
Only 18 months apart in age I will always and forever be the baby of the family who, in the eyes of my big sisters, is in need of constant guidance and instruction. As a result, I am always trying to prove that I don’t need constant guidance and instruction. It is a situation played out in all homes across the world where siblings struggle to find their place in the hierarchy of life. The eldest of the three sisters, Jan is about 18 months older than Julie so Julie has the dubious distinction of being a big sister and a little sister. I wouldn’t change being the baby of the family for anything.
Julie moved to Richardson a few years ago from her condo near Turtle Creek and downtown Dallas to be near her daughter Emily and her family, husband Allen and sons Colin and Jack. Emily teaches in the Richardson school system and Allen is a tech guru at a local TV station. The family is, for lack of a better word, perfect. Honestly, if they brought back Leave It To Beaver they would be the Cleavers. I am so proud of them.
While in Dallas I did a lot of the cooking like black eyed peas and ham with cornbread for good luck on New Year’s day. I also made my first attempt at Gumbo, inspired by a Netflix series, High On The Hog that was directed and produced by my friend Roger Ross Williams.
The roux was not as dark at it needed to be for that rich nutty flavor and I didn’t have enough seafood to round it out, but it was pretty good and I will certainly try again!
We picked up BBQ one night and ordered in Tex-Mex another night and by the time we left, I am sure I had gained several pounds.
Meanwhile, on the RV repair front a check of the mail every day did not result in the sensor we needed to repair the levelers. So on to our next adventure a full bubble off plumb.