Last day in Houston!

Hello everyone,

Last week, we had 2 snow days because of Juno.  This week, we have another snow day because of Linus.  Juno and Linus.  I'm not as thrilled and excited about Linus as I was about Juno, but this gives me some time to catch up on things!

Anyway, since I have some extra time, I thought I would wrap up the last of the blogposts from Houston.

On the last day I was in Houston, we headed over to visit our friends Angel, her husband Andriy, and their daughter Violetta.  Angel is the coach of the Rice Ballroom Dance team, so we have known them for a few years now, and it was really nice to meet up during my trip to Houston.  They have a beautiful house, and that took David and I a little bit of time to adjust to because we tend to forget that not everyone is a grad student...  haha    Anyway, with that adjustment began a very pleasant evening of a grownup dinner party  =)

Oh, and did I mention that they have a pet bird?  I had never seen a pet bird before, and while I knew people kept birds as pets, this was the first time I had ever met one, so...   Her (his?) name is Kesha, and she is beautiful. and chirpy.  haha

I was really fascinated by her, but I was also a bit afraid of holding her, so I never got to... perhaps next time..  They just seem so... fragile...  especially since I'm used to a giant, rambunctious, puppy named McKinley  =) 

After a wonderful meal, we spent some time just talking, eating some berries and having dessert. Violetta was especially fond of these berries  haha   what a cutie

Kesha got in on the action as well, and I was so fascinated by how she ate!  she grabbed the blackberry by her claws, and then took one kernel(?) at a time.  So well-mannered!

what was really surprising to me was just how much David and Kesha liked each other!  I was shocked, and so were Angel and Andriy.  Apparently, she's not so friendly to newcomers, but man, they really took to each other!

she even let him pull out new feathers!  I don't know what it's called but he pulled on something and puff!  a new feather puffed out!

look how much they like each other!  I don't know if I should be jealous or...  haha

After the wonderful dinner, dessert, and hours of good conversation, it was time for Violetta to go to bed, Andriy to get some rest before his half marathon (which he dominated, btw), and for me to go pack.

I've found that ballroom dance community to be one of the friendliest out there, and I'm so glad that we have had the opportunities to make dancer friends in all different parts of the country.

Thanks so much Angel, Andriy, and Violetta for inviting us over for delicious food and awesome company, and we hope you'll visit us in Boston as well!  Our abode will be graduate student sized, but we'll still have all of the other ingredients for a good dinner party!  ;)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend!

--Janny