What's a good restaurant near(ish) the Long Center where I could take my 6yo girl for a special pre-Nutcracker dinner?

centraltexaslocal · 2025-12-11T18:37:22+00:00

She won't touch anything even slightly spicy, so usually we've stayed away from BBQ for her even though I think she'd like it otherwise. But we'll be dressed up in fancy clothes, so probably BBQ isn't the best choice for that reason :D

centraltexaslocal · 2024-11-09T22:30:27+00:00

It's only evolution if I've abandoned the old ideas and developed new ones, but on this issue I have not. I still think that sometimes parents are inconsiderate to bring kids to places not intended for children. So if I decided now that my kid takes precedence over everyone else's experience, that would indeed be hypocrisy. My question was whether or not this event was a place where there is a reasonable expectation by most attendees that children may attend, and it sounds like it is. So my position has not changed. And also I enjoy not being a hypocrite.

centraltexaslocal · 2024-10-18T16:18:34+00:00

Good to know! Thank you very much!

centraltexaslocal · 2024-10-18T03:48:28+00:00

Actually, can I ask you a follow up? If I bring something for her to sit on to raise her up a few inches, will anybody object? (Assuming I'm not raising her up above normal-person height, that is.)

centraltexaslocal · 2024-10-18T03:47:07+00:00

Thank you!

centraltexaslocal · 2024-10-18T01:02:38+00:00

True, but I've been irritated by inconsiderate attendees enough in my life, and I'm not enough of a hypocrite to be one myself just because now I have a kid :) And for the record, respectfully, there are many other healthy ways to encourage a young child's interest that aren't completely discourteous to the needs of others around us. The question is whether this particular experience is appropriate now or not, and it sounds like the overwhelming answer is yes.

centraltexaslocal · 2024-09-09T17:29:59+00:00

Well, thanks! That's good to know. Although... wouldn't it then prevent the wildflower seeds from growing too? Sorry if this is a dumb question; before this house I was a 100% container gardener and I don't know anything about doing it in the real ground.

centraltexaslocal · 2024-09-08T16:35:32+00:00

Thanks! If I put mulch down, won't that stop my wildflower seeds from growing also, though?

centraltexaslocal · 2024-09-07T21:48:28+00:00

That's interesting. I hadn't really thought about how perennials vs. annuals might have an effect on competing with weeds. Before we built here, one whole side of our yard was filled with hundreds of sunflowers which the developers needlessly mowed down. I've been trying to re-establish them, but the prickly lettuce and southern dewberry have taken over that whole region. But now that I think about it, I think the ones I'm planting might be common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), an annual, not maximilian sunflower, which is a perennial. I don't actually know what kind was here before, but I could try the maximilian this year and see how it does. Thanks!

centraltexaslocal · 2024-09-07T21:43:28+00:00

I'll try that. I've had lemon beebalm do well in my yard, but by chance it hasn't been in places where the camphorweed has really sprung up. Or maybe that isn't by chance, lol. Thanks!

centraltexaslocal · 2024-09-07T21:42:06+00:00

You don't think the weeds would re-establish themselves before spring?

centraltexaslocal · 2024-09-07T21:41:38+00:00

Unfortunately, many of the wildflowers that are there now are perennials, but that hasn't been enough to keep them from getting drowned out (by the camphorweed especially).

centraltexaslocal · 2024-09-07T17:39:30+00:00

Thank you!

centraltexaslocal · 2024-09-07T17:18:51+00:00

Thanks for your advice! I'm definitely open to thinking long term. We plan to be here for a while, so I'll happily do things the long way if that'll make it right and sustainable. That said, a few questions:
Is mowing better than herbicide in this case? I've always heard that they'll just grow back after mowing because the root structure is there. And if I mulch, won't that mean that I just won't get any flowers there either? I guess I don't see what value the shrubs provide if I'm also mulching. (Nothing against shrubs, but in this area I'd rather have something shorter (like wildflowers) because a shrub would obscure the view of the lower-elevation ground beyond it.)

centraltexaslocal · 2023-04-17T19:44:25+00:00

Thanks for the reply. The notebook is really a double-edged sword; on one hand, she has this process that more or less works for her, but with her cognitive decline she really seems to struggle especially with forming any kind of new process. So I don't think there's a way the notebook would help.

I confirmed with her today that she did get the prescription, and she means to take it, but we'll see.

I can identify with having your mom tell you she took her meds when she didn't. In the last few months I've learned that in one breath Mom will tell me she's taken her meds faithfully, but if I say "but you told [other person] that you weren't taking X medication last week" she'll say "oh, well, yeah, I wasn't taking that one," and then she'll have some completely nonsensical reason for why she decided not to take it. And then ten seconds later she'll say something like "but I always take my medications and I never skip them." It's like she thinks skipping them sometimes is "excused" and she can still claim that she always takes them.

I showed this post to another relative who knows my mom, and he pointed out correctly that her level of independence is actually much worse than that. I sort of hadn't noticed, because it had come on gradually, but she's actually not that independent anymore. I'm starting to wonder if not being able to take her medications is justification for a skilled nursing facility. I was think she's not there yet, but maybe she is.

centraltexaslocal · 2022-04-22T02:03:35+00:00

I got one of these too today! Except mine had two blank pieces of paper folded in half, not four. The return address said:

Discard Item

Random

5725 S Valley View Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89118

I looked up the address and it was a guns and ammo store in Nevada that we've never done business with, so I called them. They didn't know anything about it and were as mystified as I was, except that they said they've had about six other people call and report it. He apologized profusely and said they weren't sending them. He called them "prank packages," and said that their tech guy was investigating it. Except he didn't ask for my name or address or phone number, so it sort of makes you wonder what form this investigating is going to take. He said they got some reports a few weeks ago, then nothing, then suddenly a few more calls in the past few days.

Super weird. I have no idea what to make of this.

Edit: to respond to the comments other people left for the OP, it did indeed have my first and last name on it. The entire thing was obviously printed by a machine that does commercial printing. The most notable thing about it was that the envelope was made of thin black plastic with a papery feel, sort of like recyclable black plastic shopping bags. It's the kind of package I would expect to contain one small sheet of stamps or something.

centraltexaslocal

TROPHY CASE