I think I'll start wearing my purple hat now.

If I ever live in Houston again, I'm going to have to become a member of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. They just have so many cool exhibits. Earlier this year I saw a Peruvian exhibit there that was really interesting, and today when we went to see the Princess Diana exhibit, there was this mummy exhibit that also caught my eye that I would like to have seen. We didn't have time, and it would've been another $15, so we didn't do it, but it would've been cool. And I still haven't made it into the butterfly center that's on site.

In addition to the Princess Di exhibit, my mom and I also hit a few of our favorite spots downtown. We went to Rice Village and spent a little time perusing in a British store we like, and we also had lunch at one of our favorite delis. It's called Kahn's Deli and it's kind of a legacy deli. The guy who owns it is a second generation deli guy. His dad owned Alfred's Deli, which was also supah. It was the best tuna on rye with swiss I may have ever had. Good stuff. I overheard the owner say he's thinking about retiring, though. That would be a bummer - another Houston landmark going by the wayside! I hope it's not gone too soon.

Speaking of lunch, my mom and I had a really great lunch last Saturday with my old friend Judy. Judy's got a great blog that just cracks me up! She was actually the inspiration for my starting a blog.

Anyway, Judy and I have been friends almost our whole lives. We first met in...first grade? I'm not exactly sure, but that's okay, because neither is she! We know it was in elementary school. She's got a few reminiscences about our childhoods together on her blog, and I'm going to put a few here, because old friends - the kind that stick with you all through the years - deserve tribute.

Judy's dad was the minister at the church I went to growing up. So, we were not only school chums and neighborhood pals, but we were church mates as well, and one of my favorite memories was hitting the church kitchen after the service on communion Sunday. See, in the Methodist church, we don't use wine for communion. We use grape juice. You fill up hundreds of these tiny little cups, then you serve the little cups to people with their pinch of bread. But at the end of the service, there's sometimes leftover grape juice. What to do, what to do? Well, Judy and I knew what to do! We hit the kitchen before any of the church ladies could get there, and we drained as many of those little cups as we could! Just doin' our part, people.

In addition to many an afternoon playing together when we lived in the same neighborhood, we had summer trips to her grandmother's beach house, and trips to my grandmothers' houses in Luling, and when she and her family moved to Jacksonville, I took my first bus trip (my only bus trip I think) all the way to Jacksonville to visit for a week! I remember the great house they lived in, and helping out at Vacation Bible School, and showing her the picture of my middle school crush, but most vividly, I remember jamming the living bejesus out of my thumb! We were riding bikes, and we got to some railroad tracks, and since we were like 11, you did things like putting your thumb on a screw for luck (or to ward off bad luck - who remembers?) when you went over the tracks. Well, I dutifully found a screw on my bike, and put my thumb on it, but as we went over the tracks, there was a bit of a chasm between the road and the track, and the bike went ka-THUNK into the abyss, jamming my thumb into the screw. I thought my thumb was broken!! We jetted home, told our tale of woe to her Mom, who took a look at my thumb, said I'd be fine and gave me a s'more. Interestingly, that did seem to aid in my recovery.

You can read all about one of our later adventures in college at Judy's site. We've been through some interesting times! We haven't always been down the street from each other, but we've always been around - keeping in touch and making the effort to see each other when it's been too long. Her blog is so great for me because I get to feel like I'm part of her daily life, even if I'm just reading about it! It's been so great to be present for the big events in her life - when she got married and the shower for Travis when he was on his way - but the daily stuff is what keeps you feeling like you still know each other. I love that, because Judy is someone you want to know. I'm very lucky to have her as my friend, and I know we will always be friends. We'll be the old ladies who wear the purple hats and pretend that the reason we say things we shouldn't is because we're senile. It's gonna be great, isn't it Judy?