A funny to start your Monday… Monday begins in 5 minutes. I have no idea why I’m still up. Anyway from Ken Hoffman’s Sunday column:

Q: I figure you would be well suited to answer this question: Why does Mayor White keep appearing on those “Suit Mart” commercials? It does not seem very professional for the mayor of this city to make those goofy commercials where he is riding on elephants and such. I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on this.
Thomas Spjut, Houston

A: You’re right, Mayor White looks just like that guy in the Suit Mart spots. What would happen if the mayor rode that elephant on I-45, the elephant got a flat, and there was no spare in its trunk?

The trail riders arrived en masse at Memorial Park today and I was onhand to capture it in pictures. This was the first time I watched them arrive despite being in town for the past 15 years. I have to say that it was pretty cool.

The coolest thing about them arriving was of course, all the amazing horses. There were some seriously beautiful mounts of every shape, color and size. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting kinda fired up about going to the livestock show. I am not a huge rodeo fan, but there are so many great animals at the show, that it is always fun wandering through.
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$6 buys you a whole lotta’ cow this weekend at The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest in Reliant Park.

What are some of your favorite events at the rodeo? It’s been years since I’ve been – maybe this is the year that I indulge my inner cowgirl and return.

Last night was Cooking Night. I stocked my freezer with Chicken Marsala, Herb Crusted Flank Steak and Chilean Pork Loin with Cilantro Sauce for starters. Am I a master chef? Hardly. I can barely boil water. This is all thanks to Village Table.

There are two Village Table locations in Houston. One in West University and one in the Kirkwood/Memorial area. Here is how it works. You go to their website and sign up for a location and a time and then you choose items for your menu. The menu changes each month and they have many offerings for many different tastes.

The night of your session you go to the Village Table location, with a cooler or basket to take all of your creations home. There are different stations around the room for assembling the meals. At each station is step by step instructions and all the ingredients you need to assemble the meal. Most meals will end up in either a gallon freezer bag or a baking dish. Once you have assembled a meal, you put the cooking instruction sticker on it and place it in the refrigerator. Then head to your next station and assemble the next dish on your list.

The thing I like about Village Table is that everything is there for you. They have all the ingredients and have chopped, sliced, diced and even cooked ingredients, if need be. They also have every spice you need for your dish. I am a non-cook. I hate looking at recipes and seeing a long list of 1/4 tsp of this spice and 1/2 tbsp of that spice. I don’t want to buy all of that stuff just for one dish. Village Table buys all of those spices in bulk and has everything you need, right there above your station.

And of course there is the village in Village Table. There is enough counter space for 2 people in each area and even I, who tends to be very shy and quiet, found myself talking to these complete strangers. Some conversations were about cooking, or preparing the dishes or past cooking experiences. I imagine “people people” (you know what I mean) will absolutely love mingling and meeting new faces and sharing new stories.

Now it is a little pricey. 12 meals which serve 4 is $200. 6 meals is $115. But if you sit down and figure out how much it costs per meal it isn’t that bad considering that you will not need to go to the grocery store and buy everything individually. It is all sitting in your freezer ready to go. As for me, no more trips for a while to the fast food joint. And that is always a good thing. Tonight: Beef Stew.

Maxwell Anderson’s Bad Seed is being presented by Theatre Southwest. If you get the opportunity, check it out.

The blurb for the play reads: “This taut psychological drama says there is pure evil out there and sometimes it comes tied up in a pretty little package.” oooh… sound like fun.

Performances: 8 PM on Fridays & Saturdays, February 18 ~ March 12, 2005

In fact, I will give a little theatre quiz complete with a great prize. Whoever can tell me the name of the founders of Theatre Southwest and the year it was founded will win two tickets to ANY performance this season. Post your answers in the comments!

Enjoyed a glorious work-free President’s Day yesterday wandering about town, cameras in hand.

As I wandered in/around the Museum District I realized just how damn long it has been since I’ve been in a Houston museum. I’m especially attracted to the Gold! Natural Treasure, Cultural Obsession exhibition at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Anyone know if it’s worth it?

In Bell Park, I met an exceedingly sweet baby girl named Naomi, who invited me to her dad’s (Dune Patten) ANASTOMOSIS closing reception this Saturday.

After you’ve ooohed and aaahed at the funky urban expressionism at the Studio Gallery (613 1/2 W. 19th Street), I suggest attending the Infernal Bridegroom’s 8pm showing of Me-Sci-Ah at the Axiom. Good times.

Okay you guys… I

Have you heard? Our friends at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston have received a very large bequest from the estate of Caroline Weiss Law. Her father was one of the founders of Humble Oil which is now Exxon Mobil. Estimates are that the museum could receive as much as $450 million. 40% of the money will be set aside for 20th century art and the other 60% will be used for operations. The MFAH already has plans to start a capital campaign to build a third building to house 20th century and contemporary art. This bequest will ease the pressure on the operating budget while they build their new building. All around great news for art lovers in Houston. And we’ll ignore the fact that the city up I-45 just had to make their own announcement one day after ours.

Has anyone been to the new downtown open air market yet? I’ve seen some really nice pieces of handmade jewelry that came from there last weekend. Shiny. Pretty.

Also – as a lot of Houstonians park like idiots, here’s something to tell them how much you appreciate them. (Not that I’m endorsing sticking anything to other people’s car, I think one under the windshield wiper would make the point clearly enough)

Mad props to the guy in the extended cab pickup truck that managed to take up 4.5 parking spots at the Greenspoint Bally’s gym yesterday.

Interesting graphic from the Chronicle about Mayor White