Houston: City of no beauty

We were supposed to go to the ball game.

It was the plan all week. We'd drive to Brenham and check out the wildflowers, then return home and go see the Cardinals play the Astros at 6.05 p.m. My parents were to meet us.

And then plans changed. None of this is a big deal - it's just funny to note the evolution of the day, from having company to going shopping.

Friday we spent hours and hours purchasing new speakers for the family room. We bought a new stereo receiver in order to maximize our surround sound, which also meant buying new speakers, a center channel, a sub-woofer. The service guy at the store was soooo old and slow - nice guy, but he was having some difficulty getting the audio demonstration to work.

We also got outdoor speakers so we can have the patio wired for sound. Exciting stuff ...

Sadly, they had no HD radio, which I am wanting. With HD radio, I can listen to NPR talk shows all day long - this I am dying to do. So, yesterday, after my parents announced they would not drive over in the rain (it was icky and sleeting - I think the entire Midwest and South are affected by this sudden unseasonable cold snap) we went out and got furniture for our sunroom. We did well, shopping at Pier One. I was hoping for something not too wickery, but still with a sunroom look about it, but not patio furniture. And Pier One was the only place that had what I wanted wthout spending a fortune (it's just a sunroom - not my living room). Thanks to big sales, we did very well.

And the dog is so pleased - the sunroom, just off the kitchen, is where her crate is kept, so she seems to think we redid the room just for her.

Gary finished getting the surround sound installed (it sounds amazing), then realized we needed to leave for the game, but there was no time to run by the electronics place that stocks HD radios. Got to Minute Maid, and they only had standing room only or $50 seats available. So we decided to take a pass and instead went to the electronics place.

Thus the title of this post.

Everything in Houston that lines the freeways (big chunk of the city) is ugly, absolutely lacking in character. When I used to visit my parents in Tucson, I commented on the look there - it has the feeling of a city that was developed in the late 50s then abandoned. Parts of Houston feel the same way, and the area on I-45 between 610 and Beltway 8 is devoid of any aesthetic quality whatsoever. The feeder roads (access or frontage roads to those of you not local) are lined with abandoned apartments, architecturally insubstantial strip malls, empty asphalt lots. Not a pretty sight. To be fair, there are areas along I-10 and 59 that look the same way - I would hate to discriminate in labeling the North Freeway as the only unpleasing area of the city.

Once again, I wonder how we ended up here. Inside the loop, there are lovely areas - depressing ones, too. And our neck of the suburbs is pretty enough, if not bland and surrounded by strip malls and chain stores.

But all in all, I do not feel surrounded by beauty. And it's tough. The beauty I do see feels very manufactured.

It's what I live with, every day. But it's manageable, for now. We did find our HD radio - gotta give Houston credit, as one can find everything one's heart desires somewhere in the city. From excellent sunroom furniture to stereo equipment, it's all here. And that is worth something, one must suppose.

Happy Easter, all. We hid 78 eggs for the girls (26 apiece), and all but two have been found. We're grilling salmon, and I'm making a lemon meringue pie. It's freezing. But The Sopranos return tonight.