JOHN'S IDEA OF A PERFECT CHRISTMAS OUTING

Poor Austin. He had just enough time, after he arrived here yesterday, to unload his car and gulp down a bit of lunch, whilst we loved on his puppy, before we threw him back into the car and headed off to Pflugerville to see a movie. Why Pflugerville, which is somewhere north of Austin? Well, because that's the nearest theatre with digital projectors - the only kind John felt were worthy for the ultimate 3-D viewing experience of this particular movie, Avatar.

Now, I'm not near as crazy about sci-fi/fantasy as John and the kids, but I must admit, I loved this movie. All three hours of it! It's kind of a futuristic version of what happens to native populations each time white men invade a new land - only this time, Whitey gets way more than he bargained for! The imaginary world they created for this movie was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and the colors? Simply orgasmic.

From there we went to try a Chinese restaurant that had been recommended by some foodie friends. It's next to an Asian market, and I knew we'd hit the jackpot the minute we entered the place and took a couple of breaths. Almost simultaneously, John and I turned to one another and said, "Smells just like Singapore!" It looked just like our favorite cafes in Singapore too, with lots of large families grouped about big round tables with lazy susans full of food in the center. The other sure sign that we were in for a quality experience? We were just about the only anglos in the whole darn place! There were so many yummy sounding choices that we ended up ordering way more than we could eat. Guess we will be having Chinese for dinner again tonight, but that's OK. We don't mind one little bit!