Nourishing November Visits with Family: Part 1

Thursday 11/11-Monday 11/15: Austin Adventure

I took advantage of the Veteran's Day holiday to spend a long weekend in Austin with Mom and J and family. Thursday afternoon was focused on getting Mom's car inspected so that we could work on applying for her new Texas registration and title the next day. Then we finally tried out Bamboo Bistro for takeout dinner, with edamame to share, then spring rolls and steamed veggies for me and crab rangoon plus hot and sour soup for Mom. Pretty good and plentiful food and definitely not an appealing eat-in environment so takeout was certainly the right choice!

On Friday morning, I took J's advice to look for Mom's current car title in a certain bin, and sure enough, there it was. Phew! I had researched how to apply for the new documents in Texas and had found a couple of private organizations that are licensed by the state to take care of these types of transfer. So we headed off towards our unknown destination and hoped for the best. Once we arrived, we put our name on a list and waited just about an hour for our turn. Luckily, it was a lovely day, so sitting in the car in the sun and reading while we waited was quite enjoyable. The process itself only took about 15 minutes, and we left the office with new Texas license plates and all of the necessary paperwork. We took the easy option of Panera for lunch thanks to Mom's multiple gift cards. Then back to her house to go through some other documents, confirm her new Texas car insurance, and cancel her Massachuetts registration. What a process!

We had arranged to meet up with J and crew at EurAsia restaurant near their house, a spot that they've enjoyed many times for takeout. Unfortunately, even with a reservation, the place was very crowded and noisy and understaffed, so wait times for food were anticipated to be length. And once the live music started up, it was all over for us! We managed to snack on some Happy Hour appetizers and beverages after we placed a takeout order, and then J, Mom, the kids, and I headed home while B remained in place to procure the food. Somehow, everything got really mixed up at the restaurant, and B discovered that our takeout order had been cancelled. Yikes!!! He called J so that we could recreate the correct order, and we eventually sat down together to eat about two hours after we initially met up. Definitely some good lessons for next time and a reminder to avoid Friday nights at that place!

I stayed over with Mom on Thursday and Friday so that we could get tasks and chores done. We did more stuff at her place on Saturday and grabbed lunch again at her house before heading over to J's to meet up with the group for C's final soccer game of the season. Such fun! And he scored two goals! Afterwards, the whole team came over to J's house to enjoy a backyard pool party. Mom stayed inside with M and visited with folks as they came through for food or the bathroom, and I focused on helping to get food set up and replenished.

Sunday morning, we had a family breakfast before J and the boys went off for the first of two birthday parties that day. Mom and I did some more errands and returned to Panera for lunch before spending time at her place with a few additional tasks. B and C picked me up there in the late afternoon after his second party, and I got to spend the rest of the day with that crew, which was so lovely. We had a DIY dinner of leftovers and played Scrabble out on the screened in porch. So nice to wind down the weekend with this more tranquil family time!

Monday was a regular school and work day, so J was up and out with the kids early. Then J, B, and I all worked in our various spots throughout the house. I talked with Mom in the morning to take care of one final car-related tasks and checked in with J and B briefly in between our respective calls and meetings. My return flight was in the late afternoon, so I was home and reunited with Caly and Mr. E by early evening.