"The Queen" and royalty at large.

A friend of mine, Millie, had a friend who was an adoptee, and who wondered if her birth mother was still living. The adoption took place in the late 1940's, and she did have her adoption papers listing her mother's name. The friend is computer illiterate, and the idea of using a computer for research just overwhelmed her.

Millie asked if I would be willing to do some research for her friend, and I agreed that I would enjoy the challenge. A few good leads were uncovered, and Millie asked if she could take me out for lunch to thank me for doing the work for her friend.

Earlier my mom had reported that the movie "The Queen" was fabulous, and that I should be sure not to miss seeing it.

The movie was playing downtown at an old independent theater in River Oaks, the posh old section of Houston. Since Millie had suggested we get lunch downtown (Kingwood has little to offer in terms of interesting dining), I suggested that we include a movie with lunch.

Sunday afternoon was open for us both, so off we went.

The movie proved to be fascinating on many levels: great acting (at first I wondered how they got Tony Blair to be in the movie...before realizing "Tony" was an actor), great scenery, and challenging subject. Conversation flowed in the ladies lounge following the movie as everyone debated how the Queen handled Princess Diana's death.
(My own opinion: The flag should have stayed up. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg at Diana's funeral was a self serving photo op. The Queen Mum was right. The family should have stayed in Scotland, rather than throwing themselves, and the "boys" into the London limelight just to make it a starry eyed moment. And I could go on, but I won't. Doesn't ANYONE understand private verses public anymore?)

After the movie Millie and I had a wonderful "just us girls" shopping/walking/talking time. We wandered through River Oaks, taking in an art gallery. It had wonderful pieces, and I could have spent several thousand on sculpture alone.

Then we headed over to an accessory shop where I bought a chocolate brown pashima/silk wrap. I "collect" them, as air conditioning in Houston is often chilly, and a light wrap is easier to bring along tucked into my bag than would be a sweater.

Next we tried on jewelry and jackets at Chico's. My hour glass figure type doesn't work well with Chico's designs, even though I go crazy for their fabrics and bold colors. Actually the bold colors there don't work well on me either...I treat Chico's like an art museum, for display only.

Then we rambled into the sandwich pastry shop pictured here. The berry lemonade was tangy, my hot roast beef sandwich on whole wheat roll delish, and the conversations were refreshing.

There were few others in the restaurant, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

That is, ourselves, another small group that left shortly after we arrived, and at a table by himself, and assisted by his aide, Dr. Michael DeBakey, at 98 years of age, enjoying a pastry as he looked over several piles of important looking papers.

I do believe I dined in the presence of royalty. Houston style.