When Jeebus and Fanny came to visit us a couple weeks ago we took them to the local mega Asian grocery store (Super H Mart in Carrollton, Texas). I had forgotten my camera and so I dropped my husband and his family off at the store and drove back home to retrieve it. Apparently while I was on the road getting my camera Fanny discovered the oddly shaped, thorny fruits sitting in the freezer as you walk in the store: Durian.
Now my husband and I have passed that freezer many times wondering what the funky looking fruits inside were. Never once had we gotten the courage to actually purchase one. Fanny on the other hand couldn’t contain her excitement over finding the fruit and apparently it’s really good price. So she bought one and made us late getting home to pick the kids up from school.
Then we set it on the kitchen counter and curiously watched it for several hours until it thawed out.
The next day, Fanny took a sharp kitchen knife to the durian and carefully began slicing it along invisible seams like a surgeon. The Mother Trucker and I watched in utter disgust as she opened it and began removing the creamy yellow flesh sitting inside pockets as if she were performing surgery.
I mean seriously the fruit looks like and has the texture of raw chicken fat!
And the smell wasn’t much better–like a cross between Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum and rotten onions. So I mean if you like onion flavored chewing gum, then this is the fruit for you. Apparently, the smell is so bad that in some Asian countries Durian is banned from public transportation.
How in the world she wanted to go back for MORE is beyond me. But she thinks it’s the best.fruit.ever.
Fried chicken will never look the same way to me again.
Over the summer, Jeebus got married to a girl whose name sounds like Fanny. She’s Chinese. We like to tease her because she doesn’t play any musical instruments and hates math. Jeebus grew a beard sometime between then and now. I stuck toothpicks in it to see if this were really possible. It is. I think Jeebus and Fanny are made for each other.
Usually when the Mother Trucker and Prophet come to town they want to go to the local semi-health food store (otherwise known as Sprouts) and fill up on vitamins, produce, and almond cheese. They also like to eat at the local Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet. However this was Fanny’s first time in Texas and I really wanted to give her a fun taste of what Texas is all about so I suggested we also hit Downtown Dallas for some conspiracy theory landmarks and a cattle drive–also known as the JFK Memorial and Pioneer Plaza since I’m sure Jeebus’ new wife can cook Chinese. This post is clearly about us visiting Pioneer Plaza (conspiracy theory landmark in a later post).
(This is my husband sticking his head in one of the longhorns’ butts.)
“The large sculpture commemorates nineteenth century cattle drives that took place along the Shawnee Trail, the earliest and easternmost route by which Texas longhorn cattle were taken to northern railheads. The trail passed through Austin, Waco, and Dallas until the Chisolm Trail siphoned off most of the traffic in 1867. The 70 bronze steers and 3 trail riders sculptures were created by artist Robert Summers of Glen Rose, Texas. Each steer is larger-than-life at six feet high; all together the sculpture is the largest bronze monument of its kind in the world. Set along an artificial ridge and past a man-made limestone cliff, native landscaping with a flowing stream and waterfall help create the dramatic effect.” via Wikipedia
Although Pioneer Plaza is supposed to be a heavily visited tourist attraction in Dallas, we didn’t see hardly anyone there until the very end when some high school students showed up. Partly I think why no one was there was because it was a school day; the other reason being because it was cold. Like 50 F cold. Personally I couldn’t have asked for a better winter, I mean last week it was almost 80 F.
Since no one was there it was really easy to act goofy. Hence my husband sticking his head is a longhorn’s butt. Next, we showed Fanny how to grab a bull by its horns:
I think she needs more practice.
Then, it was Jeebus’ turn.
Oh yes he did.
See, they’re totally made for each other.
Totally.
