ArtieShaw
My colleagues from Europe are always fascinated by Wal-Mart. They walk the aisles and usually buy an insane printed t-shirt or blanket as a souvenir. They also like to stock up on “American snacks,” so that accomplishes a few things with one trip. Pop tarts, corn chips, maple syrup - just things with a different flavor profile or philosophy of what counts as “food.” And Pork Rinds (aka chicharrones) are fried pig skins. Somehow I can never quite persuade them to get those.
Tex-Mex and BBQ are the two biggest food recommendations for Texas. BBQ may include beef brisket or chicken. If you’re keeping a halal diet, just be aware that these restaurants may incorporate pork into seemingly vegetarian choices, like collard greens or beans.
One tip: you can usually ask a restaurant to make a substitution to a meal and they will be happy to oblige unless it’s integral to the cooking process. For example, you can ask for a bacon cheeseburger with no bacon, but you can’t ask for beans without pork because it’s more like a soup. (Sorry if this seems obvious, but my coworkers from EU are super reluctant or shy to ask for modifications. In the US it’s considered perfectly normal to make this type of request.)
Since Houston is reasonably close to Louisiana, you may be able to find a decent Cajun style restaurant. Very regional and very delicious.
I’ve heard that you can find shark teeth on some of the local beaches, but they also just sell them at Murdoch’s, which is a gift shop in/near Galveston.
Ohio. They’re invasive and only arrived in large quantities here about 6-8 years back. They’re in the Chicago area as well.
Spiders, giant spiders, stink bugs, the new type of stink bugs that somehow look grosser than the regular stink bugs, mice… We’re absolutely at that stage right now.
Two humans and four half-way competent cats can’t keep up.
I’ve devised so many stink bug removal devices it’s not even funny. The first was a paper towel tube with a little bag on the other end. Now I’ve got a wide mouth jar with some detergent water in it. A fancy little spoon coaxes them inside. They die quickly.
This is a really nice idea. Which is refreshing, because my go-to is always something mildly disturbing but not too scary or criminal.
If I were going the wholesome route, I’d add a paper note to the USB or other digital storage, though. If I were to find a LaserDisc from 1990, that would be more or less unreadable without expending some significant effort.
But maybe future folk will have magical devices that can read cassettes, 8-tracks, or whatever.
I’m a big fan of concealing doll heads behind drywall. The local hobby shop used to sell half-heads (just the face and neck, including eyes), so that was my go-to.
It was also a hard to fix drywall job, so it looks a little janky. It’s almost guaranteed that the next owner rips out that section and finds her.