*I'm surprised the fates didn't have me wearing white for the occasion, but I happened to wear a red sweater today ... so although I didn't drop anything on my sweater, somehow I dropped a piece of tomato on my shoe. I don't know how.
*Which was very nice of him, and I enjoyed it (more than the fondue at the holiday party last week, to be honest), but who ever heard of someone picking up pizza for an office lunch and returning without even one cheese pizza, and with both deep-dish, chopped-tomato-topped pizza (delicious, but heavy and messy), and pizza with actual anchovies? I thought that was an urban legend. Is it because he's English? Is it a cultural thing?
My parents moved to Florida in 1996, and though at the time I was living in North Carolina, a state not known for its picture-perfect, Norman Rockwell-esque, snowy Christmases, I was dubious about spending a winter holiday in the Sunshine State. I worried that it wouldn't "feel" like Christmas if it wasn't cold, and grey, and possibly snowy (we didn't always have snow at Christmas when I was a kid, but it was unquestionably winter).
I think growing up in the north had brainwashed me; it turns out that it grows on you, being warm even in December. Particularly as I have grown more and more fond of warmth as I've gotten older. But the weather, though pleasant to anticipate, is not the main thing I'm looking forward to. A week of low-key, no-pressure, hanging-out time with my mother and brother sounds so amazing; it's been a few years since it was just the three of us for more than a day, here or there. And I feel so lucky, that this is something I both want and get.
I can't wait!
I'm going to walk on the beach, and swim if it's warm enough*, and for the sake of my leg muscles I'm planning to do a lot of stairs--down, at least. My mother's place is on the sixth floor, and climbing up those stairs has little appeal. Down, I can do. We're going to chat, and catch up, and remember family stories, and eat and drink and eat and drink. Fresh OJ! Coffeecake! Raspberries! On the lanai... No coats, scarves, gloves, hats, shivering... Oh, I can't wait.
*The forecast is showing about a 40-degree difference between here and there, so it will certainly be WARM. Will it be warm enough that I want to swim, though? It isn't going to be HOT.
The world had better not end tomorrow. I don't expect it to, but if it does, I'll be the really angry one in the afterlife, fussing and sputtering and looking for the Complaint Department.
I stopped at the drugstore for a few things yesterday, and when I went to check out, it was like, instead of the Ice Capades, I stumbled onto the Little-Old-People-Leaning-on-Their-Shopping-Carts Capades. There were four in line ahead of me, and the clerk called for backup first once and then again, so it wasn't the store's fault that the pace was glacial. But every one of them was slow-moving and hardly-balancing and how-much-is-that and what-about-my-rewards-card, and it honestly was kind of amusing. Which is better than finding it annoying, right?
And it was pretty much over the top. I might even have been smothering laughter, had it not been that my increasing need for the bathroom was diminishing my sense of humor. Though when I was trying to leave the store, and two of the people involved, blocking the exit, turned out to be married to each other (though they had checked out separately), and she was berating him about why he didn't buy something for someone, and turn around, go back and get it? Well, once I made it past them, I think I was giggling in the parking lot. Where were the hidden cameras? That was too much.
I went from there to the library (where I found the bathroom, phew, I know you were worried), and I sat in one of their comfy chairs and finished the last mitten for the mitten tree.
Tonight I also had two errands. I swung into Barnes & Noble to pick up a book, which I can't name since it's a gift, but I read about it online, knew I wanted to get it, checked the availability online and was able to place a hold there too, so it was waiting for me when I went in. The line only took five minutes, which at this time of year isn't bad, and who minds five minutes of knitting time? After that, it was off to Petsmart to stock up on cat food and litter to get us through the holidays. I'm pleased to report that the total bill went from $89 to $64 with my coupons and discount card. Nice savings! And now, I plan to make banana bread with the very-very-very ripe bananas in the fridge. Toodles!
See, now that is a lot better story than my "old people in line" story. One of the first winters I was here in New York, I was standing in the deli line at a local grocery store right before some major holiday and finally, couldn't take the glacial pace anymore. i walked away to do my other shopping. A bit later, I heard, over the loudspeaker, "Security! Security to the deli! Security to the deli!" Made me laugh hard!
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