Festive Coffee Date!
It’s finally December! I can listen to holiday music and wear Christmas clothing without people glaring and telling me it’s too early! I love how even ordinary things feel festive and exciting this time of year. Things like, oh, I don’t know… having your car break down. Yes, that happened… read on for details. Thanks to Coco and Deborah for hosting the monthly coffee date! If we were having coffee together, I would tell you about Monday. I stopped at the grocery store after work, and when I came back out my car wouldn’t start. AAAARRRRRRG! These things only happen when my husband is entirely unavailable. Any other day he would have been able to come right over, but this day he was working until 10 pm. As I sat there waiting for roadside assistance to arrive, I thought about a recent blog post by Elisabeth, where she told the story of how they had a water leak, into the closet where she was hiding the wrapped Christmas gifts. Instead of going berserk, she started to make a list of things she was grateful for (running water, the privilege of having a stack of gifts in the first place, the fact that most of the presents were undamaged) and got up at 4:30 am the next day to re-wrap the presents. Let’s ignore the astounding fact that she already had her gifts wrapped. I like wrapping as much as the next person, but not twice. I figured if she could be grateful in that situation, so could I. I started making my own list: I was stranded in a parking lot, not the side of the highway. It was the parking lot of a grocery store where I could use the bathroom (phew.) It wasn’t too hot or too cold. Roadside assistance was on their way (although they took their sweet time, ahem.) And I saw a nice sunset… After a quick jumpstart, I was able to get home. Early Tuesday morning I got another jumpstart and drove straight to the dealer to get the car fixed… well, almost straight. I stopped at Starbucks on the way to get my favorite tea, heh heh. Yes, I left my car running in the parking lot while I got my drink. My car could have been stolen, but I had my priorities straight! To my delight, the waiting room at the dealer was decorated for Christmas, and Christmas music was playing. I had a nice table all to myself, and I spent the morning sipping tea from my festive holiday cup while reading and commenting on blog posts. And then my car was fixed! You never fully appreciate these things until they suddenly don’t work- now every time I get in my car I’m so thrilled that it starts. The icing on the cake was the car dealership is right near a Trader Joes! Obviously a shopping trip was in order. Does anyone else do this? I do my shopping at Trader Joe’s and grab the Fearless Flyer on the way out. When I get home I read the Fearless Flyer and discover all sorts of amazing things I didn’t get. Well, the worst thing about the car issue was that I had to reschedule my podiatrist appointment. So I’ll be going next Tuesday for my shockwave treatment and it happens to be right near another Trader Joe’s. More shopping! Meanwhile, I’ve been following along Sally’s Cookie Palooza! Every December she posts ten new cookie recipes in a row. So far every cookie this year looks amazing, and easily vegan-izable. Her “Seriously Soft Molasses Cookies” are on our cookie plate every year… I suggested to Coco that we have a long-distance cookie bake-a-thon this month. We can pick a weekend and make our cookies, then share the pictures. I probably won’t bake this weekend because I seem to be the only one in my neighborhood who hasn’t put up outdoor lights yet. I know what I’ll be doing Sunday! Maybe next weekend can be our bake-a-thon. Well, that’s it for this coffee date. I hope you’re all enjoying your own holiday beverage! Are you enjoying the holiday season so far? Do you want to join the cookie bake-a-thon?