This ‘n’ That

Well, I’m home for a quick 48 hours between trips. I’ve got a few thoughts to get off my mind, and some fun stuff to report, so here goes:

Update on “The Best.” Thanks for all the fun comments on that blog. I did get the Sonicare toothbrush. It is impressively heavy-duty brushing. It doesn’t make me feel like I just got my teeth cleaned, and I can tell that it does not replace flossing, so I’m trying to carry on with that chore. The jury won’t be in until I get my teeth cleaned next spring, and I find out if it has had a positive effect.

About that candy corn….. My final word on the best candy corn is that stolen candy corn is the very best. By that I mean that getting a small handful from one of those containers that people put out on desks or counters is the best. Stolen candy corn tastes the best, and also it limits your consumption to about half a serving (70 calories.) It doesn’t look right to steal more than half a serving. In addition, there is no candy corn left over in the pantry to bother you. I did try both Zachary’s and Brach’s. I have a feeling that “the best” between these two brands just depends on which brand you are able to get at peak freshness. The only difference I saw in the list of ingredients was that Brach’s contained a small amount of sesame oil(???) and Brach’s also had more sodium, although both of them were fairly low in sodium. Anyway, there you go. I promise not to talk about candy corn on this blog for at least a couple of years 🙂

Oh, but I have to mention one more thing. I decided that because I am 60 years old, I no longer have to eat things I don’t like. And that includes the white tips of the candy corn 🙂

Where I was: I was in Houston at the biggest quilt show in the United States! I went with my BF, Robin, who flew in from Oregon. We had so much fun–I wrote more about it on my quilting blog. We ate out at some fabulous restaurants (sorry, no pics) and I filled in for some meals with my Quest bars. One night Robin went to dinner with her Facebook friends, and I took the night off and had dinner in my room–a pizza bagel, an apple, and diet coke. So much fun, to just give yourself the gift of a little down time to relax.

It just so happens that Houston is kinda sorta in the same vicinity as Shelley. With some iffy weather and big city scary driving, I owe a HUGE thank you to Shelley for being willing to pick me up in Houston so that we could have a fun day of visiting. I wrote about what we did over on my quilting blog, but here are a few highlights that I didn’t mention over there. Shelley and Julia (her running buddy that came with her to pick me up,) said that I needed to visit Buc-Ee’s. Wow. I don’t know how to describe it. Kind of like a truck stop on Steroids. Gifts, food, gift food, junk food, Texas clothing… anyway, that was fun, and here are Shelley and I with Buc-Ee.

Shelley and I like a lot of the same things: talking, writing, talking about writing, eating, food, hand stitching (that includes knitting) and watching TV shows. It was so fun to visit, and go to some of Shelley’s favorite hang outs and eating joints (yes, I finally got back to the fabulous Blue Baker and had a cinnamon twist,) but most of all fun to sit and stitch and visit and watch some shows, including Dancing with the Stars!

We ate at Harvey Wallbangers. The sign says “EAT…DRINK…DO LAUNDRY.” They really do have a huge laundromat at the back of the restaurant. And they had delicious food!

Shelley’s stitching:

Paco the Wonder Dog enjoys just a bit of frozen yogurt. I can’t imagine where he got that from 🙂

Traveling home was a very long day. Three different planes, three different airports, and two different time zones. I was so happy to get home and see my girls (Noah is still away at “camp,”) and I think they were happy to see me too. Here we are the first night:

The gift of a day off. I only have two days at home before leaving again. The first day I did a few chores, but mostly just sat around. I was super tired. The second day (today) I planned to go to the gym and to the grocery store to get a few staples. But just as I was planning to leave, I looked through the kitchen to see if I still had some decent food for lunch and dinner, and sure enough, I did. I decided I could stay home, and what a delightful decision.  Sometimes you just have to be willing to think about what you really need, and how best to accomplish that. I needed a little more home time. Bess and Sophie agree.

(this perch next to the wood stove is the premier spot in the house in winter. Sophie thinks she can stare Bess out of it.)