My car was leaking brake fluid so in it went to J J's Auto Clinic, Seymour's finest mechanics. I've lived in several states and have been dealing with mechanics for decades, but the crew at J J's are the most honest, hardworking and knowledgeable I've ever had work on a car of mine.
Gary and I left the car with Dennis and went Christmas shopping. I don't spend much time on such things. When Gary and I want to give each other something, it is whenever the mood hits. It doesn't revolve around holidays. We've made an agreement with friends and families to forgo presents because after all, we have enough stuff.
I do, however, have a grandson who will be here on Christmas Eve. I bought his books on line (I am the book grandmother), but it is absolutely necessary for a boy to rip open packages at Christmas. We went to the Dollar Tree, everything in the store a dollar, and found a dozen toys, everything from a periscope to a rocket. We spent $11 there and that included wrapping paper.
We stopped in at a Goodwill store where I found a wonderful desk calendar. Each page has the date, a section for my daily "to do" list, another section to keep track of exercise and diet, a quote of the day to inspire, and a sudoku puzzle. It's perfect.
At the Habitat for Humanity store called "Restore" we looked through the donated items. We want a new (used) bathroom sink. One for $5 seemed to be perfect until Gary whipped out his measuring tape and found it was three inches too wide for the space we had. We'll keep on looking.
Gary used to work at the Menards home improvement store on the east side of Appleton so we always stop to say hello to his friends. There I found tea lights for tomorrow night's party. They will be burning merrily while we dine on Gary's tacos and all the other food we are preparing.
We stopped to see Gary's sister and to abscond with two gallon bags of Chex party mix, her specialty.
When we returned home it was to pick up my car at J.J.'s. The mechanics had fixed the brakes and replaced parts that were still under warranty. That included the labor. While they were at it they changed the oil and replaced the air filter. This cost me only $35. As I said, I can always depend on those guys.
Tonight, I baked pecan puffs, one of our favorite Christmas cookies. I made a half recipe, two dozen cookies. Only a dozen are left. Gary has powdered sugar all over his shirt. I will bake more in the ten days left before Christmas. We'll worry about the calories in the New Year.
Tonight, present wrapping and the Nutcracker Suite on TV. The Christmas tree lights are on and the tea lights are lit.
The holidays are so lovely.
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