The Visible Woman...November 28, 2003

The day after a holiday is always interesting. Even if you don't go on a shopping spree.

While having my coffee I see a crowded Toys 'R Us and a crowded strip center with a Kohl's and Best Buy. Turns out Dad and I will drive by (yep, right by without stopping) these hot shopping sites.

Instead we will go through sleepy little gift shops in Plano that don't open until 10AM and I will walk through similarly underattended little shops in Synder Plaza. There's a lesson there. Go to little, locally-owned spots. No biggie sales but some nice fun, peaceful shopping. No getting trampled trying to get a cheap DVD player that will probably be broken in a year. The only thing I bought were a couple of magnetic playsets for my great nephew.

Mom always loved shopping. I've even drug her through Toys 'R Us in a few Christmas Eve forays (what was I thinking?) and she liked that even. She would have enjoyed the little shops Dad and I went through today and the ones in Synder Plaza. In fact, she once took a weaving class in the second story of one of those Synder Plaza storefronts and I lived on Abbott Street then and I'd come and bring here a cup of coffee and talk to her.

It can be calm the day after holidays and you can remember people.

turkey carving	aftermath The day after a holiday is always interesting. Even if you don't go on a shopping spree. While having my coffee I see a crowded Toys 'R Us and a crowded strip center with a Kohl's and Best Buy. Turns out Dad and I will drive by (yep, right by without stopping) these hot shopping sites. Instead we will go through sleepy little gift shops in Plano that don't open until 10AM and I will walk through similarly underattended little shops in Synder Plaza. There's a lesson there. Go to little, locally-owned spots. No biggie sales but some nice fun, peaceful shopping. No getting trampled trying to get a cheap DVD player that will probably be broken in a year. The only thing I bought were a couple of magnetic playsets for my great nephew. Mom always loved shopping. I've even drug her through Toys 'R Us in a few Christmas Eve forays (what was I thinking?) and she liked that even. She would have enjoyed the little shops Dad and I went through today and the ones in Synder Plaza. In fact, she once took a weaving class in the second story of one of those Synder Plaza storefronts and I lived on Abbott Street then and I'd come and bring here a cup of coffee and talk to her. It can be calm the day after holidays and you can remember people.
JUST TYPING Leftover it's somehow better. Finishing up this and that. Reheating enhancing the mixtures.
		Food Diary. *breakfast* English muffin, buttered Strawberry jam Two slices bacon *lunch* brisket, potato salad, beans, cole slaw, rolls, sauce, a small piece of pineapple cake *snacks* lots of goldfish and some wine *dinner* Deviled eggs, olives, dip and vegies, turkey, sausage-stuffed turkey, spaghetti squash, spinach casserole, wine, cherry pie, gravy. Today I - ate everything in sight...or, anyway, it felt like it.
		Time flies.... Family was going their own way until evening. One had a hairdresser appointment, the high school kid had a playoff game that would involve one volunteer parent. Dad and I had made a lunch date. To kill time Dad and I go eat breakfast at a little diner in Mesquite near our hotel. Then we drive to Restland, staying off the freeway and going over to Greenville and then up to it. I buy an artificial poinsetta thing for Mom's marker. We just pause briefly there. It's so weird to think it's been over a year. I miss her enthusiasms. To kill more time we go to the old downtown in Plano and Dad tells me what was in each shop. Now they are all about toys and Christmas stuff and antiques it seems with a coffee shop and such interspersed. The old Interurban station is a museum and a DART station is fifty feet away. We arrive in Melissa to visit with one of my oldest friends. She has gotten take-out barbeque and set a nice table. She has a pleasant country home and we enjoy the visit. We head to my cousin's house. There repairmen or rotoring out the sewer and stuff. My cousin and his kid are at the game. I go for a walk around the neighborhood, mostly stopping in a few shops to look around.

		Reading. nothingFranklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham on bike.
		nothing
		Exercise a little strolling (I hesitate to call it walking)
	. .	Good mood and stomach is better, too.
	It's a Tangled Web we weave...these days of our lives.	One year ago "I had a piece of cherry pie for dinner, nothing else. I'm feeling hungry when I get back to the hotel but I figure that will make me hungry for the breakfast my cousin has promised us in the morning." Two years ago "Which is why I'm convinced that I'm not clinically depressed. Because I can't muster the symptoms for more than a day or two! ."