I was able to sleep late this morning, had the freedom to travel anywhere I liked in any wardrobe I liked, and to express any opinion I liked, because someone volunteered to get up at ungodly hours, go to unsavory places in a uniform, and defend my right to do so. Thank you to the men and women of this country who serve it by leaving home and family so I can enjoy my own. You can never be repaid.

And I did enjoy sleeping late, no alarm (even if it's people talking on NPR) yammering in my ear, and having a leisurely breakfast of milk, oatmeal, and yogurt, after which I headed eastbound. I was in East Cobb today to exchange the "Home for the Holidays" Hallmark ornament for another one as it did not work properly. Schuyler has been fascinated with it since I brought it home! I also went to Bird Watcher Supply to buy a little dish that mounts on the feeder pole. It's supposed to be for mealworms, but I put water in it instead.

I had an e-mail this morning that I had $10 in Borders Bucks, so I went to Borders and picked up the November British Country Living with its cheerful fall cover. I didn't intend to buy a book, but I made the mistake of wandering into the history department and saw The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914. Just my period of history! Also noticed that the newest Jade DelCameron book is out in paperback.

I had a 20 percent off everything Michaels coupon and raided the 10 for $10 bins: little notecards, gift bags, Thanksgiving cardmaking scraps. Also got some decorative paper for cards as well.

From there I went briefly to Trader Joe's. Yay! Christmas food is out. Got some organic turkey broth for James to use in cooking, another pumpkin tart (which we will keep in the refrigerator, since it has so little preservatives in it that it molds after two days), and some almond bark.

I hadn't been to Abecedarius (which I think is the only cross-stitch store left in Atlanta) in a while, so stopped there on the way home. A pretty orange and white longhaired cat was wandering the store, miaowing with a little trill in its voice. I love when they do that!

Anyway, I bought three wonderful little patterns, a fall, a Thanksgiving, and a Christmas. The Thanksgiving one is from Trilogy, a little sampler with a turkey on it. The other two are JBW "French Country" designs: Pumpkin and Wreath. From a distance they look scrolled within, but if you look more closely, there are little figures within the design: cat, squirrel, basket, owl, dog and more within the pumpkin and hearts, reindeer, stars, trees, etc. within the wreath. All of this line are like this; they are adorable! The dog has different little dogs within him, the rooster has chicken and farm motifs, etc. There are lambs and Christmas trees, other animals, even a Christmas purse.

My last stop was Book Nook, but didn't see anything, so headed home.

Out and back I listened to the podcasts from BBC Radio 4's A History of the World in 100 Objects. These are 15 minutes each, just perfect for short trips. I had to laugh at the opening of Installment 16, about the "Flood Tablet" from Northern Iraq (700-600 BC): "When you think about rain that falls for forty days and forty nights, you might just be considering the prospect of living through yet another summer in Britain."

(Still, I'd take 40 days of rain over 40 days of 90+°F any day...)

Labels: books, crafts, cross-stitch, holidays, magazines

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