Shamefully, I didn’t post anything last weekend. I managed to let myself get behind again at work and last weekend was a catch up weekend. Tomorrow will be as well – need to be sure to get in to school to get grades done. (I grade most stuff electronically or in their lab notebooks.)

But last night and today were breaks for me. Last night I walked to Indian’s Pizza for pineapple garlic bread pizza and green onion potato chips, then walked back and ate them with a sliced pear and a bottle of Virgil’s cream soda. Very yummy. Streamed Downton Abbey (series 1) via Netflix, too. So pleasant evening all around.

Today, my goal was to check out downtown Covington and downtown Troy, both of which had stores doing Christmas open houses. The only thing I bought in Covington were some apples, but Troy had some pleasant surprises.

After lunch at the Night Sky cafe (half a tasty BLT and a cup of chicken & dumpling soup that wasn’t very good), I walked around the downtown and talked some with the lady at the Hospice store. (They sell a variety of items, some used, some new, and all proceeds go to Hospice – I think the workers are volunteer, but I’m not sure.) She mentioned a new store in town that sells olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And that’s it.

So, of course, I had to check out Olive Oasis. They have several types of olive oils, some flavored, some not. And quite a few balsamic vinegars, some aged, some new, some flavored, etc. And you can try anything. I tried a white peach balsamic that was so good you could drink it straight up. And an herb olive oil that was tasty. So I bought 200mL bottles of each, which they fill, label, then seal. Can’t wait to show this store to the parental units.

After the downtowning, I went on to the bookstore in Troy. This weekend is their 20% off Holiday sale. So of course, I had to give them some of my money. Bought my annual Christmas kiddie lit book. This year’s is A Bad Kitty Christmas which was quite delightful (and, as many good Xmas stories do, made me cry). Also got Inheritance, The Disappearing Spoon, and How to Break a Dragon’s Heart. I know I should be buying for others, but no one has given me a list yet!

I finished the shopping with a stop at Kroger for groceries. Much of the rest of my day has been spent freebasing the rest of Downton Abbey series 1. I blame the kitties – they were sitting with me and wouldn’t let me get up. 🙂

I think I’ll hit the sack early and read some more Snuff by Terry Pratchett (borrowed eBook from the library).