Shopping With the Gals

Who's the ghost you ask??? Just a picture from the past of my dog, Maggie.

Here she is squinting....Trying to look scary :)

Yesterday was really foggy and gloomy. A perfect day to go to a nearby town with a couple of gal friends...for shopping and lunch. We went to a store called Merlin's that is the place to go around here for holiday shopping. Fall is in the air and when we entered the store...we heard Christmas carols playing. A big curtain was across half of the store and we weren't allowed in there. We could hear bumping and moving around behind the curtain. Girls going in and out with little peaks of Christmas lights. What mystery lies behind that curtain we wondered? The owner, Merlin, told us that they were changing the store over to Christmas and the reveal would be Nov. 7th in the evening. I've been to the open house before and it will be standing room only with double lines to the cash register. I don't do things like this anymore, but it was fun in the past. We weren't bothered by the reduced size of our shopping area...the store is big enough that there is plenty of shopping space. The greenhouse was open and that is always where my friends will find me. Rows and rows of cyclamen in various stages of growth and then rows and rows of poinsettias with leaves just turning red. The smell in the greenhouse was fresh and moist. This always reminds me of the day, years ago, when there was a mini blizzard going on and my husband took me to an orchid greenhouse. There I was in this beautiful glass house with snow falling above and the moist fragrant smell of flowers. We were the only customers.. so far that day. I'm really surprised that they were open. As I walked down the rows of poinsettias, I thought about all the Christmases past, when I have been given this plant. Well, back to yesterday. We finished shopping at Merlin's and the two gals I went with had bought so many things. The back seat was filling up. On to Conover Square and the kitchen shop. We browsed and the two bought several things there. I mentioned that I hadn't spent any money yet and they kidded me about that. We were tired and stopped for lunch at a coffee and chocolate shop. Half a sandwich and a cup of chicken artichoke soup.The special coffee of the day was pumpkin, cinnamon, pecan decaf. It was delicious. The other two splurged by having Lattes with whipped cream. The lunch was perfect. I teased the waitress about wanting a slice of pie. She said that they had cookies and muffins, but that wouldn't do.Leaving the Square we decided to visit the $ Store. As we walked to the car, I quickly opened my purse and held up a dollar bill. I said, "Now I'm going to shop...lead me to the store, I want to spend my dollar." They laughed and said that they saw a moth fly out of my purse when I opened it. We had such a good time joking about that dollar. I ended the day by buying paper plates and napkins for fall. We were ready to go home and came back to Byron the back way... past Lowden State Park. This area is beautiful right now. Such a nice way to end the day. We had a lot of fun...joking, exchanging recipes, talking about family, reminiscing. It was a special day.

Balisha