Saturday Shopping

Cold out again today, and not a drop of sun. Temperature was around 60 - 65, but without the sun, it felt much colder. Definitely a day for slacks, a coat, and even a scarf. Stupid weather.

There are so many Christmas Festivals, Bazaars and Markets at this time of the year. They start right at the beginning of November, and go all the way through till Christmas week. Every church group, ladies' group, knitting group, arts & crafts society-- you name it, they have a holiday market. My friend A and I went to two of them today. And would you believe-- all we bought were gourmet dog biscuits. I guess we've had our fill of the artsy-crafty stuff that's down here year after year. (Been there, seen it, bought it. And now--- over it, donated it.)

They had the good stuff too, of course--- jewelry, clothing, pillows, furniture...... but how much of that can you buy? And the one pillow/purse lady that we keep looking for-- we haven't seen her since Spring-time. She makes one-of-a-kind plush pillows, footstools, and the cutest handbags.

So next year we'll have a different plan. We will bypass all the smaller sales and festivals in the Clear Lake area and take ourselves to downtown Houston. There is a four-day event sponsored by the Houston Ballet. It's so large that they hold it at Reliant Center now and they have hundreds of vendors from all over the country. I've avoided that event every year for just that reason-- the more vendors, the more buyers. Which means you have to deal with traffic, parking, and hundreds of women with either strollers or suitcases on wheels. The strollers, of course, to hold their children; the suitcases to hold all of their purchases.

But next year's plan is to be at Reliant Center on the first day of the holiday market, which is on a Thursday. If we get there right when they open up, the crowds won't be too bad, and neither will the driving into downtown or the parking. As for these small church-sponsored events--- if I see one more reindeer made out of popsicle sticks or one more angel made from handkerchiefs, I think I will just scream. And the funniest thing this year--- a Hershey's silver-papered chocolate kiss, with a white pom-pom glued to its top, two white feathers glued on the back, and presto: a chocolate angel. (Cute thing for kids to make-- but for grown women to make? Then expect to sell for $1.50 each? Give me a blessed break.)

However, on the bright side, we had a nice time looking around and laughing at the silly things people can think of to put together. And painted wood lawn signs, by the way--- definitely not popular anymore. The vendors at those booths weren't selling a one of them. (And what do they do with 37 wooden Winnie the Poohs wearing Santa hats?)

We went to the Greek Deli for a birthday lunch to celebrate A's birthday this coming week. This is A's third birthday in Texas. For her first Texas birthday, we took her to a Texas-style restaurant, where the waiters come out singing "It's a yaaaaa-hooooooo Texas birthday for you-aaaaaaaalllll!" But that was her first year here-- she's gotten over that.

And that's about the story. Tomorrow, we're hoping for sun and warmer temperatures. A and I are planning to go to our favorite shoe store. When the cold weather set in the other day, we both realized that the only closed shoes we have are our western boots. Everything else is either a sandal or an open-toe. However-- any excuse to go to that shoe store will do. (Great store--- name brands, designer shoes, at unbelievable prices. You can easily walk out with six pairs of shoes for under $100.) And didn't I just clean out my closets? I donated half a dozen pairs of shoes. Well, you know what that means, don't you? I've got room in there for six pairs of new shoes!