Old books and cold pizza

We had such a lovely day on Saturday. After weeks of alarm clocks and early mornings, neither of the menfolk had to be anywhere and were quite happy about sleeping in late. It is rare to have unplanned hours where the three of us can spend family time together so we embraced the day.

A benefit of having the University close by is that ability to squeeze in family times once in awhile. Before we know it, Christopher will have graduated and started a career... most likely elsewhere.

A friend had surprised us with a "love gift", which made it possible for the three of us to have breakfast at our favorite neighborhood restaurant (our former neighborhood "in town"). I can't recall the last time we were there together. How lovely to enjoy our breakfast without guilt because of that gift. I've mentioned before that "breakfast out" is my favorite eat-out meal.

One of the libraries was in the middle of a book sale so we decided to stop by and see if there was anything good left. Normally I would attend on the Friends night and get the first look at everything. However, given our tight budget and me still feeling overly fatigued, I decided not to attend this time.

I tend to pray about everything... small and large... so I sent up a quick prayer as we were on the way, asking Him to lead me to any good books left... and gosh was that answered. Would you believe there were three Gladys Tabor books in the Old Books section, along with The Harvester by Gene Stratton-Porter (we visited that part of Indiana last year)?

I also found Tea Celebrations by Alexandra Stoddard and Housekeeping by M. Robinson, a book I've wanted to read for ages but the reviews on Amazon were so mixed I didn't want to actually purchase it... $1.00 at the sale is do-able.

There was a very nice "anniversary" copy of Christy, a vintage Miss Read book in perfect condition, a vintage Cherry Ames book, and a biography of missionary Amy Carmichael for the grandchildren (Amy's books inspired Elisabeth Elliot).

Christopher purchased Utopia and a few X-men comics (his reading preferences are as eclectic as mine). I love finding great books for a dollar each.

We had to go to the Mall (yuk) to find a bag for Christopher's computer. We dropped Dad off at Barnes & Noble where he could peruse football and basketball magazines (to see how the University is ranked this year) and headed into the zoo. We had to park out in the "back forty" as it was packed... this is one of the larger malls outside of the big cities and the lot was full. So much for an economic downturn.

We looked everywhere but couldn't find what we needed. There were excellent sales going on and I came across a clearance rack at J. C. Penney that held boxes of remaining sections of drapes for $3.95 each... originally $79.00... for the valance only... and it would take two for my window.

I found two matching valances in a sage green (raw silk look) and decided they were just what I needed to replace the ugly beige valance on the long family room window. For that small amount of money, it was worth bringing it home. I'll press both valances and have hubby hang them this week to see how it looks. I can handle $8.00-ish instead of $160.00 (plus tax).

I've had so many surprises like that which turned out far above what I originally planned. Such as the lovely way the deck turned out... all because I couldn't afford the larger picnic tables we thought we'd place on the deck. :)

Back to the mall... we couldn't find the bag we were after so we returned to Barnes & Noble to pry Dad's hands off the magazines and return home (my feet were tired from all that walking!). Would you believe Christopher found exactly what he needed at B&N... sigh? Of course, if the valance works out... and I've been looking for one I could afford since we moved in... then the trip to the mall was well worth it.

Saturday night I stretched out on the living room sofa watching Masterpiece Mystery on PBS, while also reading the tea book (and at times missing a clue to Who-Done-It on Miss Marple). Christopher arrived home from campus, where he had met up with some friends to work out at the gym and then go out for pizza.

I felt something drop on my lap (behind the book) and there it was... I asked him if it contained what I thought it did and he smiled. I opened the pizza box and sure enough, the remaining slices of macaroni and cheese pizza... yum.

He's the only other person I know who likes macaroni and cheese pizza (the pizzeria near campus makes "from scratch" mac and cheese with good cheddar and then spreads it out on pizza dough... no sauce... and bakes it until the dough is cooked and the mac and cheese is bubbly). When he first told me about this pizza, I thought it sounded horrible... until I tried it... another yum.