The new normal, or deja vu all over again

I may have mentioned that Christopher moved home between semesters, dumping the contents from his room on campus to his room at home... literally... before taking off for his sister's house in New England.  I was nice to him and helped find homes for all of his clothing, his guitar, his tennis rackets, his books, and numerous other stuff (better his room than the rest of the house). 

I remember now what it was like having a male student in the house.  Two loads of laundry and two more to go are definite reminders.  Of course, the one incident of the day that says DEJA VU... waiting at the McDonald's for him to get out of class as I had borrowed his car to pick up insulin at the clinic (just slightly important!).  Some mother's will remember their son's time at college by football games... I will think of sipping coffee and reading and Ronald McDonald and sigh... remember the University Days?

It isn't that I have a special fondness for the place, it's just cheap and close to most of the buildings where he has classes.  There are nice coffee shops actually in campus buildings but they would require paying for parking... or parking blocks and blocks away and walking... neither I cared to do on a cold January day.  It is a big place with lots of students (40,000 plus), lots and lots of staff, and almost no parking.

It was good to borrow his car and complete all errands today, especially with another snowstorm on the way to the Midwest (it has been one of those winters).  I am looking forward to spending more quality time with The Fellowship of the Ring, while Gladys Taber's The Stillmeadow Road found its' way off my shelf and onto the coffeetable, along with Stephanie sending me Noel Piper's Faithful Women & Their Extraordinary God to finish reading (and perhaps re-reading even again).

I had placed Chuck Swindoll's delightful little book, Perfect Trust, in my purse before heading out this morning... knowing I would eventually have waiting time.  It is small, so I finished it while out... an excellent little book about freedom from fear and trusting God.

One of my stops before ending up at McDonald's was to peruse books at Goodwill.  My... have the prices gone up at all Goodwill stores?  They went up fifty cents just on books, overnight!  I know it is not a lot for a hardback book but it is the principle of the thing... from $1.99 to $2.49.   I probably should be glad as it will help me not to buy more stuff.  However, I did come away with one book that met a culinary need right now. 

It is a Reader's Digest book called Secrets of Better Cooking and has really, really good information about the whys, wherefores, and how-to of cooking.  I especially liked their section on herbs and spices as well as their description of various veggies and how to cook them.  This is an excellent vintage... okay, I refuse to call a book published in the early 70's vintage... classic book about cooking.

Now, to actually read a book instead of writing about them... ;)