My exciting Monday
Paid the property taxes today. The bill has doubled since we bought the place ten years ago. Sweet Jeebus, if you saw the amount on that check, you'd think we lived in a mansion with gold-plated taps rather than a pleasant but unostentatious farmhouse that still needs some work.
I keep reminding myself how much I like well-educated people. The schools here are very good, so we're getting value for our money even though we're childfree. And I can't complain about the town's small portion of the bill, since they do a damn fine job taking care of all these little unpaved roads through rain and mud and snow. Still. Ouch.
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Then I went to my annual optometrist appointment and had to shell out a largish chunk of change for a year's supply of daily disposable contact lenses (the only type that keeps my eyes happy) and new glasses to replace old ones that broke. At least the new frames are really cute. Plus I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy. Or something.
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After that, the fun part: I had Borders and Williams-Sonoma gift cards to use up (yay for free money!). I bought all sorts of frivolous things at W-S (chocolate-dipped glazed Australian apricots, basil-scented dish soap, a Meyer lemon candle, three flavors of margarita mix). Picked up a couple of new cookbooks I've had my eye on:
Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More by Andrea Nguyen
Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon
I foresee homemade cheese and liqueur and ginger beer and other good stuff, plus steamed pork buns and Korean dumpling soup and sesame seed balls. I can already tell I'm going to cook my way through both of these.
I keep reminding myself how much I like well-educated people. The schools here are very good, so we're getting value for our money even though we're childfree. And I can't complain about the town's small portion of the bill, since they do a damn fine job taking care of all these little unpaved roads through rain and mud and snow. Still. Ouch.
***
Then I went to my annual optometrist appointment and had to shell out a largish chunk of change for a year's supply of daily disposable contact lenses (the only type that keeps my eyes happy) and new glasses to replace old ones that broke. At least the new frames are really cute. Plus I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy. Or something.
***
After that, the fun part: I had Borders and Williams-Sonoma gift cards to use up (yay for free money!). I bought all sorts of frivolous things at W-S (chocolate-dipped glazed Australian apricots, basil-scented dish soap, a Meyer lemon candle, three flavors of margarita mix). Picked up a couple of new cookbooks I've had my eye on:
Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More by Andrea Nguyen
Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon
I foresee homemade cheese and liqueur and ginger beer and other good stuff, plus steamed pork buns and Korean dumpling soup and sesame seed balls. I can already tell I'm going to cook my way through both of these.