Together For Christmas

It was partly cloudy but a lot less chilly when I got up this morning, already in the mid-40s and windless. It was a very nice day to get things done. I wanted to run my errands before my friend Amanda arrived from Vineland around 11. I packed up the boxes for my friends Linda and James in Georgia and Lauren in Massachusetts and a small package for my little nephew Collyn, who turns 2 today, and headed over to the Oaklyn Post Office on the White Horse Pike.

I wish I hadn't. The Oaklyn Post Office is tiny and cramped. There was barely enough room for the short line. When it was finally my turn, I first was told that I had to cover the "media mail" stamps on one box with marker. Then they said the zip code on another was wrong and had to look the damn thing up and hold up the line doing so! I felt so embarrassed. I should have figured this all out when I was at home.

I did finally get the packages sent out. Went straight to the bank after I left the post office. They were very dead, and I was in and out as quickly as possible. Good thing, too. Amanda arrived about fifteen minutes later.

Amanda is my other best friend besides Lauren. We met when we were in some of the same classes at Stockton College around 1999. She's my only friend from college I've stayed in touch with since then. Until last year, we would get together at Christmas and do something special together. Sometimes, we'd go see a holiday show, like "The Nutcracker Ballet." Sometimes, it would be something as simple as shopping.

Alas, Amanda wasn't able to come up from Vineland, where she lives with her parents, last year due to major car trouble. No such problems this year - she had a very nice used gray-green two-door Ford with comfy plush seats, a CD player, and huge cup holders for her beloved coffee.

We ended up in Collingswood for a few hours. We had brunch at Tortilla Press (the Mexican restaurant I treated myself to during my August vacation). We shared the basket of home-made corn chips dusted with cinnamon sugar and both had the Breakfast Enchiladas. They came two to a plate, drizzled with salsa and sweetened sour cream. There was potato hash with green and red peppers and a spicy black bean dish on the side. We both ate everything but the beans, which were too spicy for either of us. Amanda said she'd take the beans home to her dad, who loves spicy food.

We had a nice time, strolling through Collingswood and browsing in the stores. We stopped at the thrift shop, which is (finally) on its last day. I bought three records - Wings, the original cast album of the 1975 musical Shenandoah, and an Anne Murray Christmas LP. We browsed in the used book store, where Amanda bought a collection of stories about witches and ghosts. We went to Grooveground. Amanda got a Peppermint Mocha Latte; I bought a chilled drink made from pomegranate juice, mint, and club soda. (The "Pomegranate Chiller" was very good. Mint and pomegranate aren't the first flavors I'd think of blending, but the drink was quite tart and refreshing. I might have to get it again sometime.)

After we left Collingswood, we went back to my place for a half-hour to open presents. She's a Yankee Candle addict and had been taking advantage of a store that apparently just opened near Vineland. She knows I'm not crazy about candles, so my presents were non-burning items - a stuffed-and-wooden snowman carrying two lip glosses, and a porcelain gingerbread ornament that smells like spices. Both are welcome. I love gingerbread and ornaments, I need lip gloss, and the snowman is winter-oriented enough that I can keep him out until March.

Amanda left around 2. She was due at a birthday party in Vineland at 4:30 and had to pick up some co-workers on the way. I'm so glad we were able to get together this year, even if she couldn't stay for very long. She works at a Bob Evans and as a substitute teacher for the Vineland School District. She's very busy, and it's often hard for us to coordinate schedules. We might try to get together again in the spring, after the weather defrosts a bit.

My other big event of the morning was the arrival of the last Christmas present I'd ordered from Amazon.com. I wrapped it as soon as Amanda left. This means all of my material gift Christmas shopping is DONE. My remaining presents are either under the tree or in the mail. I can now move my attention to the next phase of my Christmas season - cookie baking!

I realized when I was wrapping the Amazon.com gift that I don't have enough gift tags for all of my baked presents. I went on a stroll to CVS to see if they had any. Stopped at Dad's to say "hi" to him and Jodie on the way. They were putting up Dad and Uncle Ken's (real) Christmas tree when I stopped by. Dad and Jodie had just come home from a trip to Cape May the day before and were happy to settle down into getting ready for the holidays.

CVS didn't have gift tags...but they did have the Russell Stover's Coconut Wreath that I love. I hadn't seen that yet this holiday season. It's a patty made of coconut and milk chocolate. I'm not normally a fan of milk chocolate, but the combination of chocolate and crunchy coconut is irresistible.

I'm not the only one who thinks so, either. I haven't seen the Coconut Wreath anywhere else, including the Acme. There were only a few left at CVS, and they're apparently sold out on Russell Stover's site as of tonight in individual packages.

Spent the rest of the evening at home. I made tilapia, roasted Brussels sprouts, and potato pancakes for dinner while watching Holiday Inn. I edited the Bowery Boys version of "Rapunzel" Lauren and I wrote last week - look for it later tonight!