That certainly is nice.

Today I started taking dairy based creamer in my coffee again and that certainly has been a lovely experience. I had forgotten what a really good cup of coffee tasted like with it in it. I like it so much better than drinking it black and I feel that I have deprived myself of something very excellent all this time.

I started using the creamer at the café where Lucienne and I sat down to have a break from our shopping experience in the busy downtown area. There was a crowd but we had been smart and had gotten there a bit early before the real hord of people showed up.

We managed to get what I think was the last table available and gratefully sank down in the chairs with our packages and ordered coffees. It was nice to sit down and watch the crowd walk by and see the other customers put away enormous amounts of lunch for which we were not in the mood.

I had done all my Christmas shopping that I had left to do at one department store and had not paid attention to any of the prices when I picked out the items that I wanted so the final total had come as a bit of a shock and I was recuperating from that. My purchases did include the braising pan that I had planned to buy and it was exactly the one that I wanted.

It does seem that everything has gotten much more expensive and that there are no more good deals to be had, not even at my favorite department store. The quality is excellent but you do pay for it. There is no such thing as a bargain anymore. Peter will be mightily robbed to pay Paul these coming few weeks.

I do have to keep in mind that I will be quiting smoking and that I will be saving a lot of money in the very near future. That does give me hope for my financial picture.

I had bought more wrapping paper and had lots of fun wrapping up the presents in this for everyone. I can see where space is going to be at a premium in my suitcase and I will have to pack carefully. The wrapping paper is very delicate and a hole is easily punched it it. I had not bargained for that. I do wish they would not sell that kind and you can not tell ahead of time of it is.

I had a lovely dinner on my own that I shared only sparingly with Tyke feeling that I wanted the goodness of it mostly for myself. I do get a bit selfish like that but Tyke does not get a shortage of good food. Gandhi was nowhere around and I could not share the best morsels with her. Not that I minded eating those myself.

Sunday should be a lovely day on which I have nothing pressing planned. I did a load of laundry today and if it is dry by tomorrow, I will wash the sheets on my bed and put new ones on. It is supposed to be rainy and windy and I think this is the weather they have already had in England that will now be coming our way. We do not welcome it with open arms.