Sunday, March 22, 2009

What to Do?

Today I woke up thinking I'd like to do something special after church. One thing that came to mind was to drive with a friend over to the Mississippi River to see the eagles. The report last week was there were hundreds of them in the area -- some migrating, some nesting. Unfortunately, none of my friends was able to do this on short notice. So, on to plan B.

Friday I had a conversation with one of the artists at work who is designing a book cover with a Jewish girl as her subject. I told her about a Jewish book and gift store in St. Louis Park that I had gone to some years ago, thinking she might be able to find some inspiration there. Telling her about it pushed me to check it out on the Internet: Brochin's Book and Gift. Since this is not very far from my church building, I headed there. It is quite interesting. They have beautiful things. The first thing that caught my eye was the braided candles. I had bought these before. They're just like the ones used in the film The Fiddler on the Roof, in the wedding scene. Next time you watch this film, look closely at the candles. They have three or four wicks. The proprietor told me they are used primarily at the conclusion of their services. I bought one. It's blue and white with four wicks.

I also bought a beautiful book, Pearl's Passover, by Jane Breskin Zalben and a wonderful CD, Itzhak Perlman in the Fiddler's House - not the concert hall music usually associated with America's greatest violinist, but contemporary klezmer music - the kind we hear at Jewish weddings and parties. It's really fun!

Next I went to Byerly's and wandered around, picking up some delicious looking fruit and a treat at the bakery (shame on me). The next stop was a shoe store where I finally found some Spring shoes in which my orthotics fit. Yay! No more black shoes EVERY SINGLE DAY! I'm sure most of you agree: wearing the same two pairs of shoes day after day, month after month, is boring.

Down the sidewalk from the shoe store is Half Price Books. I've never been in one of these so decided to enter (Peder mentions this store often.). It was a bit overwhelming, so I narrowed my sights to three sections: collectibles; cookbooks (bought one); and DVDs. I looked for The Bucket List, but they didn't have one.

Now, my last frontier for the day: Trader Joe's. Many of my friends talk about "this and that" purchased there, and tell me I should check it out. It's not a big store, but it was full of shoppers. I couldn't help but think, "Heidi would LOVE this store! If they don't have one in Seattle, I'll have to take her to this one next time she comes home." I would say at least half of their things were organic - maybe more. I bought four boxes of soup: Sweet Potato Bisque, Organic Creamy Tomato Soup, and two boxes of Butternut Squash Soup. I also bought two bunches of fresh daffodils and a bar or organic shea butter soap. I've been home 2.5 hours and the daffodils are opening! Ah! They are so pretty.

That was my outing today. I had a great time!

2 comments:

Pat said...

Sounds like my kind of day. Everything you did appeals to me. I go to Trader Joes periodically. I got hooked on that store in California. They built one in Woodbury about a year ago.

Have a good week.

MamaD4 said...

Wow, I didn't know that they had Trader Joe's in Minnesota. I went once or twice in San Diego, just because everyone was always ooohing and ahhhhing about Trader Joe's. Not really my cup of tea, but still interesting to go. Of course, my husband wouldn't be caught dead in one! :)

Sounds like you had a fun day and did a lot of shopping--it burns some calories, so don't be too hard on yourself for getting a treat!