Today I went to the public library to read a back article from last Sat. about the new coffee shop that opened in my neighborhood last Memorial Day weekend. I had heard that there was a write up and had made a mental note to call my mom and ask her to save the article but forgot about it until today. (besides the likelyhood of my going to my mom's for the article would never have happened. i would have gone for a visit but would have forgotten about the article i'm sure).

You see, I go to said coffee shop most every morning for a perfect iced lowfat latte and a trail mix cookie. Greatest cookie. Mostly walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, raisins, and just enough "cookie" to hold the "trail mix" together. I eat the cookie in the mornings because it reminds me of cereal. I mean it's nothing like cereal but I think of it as cereal and not trail mix but it is definitly a cookie. One day I called to find out how many calories were in that cookie. The guy didn't know but told me that they were from a local bakery. So I called the bakery and asked the guy who answered how many calories were in the cookie. He said that he would find out and call me back. He never did. I didn't care.

Anyway, I bought one of these cookies for my friend Sassan who is a real health nut (i only say it like that because he can sometimes become annoying when he takes on his "superior eater attitude"). About 3 months out of the year (May, June, July) he only eats Raw. The rest of the time he eats some cooked (steamed) vegetarian. Well, he loved the cookie and did not tell me that I should not eat it. He doesn't know that I drink coffee. Last weekend when he was in town I was in the office on the phone and he was in the kitchen and I heard him ask ( or so I thought) if I had any of those cookies but I didn't answer him because I was talking on the phone. When I finished my conversation I asked him what he had said. He didn't answer. The subject subtly changed. You see, he doesn't want to encourage me to eat the cookies. Well before he left we had gone by the coffee shop for a couple of cookies.

All of that to say, that when I usually go to the coffee shop I am the only one in the drive thru. Today there were 5 cars ahead of me and the parking lot was full. The owners were happy. So was I. I want them to do well.

So I went to the library to read the article. 2 page article. Front page of the Living section. Found out that they roast their coffee beans at the shop. The beans are green before they are roasted. The couple who own the shop met 10 years ago over the internet. They give a percentage of profits to the farmers who supply them with coffee.

I did not return the 12 items that I have out on loan from the library because they are strawn all over the house and I did not feel like gathering them. I should have. I will probably miss the due date and have to pay fees. Just recently started going to the small branch library in my neighborhood to borrow books and magazines. Less books to pack when I maybe move.

This morning I toured a house that I thought I might be interested in purchasing.
Great architecture, fabulous floor plan, sound foundation, nice lot with 10 plus mature trees. Fine established neighborhood. About 12 minutes from the center of downtown. Needs some work. Built in 1941.

Last Friday I looked at 2 condominium models scheduled for completion in mid 2006. Center of downtown. Both highrises. One friend's boyfriend described them as "boxes in air".

The house with the trees and yard felt so relaxing , but the thought of the maintenance seems overwhelming.

The cost of the house half the price of the codominiums. The square
footage is the same.

I want to move.

But where?

I love this blogging thing. The first I ever heard of blogging was from reading the NYTimes article on Stephanie Klein in late July '05. Read Greek Tragedy and was hooked. What a talented writer.

The next blog that I read was Urban Barbara (found on Stephanie's site) starting around July 21st or so. Loved her post on shopping at Bergdorf's and what she packed for her San Francisco trip. Lately she's been in a down mood and I don't want to constantly read sad stuff. Hope she feels better soon.

I've read several interesting blogs since July but it seems I've gotten cought up in the Indo culture. I love it. There's this one Indo girl (Yasmina) living in the Netherlands who recently married a Dutch guy. I cought her site just as they were planning their wedding. Love her site because she has so many international friends and has traveled so much. I like to say that I have lived in Bali and Jakarta but the truth is that I was only vacationing in Indonesia. I've also spent time in the Netherlands, so I like visiting Yasmina's site to get a glimsp at Indo and the NL. She also loves food and posts beautiful pictures of food on Flickr (which is where I first stumbled on toYasmina's site after linking on to le petit hiboux from Stephanie's site).

So thanks to the NYTimes for writing the article on Stephanie Klein and thank you Stephanie for your quality work.