The Power of Good reared its beautiful head again today as soon as I walked in the door of Costco. Nellie, the Manatee Coffee demonstrator and fellow avid baker, brought in a special gift for me. She unveiled (2) carefully wrapped sandwich cookies she made last night. I happily accepted the treat and took it back to my demo area for later...5 minutes later. I couldn't resist. They looked so good. And then I took a nibble...oh my, this was one of the best cookies I had ever had. Two very light butter cookies were sandwiched together with caramel filling and the edges were rolled in finely shredded coconut. The cookie melted in your mouth, it was so good. I headed back to Nellie's area to request the recipe. Nellie is of German decent, but was raised in Argentina. Her recipe is calibrated in metric measurements. I don't care. Somehow I will find a way to translate it to something I can work with.
Boyce, a fellow foodie and Costco employee, stopped by to tell me what he was making for dinner...Gypsy Stew. His description made my mouth water. A light homemade chicken broth is flavored with chopped chicken, cilantro, lime juice, onions, garlic, crushed tortilla chips added in the last five minutes and topped with shredded cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Yum, too bad I am not invited for dinner.
The customers that stopped by my demo area were another fun and interesting group. An 89 year old man stopped by to tell me wine was his secret to a long life. He has a glass every night with dinner and is in remarkable shape. In the moment he visited, I found out his age, his secret to longevity, his military history...fought in WWII, and got to see his 20 year gold ring for service at Disney. How cool is that?!
A former Gator scout team member from the Emmitt Smith era came by to talk Gator football. We had a blast dissecting our chances of going undefeated, whether Tebow had a concussion or just got his bell rung, and the likelihood of Urban Meyer being the coach next year. I love talking football, especially with a guy. The look on his face when I actually went toe-to-toe with him was priceless.
Two spunky, single 60 something year old women picked up a couple of bottles of my wine and invited me to a tasting in the parking lot. They were so funny lamenting about the lack of interesting single men their age, but explaining that the friendship of their women friends was a good substitute. They asked if I was married and seemed genuinely bummed I couldn't join their singles group.
While working I noticed an e-mail from my life buddy Victoria. I haven't talked to her in months and really miss her, especially when I am surrounded by Sonoma wines in the wine demo area. Victoria mentioned she follows my blog and is concerned about the manic pace of my life. I realize my life may seem out of control, but I honestly am happiest when I go full throttle. Still, the thought of a week in the relaxing slow paced world of my friend Victoria made me ache for California. Oh well.
When I finished work, I called Mike to plan dinner. His choice was a noshing smorgasbord of cheese, salami, crackers, and smoked salmon. This is actually one of my favorite ways to dine...a little of this, a lot of that and some of the other. We discovered Maddie, like Abby, loves smoked salmon. Dinner was relaxing and fun...almost made me feel like I was in California.
Many hugs and California dreams,
Kathy
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