Sensory delights

Yesterday afternoon something caught my eye out in the side pasture. I walked out there and was surprised to see these snowdrops; I don't remember ever seeing any out there before.Funny how a few simple white flowers blooming unexpectedly amid the grass can bring such a lift!

Speaking of a lift, last night Rick and I went out on a date, using the tickets to An Dochas and the Haran Irish Dancers that I got him for Christmas. We don't get to do this sort of thing often - maybe a couple times a year - so it is always special. But when the performance is as good as last night's was, our time together is even better! I pulled the photos below off their website; you can click on the link to see more photos and hear some clips of their music. I highly recommend them if you like Irish music and dance!
Today I took off with a friend to look at a horse she bred and raised and do a little shopping - another rare treat. She took me to a shop at a new mall I've never visited (to say the least, I'm not a "mall rat") that features a mouth-watering array of rice puddings, of all things. It's called "Pudding on the Rice," and they give samples on little spoons, just like Baskin-Robbins does. I settled on a delightful combination of rice pudding, fresh raspberries, vanilla and a touch of almond, and savored every creamy, "comfort-food" mouthful - YUM! Then, among other places, we stopped at Cost Plus, another store I've never been to. There I spied some chocolate that sounded intriguing, and suspiciously good:My friend thought the combination sounded nasty, but I opened it in her car and insisted she sample it with me, and she agreed my instincts were correct - it is SENSATIONAL! It's a good thing Cost Plus is located in an area of Portland I never go to on my own, because seriously, this stuff dances on the tastebuds like nothing else I've had.

While out and about on the day's outing, I even got a good start on my "one-skein household item" for the Traditional Knitting gift exchange. I hope it doesn't disappoint. I'm obviously feeling some insecurity in this area, because last night I had a dream wherein I received a HUGE box containing the gift knitted by the person who got my name (I think it was a big, fancy rug along the lines of an oriental carpet). I can remember thinking there was no way it was made from just skein, but it still left me feeling a little panicky.

That's it for now from . . .