It's a Busy Day in a Busy Week in a Busy Month - How About You?

Today is a busy day in the kitchen as well as errands. Among my errands is dropping by my local Barnes & Noble bookstore for one box of holiday cards. I've always found their selection to be unique and with lots of variety. Of course, I haven't had to use commercial holiday cards for a long time, so I might have more of a hunt ahead of me than I expect, but it's never a horrible thing to drop by Barnes & Noble - LOL. The hard part will be keeping my focus on cards instead of on books because time, as usual, is a bit tight today. They open at 9:00 am, so that's also a help. I can get there quickly after grocery shopping, and it's cold enough (and I have the portable chillers in the back of the car), so that I can do my shopping, then put the groceries in the chiller and head to the book store without worry. 

There's something absolutely wonderful about HAVING to 
go to the bookstore today. It's always a treat to go to 
Barnes & Noble. Although there are a variety of independent 
bookstores in the Twin Cities, I know B&N will have exactly 
what I want/need, and it's also close to the house. In fact, 
there used to be two of them close to the house - the smaller
one was closed about a decade or so ago. 

It's a Wednesday, and that's always a busy, busy day. Plus, we've really been quite busy at the shop - all of those people looking for gifts or the supplies with which to make them. It's been really nice to be busy. No "crickets" and empty aisles. It's the season when I see more of my Native American customers - they're looking for craft components for next year's Pow Wow dance outfits, or just for something as a personal gift. There's really no rhyme or reason, just fact. I get more Native American customers during November/December than at any other time of the year. 

I love stuffed peppers, and they're a lovely thing to 
eat in the Fall and Winter months. Considering I had 
to shovel my driveway clear of snow yesterday 
morning before swimming, I'm declaring Winter 
officially here, and peppers are great "comfort food" 
for those cold days. 

My mental agenda is crowded today. I have my usual three loads of laundry (load one is already going), along with the grocery shopping and some cooking. I think I'll make a batch of stuffed peppers for my next week, if the smaller peppers look good at the grocery store. They cook up pretty quickly, and make a nice sized portion of a meal. I can add some of my dried chili peppers from this year's crop, and they'll have a nice bite too. 

I love cooking pork tenderloin. It's very 
much a "put it into the oven and ignore it" 
recipe and always turns out lovely. BUT, we 
have to work on Sunday, and I don't like leaving 
the house when I have the oven on. So, I might 
have to cook it on Friday instead. 

DH bought a pork tenderloin for Sunday's dinner, but we have to work. I might have to make it on Friday so that we can reheat it for Sunday. I'll touch base with him on that, or make a shift in weekend meal planning. 

It's a very busy time of the year - both at the shop and 
at home. Today's schedule is a little cramped, but it's all 
front-loaded. The morning will be busy, the afternoon will 
be a bit more relaxed (somewhat - LOL). 

Anyway, it's a busy day in a busy week in a busy month. I hope that your holiday is going a bit smoother than mine seems to be going. I'll be back tomorrow before the pool. Meanwhile, be kind, stay safe, enjoy your Wednesday, Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.