Have dental work, will eat chocolate...

Just got back from the dentist, where I got the permanent crown for the tooth of “vile-tasting goop” fame. Fortunately, there was no revolting goop involved this time… however, I am now once again reminded of how difficult it is to drink coffee with a partially-numb face. I was thinking of eating something for lunch, but I’m afraid it would prove to be a feat of much grander effort than I am willing to expend on something as minute as lunch…

So did everyone hear about that Christmas card that was mailed back in 1914, and the post office just now discovered it hadn’t been delivered yet? Since it’s been 93 years, the intended recipient is no longer alive – but they managed to get the card to a relative. Kinda makes you wonder what happens to all those OTHER things that get lost in the mail, doesn’t it? Perhaps all the things we’ve mailed – here in our own time – that never reached their destinations will find their way to descendants in another eight or nine decades… But beyond highlighting the occasional super-sluggish postal system, that story made me think of other things, as well. Like how family and true friends really ARE forever… and how the written word is so prolific and everlasting. Someone took the time to write words in that card, and even now, almost a century later, those words still exist. You can talk to someone on the phone and have a meaningful conversation, but if you write a letter, the evidence of that conversation remains indefinitely. That’s fascinating to me for some reason…

And with the Christmas season in full swing, I am reminded of why I have a sort of “love/hate” relationship with this time of year. I’ve been helping mom and dad get moved out of their old house and settled into their new one, and every time I walk into their new kitchen, another festive food-related gift has been delivered and laid out on the counter. At last count, I believe they had one container of chocolate-covered popcorn… a tin full of assorted Hershey’s chocolate… a Harry and David variety gift consisting of pears, truffles, chocolate-covered cherries and cheddar cheese… and a basket full of crackers, tea, candy, and other various edible items. So every time I bring a box of books or clothes or a lamp into the new house, I tend to automatically gravitate toward the yummy gifts in the kitchen. More specifically, I tend to gravitate toward the chocolate. That tin of Hershey’s has been no match for me… And this brings me back to that conversation I was having with Cindy a few days ago – I just could not have an entire tin of Hershey’s chocolate in my house and expect it to survive for very long. Good thing all this stuff is at mom and dad’s house… gosh, I love helping them move…

And not only that, but I’ve discovered several recipes for holiday cookies and brownies that I feel it is my duty to try out. I make cut-out sugar cookies every year, as per my childhood Christmas tradition – but Rick doesn’t like sugar cookies. (Which is fine with me, really, because those cookies are GOOD… and it just means there are more for me. :)) So I suppose I should make something that he would like. This may require much experimentation and a whole lot of baking chocolate. But I am willing to sacrifice my time and my oven to create more than one Christmas dessert this year. Even if it means a couple more pounds on the scale (which I will determinedly drop as soon as 2008 rolls around..).

Like I said, it’s a love/hate relationship…