"C" means "Compliment"

Monday was Girls' Day Out. It was LovelyDaughter's day off and she and I planned a week in advance to go out, just the two of us. We wanted to go to Kimmel Orchard and pick apples. They have a "U-Pick" option where you basically buy a sack, and then walk through the orchard and fill it yourself. It's a wonderful way to spend a beautiful fall day; and we usually come home with a great variety of apples to munch.

But, of course, you know what they say about best laid plans.

Before we left, we called the orchard, just to make sure all was well. It's a two-hour trip each way, so we didn't want any unpleasant surprises. And it was a good thing we called. We had forgotten about the early frost last spring that ruined our own apple and apricot blossoms. The nice guy on the phone told us regretfully that most of the crop had been destroyed. There were some apples for sale, if we still wanted to come, but no picking allowed. Rats.

Okay, Plan B was to go get our hair done. Big City (only an hour away) here we come. Well, we went to the Big City, but we didn't get our hair done. Couldn't decide where to go. Couldn't decide which haircut we wanted. We ended up with Plan C.

First, we went to Olive Garden, and ate:

It was wonderful. For not much more than fast food, you can have all the soup and salad and breadsticks you can eat. I'm not kidding. They refill everything as often as you want. Someday I'm taking our bottomless pits boys there to eat.

Then we went browsing aimlessly, usually known as shopping. Our favorite store to browse was the Health Food Store. In the soap aisle. It's the one place where I can enjoy smelling all the great scents without getting a headache. I can't even walk PAST a Bath & Bodyworks, believe me. But the all-natural soap aisle is a joy for the nose. Scents like Oatmeal Vanilla. Coconut Lime. Cassia Clove (cassia is code for cinnamon). Tangelo. And a really great one called something like Mom's Best Pure Soap that made LovelyDaughter think of clean babies and want some of her own. Yes, babies and soap, both. (The soap I can do. The babies-- I told her to take that up with God....)

I even bought some fancy soap ("Badger Healing Hand Bar-- volcanic pumice & birch: Fine Organic Soap; Good Stuff For Hardworking Hands") as a birthday present for Hubby's dad, whose B-day is today. Normally, we don't make much of birthdays around here unless it's our kids'. I told Hubby his dad earned a gift this year because of something that happened Monday morning before LovelyDaughter and I left for our big day.

Here's the story: Hubby's dad and mom dropped by in the morning to 1)pick some grapes from our vines, and 2)borrow the log splitter. They were standing outside with Hubby when I walked around the corner into the sunshine and suddenly I found myself the object of my father-in-law's scrutiny. He walked close to me with a big smile, put his hands on either side of my face and said wonderingly, "You're turning gray!" and he gave me a big kiss on the cheek.

I was taken aback. "Yeah," I laughed nervously. "I have tinsel in my hair."

Then he said, "It makes you look very dignified." And he kept smiling at me.

In my twenty-five years in this family, my father-in-law has NEVER kissed me before. (One time when he congratulated me on something, he shook my hand.) And you may be thinking it wasn't very tactful of him to mention my strands of grey, but he said it in such a way as to be one of the nicest compliments I've ever had. I still can't believe it. I think he likes me! So, like I said, he earned a birthday gift.

At the end of the day, LovelyDaughter and I came home tired in body, but refreshed in spirit. We had time to vent talk, and shop; we had a great meal; it was a beautiful day. And I had an unexpected compliment. Not bad, really for a Plan C day.