Peace and Quiet and Chocolate

I goofed off the entire holiday weekend, so I’ll have to be doubly thankful today. 

Over the weekend, I was grateful for peace and quiet.  I had invitations to dinner from a couple of coworkers, but I chose to stay home and relax with my little cat buddy.  We played on the computer and opened the gifts that had come in the mail and watched movies and read books.  I went running a couple of times, once with my ex’s dog (but she’s not barky, so it was a fairly quiet run).  I made a little more chocolate.  I drank pink champagne on Christmas Eve, which is one of my personal traditions.  I reconnected with an old friend who lives on the other side of the country on Christmas night.  It was amazing how quickly the initial awkwardness faded and how fast that magical friendship reestablished itself.  I was able to chat briefly with my best old friend and my best new friend, and my long-distance sweetie managed to email a little.  It was a sweet, quiet holiday.

Yesterday I was grateful for the movie “Chocolat.”  I really should get a copy of my very own, since I keep borrowing it from the library.  I hope that my chocolate shop will be even half as magical as Chocolaterie Maya.  As much as I like Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp and Judi Dench, I love seeing the interior of that little shop, all the jars full of sweets and the plates filled with chocolates and the tiny packages.  I wouldn’t want to decorate my place just that way, but I’d like it to have that feeling.  The sense that there’s a bit of magic in each lovely container.  The rich smells to wrap around you and draw you in when you open the door.  The sight of beautifully decorated and arranged confections to make your heart shiver with pleasure.  The chance to sample the chocolate itself to delight your tongue.  The crinkle of plastic bags and the snap that good chocolate makes when you bite into it.  The sweet weight of your purchase in your hands and the knowledge of the pure bliss within.  That’s what my shop will be like.

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Now that you’ve finished daydreaming about buying something in my wonderful little shop, what are y’all thankful for these days?