PURPOSEFUL SATURDAY

We left the house at 07,00h this morning and drove to the car dealership in Round Rock where we sat for two and a half hours for the scheduled maintenance. What was supposed to take a mere hour and fifteen minutes with minimal costs ended up taking more of both our time and money. Close to seven times the initial amount. But having new front brakes was important so we waited.

Cinnamon was glad to have taken her iPad with her as we sat in the service center waiting area. She entertained herself during the long morning playing Minecraft, solitaire, and a fashion show game. At one point she asked me if I had an iPad when I was a child. I had to tell her we did not even have mobile phones though I do remember the 'brick' which my dad had at one point.

It started to rain as we climbed into the newly serviced minivan. We first made a quick stop home so Cinnamon could change into leggings instead of the shorts she was wearing. It was still warm but the promise of cooler weather was on the horizon. However, the cooler weather did not make its appearance today as the high was 22C.

We drove to the Whole Foods in downtown Austin where we finally ate breakfast. The rice and bean breakfast tacos are her favourite breakfast thus far and something which has become a ritual of ours on Saturdays. After our breakfast we got a cart and made our way around the store for a few items for next week's lunch and tomorrow's Sunday breakfast. Cinnamon requested French toast so we bought one of the freshly baked challah breads.

There were a few more stops we had to make before driving home. The spice shop was next on our list where I bought ground cardamom, more Urfa chilies, and got a free sample of the new Supreme Saigon Cinnamon.

We then drove across the street to Williams-Sonoma where Cinnamon walked around the store sampling the peppermint bark and other Christmas candies. Trader Joes was a few doors down where we bought more Lebkuchen and a few other items.

HEB was our final stop before heading home. We were both tired by then and were glad to get home late that afternoon but we needed a new movie for the children's Saturday movie night. My daughter found a DVD collection of classic Christmas movies including Rudolph which she watched tonight after dinner and her experiment with a new hairstyle to include her soft pink scarf. Today was a Saturday filled with purpose as we spent most of the day out and about but being together, without her siblings, was most important for my middle daughter.