The winter solstice is here and today was a warm start to winter. As my son and I were leaving the apartment complex, we saw a mother and her little daughter in swimsuits. It was too warm for December at 26 degrees Celsius.

I was supposed to be at the house waiting for the new furniture as I had rescheduled the delivery twice already. But other things were more important such as spending time with family and signing the adoption papers for the new kitten. So I took my son with me this morning.

We first went to buy coffee, tea, and Croatian cookies at the Turkish store. As soon as the store owner saw me going towards the coffee section he knew what I wanted. He has seen me there many times over the past several years and knows I come there solely for the Jubilarna coffee packages.

‘Are you looking for this’ he asked as he held a large box. ‘They just came in this morning…take what you want from the counter’ he added as he went to restock the shelves. In all of the years I had been coming there this was the first time he had a conversation with me.

My son and I looked around and bought a few other items we did not really need. Eurocrem was one of them but something special for the kids as that is nothing I ever buy. It was the Croatian version of Nutella, something else I do not buy.

Our next stop was Central Market but there was no parking so we continued to the other location of the animal shelter where I filled out the paperwork for the adoption of the other kitten. Afterwards we returned to Central Market and were able to find a parking spot and bought some food we needed for the week.

Once home, I wrapped some presents and placed my last Amazon order. Whatever would we do without online ordering, I wondered. Though I had wanted to spend more time at home, I knew there were things which needed to be done during my days off work. Sometimes days do not go as planned but we simply need to learn to adjust and make the best of it.