One Fine Day

What a grand day!

We started out at the Costco-wannabe-which is going out of business.  That means that there are some good sales going on.  Unfortunately, the really good sale prices are for items that we would have to abandon in 9 months.  Right now the sale is up to 40 % off items...depending on the item.  Most food items are not quite that good, and the perishables are only 10% off - and they weren't low to begin with.

I was very happy to find the very large cans of black, white and pinto beans at 25% off and that was a good deal.  I stocked up so that we can have white chicken chili and regular chili at least a couple of times each.  We wandered around for awhile looking.....and then bought as much as we could for the meal tomorrow and the meal Friday.

After a quick lunch, I cut and wrapped our first attempt at caramels......and they are good!  It is quite an easy recipe....if you have a candy thermometer.  I have one, but it is suspect.

This is about one fourth of the pan of caramels!

 I put a few in several baggies to share with Sister Williams, (our Temple Matron), Sister Hansen and Sister Hodg (temple workers), and Sister Paulsen (our teacher).....yes, our teacher.  I am now taking a wednesday afternoon class to practice on my Danish.  Everything was very enjoyable, from the hearty vegetable soup to the chocolate chip nut bread, to the Danish lesson.

I learned something disheartening though.  For some time now, I have been laboring under the delusion that with the surname of Madsen...I had - in a sense - come home.  I thought that we would fit right in with the Danes.

Sister Paulsen said that "-sen" names are passe....and no one really wants them anymore.  If one of the parents has a more exciting name, the offspring will use that as a last name.  She looked around the table at each of us...with either the Danish last name of our husband, or a Danish maiden name.  She said Christensen, Paulsen, Hansen....all are not desirable names...then she looked at me and said, "And Madsen is really boring!"

Oh Well....maybe now is the time to pull out Checketts....that is not boring.

This evening we went to dinner with the Brookes, Thornes and Parkers and Sister Hamblin.  It was great fun.  We went to a Chinese Buffet.  Let me say up front that I have always been suspicious of Chinese Buffet, but I was very pleasantly surprised.  It was very good.

Then all of us except the Thornes went to see "Beauty and the Beast" at Det Ny Teater which is a five minute walk from our apartment.  Thomas Kofod is starring as the Beast.  I was enthralled from the very first notes that rang out over the old ornate interior of the theater.  There was a live orchestra and every cast member was a strong singer/actor.  Gaston was a swaggering and self-centered semi-villain.  Mrs. Potts was charming as the singer of the theme song.  Belle and the Beast were both wonderful.  The sets and the costumes...everything.  When the curtain finally went down, I couldn't have been more satisfied.  I love that fairy tale, I loved the Disney movie and the broadway version is the best.

The picture doesn't do justice to this beautiful old theater.

It looks like a dumb selfie that so many are indulging in....for all you can see, we might be in the train station.  But we are in the theater, 10 rows back from the stage.

We came out in a wonderful rainstorm and put our hoods up (SK is the only one around here who doesn't believe in hoods or hats....he just toughs it out) and hurried home through the crowds leaving the theater.

A fine fine day.