Bar stools, scalp massagers, food frisbees and Mint-Ting-a-Ling

As we'd previously arranged, my friend Deb picked me up at 9:30 this morning so she could switch our breakfast plans to lunch plans. I thought briefly about the six small fruit gummies I'd guiltily consumed as a pre-breakfast appetizer and congratulated myself on my remarkable foresight as I stoically prepared for this unexpected three hour fast. While occasionally exasperating, shopping with Deb is never boring. We scoured several craft stores for a specific make and model of yarn. Foolishly, I'd thought they just came in different colors...silly me. Looking to replace her current breakfast bar stools, we test-drove several thousands. I felt like I'd inadvertently stumbled into The Three Bears' cottage as I listened to a persnickety Goldilocks critique each selection. "This one is too squishy." "This one is too squatty." "This one leans back too far." As for me...I am the ideal shopping companion. Found my much-sought-after scalp massager and was content for the remainder of the day. Nothing beats rubbing an open-ended whisk over one's head for relaxation.

We ate a delicious Mexican lunch at Arriba Tortilla (http://arribatortilla.com/). Their pineapple salsa is amazing! Deb hosts a migrating German former exchange student who must have some Australian lineage because he boomerangs back every year. When she told him that we would be eating alfresco today, he told her that the term doesn't actually refer to open-air dining. Naturally, I had to investigate. Translated from the Italian, al fresco means "outside, at a fresh temperature." The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as an adjective or adverb that means "taking place or located in the open air." So there you have it folks, our world in harmony as two American women eat at a Mexican restaurant, discussing a German query concerning an Italian term. 

A visit to East Aurora, New York would not be complete without a stop at Vidler's 5 & 10  http://www.vidlers5and10.com/. The largest 5 & 10 store in the world, it is impossible to go there without finding twenty items that you didn't know existed and now cannot possible live without. I don't know where I summoned the will-power, but I did manage to put off buying a butter lamb Christmas ornament. I carefully considered acquiring a specially-designed angel food cake slicer before putting it back on the shelf. The red bell pepper-shaped dachshund really tugged at my heart-strings but I stayed strong. Deb, on the other hand, could not be contained. Fascinated by Vidler's remarkable assortment of silicone storage lids, Deb raced through the many passage ways and narrow corridors that connect the four buildings that comprise the store to find and share this remarkable device with me. When I mistook her discovery for a new-style frisbee, Deb first had to explain this contraption. "It's an alternative to saran wrap," she said, trying to patient. "What do you use saran wrap for," I asked. Exasperated, she snapped, "Just watch." Plunking the food frisbee over a bowl, she magically lifted the bowl up using only the floppy silicone lid. "Ta da-aa!" Wow. Ok, she had my attention. I was impressed. We spent the next half hour test-trying the suction power of the food frisbee on every container in the store. No-stick pans were an epic failure, by the way.

With food frisbee in hand, Deb suggested a quick ice-cream stop. The woman in the store didn't seem particularly thrilled to have us as customers but we persevered nonetheless. While I am especially fond of gelato, I am also especially picky regarding the taste and texture of this delicious frozen treat (ironically...gelato is the Italian word for "ice-cream") so I asked for a sample of their sweet cream before I determined that I didn't want ice-cream at all. Deb sampled the latest greatest ice-cream flavor, "Movie-Time" before settling on her tried-and-true "Mint-Ting-A-Ling." We sat outside (al fresco) on a bench, people-watching while Deb enjoyed her snack. "This isn't "Mint-Ting-A-Ling," she informed me, after a few bites, "It's just mint chocolate chip." I'd confused quite a few common household elements today but I soldiered on to ask, "Aren't they the same thing?" She looked at me in momentary disgust before morphing into sympathy regarding my perpetual ignorance. "No. "Mint-Ting-A-Ling" contains toffee bits." Two potential customers approached the store, pausing to ask about the place. Deb shared her ice-cream conspiracy with them and, not surprisingly, they moved on. Before we left, Deb popped into the shop to inform the indifferent clerk of the problem. I'm guessing that the woman was not a professional ice-cream aficionado as I heard Deb again explaining the difference between "Mint-Ting-A-Ling" and mint chocolate chip.

I learned a lot today. I plan on incorporating pre-breakfast appetizers into the Mosiman menu on a regular basis. I can now differentiate among fifty shades of yarn. I can pinpoint the perfect barstool..."This one is just right...if it were affordable." I have become virtually fluent in Italian. Teamed with Deb, I am inadvertently putting the saran wrap industry out of business with a nifty new product. And we are currently co-authoring a potential best-seller entitled: Toffee It was "mint" to be.