Honk if you love old cars

Around 5:00 yesterday evening, after a long day of puttering around the house, my husband realized we were out of cat litter and I realized I needed more fabric for the quilt I was working on.  So we elected to go into town together, not bothering to brush our teeth or change our clothes -- it was only a quick errand, after all.

Famous last words.  On the way in to town we noticed there were more cars than usual at the monthly car show on the lawn of the Baptist church, so we decided to stop off for a visit on the way home.  Once there we ran into several sets of old friends and ended up going out to dinner despite the fact we were still dressed in our grubbies.  And in the end, we didn't get back home until almost 10 pm.

My mom (bless her dear Southern heart) would have been horrified, and the lesson she would be sure to drive home would have been "never leave home dressed in less than your best."  But she isn't here any more, and I hate to think of all the fun we would have missed if we had decided we were too underdressed to visit the car show or enjoy dinner out.  After 25 years (this month!) in the Pacific Northwest it might be time to set aside our East Coast scruples and relax the rules a bit.

As we sat there in the restaurant, discovering connections and chatting about everything from ice hockey to museums I had to smile: you never know what blessings a day will bring if you just stay open to possibility!  But old habits die hard: I suspect I'll never leave the house again, even for a minuscule errand, without first spiffing up a bit...