Three good things

Saturday I met a friend in a nearby suburb to accompany her while she looked at a couple of potential places to rent (so much fun being along to look without having to make the decision or commitment myself), have lunch, and explore the neighborhood. She is about to start a new job which will entail travel and needs to find a place close to public transportation so her older brother can get around easily. He is in his 5th or 6th year of recovering from a stroke, and she is his primary caregiver and transportation. But he is a very strong walker, so public transportation is great for him.

We had so much fun: the places that she looked at renting were in a beautiful park-like setting, despite the fact that they were right by the Blue Line (no train noises could be heard, amazingly); we found a reasonably priced Thai restaurant just a few blocks away; and then we walked along the main shopping street, window shopping and noting all the little shops, restaurants, and services (Foot massages! Tae kwan do lessons! Yoga studios! Antique shops! Italian! Thai! Irish pubs!).

And then: the tea shop. Cool, quiet, lovely. Two delicious hot teas and one chilled tea to sample. Tea pots, tea cups, tea towels, knitted tea cozies (kits - so cute, but way beyond my skill level). Infusers. Infuser/tea pot combos. Boatloads of different types of teas, herbals, flavored blends. I was amazed by the two hot teas we sampled - I always put sugar and milk in my tea, but both of these had so much flavor and no bitterness, that they were delicious as is.

I splurged.