12.23.14 - Picasso's & G&G's

I borrowed Everett's car and picked up Julie from Mel's house. I saw Zoey briefly, and when she saw my purse she asked me for "dum" (gum). I don't have any--she must associate gum with purses because of Ja-Ma. She didn't seem to believe me so I let her look suspiciously in my purse, haha.

Then it was a short drive to Main Street on a not-too-chilly day to have a soy Chai latte (Julie) and a Mona Snicker mocha (me) while sitting at the bar and watching people out the window.

The mocha, with the foam leaf and some whipped cream!

We don't get a chance to visit one-on-one much, both because we live in different states and, nowadays, because she has two kids that keep her pretty busy. It was nice to just sit and talk, mostly about families and marriage, since we increasingly share the two as major issues in our lives.

Julie is so happy to be at Picasso's! And back in St. Charles.

I love that Julie and I have made Picasso's a tradition. It's such an enjoyable coffee house with coffee-themed remakes of famous works of art and a cozy atmosphere and delicious food. Plus Main Street in general is pretty cute and it was nice to get to see at least a bit of it. But mostly I'm glad we have a tradition that allows us to get some one-on-one time.

After dropping Julie back off, I stopped by Mom's for a quick bite and then went to Grandma and Grandpa's for another one-on-one (or two-on-one?) visit. The last two years I've visited with them for close to 5 hours, which I've really enjoyed, but this year I had other stuff I needed to try to get done so I only ("only") stayed for 3 hours. It was still really nice. 

We just sat in the front room--I got to sit in their new, incredibly comfy TV chair complete with cup holders--and we chatted the whole time. At one point Clara was moving and Grandma got to feel her kick 3-4 times! That was delightful. I also notice I love telling them and other people stories about Jack either being funny or sweet and supportive. And I love when I can really make someone laugh, especially someone who doesn't normally laugh a lot (Mom doesn't count--she's so easy. :-P)