NO more laziness and putting off things. We have decided to combine N/O this month so that we can cram as much into the month as possible and break up our lazy streak. NO time like the present.

New restaurant: NYC BAGEL & DELI

Being born in New York comes with a loyalty to New York-style bagels. We probably don’t exactly remember what they tasted like in particular but we can surely tell when a bagel does NOT come from New York. These past many years we have been pretty much exclusively frequenting Einsteins Bagels since they remind us of the ones we like (although we’ve been told that Benny’s Bagels are the bomb; wait till B month). A new bagel place opened near Barbara but their bagels were way too fat; but we found a place in McKinney that is somewhere in between thin and fat, NYC Bagel & Deli. Their store motto is Good People, Good Bagels, Good Vibes. They had some different flavors that we don’t usually see so Barbara tried the Rosemary Garlic & Parmesan and really loved it. Laura, being a muffin aficionado, decided to try their lemon and poppy muffin but it fell short. They had some cute signs which we are always suckers for, the coffee was quite good, and since it’s bagels and not muffins we’re after, we will be back whenever we’re up that way.

New bookstore: NEIGHBOR

While we were in McKinney, we couldn’t resist going into an independent bookstore, Neighbor. We had expected a little hole in the wall but we were mistaken! This was one of the largest independent bookstores we’ve been to.

It was founded by McKinney locals Joey and Ginny Honescko as a place for people to stay and read together. They believe (among other listed things) that “in an age of isolation and division, reading invites us to sit and listen to another perspective” and “in the age of machinery, reading invites us to become more human.”  There were books galore, a very friendly store manager (forgot to ask if he was also the owner), little alcoves for puzzles, specialty books, journals, etc. Barbara couldn’t resist buying an earring-shaped pair of earrings for herself and a cute book for her granddaughter; Laura couldn’t resist two jigsaw puzzles. One note about the kids’ section: all the books were displayed so you could see them head on instead of turning sideways to see the spine, so it was very easy to pick something likeable. And for all you puzzle lovers they host a 3^rd Friday Puzzle competition. Check it out on their website. We really loved the store and I’m sure the manager will get sick of seeing us!

MORE OR LESS ZONE

We reread some of our earlier posts and decided we’d like to revisit our MORE OR LESS ZONE. Maybe not every month but some months the items we’d like to see more or less of just come to us.

Barbara:

More one of a kind or neighborhood stores. One thing that I always have missed after moving many years ago from California to Texas was all the one-of-a-kind stores. You just don’t see a little elfin-like guy greeting you at Walmart. Dallas seemed to have way too many chains. Chains are good around one’s neck but to really appreciate a store it has to have some individuality and that’s why I enjoyed our outing today.

Less nastiness. In the current divisive world we live in, need I say more?

Laura:

More connection with nature. My mood and sense of well-being definitely improve when I’m outside. So why aren’t I getting out more? Laziness I guess. Going from my house to the car is not “being outside” in my book. And while I love watching nature shows, it doesn’t measure up to admiring the beauty of the flowers and fauna and the antics of the squirrels, birds, cats and dogs that wander the neighborhood. When Kurt and I used to do our morning walks, we enjoyed pointing out nature’s little gifts. Since our world these days is full of noise and an overload of messages, nature holds the promise of adding a bit of peace and quiet to my mind. So what am I waiting for!

Less negativity. Like Barbara’s less nastiness, all the negativity in our world today needs to stop!