Fa la la

Ducked into Cost Plus on my lunch break to pick up some marzipan, 'cause nothing picks ya up quite like sweet almond paste.

While I was standing there trying to decide which tidbit to buy (or, more like, which I was gonna have to leave,) I made an offhand comment to the guy standing next to me that Christmas just isn't Christmas without marzipan. He was pretty unassuming, still bundled up with bushy eyebrows sticking out between his tweed jacket and matching cap, but seemed nice enough. He just nodded, holding up a basket of almond fruit, adding that his wife's homemade was so much better, which just makes sense 'cause it's always better when you have time to care for what you're doing. There was some kind of accent when he spoke, not quite European, not exactly Indian... still, cultured enough to stand out amongst the local Texas drawl. He went on to tell me he'd had an Uncle, a professional chef, who'd set aside days just to make entire marzipan forests that would span the entire table. His Uncle even once served an entire edible entree, including marzipan china that looked to fragile to eat!

Unfortunately I had to get back to work, but as far a random chats go that's one of the best I've had so far. ^_^