Kidnapped!!!

At ten o'clock Thursday morning, December 11, I was in my kitchen putting chicken in the crock pot for dinner when there came a knock at my back door. It was my good friend, Lisa. She said she was kidnapping me for the day. Gathering my purse and my trust in her, and leaving the piles of laundry, dishes and life untouched behind, I got in her car and we drove away. "Where are we going?" I asked. "To lunch" was her reply. What she didn't tell me was that lunch was ninety minutes away in Prescott, Arizona. Who drives for an hour and half just to go to lunch? Well, apparently Lisa. And I love her for it.

She wanted to take me to a cute little cafe called "Sweet Tarts". The menu was filled with tempting salads and sandwiches but what was the most tempting of all was the desserts. European pastries in all their color, texture and tastes lined the display case before us.

After ordering our lunch of a small salad and cup of soup, we chose our pastries. They suggest you choose them upon arrival so they can save them for you, since once they are gone, they are gone. Lisa chose a vanilla custard tart topped with a variety of tropical fruits. I also chose vanilla custard but mine was smothered in fresh raspberries. We had a hard time limiting ourselves to just one, so we also ordered a lemon tart to share.

Following lunch we took a leisurely stroll through the quaint Christmas shops lining the streets. It was so fun to see all the ornaments, country Christmas gifts and decorations. You would think our pastries would have been enough to satisfy our sweet tooth, but as we wandered we came across some wonderfully tempting chocolates and decided to taste them as well--especially after the shop owner (who appeared to be spending a rather lonely day) told us she had tested everything at the food convention before selecting these particular chocolates as the very best, and therefore worthy of her store. And it was true. They were very yummy. But then at $2.50 each, they should have been!

Around 2:30 we reluctantly headed home, where laundry, dishes and the challenges of life awaited me. But I had spent a wonderful, calm, peaceful and much needed day with a very good friend, who knew I needed a day away. Thank you! Thank you! Lisa, for kidnapping me!