GOOD THINGS DO COME FREE

Dad was wrong. Good things in life DO come free! Take the sunrises here in the Hill Country. Many days, it just gets light. No big deal. But sometimes, on days like today, I'll start scribbling away in my journal when it is barely light enough to see the page, and a minute or two later, when I happen to glance up, the colors that have been splashed across the heavens will take my breath away, actually causing me to gasp. It is so very fleeting though, and it distresses me to realize that there were probably days when I kept my nose to the page, and missed one of God's masterpieces altogether.

Another prime example of good + free, was my recent excursion to the town square, while I was still in the laid-back, fun, idea-gathering stage of Christmas shopping. My first stop was Kiss the Cook - my favorite shop in Wimberley. I think I could just set up a bed in their back room, stock the fridge, and be quite content to live there. Exploring its nooks and crannies is one of my favorite free entertainments. The only thing better is stumbling upon the latest free issue of edible Austin while I am there, as I did on this occasion, and which caused me to squeal out loud.

From there I wandered over to River House, the surprisingly sophisticated tableware, gift and accessory shop that opened here a while back. As I was leaving I noticed another free magazine stacked by the door - one called Country Lifestyle. I picked one up and went home to brew a pot of tea, then cozied up with my new reads. Midway through Country Lifestyle I sat bolt upright, causing my lap robe to fall to the floor. It had just hit me that this was the hard copy version of the e-zine that fellow blogger Pamela Price, of Red, White and Grew, had just gone to work for. She is their new editorial coordinator, and has enlisted several other favorite bloggers to take turns providing content on the magazine's blog page. Getting free monies just for blogging? Suh-weet! If only I could find a gig like that... Check it out at www.countrylifestyle.net/blog/.