Christmas in May

Even though I no longer live in La Marque, I try to stay in touch with many of my former neighbors there, especially my former “next-door-neighbor”, Susan Curnutt.
 
We occasionally meet for lunch and shopping, and have met twice for fun painting sessions at Painting with a Twist.
 
We recently decided we needed a “crab cake fix” and headed for the M & M Restaurant at 2401 Church Street in Galveston. This historic building was built in 1844 and survived the 1900 storm. For the most part, it has been alternately either a grocery store or restaurant throughout most of its commercial life. We found both the food and the service to be excellent.
 
Since the restaurant was conveniently located just a stone’s throw from The Strand shopping district, we couldn’t resist taking a leisurely stroll while checking out the unique shops along Strand Street.
 
After walking off what we felt was a sufficient number of calories from our tasty lunch, we decided to fortify ourselves with ice cream cones at La King’s Confectionary, an old fashioned candy factory and ice cream parlour. Susan was in a dilemma over which of the many flavors of ice cream to choose, and kept changing her mind while we waited our turn in line. But I had no problem at all—I zeroed in on the Mocha Chip. And Susan came around, too. We both enjoyed a huge scoop of creamy chocolate ice cream, with just a couple of drips landing in our laps in spite of the handful of napkins I grabbed.
 
We moseyed on down the street to a shop called “Christmas on the Strand”, where I found the most adorable music box in the shape of an old timey television, with a three-dimensional Christmas scene inside. When you turn on the knob on the front of the TV, the scene lights up, the music box begins to play several different carols, and tiny people on sleds ride around a Christmas tree in the center.
 
I had to have it! It’s the most amazing little music box I’ve ever seen. Merry Christmas to me (in May)!
 
We had a great time during our Sunday outing on The Strand—good food, shared friendship, a wonderful surprise and lots of fun! 
 
Thank you, Susan, for an unforgettable day!