Sublime

MonkeyBoy and I were running some local errands this morning on foot (well, I was on foot, he was en stroller - without an argument for a change). The furthest point of our circuitous route took us to the Milseán Shoppe to gather some info on upcoming Christmas festivities. It was a lovely day for an autumn stroll - overcast but reasonably warm, and the diffuse light made the painted leaves gently luminous.

The Milseán Shoppe makes the most marvelous buttercrunch confections - I can't recommend them highly enough - and an utterly sinful caramel sauce, but I resisted their siren calls today and settled for a Chai latté for me and a rice krispy square for the MonkeyBoy. I usually make my own, because the commercial squares are such insipid things - vaguely krispy, vaguely sweet, definitely unsatisfying - but I'd promised him a treat and it's what he wanted.

As we left the store, MonkeyBoy, a generous little soul, offered me a bite. Not wanting to be rude, I accepted with low expectations. I should have known - the Milseán folks sell nothing prosaic. Their rice krispy square is stuffed with dried cranberries and tiny nuggets of golden demerara caramel, and covered in a layer of orange-infused milk chocolate. The combination is amazing.

I offered to swap for my merely delicious Chai latté, but my son is no dummy and recognizes the short end of the stick when he sees it.

We finished it off together while standing above the little creek that runs through town, admiring the sound of the water rushing through the beaver dam, and a dew-bejeweled spiderweb.

Next time, I'm buying two.