Chocolate, life, and other random musings

Well, here I am. It's Sunday night and I'm tired, but good has been done here (sorry, channeling the Veggie Tales for a moment) today. Church was good, and this evening I put together a sort of demo setup for next week's worship service...Eric wanted something kind of modern looking, and I have one idea worked out on the stage area, but it's only okay. I was too lazy to go upstairs hunting a table, and I'm going to have to do that. The wicker table's not modern enough, and I used a small folding table raised to it's tallest height and covered with a burgundy cloth and white. I think it's too big, and I know I need to iron them (not the most fun I've ever had). There are a couple of tables I can probably use: some pine desks, a console table upstairs used for refreshments. Part of the problem is space related: it can be kind of tight up on the stage to use a big table. And we have to leave room for all of us to get around up there...but I'll keep working at it.
I wanted to use purple in the setting somewhere, sort of a nod to the season of Lent, even though I know it won't necessarily be meaningful to our target "audience". Burgundy and dark red are the best I could do, at least for right now. Maybe one day this week I can get out and do a little thrift store shopping for more table cloths and lengths of fabric. And I'm interpreting modern as minimal, a bit, so I'm using only one strong color, white as an accent, and looking to create a really tailored look with the linens. Part of the fun is seeing what I can accomplish with safety pins and duct tape.
Okay, so on to chocolate. I have become a serious chocolate snob. Two years ago, I went to Germany to visit my best friend (that's a story for another post) and we went to this wonderful chocolate shop. I didn't buy much, but I got hooked on European chocolate. It's less sweet than what we have here, and usually darker. Since that trip, I have lost my taste for almost anything I can get at the grocery store...none of the candy bars I used to eat are good to me anymore (no great loss, really). So I live for Christmas, and shopping in Virginia Beach and Raleigh, where I can find decent imported chocolate.
I keep chocolate around all the time. I've believed for years that it was good for me, and I'm grateful to the medical establishment for finally coming around to my viewpoint on that. In an effort to simultaneously enjoy two of my favorite things, I have a lidded pottery jar on my desk that's filled with great chocolate. I've got Eric and Joe trained to come and get some whenever they want it. Right now I've got:
Dove Promises--dark, of course, and a staple
Ghirardelli squares--60% cacao, so pretty dark
Black Lindt Lindor truffles (I think I'm down to my last one)--70% cacao and the best thing in my office
Mini Lindt squares--70% and 85% cacao (instant heartburn, but worth it), "intense orange" and "intense mint" (a Christmas gift from a friend who's also addicted)
There's something to be said for really good chocolate. Like really good friends, and really good coffee, it's something that makes me feel a little more me. This fall, I'm planning to go to Europe again, and that means more good chocolate, and some good coffee, and serious hang-out time with Tonya, and that means at least a few days of being a little more me. We'll get a preview in less than a month; Tonya's going to be in Beaufort for a few days. It's never long enough, but her parents are cool enough to share their time with her, and that makes me happy.