Happy Valentine's Day

I finally figured out why the Ballard Goodwill store is always so crowded on Monday mornings: it is manager's special day. Every Monday, there's some sort of "big" special, such as all pink tags are $1.29 (normally they are around $4), or 30% off all clothing (which is why Jonah now has a large number $1.50 sweaters), or some other special. Today all red tags were $1.29.

I am currently using the world's worst garlic press. I bought the cheapest one I could find, it was new at a grocery store and sold for about $6.  The handle is flexible plastic, making it impossible to push all the garlic through the press. So, I end up pealing about twice as much garlic as I need because half of it ends up stuck in the press, smushed, but without being minced. And I use A LOT of garlic. And I really hate pealing garlic, especially, knowing that half of my efforts are going to be wasted. I'm really not sure what is worse, a $6 garlic press or no garlic press. So, after passing up a garlic press last week for 69 cents at Goodwill, I decided I wouldn't make that mistake again. I spent so much time looking through the six enormous utensil bins (almost cutting my hand a few times by the occasional corkscrew or meat fork), that a clerk actually offered to help me. No luck. The only thing I found was a broken half of a garlic press, dirty of course. However, I did find a "Made in the USA" Swing Away can opener. That was my 69 cent bargain today. Nothing beats a Swing Away.

As I was walking around today, I began to notice that the people of Seattle are the most dressed "down" people of any city I've ever lived in. It's probably because of the rain. Nobody really wants to dress up when it's raining outside, and it's always raining. Pretty much, the entire population dresses in jeans or dark dingy pants and a dark grey raincoat. There's a bit color in some women's rain boots, but only some. Kids have the most lively colors of rain jackets and boots: polka dots, ladybugs, fire trucks. But, other than that, "casual" is the city's dress code. I even thought the guys working at Target in their red shirts and khaki looked dressier than most folks. Even when I lived in Silicon Valley, and my boss would occasionally wear sweatpants to the office, I still think the population there, in general, was better dressed than the folks in Seattle. Keep in mind, though, I tend to do my people watching during the day at places like Goodwill, with all the other folks that don't have a day job - so it's possible I have slightly skewed perception. Now, that's not to say that Seattleites are not an attractive bunch of people. Quite contrary, because their obsession with walking everywhere, outdoorsy activities, and exercising, I find the people of Seattle to be above average in general attractiveness, albeit pale.

Noah made me breakfast for Valentine's Day: eggs benedict, bacon, fresh OJ, and a beautiful cappuccino

I made Noah dinner for Valentine's day: mashed potatoes & parsnips and yogurt mint marinated lamb. Pictured above are my aphrodisiac ingredients