Shopping

I love to shop. I don't know why. My mom loved to shop; my dad loves to shop. In a good mall, I could spend 3 days just shopping. I never really need anything, I just like to know what's out there to buy incase I have an undiscovered need. I think there really might be something to that whole hunter (men) gatherer (women) thing.

I have a particularly challenging issue here in Seattle. We stuffed every nook and crevice our minivan when we moved out here - stuffed animals in the cupholders and the whole 9-yards. Note: I'm not really sure what that expression means, but it probably is some sort of sports analogy, so if you read yesterday's blog, you'll understand why I have no idea what sport it could be referring to. Anyway, I know that everything that I buy here, I have to either ship back to Baltimore (expensive - especially considering it's probably just junk that I'll be shipping) or I have to shove it in the minivan. So, knowing that there's a high probability that I'll have to leave whatever I buy here, I spend a lot of time at the Goodwill store.

I've never shopped at a Goodwill store before moving to Seattle, but I've made quite a habit of it here. The kitchen we are renting is not very equipped with all of the kitchen gadgets that I'm used to in Baltimore. I don't want to spend a lot of money on items because I have these things back in Baltimore, but I really can't expand my culinary skills without a garlic press, juicer, proper espresso cups, or even measuring spoons. So, I started looking at Goodwill. I'm embarrassed to say that it's become an addiction. Monday mornings, Jonah and I trek on over to the Ballard Goodwill store. Just like every other Monday morning, I promise Jonah cookies, toys, snacks, and anything I can think of to get him to sit in the shopping cart. Nope. The shopping cart is just another form of a stroller to him and his protests can be heard across the entire store, so I give up and hope that he just doesn't break anything. He did break something one time, but I didn't really feel too bad; seriously - they get all the stuff for free. In fact, they've received a lot of my unwanted junk for free. They'll be getting my broken stroller in a few weeks.

Today was a particularly crowded Monday at Goodwill. Hum. It's a little disturbing that I know the crowd levels at Goodwill. Perhaps it was the "Any Pink Tag for $1.29" sale that drew such a big crowd. Either way, I only found two things: a garlic press that was filthy and a cheese shredder. The two items would have totaled $1.69, but I decided to not get either of them. I really have to control myself at Goodwill. Maybe that's why I like the Goodwill store so much. It allows me to practice my self control.

After Goodwill, I went to a nursery and bought a mint plant. Apparently, now is the time to plant perennial herbs and lettuces in the Pacific Northwest.

Ballard Goodwill

As I was making dinner today, I began to wonder why I didn't buy the garlic press and the shredder.