doing things with passion

Mr. Jenner won serious awesome husband points for handling some serious tidying around the house. He also put up a new light fixture in our bedroom and wrangled Senor Onion for awhile. Someone is getting lemon meringue pie next week.
It was a lousy night of sleep. I had insomnia and then Miss Biscuit woke up screaming for no reason that I could fathom. She was dry, she had been fed, she didn't have gas, she was just freaked. Eventually I got her to calm down and to go back to sleep, but I really couldn't sleep at all. I also messed up my shoulder/neck/back again. I need a massage. I just felt run down this morning. But I perked up later on.

I took Miss Biscuit out and met up my friend Kathleen at pike place market. She is hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year and she was a little anxious about the whole turkey thing. My job was to make it seem simple and okay. We went to Le Panier and purchased delicate baked goods and then began to wander. It is important to eat before venturing out into the grey world. We stopped at La Buona Tavola Truffle Cafe and were fawned over. They like to give you hardcore customer service. We got to try the trufle salt (has something like 10 percent truffles in that) which was sexy. It had a really sultry steak flavor. I kept imagining it with pasta and a bit of butter or on a beautiful piece of meat. It sat on the tongue for awhile. Earthy and delicious. I tried the truffle cream which was equally good. I would put a swirl of that with potatoes. Then we had some fancy-pants balsamic vinegar that was syrupy and tart. Like cherries in July. I ended up buying some pasta because pasta is good. I may have to come back for that salt. Oh it was nearly religious.

After licking our hands a lot, we went to The Great Wind-up where I got a few ideas for stocking stuffers. I remember coming here one time with my Grandparents when I was about nine and I was playing with some of the wind-up toys (of which there are many on display to try out.) And one looked rather odd and I said out loud, "is that a thumb?" My Grandparents snickered and then I took a closer look. It was not a thumb. A significant moment in my childhood folks.
Anyhow, then it was time for a visit to the spice shop to figure out what a person might need to go with a hypothetical turkey and so I could load up on a few more things. I have plans people. PLANS. Now Kathleen has plans too. And pumpkin spice coffee. Important.

Then it was time to talk turkey. OMG I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. *sighs at self.* I picked up the turkey I had ordered and a pound of ground lamb. We talked to the jovial butcher about what would work best for the number of guests my friend was having and we ordered her a bird. Simple as that. The key thing is always ask your butcher questions. They are happy to answer and probably offer some good ideas as to what you can do with a cut of meat or some kind of bird. Cultivate a relationship with vendors and it can help you down the road when you might need something. These are the people I go to if I want something beyond boneless/skinless chicken breasts. (but they do those rather well too.) While waiting for the butcher to get my turkey I was standing next to a couple of middle-eastern guys who were having a pretty animated conversation about the lamb shanks. I couldn't understand what they were saying (as my language skills are limited to American English, lousy French & some ASL) but they were pointing at it a lot and using a lot of hand gestures and obviously had thoughts about what they were going to do with it or what should be done with it. Lamb Shanks: serious business.

After that and a quick look at soap (a girl can always use more pretty smelling things.) It was time to part. I came home to things accomplished and some things marked off the "to-do list". It was a fairly lazy afternoon with children laughing and doing more organizing of my own.

Now I am listening to the rain and figuring out dinner for the next few days.