stuff your mouth. You may not remember this later.

Sunday found me meeting up with a friend for an impromptu bakery crawl. I held back pretty well though I did stuff a donut in my mouth in under two minutes. It was good. The place itself was so twee but I could forgive it a little because the donut was really good. It wasn't borough market good but it definitely did the trick. But I am kind of cheap for donuts. I will take a Safeway donut with the same glee. "Kruller? Hell yeah." It was also a continuing tour of "everything has changed, hey wait that used to be there and now it is not." So much glass. And a lot less personality. Not everything needs grit and dirt to have personality but variety is nice. I am probably being nostalgic. It is a disease.
But hey what baked goods. And a trip to Elliott Bay Books is always satisfying. I could hug that place. I liked how busy it was. Even on a Sunday morning. Warm and cozy and full of books and people.

A slight aside, earlier that morning, (yes. EARLY) I went to Safeway with my son, and I was struck by the intense Seahawks love going on. There were always fans and things and people might wear a hat on game day but this was something newer. I know they have done well in recent years (what with a superbowl win, and all that jazz. My brothers who are die-hard fans will talk about them for hours. It is a common ground for them, as they are two very different personalities.) but it is interesting to see how it has changed the culture of things in the city. Also the colors have become rather electric compared to the old days. I went to check out and the clerk was DECKED OUT and was all, "GO HAWKS!!!" and maybe it was jet-lag but all I could muster was, "hrm...yes."
Then Senor Onion and I went to Trader Joe's as we were on a roll. He was very keen to visit as his favorite snacks came from there. It was heaven for him. This growing gourmet and foodie wanted to try everything. I had another chat with a clerk about English culture and a friend of his who was British, and ex-pat life. This super friendly clerk experience reached its apex when I went into Bartell. (God damn I miss that drug store/five and dime with such a passion.) By the way, as drug store chains go, you really can't beat Bartell. It ruins you for life because it is so good. It is a place where you could find everyone Christmas presents, and get yourself some toothpaste. I have a deep love for them because a couple of Christmas' ago I had to get pain killers for one of my kids at 9 at night on Christmas Eve and there was one open. Bless that place. And the employees were so helpful. (Senor Onion had an infected tooth. Shout-out to my old dentist who saw us on Boxing Day that year.)
Anyhow, we were in the Christmas aisle and we were looking at the Seattle World's Fair ornaments (I collect them. I have like three or four at this point.) and other kick-ass Seattle themed Christmas ornaments and this employee began chatting with me a ton about them and at first I thought, "what is your game dude? Do you think I am shop-lifting or something?" And it took a couple of minutes for me to recognize, "oh...yes... he is being personable and kick-ass at his job in customer service." (ENGLAND TAKE NOTES) It wasn't like he was trying to hustle me and say, "you gotta buy" but it was just a perfectly nice conversation about local stuff, and just engaging the customer. He trusted me to sort out what I needed but hey look at that nice item. I ended up getting a few extra things and it was just nice to have that chat. And oh look aplets and cotlets. Yeah I like them. I also like Turkish Delight and the White Witch could have made a deal with me.

Between a bakery crawl and being up so damn early I was not exactly inclined to cook much. But hey hey hey we are in civilization we can use those fancy apps to have food delivered. What is this strange new world? We ordered Thai. And it showed up so fast, and it was not too bad.

I suppose the point of Sunday was that I ate a lot of things. And bought food. And books. My favorite things.

Monday I got to see my Mom and my youngest brother who came over from the Peninsula. We were brave and drove en masse to U-village which at Christmas time can be a circus. From the parking to making your way around the shops. We even stopped and saw my Mom's cousin who was working at the kitchen shop. She is the WORST on FB but the best in person. I am not sure how that happens. It isn't like she is an ugly racist on FB or anything, but she sure likes to post guilt-inducing memes aimed at her son, and jazz like that. I dunno. It is an odd one. I love her, and she is the best person at a party but FB is not her strength. We wandered around the shops, found Christmas presents, and then I took the family back to the house and fed them. Because feeding them is what I do. It was good to see my mom. First thing she does when she sees me is give me the biggest hug. Like she can't believe I am real. There was a lot of chat. I left the kids with Mr. Jenner, took my mom and brother to Dick's to pick up food for everyone because this culinary tour involves cheap burgers and fries, and then picked up my sister and her boyfriend and brought them back to our place. Okay, 3 out of 4 siblings in one place! There was more food!!! And then the weather cleared again so everyone made their way up to Olympic Manor to see the lights. Those lights did not disappoint in any shape, way, or form. I think I will remember that lovely evening for many years. Just driving around seeing amazing displays and having the best fun together.