tools/trade

I have my orientation for school on Thursday morning. That’s a picture of my knife rack, up above; I’m purchasing a kit for school that includes knives, unis, a bunch of other kitchen gear, and whatnot (although I’m adding my own Scando-peeler to the total). The knives aren’t as good as mine but I’ll make due – if there’s a problem then I’ll just slap my Globals in there and lay down some gold. One of those knives was the first quality piece I ever bought (at a kitchen shop in Dinkytown years ago) along with my big, thick, quality board; I remember lugging them home on the flight back to England. That was the period when I began to cook real stuff in earnest, and now I’m moving along. I love my knives.

I got a call at home early on New Year’s Eve from the Canadian Border Patrol, or whatever they’re called. Melissa and L. were heading into and they decided to give me a jingle. We’ve managed to keep up with the parental affirmation letters when one parent and child are traveling out of the country (L. to Canada a few summers back and again with me last summer). This was the first time they’ve ever asked for the letter and they called first my work (not there), then my cell (I didn’t recognize the 604 area code and had gnocchi- covered hands), and finally the home phone about two minutes later. Fortunately, X answered and passed Dudley along to me. A very nice gent just confirmed the dates I’d included in the letter and following up with a question about where she’d be going after this trip (answer: here). He was no doubt confirming the story on that end and I was happy to see it. Anyway, they are out in the great NW and L. will fly into D.C. on the 14th.

If I haven't wished you a Happy New Year, then I do now: Happy New Year.