December 26

Be forewarned, friends and family, the Room and Board Sample Sale is not for the faint of heart.

I'm not sure I've ever been shopping on the day after Christmas. But, spurred on by the increasing unhappiness we feel toward the uncomfortable and too-small-for-our-clan family room sofas, I got up early and drove into the city. Not knowing how many cars would be joining me on the road led to my arrival 45 minutes before Room and Board opened. I got into the parking lot, barely. There were perhaps 75 people in line when I arrived and when the store opened, the line extended another 300 people easily. Who knew?! Fortunately I had The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with me and the time went quickly.

Once inside, it was a stampede. The cognoscenti had scoped out the store in days prior, noting where their picks were located. Then on this day they ran for them and plopped themselves down, waiting until a sales associate passed by and wrote up their order.

I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell. C'est la vie. I'm still glad I went.

Five days of skiing left me a little achy so I took a chance that Suchada, my favorite Thai massage place, could take a walk in. And they could! So I had a great rub down before heading to the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, the best California has to offer IMHO. Of course parking was a nightmare but after having read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I was on a mission!

Now for my next moment of discovery: the market takes two weeks off for the holidays. At least Ferry Plaza has lots of foodie options. I left with four kinds of mushrooms, including Black Trumpet, which I'd never seen before, Prather Ranch beef and a Miette cupcake.

Sur La Table was having a big sale so I bought a few things and didn't buy many others. (Are you reading me, Dave? The bag I brought home did not include the cupcake wrappers, $160 Scanpan and cutting board that was not on sale.) My big coup was a green paring knife, pictured above. It's Kuhn Rikon and it's the best knife I've ever owned. I'll be cooking this weekend.