That's one way to use your gift card.

It's so nice to see that children are learning traditional skills like lock picking.

I cannot recommend the Aeropress enough for single serving coffee.

I love mine. It's faster and easier to clean than a French press, plus it's unbreakable. Of course, I also have a French press, a drip coffee maker, a backup drip coffee maker and an el cheapo espresso machine. I have a small coffee problem.

what game are you guys watching, vw?

Vikings vs. Broncos. Vikings lost. Boo. But, I did drink a massive foofoo drink.

It's nice to have traditions.

Yes it is. It was also nice to just hang out with him. He’s such a good, sweet guy.

Welcome home, Cass!

I have a small coffee problem.

We call it a strength.

Our friend Ed, who spends Christmas week with us every year went to school with one of Leonard Bernstein's daughters and is good pals of the family. They made him watch this and he turned me on to this: [link] which is the Youth Orchestra of Venezuela playing at the Proms. The conductor is apparently a huge rising star (and is ADORABLE), and you can see it in the discipline and spirit of the orchestra, which is comprised of at-risk or poor youth. Ed tells me the Bernstein family think it is one of the best performances of the piece ever. It will make you smile, too, because it is so much fun!

I have been in Florida and in New Orleans in the summer, and I don't love that humidity--ND is exaggerating. It is true that I prefer warm to cold, though, and my tolerance for humidity is much higher than his since I grew up in humid CT and he grew up in arid SoCal. I'm just jonesing for warm weather because it's been unusually cool here and in Tucson where I spent Christmas.

We're supposed to get another 6-9 inches of snow tonight. And the old snow just almost melted. Kind of.

vw, it's already started here. It's coming down really hard and I just sent TCG out in it to get lemons. I thought I had bought ton before Christmas, but I went to go get one for the cannelini bean dip and there were none left.

It doesn't look like it's started here yet.

I have scraped and scrubbed, but I feel that there is a thin layer of plastic on the burner, and all I can do is burn it off and stink up the apartment and possibly fill it with toxic fumes. thoughts?

You could try oven cleaner on it before resorting to flame. Spray it with oven cleaner, put it in a dark plastic bag, and let it sit for a few hours, then scrub.

And if you do have to burn it, 1) remove all chemicals first and 2) do it outside if your burners can be removed.

It's snowing here, again.

Cashmere, did they get your snowblower fixed?