The word in French is 'pain'

I don't know about this blog format. Makes me want to begin every post with "Dear Diary". Well, I'm not much of a journal-keeper; I guess my memory's good enough, I don't personally feel the need to commit everything to writing. So I have to make an effort here, but that's the idea. Now, to find anything in my day interesting enough to articulate.

Well, here's this. I got a letdown the other night, when I walked over to Larry's Market on Aurora, only to find it closed for renovation. I was out for bread: Larry's makes a fantastic soft French bread, and I was looking for that to back up a microwave lasagna dinner. This may be worse than just an evening's frustration: Gillen tells me that Larry's has gone under completely, and that they're all closed. That would truly suck--Albertson's and Fred Meyer's do very good French bread, but Larry's was the best in town. I'll have to check on that.

Well, tonight I wanted some soup--Snow's Clam Chowder, or maybe Campbell's Crema de Chile Poblano--and French bread with it, goddamn it all. So at dusk I set out for the Albertson's on Green Lake. Only to find that it was closed, stripped and gutted. I had read in the Times a few month's ago that Albertson's was facing bankruptcy. Christ, I thought: have they closed all the Albertson's, too?! Safeway and QFC make terrible bread, and I sure as hell ain't going artisan. French bread--y'know, bread like the French would make it. Anyway, I drove up Aurora to 130th, to see if that Albertson's was still there. It was, and I'm much relieved. Having my chile poblano with some excellent buttered bread, and a Seagram's ginger ale. Fine bachelor living.

Updates to the website: I've added a Sunsets folder to My Photo Album, and two more books to What I'm Reading These Days (THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, and AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FAT BRIDE). I'm working on getting a Seattle User's Guide set up, beginning with a list of great eateries and drinkeries (just this weekend, I checked out El Chupacabra, on Greenwood. I liked it, have to try it again).