Nothing in Life is Free

I believe that everyone is a little manic. Today was my day. It started out this morning when I set out to fix my knife problem... . I really, really hate it when my primary Cook's knife gets dull. I can hone it with a steele but invariably it looses its sharpness within a few solid nights of cooking. C.A. Paradis sharpens knives for free and for anyone who runs their own business there's an important lesson that can be learned here.

For a person who loves to cook, C.A. Paradis is the equivalent of a hardware store for an arm-wrestling, slap-on-the-back, invade-a-country sort of male. It's impossible to walk out of there without spending time at the cash register. So who was I kidding when I thought my knives were getting sharpened for free.

I was in front of the Pasta machines - which was a no-brainer for $39.95; and then it was a new cutting board.... maple...; and the piece-de-la-resistance, a Warner Pro Knife Sharpener.

But, God-For-Bid, I was manic. A little further up Bank street there is a new kitchen store which I'd been meaning to check out for some time. And wasn't it ironic (cue Alanis) that I came upon a terrific young relationship-type sales girl who could answer the questions I had about deep fryers from her own personal experiences. I learned alot about sales today. She double-cooked her sweet potatoe french fries and had a yearning to deep fry a Mars Bar, ala the uber chef. And in her words, unprompted, the answer to solving the big-fryer-question - the smell - was a Lampe Berger.

Now, to be honest, I have been contemplating a Lampe Berger for some time but had always been a little skeptical. The thought of dissipating the smell of seared halibut skin by burning a simple candle was a hard to believe. But $39 later and my first test of french fries, I was convinced.

Add to that add lamp oil, a charcoal coffee filter for my coffee maker, and a pizza stone, and I was done.

A lesson learned.... seeding accounts.... relationship sales... $280... and just a little manic.