Thrift Stores Are All For The Amish

Thrift Stores
You've all been to at least a Goodwill and likely Value Village or something like that, unsurprisingly so have I. In fact, I just may have a Thrift Store "problem". A week simply does not pass where I don't go into a thrift store. There is a 3 story gem of a Value Village(I think...I go there enough but don't know the name, whoa) a 15min walk from where I live. On 11thave E, between Pine & Pike. I think of it as an activity. With absolute certainty this Thrift Store is the best in the Seattle area. There is a giant Goodwill in the International district that can sometimes be great but is more often scoured raw by the ever present mob of old, Asian, super Thrift Store shopping queens. They're good, you hardly stand a chance. But the one in Capital Hill is different. Hip to homeless. The Basement is furnature, electronics, and stuff. The 1st is women's clothes. The 2nd is men's clothes, housewares, and books. The place is HUGE and somewhat trendy. Kinda trendy but this is 100% Thrift Store, things cost more than at those in Ohio but they're still cheap as hell. The employees are an unusual bunch that keep the store in generally very good order. I think the employees pick the music... cds are played over the PA. Music from a very wide spectrum of eras and styles... not matter what it is, it's likely fun or interesting to hear. Most visits yield a purchase but not all.

Thrift Store Rules
1. Be Open To What Is There: examine, recognize quality. don't be hung up on what you need specifically, determine what is available
2. Specific Items Take Several Visits & Patience: 2, 4, 5, 7, 6,000,000visits, I don't know. there's no need to force the issue, don't compromise. when you see the right one, you'll know it.
3. Think It Over, Make Sure You Really Want It: quite possibly the most important rule. embody this, think it over and make a rational choice.

Matched Double or Double Matched w/Milk
I don't know how you feel about caffeine, but I am quite attached to it. Since about 1998 I've started nearly every morning with a cup of press pot coffee and a gulp of whole milk. Seattle is known for rain and espresso. A Double Short Latte used to be my drink but tonight I discovered my new one. Pioneered even. A ccouple of days ago I was thinking that even the Short (smallest) didn't give a high enough concentration of coffee to milk, so why not just have it a 1 to 1 ratio? 2 shots espresso, and equivelant volume of steamed milk. It was a deep down, warm & tasty good. Of course the downside to this is that you're drink is actually quite small, 1.5inch shy of the top of the Short cup. Not to worry, it is more hearty and satisfying. Regardless, I recommend getting some coffee and becoming familiar with a onehitter before Thrift Store shopping.

THE AMISH
Devil's Playground ... This documentary took me by surprise. The closest I'll ever get to Amish life, and I've at times been not that far.. More important you'll witness Rumspringa (who knew???? not me). It's filmed over some time. One of the guys covered is particularly compelling. The whole, though, is incredible... but you have to finish it... the movie is not just Amish kids partying, only begins there. Whaatch it. *** oh, you know the Devil's Playground is? Our world, the nonAmish, English world.

Rumspringa:
NPR"They live in a strict society, under tight control of their family and close-knit community. But when they turn 16, Amish teenagers are allowed the freedom to explore the customs of the outside "English" world -- including alcohol, drugs and sex -- before deciding whether to join the Amish church for life or leave the community altogether."