Yesterday, I reported on Facebook that I had poured two inches of partly cloudy out of the rain gauge.  It does seem to work that way at times.  Lately it seems like this:

I thought about this haiku that I wrote last year.

Sun and Rain

Brightly shone the sun
Soon clouds ruled and rain fell
Then the sun returned

At least this story has a happy ending.

What do you expect for this time of year in Michigan?  Me?  I expect rain.

Sun promises to return late next spring.  Until then, expect only cameo appearances.

Saturday, I attended a coffee-cupping class at Sozo Coffee Roasting and Expresso Bar.  What that means is a class in how to taste and evaluate coffee.  The class is at an introductory level, which is exactly what I need.

We started  with two table spoons of coffee in a 6 oz cup.  We were instructed to smell the coffee and note the fragrance.  Fragrance being the smell of the dry grounds.  To help us in that task, we were introduced to the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel.

We didn’t spend much time looking at the chart.  Rather, we zeroed in on the sensory experience.  The gals seemed to be better at detecting and describing the fragrance of the coffee.  It was fun as our small group (nine folks) shared observations with each other and we tried to detect what the others were reporting.  I might not have appreciated how subjective this process was before, but as we went through this it was becoming increasingly obvious.

Evaluating aroma (the smell when the grounds are wet) is the next step.  We added water just off the boil to our cups and smelled them.  Two minutes later, we used a hot spoon to crack the crust on the top of the cup and noted the aroma.  The strongest aroma is let loose as the crust is cracked.

We all noticed a huge difference between fragrance (dry) and aroma (wet) of the coffee.  During the entire process, our teacher, Rodney, is teaching, explaining and helping us through this process.  There were lots of interesting stories along the way.

The final step involves taking a spoonful of hot coffee and aspirating (slurping) it into the mouth to cover the complete tongue.  Once again, you observe the individual characteristics.  The focus being on flavor.  I was most comfortable with this step.  For years, I have been aware of the tongue’s ability to detect different tastes on different parts of the tongue.

We went through this process with three different coffees. The class concluded with this: “The secret to becoming a good coffee cupper is simple: trust yourself by practicing regularly and be humble enough to continue to learn from others.”

On the way to the register to pay for the class, I picked up a bag of Guatemalan coffee.  I bought my way to freedom and signed up for the brewing class to be held next month.

I’m looking forward to the brewing class.  I want to retire my Mr Coffee machine.  I hate the flavor of the paper filters.  Yes, I really can taste it in my cup.  I could before I attended this class.  Yuck!

My view out the office window.

I’m still sore from moving the office back upstairs.  It’s nice to sit here this morning with a cup of hot brew and look out the window.  Birds are frolicking, and the sun is shining.  It’s cool outside, but warm in here.  As I’m writing this the neighbor walks through the upper part of the scene  in the picture.  He is taking household trash out to burn.  The orange tiger cat comes bounding along behind him.  Do you suppose he is curious?  (What cat isn’t? 😉 )

After my corner desk fell apart, Sylvia and I made plans to go shopping for another.  As I thought about that, I began to think about moving the steel desk in the basement upstairs.  The movers had put it there when we moved here over a dozen years ago.  I took some measurements.  It would work! :up:

But could we move that steel desk? :dontknow:   Only one way to find out.  I cleared off the desk and removed all the drawers and the two writing shelves.  A test lift made me think it might be possible.  I also began to think of younger, stronger guys who might help.  Or . . . maybe Sylvia and I could do it?

Slowly a plan developed in my mind.  I retrieved a four wheel dolly from a corner of the basement.  I slid it under one end of the desk, which I had laid on its back.  I lifted the other end and was able to easily walk it across the concrete of the basement floor.  By then I could tell I needed a way to keep the dolly in place under the desk.

A length of rope did the trick.  By looping the rope around the desk with an extra loop around the front of the dolly we were able to smoothly move our load.  Even across the rough lawn when we went out of the basement walkout.

Then up the driveway and into the garage.  It took a while and a few rest periods to move the desk off the dolly and up three steps.  One more lift and we moved it through the mudroom and into the house.  Time for a rest and a glass of water.

Replace the dolly under the desk and move it to the office end of the house.  There’s a jog in the hallway into the office.  (A crank if you’re from New England.)  We removed the dolly and Sylvia laid down a tarp.  I tipped the desk up on end and onto the tarp.  We easily slid the desk across the laminate floor and into the office.

Since then, I have reassembled the desk and have our computers reinstalled in the office.  I’m feeling good.  Good and sore that is.  But good! :up:

Photo courtesy Sentinel-Standard

Yes it is that beautiful.  This photo was posted in the local paper and was taken by pilot, Margaret Wint.  This is Sessions Lake in the Ionia State Recreation Area.

Excuse me please, today I am moving the office back upstairs.  Be back with you tomorrow.

Straight out of the camera

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I went out yesterday to capture a couple of images of the garden.  It is mostly finished for this year, and I wanted to do a before and after comparison for you.  As I walked back toward the house, I saw how busy the skunk has been lately.

Much of our upper yard looks like this.  The skunk, or skunks, have been feeding well on the insects.  The warm summer was good for the bugs, but the skunk is evening the score–and that’s okay by me. :yea:

It was mid afternoon and Sylvia and I had just enjoyed some melon and were resting in front of the TV watching an episode of The American Bible Challenge.  The door bell sounded, I said it was probably the neighbor coming to help me trim some trees.  It was and he did.  My father-in-law’s old chain saw wouldn’t start for us, so we resorted to muscled power and pruning saw.

We trimmed back the cedar that was rubbing on the house.  We also ripped out a burning bush that was far too close to the house.  I’m not sure which of the two previous home owners had planted the tree and the bush in those locations, but they had to go. 🙁

It took four trips with the tractor and front-end loader to haul away the brush and debris from our trimming.  I soon had it done.  It should be a great night for sleeping. 😀

First I apologize to you faithful commentators. 🙁   My widget has stopped reporting on comments left.  I’ve tried to find out why, but :dontknow:  can’t find the problem.  I’ll keep checking on it.

I have completely disassembled my corner computer desk.  When it fell apart, it sustained damage that I can’t fix.  It was inexpensive (can you spell “cheap?”) being made of compressed corn cobs, or what ever else goes into “composite.”

We had a very busy weekend.  Saturday and Sunday were mostly filled with activities related to our church’s annual missions convention.  It was fun and very interesting.  Our speakers for this year were a young couple with three children (ages 4, 5 and 7).  They are preparing to go to Macedonia.  They live only 40 minutes away in Grand Rapids and are good friends with our pastor’s son.

After yesterday’s light rain, today’s bright sun is very welcome.  The cold temps–not so much.  The maple trees are beautiful.

Please xcuse me for keeping this disjointed and short.  I have other things to do today.  Hope you all have a great and day and a wonderful week. 😀

Yesterday, I was sitting in a restaurant waiting for my son to meet me.  Sylvia had a meeting of mentors for students in a nearby school.  I had driven past my son’s business, but didn’t see his auto there.  For that reason, I was surprised when I didn’t see his car in the parking lot.  Fifteen minutes later, I ordered a cup of coffee.  Fifteen minutes after that, I ordered lunch.

While I was waiting for my son, he was two miles away, waiting for me to show at a different restaurant.  He called the house to see if I had forgotten him.  I had forgotten to tell Sylvia where I thought we were meeting.  She answered the phone and could provide no information beyond, “He’s not here.”

To protect the guilty, I’ll provide no further info here. 😳   Hey look a squirrel. 😀

The waitress was a gal I’ve seen many times before.  I’ve given her the secret nickname “Sheor.”  It has more to do with her voice than anything else.  She is a pleasant person and goes about her work as you’d want a waitress to do.

Several times she referred to me as, “my dear.”  Frankly, I don’t like that.  Call it a pet peeve if you want.  If we were fellow workers, that kind of talk could be deemed sexual harassment.  It wasn’t meant that way, and it wasn’t taken that way.  Nevertheless, I don’t care for that kind of familiarity in that situation.

Does that ever happen to you?  What, if anything, do you do about it?

The floor plan calls it a bedroom.  We call it “the office.”  A few years ago, a storm tore some shingles off the roof.  Some of the rain that followed leaked in and stained the ceiling.  We’ve been going to “fix” that for some time.  It was one of those jobs that one does when there is a bit of time to do it.  (All the ceilings upstairs have that “cottage cheese” finish, which we dislike a lot and planned to remove.)

The room hosts two computer desks, two small filing units, two bookcases, a small stand, shredder and waste basket.  That’s not counting all the office supplies, papers, books, CDs, DVDs, etc. that accumulate in and around a work area.

After last year’s mild winter, spring came early and was unusually hot.  The outlook was for a hot summer, and that’s exactly what we had.  With help from Sylvia, I moved our computer stuff to the basement.  We’ve enjoyed the cool of that location through the late spring and summer.

Now that the weather is starting to cool, it is time to migrate back upstairs.  First, we needed to prep and paint the ceiling.  While Sylvia was visiting her father on Tuesday, I began hiding some things in the closet and stowing other in the living room.  Then I put desks on one side and brought in the step ladder.

Wednesday mid-morning, Sylvia put down tarps and feedbags to protect the floor and ceiling.  I helped her gather tools and get ready.  After she shooed me off to the basement, she went to work.  First she applied water to the ceiling.  Then using a broad wall knife, she scraped off the “cottage cheese.”  The results were great and should only require a light touch of sandpaper before painting.

The office ceiling after Sylvia attacked it.

Unfortunately, there was a casualty in the process of moving furniture. 🙁

My computer desk “fell apart” as we were moving it.

I’m going to have to fix that desk before I can move back into the room.  Oh well . . .  At least there wasn’t anything fragile on it at that time.

I’m going to quit now and go pour another cup of that rich Honduran coffee from Mid-West Coffee Company.  Oh, and then I’m going to drink it.  Wouldn’t you? 😉

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