Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

You guys should maybe consider being tour directors. You sure seem to find the most picturesque spots to visit!

 

I’m still in Texas enjoying the warmer temperatures. Back home it’s 3F with 18” of new snow. We get back March 1st.

 

Great photos.

I feel the same way --- Leading up to any trip, it could be a weekend or weeks...I am excited and count the days getting ready to leave. When I am there, I find myself almost doing the same thing about the return. I am never sure if it is "dreading"

I'm not as bad as my Father In Law (RIP) who used to start getting ready return home the minute he arrived at a location. I plan the "We need to be wheels up at 8am on Thursday" and try to not get more excited than that.

Joy of getting home --- I think for me, its mostly the stress of travel combined with 'day job' requirements. When traveling cross-country, this typically means days of sharing the road with people who don't respect campers. They forget we can't stop as fast nor accelerate as quickly. Not to mention, slower is safer --- and keeping within the limitations of our tow vehicles. This is where it gets stressful....Tailgaters, being cut off, people who think its funny to brake check us...I hate that part, though I do LOVE the scenery of the open road.

I still want to, very much, take a 8-12 weeks and make a big loop through "the other side of the Missisippi" - Its probably the only way I'll ever get to see the places I have dreamed of. I need to get to atlas obscura and a big wall map and start planning this.

I am anticipating a major job change in mid/late summer -- voluntary -- I'm hoping to use a couple weeks between the old job and the new career to do just this. This lengthy travel itinerary without the down-time of home will be very strange. I'm curious what full-time rv'ers think about this...having no "one place" except a post office box in South Dakota or Texas would be ...different.

 

Coming soon! I can't help but wonder where this year is going ... yikes.

 

Sweeney, you need to find out where west is on your compass. You are missing out on a whole 'nother world. ;-)

 

LOL - story of my life. More o'er a camp fire, a fine wiskey, and maybe -- just maybe -- a pipe or cigar....

 

No photo taken with an iphone can begin to capture the range of colors and contrasts I was greeted to this morning, on this glorious day given to us...

I see this color and I think of Mary, and an elderly woman whose daughter took my wife and me into their home in a time where we didn't have much to live on. We didn't live with them, but they provided a warm hearth and hot meals when we needed them the most. Her son-in-law is my friend of mine who is fighting a losing battle with Cancer, that served in all four branches of the military. She called this color "Sky blue pink"

Lots of good, and some sadness wrapped up in this photo...



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I’m on my way back from Texas and 80F temperatures and heading to 8F and five feet of snow.

 

You may have said this, but where did you go in Texas --- anything worthy of visiting when/if we're in the area?

5 feet of snow --- Yikes!!!! That's pretty impressive. Is that a late snowfall? I know here we're going to see some low temperatures, but usually in March (we're DANGERoUSLY close to it) is pretty much the last hoorah...

Cofee today? Love me my adult serving size cortado...10 oz. None of those "shot" drinks...I should be seeing new colors in a few minutes when the caffeine kicks in. This extreme measure was needed due to the fact my weekend was pretty much spent behind a steering wheel, long past my normal bedtime on Saturday followed by a run-around Sunday.

 

Don't worry that 5 feet will only be a 1 foot ice block when you get back !! We are currently getting a ton of freezing rain this am changing over to snow this pm to hide all that ice underneath !!

 

....but as you arrive back home, if you look real close, you hopefully should be able to see a faint glimmer of light shinning at the end of the tunnel, signaling the not too distant spring thaw. Safe travels!

 

Speaking of coffee, today my new coffee grinder is due to be delivered.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CSKGLMM?

I've been trying lots of different coffees to find one to settle on. Now that I did, and know I can buy it in beans, I decided to get snooty and buy my own grinder so I can grind it as needed rather than grinding the whole bag (at the store) when I purchase it.

Ahh, first world problems. lol ;-)

 

Coffee? Now you’ve got my attention!

I’ve really been enjoying that particular grinder, both for daily use and when we have guests and the coffee must flow and flow! The OXO has good uniform grinding, consistent from grind to grind, and it’s easy to keep clean. The hopper holds 12oz of beans. Lots to like about this grinder! I hope your experience is as good as ours! I think we’ve had it about 4 years, all good.

We also splurged over the winter holidays on a hand grinder for the CI. So far it’s been used here several times during power outages, which if you’re super devoted to good coffee and only have whole bean around can be important. For some of us.

About the time I was thinking: “I’ve been looking at hand grinders for a long time, maybe I should buy one!”, I came across the 1Zpresso Q2. It takes about a full load and a half for one of my large strong cups, but I’m a total fan. That it is low speed and low temperature grinding does seem to make a (slight) difference in the flavor.

https://www.amazon.com/1Zpresso-Q2-Heptagonal-AeroPress-Adjustable/dp/B0BJVJ525Z/

The link above is for the Q2 S, which has a foldable handle. We got the non-foldable, which doesn’t seem to be on amazon right now:
https://1zpresso.coffee/product/q2/

 

Pretty much all the reviews I could find rated that Oxo as the "best of the rest" unless you wanted to really go top shelf. A burr grinder with a very uniform grind. Your review pretty much mirrors what they all say about it. I figured that would be plenty good enough for me.

Now I just have to learn how to use it grinding smaller quantities.

 

You’ll find it super adjustable for grind and quantity. I do a (very) strong 14oz. mug in the Aeropress, grind setting is always 7 (same grind we use for the drip maker for a crowd), quantity of 11 to 14, depending on the beans. Like many grinders the qty setting is basically a timer. That timer setting can be easily off-target, since you press a button in the middle of the timer ring to start the grinder. The timer ring is very loose and my fat fingers sometimes hit it.

OTOH if you’re weighing your beans or going by volume this is also a great grinder to chuck the bean quantity you want into the hopper and grind until they’re done. My coffee mentor does this, but I’ve not needed to… yet!

 

I’ve seen a few YouTubes showing it in action. I guess I’ll have to experiment with either setting the timer exactly right or figuring out beans by weight. Currently I use 24g of grounds per 11oz of water to get the mix I prefer.

Maybe after I learn all that I can get a part time job at Starbucks. LoL

 

I was staying in the country 20 miles from San Antonio and 10 miles outside of Dallas. I’m back in Wisconsin and about 230 miles from home. Should be home about noon tomorrow.

 

I also have the same grinder and use an areopress. I have it set to 4.75. I used to have it coarser but with the beans I have now, I like a little finer grind.

 

Theres no place like home...

I've never really been wow'd by my aeropress -- I can't seem to find the right grind in my hand-mill. I've managed to get a krema once or twice, but either it or I is unpredictable. My big issue is the press is just too small for a 'merican size cup o' joe. I wish they would design one that make a larger serving.