2025, Art, Farming Update, Health, home, Uncategorized

ABCDEFG

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

I never used to drink coffee. Notice the past-tense there. This week I’ve had it two different mornings. It started about a month ago with a morning meeting and all they had was coffee, so I had some in a Styrofoam cup that was more cream and sugar than coffee. I learned coffee in a foam cup gets cold really fast. Like, REALLY fast.
And then this past Tuesday at the college was AED day. Nope, not the defibrillator thing even though that’s what we all thought of. All Employee Development day. And again, coffee. In a foam cup. I do tend to drink it fast in this case. When I make tea at home and put it in my 20-ounce travel mug, I might not finish that until 2 o’clock in the afternoon and it’s still warm-ish. But the coffee I drank fast because I didn’t want it to get any colder. And then on Thursday morning, I stopped at Kwik Trip, and there I was looking at all the coffee flavors. I tried a machine that was supposed to mix French vanilla and caramel and something else, but when I hit the ‘dispense’ button, I got about 2 drips and that was it. Even their cardboard cups with a lid on it didn’t keep it warm for long. I don’t know that I need to get addicted to coffee right now. I’m not sure that’s what I need in my life at this moment.

I heard an ad on the radio say something about remember when the hardest thing in your life was whether to file your Marshall Tucker album under M or T?

I had the crate full of records. I may have even had two crates. And while I never had Marshall Tucker, I remember a few bands and not being sure how to alphabetize them. Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin. I never alphabetize my CDs, but the records I did. I kept the plastic on them, the vinyl went inside the sleeve, placed back in the jacket with the opening to the top. Yep, I had to take the sleeve out of the jacket to get the record out. But that was OK, because I always liked the liner notes.
Certain record album covers were pretty racy. Was it Queen’s, ‘Jazz’, that opened up to all the naked girls on bicycles? Pretty hot stuff for a teenage boy. The Car, Candy-O was another good one.

It seems like our bathroom and laundry room construction is pretty well done. Waiting on the countertops, and of course the plumber and the electrician to do their final connections. They did the countertop measurements on Wednesday and I think they said a week to 10 days for that. And there will be some tile to finish once the countertop is installed.
We’re just hoping to get the washing machine back soon. We’re down to rationing our socks and underwear. We’re all kind of tired of this disruption. It sure does look nice though. It doesn’t even look like it belongs in this house. I think Kelly’s plan is to paint this weekend. I’ll post a picture once it’s finished.

Out in the shop, I installed Snirt Stoppers on Monday evening. See the header photo. A Snirt Stopper to keep out snow and dirt is just an extra piece of weather stripping that can go all around the garage door. At this point I only needed it on the bottom. The concrete that I had poured in the shop is not exactly level or flat. When I met the guy that did the concrete, Matthew, he had a real good business going and I used them at the theater for a couple jobs. When they got to doing my shop, he was starting a new branch of the business down in Florida and had left his brother, Max, in charge. It’s unfortunate that Max was not up to the task. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m still thrilled to have concrete in here, but they didn’t do a perfect job by any means. Sounds like Matthew is now divorced, the company went out of business, and Matthew went to Florida and started over. So, a bit of a gap in a spot of the floor and the need for a Snirt Stopper.

I have been getting things cleaned up in the shop. I even revealed part of the workbench the other day! I moved out some stuff I’m not using, vacuumed a big part of the floor, and my fancy dancy lights were delivered on Wednesday, so I just need to get the electrician back to get the garage door opener and the lights all connected. It’s all coming together.

https://youtu.be/crMeSKCCkjo?si=NeCKlkijkaQtNoKq

TIPS FOR DRINKING COFFEE?

FRAMED ALBUM COVERS?

62 thoughts on “ABCDEFG”

  2. As you all know, I’ll drink coffee almost anyway. Learned decades ago at the bakery to drink it cold if I had to. I will say, however, that my single cup warmer (it’s probably actually a candle warmer now that I think about it) is lovely. I have it in my studio and it keeps the coffee warm, dare I even say hot, for hours.

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  3. I laughed when I saw the snirt happens logo above. I just sent a card to a friend (who unfortunately has lost his job) with an alpaca and the words “spit happens”. I bought the stamp set years ago for that wording and it’s amazing how often I get to use it.

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  5. Joni Mitchell Hejira. I love that album cover. I’m not having any luck copying and pasting this morning.

    That’s too bad about the concrete floor, Ben, especially with the need for snirt stoppers!

    Coffee from a styrofoam cup? Just say no. That’s NOT how to drink coffee. I have a large, heavy, earthenware mug. It keeps the coffee hot so that it’s still warm all the way to the bottom. I’ve been a coffee addict for decades. I drink it strong and black. I learned that my coffee habit – my last vice – causes some acid reflux. I learned that I can quit. I started drinking it again in December, after my voice therapy was done. Some of the symptoms have returned. I had a largish stash of coffee. When I’m down to the last package (next package), I will begin to decrease the strength and amount of coffee I drink. I have several good teas. I will permanently stop my daily coffee habit and replace it with tea.

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  9. My dad never drank coffee (except to stay awake), because my Grandma made it so strong you could stand the spoon up in it. My mom had to have her coffee, but also the weaker variety. I began drinking in college; then I remember in my first San Francisco apartment buying a glass percolator. In NYC I learned to drink “kwaffee-milk” and to this day do not enjoy it w/o quite a lot of half and half.

    I’ve tried at times to “get off” coffee, and have been partially successful by replacing it with black tea. I do buy it once or twice a week if there is a good coffee place in my path. If I make it at home, I have a nice little French press pot that makes the best coffee I’VE ever made.

    Back later about the album covers – there were some gems!

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    1. Huh – it’s tiny, but it’s there to click on – the little square. Or:
      https://www.etsy.com/listing/1864672207/rare-original-1971-carole-king-tapestry?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_-books_movies_and_music-domestic_high&utm_custom1=_k_35852b40184a1a2596694ce7619628cf_k_&utm_content=bing_412372832_1296324507032193_81020345411463_pla-4584619897188472:pla-4584619897188472_c__1864672207&utm_custom2=412372832&msclkid=35852b40184a1a2596694ce7619628cf

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  11. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=wszW1x74&id=32719268E1480EF558BFD227E699202B86335E33&thid=OIP.wszW1x74C_1e8IMixH2oQgHaLK&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fsfae.blob.core.windows.net%2fmedia%2fecommercesite%2fmedia%2fsfae%2fsfae.artwork%2f198-(1)_1.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.c2ccd6d71ef80bfd5ef08322c47da842%3frik%3dM14zhisgmeYn0g%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=800&expw=531&q=nashville+skyline+album+cover&simid=608023475837739557&FORM=IRPRST&ck=1C227E98FA9E71025CA8CB45D9416894&selectedIndex=0&itb=0&idpp=overlayview&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

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  12. We drink stong coffee made in a French press. Our son will only drink coffee that tastes like hot coffee icecream, with lots of cream and sugar. Daughter will not drink coffee. We buy our beans from a coffee roaster in Brookings. I buy 6 pounds at a time, and that lasts us about 6 weeks. They are good at shipping the beans quickly. We get whole dark roast beans. We prefer beans from Peru/Bolivia or El Salvador.

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  14. Our Welsh Terriers were fiends for coffee, as is our Cesky Terrier. The minute we leave a cup on the lamp table in the living room, Kyrill has his nose in it. It is terrible for dogs and we never give it to him willingly.

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  16. Tips for drinking coffee. Especially in winter, an insulated mug like a Yeti or generic brand works well. Keeps coffee hot for an hour or two, drinkably warm for 6-8 hours depending on the ambient temperature.

    I’m mostly a black guy, but indulge with milk and/or stevia occasionally. I don’t like my coffee super strong, but I’d rather have that and dilute it with hot water. I buy an occasional mocha or latte, mostly while traveling. I drink Columbian most times, (not a flavor purist) but my favorite is a blend called “Jamaican Me Crazy.” Has a memorable aroma, smooth taste, no bitterness. Joynes Ben Franklin in Grand Marais sells it by the pound in their store. Also, my fave local coffee shop used to sell JMC (the fourth-removed previous owner) but the new owners don’t unless you buy a pour over (and I’m not even sure about that).

    Album covers? None framed. Memorable one in my collection is Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue.” I’m sure I have many others (like Tapestry” that are iconic but I don’t want to wade through 400-500 albums to find one. 😉

    The golden age of recorded music was pre-tapes/CDs/streaming. Not only was the music great, but album art was hugely important, and the liner notes were like reading mini-biographies of your favorite bands. So much information on those back covers! Three kinds of entertainment/enjoyment from one album purchase. How can you beat that?

    Chris in Owatonna
    –back from a weeklong North Shore vacation and birthday celebrations. My 69th, wife’s 70th! Best of all, I got to ice skate on Gunflint Lake!!!! Woohoo what a thrill. And skiing was good this year! Had three excellent snow condition days, and two okays. Compared to ZERO last winter.

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        1. The only cake my mom taught me to bake was a black devil’s food cake with boiling coffee drizzled in slowly so the eggs wouldn’t be scalded. It was a dark black cake, very spongy, and chocolatey and with a hint of coffee flavor.

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  18. Rise and Spin a Platter, Baboons,

    We are having a gorgeous snow here with 2-3″ accumulation since a about 7am. I am enjoying it greatly, as is Phoebe who loves to tunnel through it with her nose. That is entertaining.

    I have no framed album covers, but I used to love those with the words printed and credits to read. I loved seeing which musicians played for each other. Someone already mentioned “Tapestry” which I played over and over, along with Don McLean’s “American Pie.”

    Drinking Coffee? I like mine strong with cream. For a treat I will make a batch of French Press coffee. An earthenware mug keeps it warm. Chris’ Jamaican coffee is incredibly smooth and aromatic. Since retiring my coffee consumption is reduced considerably. After lunch I always have had a sleepy period. Now I just take a nap instead of having coffee to keep me awake.

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  19. Off topic (Except maybe for the crazed Snirt)
    There is little that violates my ears more than “upspeak/uptalk.” It makes me a crazed, shouting at the radio guy. There isn’t much that I can do with live listening but I’ve just now stumbled on a setting for listening to recorded conversations. It’s X2 playback speed.

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    1. Upspeak is a new term for me, Wes. Please explain. And I’m fond of speeding up audio and video recordings to get them over with faster too. Works great on any speaker who talks reeeaaallly slowwwlly and pauses . . . . a . . . lot. . . . or says, ‘you know, or like, or um, a lot. The best technology doesn’t make accelerated voices sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks, either.

      Chris

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      1. I couldn’t wait, had to look it up – “Upspeak, also known as uptalk, is a way of speaking in which the voice rises at the end of a statement, making it sound like a question… It conveys uncertainty and is characterized by a rising intonation..”

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        1. Ohhhhh, yeah. Uggggh! So annoying. When I hear people speak like that on radio, or any other time I can’t see them, I assume they’re peeking out from inside their turtle shell, hoping no one with smash them over the head with a mallet because of what they said. 😉

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  20. No tips for drinking coffee, I never got used to the taste. Husband drinks it every morning, strong and black. His favorite right now is espresso brewed in a moka pot on the stovetop.

    I use an insulated “mug” to take my tea to work; it stays hot/warm well into the afternoon.

    No framed album art, but some memorable ones are Abbey Road, Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, Born to Run, Rumors, Hotel California, Sweet Baby James, and Graceland.

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  22. I don’t think I’ve ever added dairy to my coffee. For that matter, I’ve never ordered a latte. I always take my coffee black and unsweetened. I used to specify stronger—French press or that ilk but now generally prefer a lighter roast. That’s when I drink coffee. Often as not my go-to beverage is strong black tea with no additives.

    I can’t remember any album covers that I would consider art. It was useful for telling the records apart.

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    1. Mine is the red one, My brother-in-law gave it to me. Baristas really love it. The thermometer isn’t strictly accurate, but it can tell you if your coffee should be plugged in to bring it to a drinkable temp.

      I do have to keep explaining, though, that it only holds 12 ounces. Some baristaas look at the outside of the cup and think it’s a 16 oz. If they try to put a 16 ounce latte into it, they find out. There’s a heating element in the base. It has less capacity than you think.

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  28. I had a very lovely hot chocolate this morning with a friend of mine at Black Walnut Bakery. They put some cream on the top of it in the shape of a heart, and it tasted wonderful. The only problem was the cup was so full that I had to very carefully lift it to my lips with both hands for the first sips.

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