Just Keeping Up With Things

Life is going on here in the woods for The Fuzz and His Sweetie-

And a lot of other places these days!

But here at home things are pretty much normal.

Like a lot of folks, The Fuzz likes to start his morning off with a bit of coffee.

He used to use an Old School Percolator Coffee Pot on the stove.

That worked pretty well for years.

But then he got exposed to those fancy "French Press" things.

He resisted for a while, but then finally caved in.

So now he starts out heating some water in the water kettle.

Then adds some grounds to the press, and pours in the water...

Gives it a quick stir...

Puts in the plunger...

And waits.

This gives him a chance to take care of some of those other waking-up-sort-of-things.

And then after 5 minutes or so...

There's a nice hot cup waiting for him.

And there are the other daily things going on.

There's always firewood to deal with.

Which brings us to this subject.

One of The Fuzz's firewood stashes, is under this porch.

It's handy, and keeps it kinda dry.

Well the problem was that whenever it rained-

which was when he wanted dry wood,

The rain would run off of the roof and onto the back

(and down the neck!)

of the person getting it.

The Fuzz had found a couple of old gutters in his scrap pile

(a handy thing to have)

over at the Old Place.

So he had brought them out to the woods and installed one over the cat & dog food compartment by the shed.

The that "P-Factor" kicked in, and he didn't get to this porch roof.

But now, as can be seen, even that has been took care of!

Just so everyone can see-

Just keeping up with things out here in the woods.

A while back, The Fuzz and His Sweetie were making a family visit in Concord.  Having heard that the Havana Carolina Café was back up and running, they decided to check it out.

The Havana was one of The Fuzz and His Sweeties favorites.  But it had been closed down after a fire.  They have moved to a new location.  It is a bit more upscale.

Here's a look at the fancy coffee they had.

The girls got flowers, and the guys got palm trees. And the coffee was as good as ever.

The Fuzz recommends this place to anyone who happens to find themselves in Concord.

Coffee Makes Me...

Saw this while using the facilities at The Dripolator Coffeehouse in Black Mt.

Works for The Fuzz.

Heavy Duty Coffee

It is no secret that The Fuzz likes his coffee.  So once a week, he and His Sweetie like to hit one of the local coffee shops for a bit of this tasty brew.  They usually spend some time pursuing they're coffee shop type interests. 

The other day, they got to see how this dangerous brew arrives.

These giant sacks weigh in at around 175lbs, according to the coffee shop man.  And he should know.

Here's a look at him carrying one in from the truck at the curb.  The Fuzz didn't realize running a coffee shop was such hard work!

Time Capsule Cont.

Well, what about that coffee?

Well, let's see what we got here.

We don't have a Canteen Cup, so The Fuzz will have to settle for his old tin one.

It looks like the powder is still powder.  That is encouraging.

And add some hot water from the fire, and a bit of sugar, and Voila!  Not the best coffee The Fuzz has ever drunk, but not bad considering.

Coffee & Veggies

With The Fuzz no longer having to report for duty at 07:00 most mornings, he and His Sweetie have a lot more leeway for Coffee Mornings*.  Since Wednesdays are also Farmer's Market days in Our Fair City, it seemed like a good way to "kill two birds with one stone" as the somewhat violent saying goes.

So, after sleeping in, they headed into town for some coffee and veggies.

They left the car on the Court Square, and hit the Farmer's Market first.  Then with their loot safely stowed in the cooler, they walked across the Court Square, and down the block to the Coffee Shop.  Sipping on the brew, His Sweetie worked on a sketch, while Our Fuzz got out the old iBook.

A bit later, they slipped by the Old Place for some garden supplies, and to pull up a few leeks.

Then, it was time to head back to the Woods.  But when they arrived, they found this!

 It seems that the Young Daughter had been busy whilst they were gone.  With no school and all, the Summer Boredom had set in.  It was time to rearrange her bedroom. 

  We'll have to wait to see how it turns out.

*For some  time now, The Fuzz and His Sweetie will slip off and spend an hour or so together, sipping coffee and indulging in their interests.

Tuesday Morning

The Fuzz and His Sweetie are enjoying the time at the beach with family and friends.  He watched this sailboat beating up the sound the other day, and couldn't resist a pix.  It didn't come out all that well, but he used it for a Photoshop Opportunity.
The Fuzz had a fine morning.  He took his Kayak down to the end of the island in the early morning.  There were not many other folks out yet, so it was pretty quiet.  The seabirds were out, and having a bit of breakfast.  They would drop out of the air, and come up with little fish in their beaks.  It was fun to watch.
Then he rode the tide back up the sound to the house and a nice cup of coffee.

Last Week

It's Finally Here!

Yes, this is it.  Thursday will be The Fuzz's Last Day on this job.  It will be a little weird to not have to get up at 04:30 most mornings, but he may be able to adjust.
 
But this will leave more time for other things, like going to Coffee Shops with His Sweetie.  They have been practicing for this on Fridays since The Fuzz went to those 4 - 10hr work days.  

This past week they sat out at one of the sidewalk tables and enjoyed the passing scene.  

Here's a bit of the street scene here in Our Fair City.  It was kinda quiet, but picked up a bit as the morning progressed.  
Ah, the beer has arrived!

Messing Around in Town

(Blogger seems to have made a few changes here.  It may take The Fuzz a bit to get used to this New World Order.  But, he promises to do his best with it.)

After hanging around the Havana Carolina Café for a while, The Fuzz and His Sweetie walked up the block a ways until they came to The Bead Lady's place.

The power was still out here, but the door was open. And who can resist a Bead Store! Certainly not The Fuzz's Sweetie. But, Our Fuzz likes beads too.*
Fortunately the place is on a corner and has real windows.  So there was enough light to keep a Bead Person busy for a while.

Here's the inside story at The Bead Lady. One of the customers is here searching though the thousands for that one elusive bead. Well, the power did finally come back on in that part of town. We heard later that there was a wreck of some sort that knocked it out that morning. And so after a pleasant morning out, The Fuzz and His Sweetie made there way back to the rest of the family.   

*This probably goes back to those old Hippie Days.

Friday and More

It's a rainy weekend here in the woods. And, one would suppose, on the road. But The Fuzz and His Sweetie did enjoy another Free Friday with the new work schedule and all.
They wanted to find a place where they could enjoy a small "Second Breakfast" and some coffee. They like to just hang out a bit for some sketching and perhaps a bit of writing.
In an effort to find a new place and a change of scene, they stepped into the local IHOP. As they were seated, and scanned the high priced menu, they realized this was not what they were looking for, and cut a trail out of there.
Their next attempt worked out a little better at Jack In The Box. It seems to be more their speed. The Fuzz's Sweetie even had a "buy one, get one free" coupon that came in the mail! And, they had Kona Coffee! So they did get to enjoy their Friday Coffee Outing after all.
The picture here, has nothing to do with that, of course. This is The Fuzz's Brother, and Family's little home away from home. We were pleased to enjoy a visit from them this weekend. It was a bit wet out here in the woods, but we had a good time, and were glad to see them.

Coffee Night

Here's a pix of Coffee Night out here in the woods.

Sometimes we go into town, but we often just stay home and make our own.

1st Night, Film Fest

Last night we attended the first night of the
10th
Annual Real to Reel
Film Festival.

You may wonder what that has to do with this pix of Cup of Coffee and Delicious Cinnamon Roll.
Well, since it was a late night, and since she had something she wanted to work on, The Fuzz's Sweetie made plans to get up early (like 4:30 AM) for this purpose.
This Delicious Home Made Cinnamon Roll and the cup of Freshly Ground Coffee, was the bait which lured The Fuzz from his snug little bed.
And this is why he is sitting here posting this at just such a time.
The Fuzz reports, that the flicks were pretty good. Each night, the audiance is asked to vote for their favorite flick. This was not easy. The Fuzz went with "The Crimson Mask", but Le Paradis De L'imbecile (A Fool's Paradise) was a really close second.

After an Evening....

The Fuzz and His Sweetie sometimes spend an evening at the local Coffee Shop. They don't believe in Decaf.

Coffee and Gas

I see where the Starbucks is having a hard time these days. We don't have the Starbucks here in our Little City. I hear they have it in the Big Cities. For some folks, their day just ain't right without that Starbucks Coffee.

A while back, The Fuzz was looking for something to do with His Sweetie in the evening, and the idea of going out for some coffee or something came up. The Neighbor Lady told of this Starbucks Place down in the Land Of "Cheap Gas". A lot of folks around here cross the State Line in search of "Cheap Gas". It was said, that one could go down there, fill up with "Cheap Gas" and enjoy some of that Starbucks Coffee. And so, one evening, The Fuzz got his Sweetie into the car and headed off in search of "Cheap Gas" and Starbucks Coffee.
They did find the "Cheap Gas" and there was that Starbucks Place too.

The Fuzz was expecting some High Dollar coffee, but when it came time to pay up, the coffee was free. It seems that if one has to wait a little for the coffee, this is a Very Bad Thing, and they're ashamed to charge for it. The Fuzz was not really upset about all this, so he left some money in the Tip Jar.

But all in all, he does want to say, that this Starbucks Coffee was quite tasty, although maybe not worth a trip out of state. As for the "Cheap Gas", he figured that the gas used on the trip, more than made up for the few cents per gallon saved.

The Old Grind

I like my coffee, I admit it. But In the interest of "Health", I have cut back. A lot. But sometimes it's just too good to pass up. Camping is one of those times. And if you only drink it "on occasion" you want "good" stuff. And isn't the "good" stuff freshly ground ? So when the Camping Catalogue came, (lots and lots of catalogues come) and I saw this Cordless Coffee Grinder, I was a sucker. Big time. I mean, how could I pass up a chance to have fresh ground coffee out in the wilderness ? Sure, you can always smash the beans between a couple rocks, but wouldn't that make it kinda gritty ? Why, you may ask, would I be so particular when I was only gonna throw it into my old enamel percolator and boil the fool out of it ? But I'm like that sometimes.
Back there, behind all the smoke, is my camping coffee pot. But the subject under discussion is this camping Coffee Grinder. This is an ingenious little device. One removes the crank and top cover, and fills the little hopper with aromatic coffee beans. Then, the cover and crank are replaced, and the freshly ground coffee accumulates in a special compartment in the handle. Sounds simple enough, and it is a simple low-tech apparatus.
Back at the house, I have a cool little electrical Coffee Grinder. A friend gave me this years ago, and it still dependably grinds my coffee beans, in spite of My Sweetie using it to grind all kinds of weird things in it. And it does all this in about 10 seconds. But of course, you have to plug it in.
But this wonderful Camping Coffee Grinder does not need the power grid. It also does not grind my coffee in 10 seconds. Nor does it grind my coffee in 10 minutes. Maybe 20, on a good day.
But it does work. And the coffee is good, though maybe the wait has something to do with that.