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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Sunday, August 27, 2006 More fun I decided to spend my day doing things I like to do, so for starters, I roasted about ten ounces of coffee, all the green beans I had left. I was out of roasted coffee, and I am not a nice person if I don't have my morning brew.If you're going to roast coffee inside, at least with the primitive equipment I do it with, the first job is to cover up the smoke detector(s). Roasting coffee creates an unbelievable amount of black smoke. I almost always manage to set them off anyway, though I got lucky this time. When I first began roasting coffee, I used a cast iron frying pan with a spatter screen on top to keep the beans from flying all over the kitchen as they pop. Shelley gave me a manual corn popper for Christmas last year, so that's what I roast in now. I didn't get this batch as dark as usual, but it will be good anyway. After roasting, I let them cool a bit and then toss them back and forth between two wire mesh strainers, preferably outside in a breeze, to let the wind carry the burnt skins away. If that isn't possible, I just bang the strainer against the inside of the kitchen trash can after each pass, to knock the skins off the wire mesh. Then the coffee sits overnight to finish cooling and to let off any gases that may be present (carbon dioxide, mostly). In the morning, I'll grind enough for my coffee and I'll be a human being again for a while.Among coffee's other virtues, it reputedly helps stave off Type II diabetes. My blood sugar on the day of my little incident in Wytheville was on the low end of normal, and that was not long after I'd eaten breakfast, so I guess I'm not at great risk for diabetes either. We have acquired a new kitten, a female tortie that Nick found wandering near the dump. It is the most calm and easy-going kitten I have ever seen, scrawny as all get out, but quiet and sweet-tempered. The vet said he thought it was about 12 weeks old, going by its teeth, but it's hardly any bigger than a well-fed kitten half that age. I had no desire to have a kitten, not in the least, but Shelley has more or less adopted Rippy, and she was concerned that her cat, Chloe, was being left alone for long periods with no company, since Clarence has to go with me now. I half-heartedly agreed that I would think about a kitten, and of course, the next thing I knew, Shelley was calling to say she had one for me. Nick named it Neko, which he says is Japanese for cat. I'll post a picture when I have a chance to take one. posted by Liz @ 6:42 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
I decided to spend my day doing things I like to do, so for starters, I roasted about ten ounces of coffee, all the green beans I had left. I was out of roasted coffee, and I am not a nice person if I don't have my morning brew.If you're going to roast coffee inside, at least with the primitive equipment I do it with, the first job is to cover up the smoke detector(s). Roasting coffee creates an unbelievable amount of black smoke. I almost always manage to set them off anyway, though I got lucky this time. When I first began roasting coffee, I used a cast iron frying pan with a spatter screen on top to keep the beans from flying all over the kitchen as they pop. Shelley gave me a manual corn popper for Christmas last year, so that's what I roast in now. I didn't get this batch as dark as usual, but it will be good anyway. After roasting, I let them cool a bit and then toss them back and forth between two wire mesh strainers, preferably outside in a breeze, to let the wind carry the burnt skins away. If that isn't possible, I just bang the strainer against the inside of the kitchen trash can after each pass, to knock the skins off the wire mesh. Then the coffee sits overnight to finish cooling and to let off any gases that may be present (carbon dioxide, mostly). In the morning, I'll grind enough for my coffee and I'll be a human being again for a while.Among coffee's other virtues, it reputedly helps stave off Type II diabetes. My blood sugar on the day of my little incident in Wytheville was on the low end of normal, and that was not long after I'd eaten breakfast, so I guess I'm not at great risk for diabetes either. We have acquired a new kitten, a female tortie that Nick found wandering near the dump. It is the most calm and easy-going kitten I have ever seen, scrawny as all get out, but quiet and sweet-tempered. The vet said he thought it was about 12 weeks old, going by its teeth, but it's hardly any bigger than a well-fed kitten half that age. I had no desire to have a kitten, not in the least, but Shelley has more or less adopted Rippy, and she was concerned that her cat, Chloe, was being left alone for long periods with no company, since Clarence has to go with me now. I half-heartedly agreed that I would think about a kitten, and of course, the next thing I knew, Shelley was calling to say she had one for me. Nick named it Neko, which he says is Japanese for cat. I'll post a picture when I have a chance to take one.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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