Travel & Lifestyle Freelance Writer | Market Research Consultant
For bugs in my boyfriend’s bathroom.
There are two corpses in there already … poor little box elder bug, who’s laying on his little back with his six little legs up in the air.
I don’t feel as bad for the mosquito who’s smooshed against the wall.
I never drank coffee until I got to graduate school. And even in the beginning it wasn’t a necessary endeavor, just a social outing, a great excuse to gab with friends about life.
But these days, it’s become a bit more than a casual beverage choice.
First I bought individual packets of instant Folgers flavored coffee to bring with me to school. Add some hot water and voilà!
Then I found a coffee maker in the “free” section of our apartment complex and bought the cheapest coffee I could find at Walmart.
Next I invested in a French press and upgraded to an extra bold Starbucks ground coffee.
What’s next? I’m investigating how to make really good pressed coffee. Here’s what I learned this morning through a little Internet research:
1.In the 1900s, the French press was called a “cafeolette,” a name not quite as cool at the “cafetière à piston”–which it’s also been called–but far better than the once common moniker: “coffee plunger.” Yuck. Gourmet-coffee-lovers-haven.com.
2. Use a coarse grind to make sure that the mesh screen filters the coffee grounds and separates the liquid from the sediments. INeedCoffee.com.
3. Coffee is mostly water, so go for fresh, preferably filtered “high quality H2O.” According to Gourmet-coffee-zone.com, the ideal temperature for extracting the optimum flavor from the ground coffee is between 195 F and 200 F.
4. Aim to cover all of the grounds relatively equally so that they’re fully saturated for the most robust flavor. Frenchpresshowto.com.
5. Warm your mug with the hot water left over after pouring. Cafefanatic.com.
6. Steep for four minutes for a large pot, only two to three for a smaller pot. Whatscookingamerica.net.
7. Push the plunger straight down to prevent the grinds from escaping above the filter and into your coffee. Coffee-makers-cafe.com.
8. Pour into your favorite mug, sip quietly with a good book and reflect on life.
Need pics? No worries. Coffeegeek.com to the rescue.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream.
I have a beef.
Prepare yourself for another short, feminist rant.
Just read this (Guys, Get Away to Winter Park-Fraser Valley — Area Rich with ‘Mancation’ Ideas) moronic article/press release about “Mancations.”
Really, people?
First of all, their “mancation” ideas include golfing, fly fishing, mountain biking and hiking. These are all activities that either I like or I have close women friends who like … and they’re good at them too, by the way.
Second, “mancation” … what the heck does that even mean? It doesn’t even sound like “vacation”! “Play-cation” works. “Stay-cation” works. But “mancation”?
Criminy!
I just had to move my seat at the coffee shop because the sunlight reflecting off of an SUV in the parking lot was blinding me.
I figured the potential for a tan wasn’t worth the lasting effects on my vision.
Sigh.
I love summer, and I love Boulder, and I love coffee shops.
Oh how I hope I can earn money with this freelancing thing …
I love my roommates. They’re sweet, social and considerate. Neither is ever noisy. Both are thoughtful and kind.
We do however have some issues with throwing things away (and I’m as guilty as either of them).
There’s currently a covered tray of what was once fresh fruit sitting on the kitchen table. It’s been there since early last week, and there’s a lovely layer of fine fuzz sprouting from the strawberries.
Mike and I are placing bets on how long it will stay on the table without his or my interference …
The cat currently has it’s head stuck out the slight crack I’ve left open in the sliding glass door that leads out to the patio–an opportunity worth taking to let the warm breeze in the stuffy apartment. The cat’s fat back half isn’t fitting.
Wait a second …
Dah! It did!
I grab the little sneakster and deter the escape.
I shut the door a couple more centimeters.
Escape that, you little farthead.