Category Archives: the coffeepot’s on

>Ah, my generous family, they shared their cold germs.

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>Top ten things to do with a stuffy head, drippy nose, and achy body on a winter weekend

10. Keep tissue box handy at all times.

9. Eat grapefruit for breakfast.

8. Drink lots of liquids (coffee du jour: Harry & David’s Roasted Chestnut).

7. Fill and plug in vaporizer.

6. Tuck in under blanket.

5. Drink more liquids (cranberry grapefruit juice).

4. Take extra vitamin C and Airborne.

3. Plan cold-fighting supper: chicken soup in crockpot.

2. Read blogs while drinking more liquids (orange spice tea).

1. Take a nap. And another nap.

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>Things to do on a "snow" day

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>

  • Feed bunnies, turn on TV.
  • Read School Closings crawl. Resist temptation to cheer loudly.
  • Give Amigo the news.
  • Attempt to sleep a little longer (easier said than done).
  • Turn on coffeemaker and computer.
  • Plug in the crockpot with chili for supper.
  • Send Husband on his way with the observation that our indoor-outdoor thermometer doesn’t handle double digit negatives: the negative sign is where the tens place is. It may say 14 degrees, but it’s really 14 below zero.
  • Override thermostat program to keep house warm enough for people today.
  • Watch the Early Show (Weather Dude Dave is in Green Bay and looks c-c-cold!).
  • Start the breadmaker. Plain white bread sounds right today.
  • Make oatmeal for kiddo.
  • Change bunny litter boxes.
  • Start a laundry load: napkins and towels.
  • Take Twitter, blog, and Plurk breaks!
  • Make lunch, watch news.
  • Take a few phone calls.
  • Slice and serve the fresh bread with butter and (homemade) jelly.
  • Stir chili – wow, the house smells good!
  • Move napkins and towels to dryer.
  • Check in with CNN and The Weather Channel
  • Take another blog break!

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>I’ll take that advice!

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>I always read the Employee Wellness Newsletter. Sometimes I skim it and roll my eyes, but once in a while there’s an article that makes sense. There was dietary advice this time. Here are a few carefully selected quotes along with my reactions.

“Research shows that what you eat can significantly affect your mood.”
Um, yeah, why do you think my coffee addiction is such a big deal, y’all?

“For breakfast, try oatmeal or eggs. Both contain an amino acid that helps boost the levels
of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel good.”
Yay! I’m doing something right: I often make oatmeal from breakfast. My favorite is steelcut oats with raisins and brown sugar with a hint of cinnamon sugar on top.

“As for the blueberries, save those for lunch. The antioxidants in them will ward off workday stress.” Stress? What stress?! And how about my daily orange? It smells good, tastes good, and adds vitamin C to give my immune system a fighting chance against the kids sneezing and coughing and breathing at me.

“Finish with a small piece of chocolate.”
Oh, yes! I can deal with that advice. My colleague down the hall has a stash of dark chocolate and sometimes even shares it.

But wait…they didn’t mention coffee. Uh-oh. Where does my daily cuppa (or two or three) fit into this picture?

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>Now I know what to brew on January 20th.

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>It’s a given: I will get coffee for my birthday and for Christmas. Sometimes my students even get me coffee as a Teacher Gift. The variety of blends and flavors will keep me entertained and caffeinated until summer or even next fall. The only question is this: what will the flavors be? Today I have Harry and David’s spiced Roasted Chestnut holiday blend in the coffeemaker. Mmmm, I hear your taste buds reacting!
I’m also working on a package of Alterra Harvest blend, a strong but smooth flavor that I like to bring to school in my thermos or travel mugs.
But this one is unequaled.
I didn’t have my glasses on when I opened the package (darn these aging eyes!), so I couldn’t read the description or the name. Husband, big tease that he is, read little bits and pieces and made me guess. I’m not one to keep that kind of experience to myself, so let’s see how you do with the same information!

On the front of the package: “a Vienna Roast consisting of prime Kenya AA, Hawaiian Kona, and Indonesian Sulawesi coffees.” Got it yet?
A little more information from the back label: “When brought to a Vienna Roast, the highly-prized Hawaiian Kona gives the blend a full body and a mild and mellow character, the Kenya AA adds a wine-like flavor, and the Indonesian Sulawesi provides unexpected interest with its earthy taste, slightly smoky tone, and hints of spice.”

Did you make the connections yet? Okay, I’ll give you one last clue. Also from the back label: “(the blend’s namesake)’s lineage and early life are associated with three of the world’s prime coffee-growing regions. Born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and American mother, he spent eight of his first 10 years living in Indonesia.”

Yes, you guessed it. From Longfellow’s coffee, my brother and sister-in-law ordered me a package of Obama Blend.

Can I make it last until the inauguration?

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>Post-holiday let-down and laundry, again, still.

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>I didn’t have enough baskets to sort laundry this weekend. You guessed it; the daughter’s home! And she brought her entire wardrobe, dirty! I think the only clean clothes she brought home were the pieces she was wearing. Add that to my holiday stresses and my PMS, and there is one unhappy mama in this house.
She’d been home two days when she asked, “Mom, are you, like, going to do laundry anytime soon? I need pants and underwear.” This was in the evening on a school night, mind you. I was worn out from dealing with kiddos too wired for learning and too old to believe that “Santa’s watching, you’d better behave.” Well, I did it anyway: she sorted out the main necessary items, I threw them in the wash, and she made it a few more days.
The day after Christmas I sorted ours and then asked for hers. She gave me a hamper full of hoodie sweatshirts, sweaters, and tanks and thin tees for layering. Almost everything was to go in the delicate cycle.
The result? Four overflowing baskets for the delicate cycle, not enough Woolite, and one cranky mama off her routine.
I’m ready for a coffee break, I’ve filled two baskets with clean, and the laundry room still looks like a tornado hit and left the contents of her closet behind. How did she ever manage to last that long without doing laundry on her own?
Last year I stocked up on underwear for the entire family with the goal that any one of us could go at least two weeks without washing clothes. I think I bought her too much!

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>Easiest Oatmeal Cookies Ever

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>1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups uncooked quick oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine sugar and butter; mix well. Add flour and baking soda. Stir in oats. Roll into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and press slightly. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on cooling rack. Makes 2-3 dozen, depending on size.

I made mine bigger, so my yield was 2 dozen.
And I was almost out of butter sticks, so I combined it with the low-fat vegetable spread in the big tub — the store brand equivalent of country crock.
And I added 1/2 cup raisins.

So my Easy Oatmeal Cookies didn’t turn out exactly as pictured in the Cookie Book. They tasted delicious, but they spread out really, really thin, and they kind of folded/squashed themselves into odd shapes when I took them off the pan. I blame the “butter.”

The original recipe, not my improvised edition, is from the WE Energies 80th Anniversary Cookie Book. If you follow their directions, you’ll have better luck. Either way, they’re great with coffee or hot apple cider.

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>Shoulds are bogus, even in a snowstorm

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>Ah, contradictions. This is a case for “Shoulds are Bogus.”

The school for the blind should be more flexible in receiving kids who do not take their buses.
Reality: Their dorm staff doesn’t arrive until a certain time, and that’s that.
End result: I had to plan to drop him off late in the evening, and then either find a hotel or make my way home over back roads late at night. In the snow. During deer season.

I should have left earlier in the day.
Reality: Amigo couldn’t get into his dorm at the school for the blind until 7:30 PM at the earliest, so leaving earlier was pointless.
End result: We watched the Packer game at home and then left.

We should have changed plans completely, leaving early Monday morning.
Reality: We didn’t know the weather would be as bad as it was or the traffic as slow as it was.
End result: We changed plans as we got closer to our first destination.

I should have prepared Amigo for the possibility of change.
Reality: Having too many options can cause him to melt down just as much as a sudden change can. There was really no way to prepare him.
End result: He had a meltdown in the van.

I should be grateful we found a hotel room down the road from La Petite’s apartment.
Reality: I’m very grateful. In fact, the other hotel in the town near Amigo’s school cancelled my reservation with no charge. I’m grateful for that, too.
End result: We’re nearly the only customers here, in this hotel in a small college town. It’s very quiet.

And shoulds or not, I’m glad we have a safe and warm place to lay our heads and rest. No matter what the morning brings, we’ll be all right.
And the hotel room has a coffeemaker, so at least one of us will be happy in the morning.

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>Turkey Noodle Soup Daisy’s Way

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>There are so many different turkey soup recipes out in the blogosphere that it didn’t occur to me to post another one. However, a plurk friend (also butcher and chef) suggested that would be a good post for Thanksgiving week, so I decided to try it.
The hardest thing about posting a soup recipe is that I rarely make a soup the same way twice. Soups usually start with a good stock or broth, add veggies, add meat (maybe), simmer all day, and later add noodles or rice or dumplings. But here goes: the Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Noodle Soup at Daisy’s house.

4-6 cups turkey stock (you did make some with the turkey carcass, didn’t you?!)
1/4 cup peas
1/4 corn
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green or red pepper
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh herbs: thyme, rosemary, and basil if available
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1/4 cup spinach (optional: I have some in my freezer from the summer garden)
–any other available leftover vegetables
Oh, and turkey! I almost forgot. 2 cups diced turkey, or more if you like a really meaty soup.

Let all ingredients simmer in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. About an hour before serving, add a generous handful of egg noodles (or other type, but wide egg noodles are my family’s favorite). Turn crockpot to high.

Serve warm with fresh bread and cranberry jello on the side to recreate a bit of the peaceful feeling of Thanksgiving Day.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone.

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>It’s coming…the holiday is looming…must plan.

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>Since the fabled fairies of Thanksgiving won’t be here, we started preparing for Thanksgiving ourselves. Here’s the menu.

Thanksgiving Dinner
Thursday November 27, 2008
Tables will be ready at 1:00

Appetizers: Various pickles & olives
Cut veggies & dip.
Deviled eggs
Breads from Daisy’s parental units the Maternal side of the family) and brother & his wife

Entree: Turkey
Sides: Stuffing
Traditional Mashed Potatoes
Yukon Gold Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Packer Veggies
Brown Sugared Baby Carrots
1-2-3 Cranberry Sauce by Amigo
Jello from Maternal side of family
Rolls from Maternals and Brother & SIL

Desserts: Pies from maternals and SIL (Brother, I know you won’t do the baking, it’s okay)
Whipped topping and Vanilla ice cream from Husband’s parental units

Beverages: Milk
Various sodas
Coffees, flavored and traditional
Water
Wine & Lambic

Parental Units on the Paternal Side have already assisted us with Tablecloths and a table
La Petite is letting us use a dorm fridge to help with beverages

Husband shopped for the majority of the goodies today. I picked up the coffees, since Tinkerbell won’t be here to do it. We started cleaning today, too. The turkey rests in the refrigerator, the tablecloths and napkins have been through the laundry, and the sides and appetizers will be on my list over the next few days so we’re not too overwhelmed to socialize on Thursday.

I think we’ll make it. Gobble gobble!!

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>Working Mother, also known as Multi-Tasker

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>Or…a typical Saturday in Daisy’s life

Make coffee.
Feed rabbit.
Read paper and have breakfast.
Chase rabbit out of La Petite’s room.
Check email, Twitters, and Plurks.
Empty dishwasher.
Sort dirty laundry. Start washing laundry.
Reload dishwasher. Again (is that redundant?).
Take out compost. Pick tomatoes. Search unsuccessfully for squirrel Husband reported was lost in garden and couldn’t get out.
Find recipe; bake muffins. Contemplate posting new variation on recipe. Print carrot cake recipe; potential use for extra carrots, now that two bunnies are gone to live with La Petite at her school apartment.
Continue laundry process while cleaning kitchen while muffins are baking.
Lunch: BLTs with L & T from garden. We’ll miss this when the first major frost comes!
Remove muffins from oven. Mmmmm.
Clean kitchen (again), continue laundry cycles (still), and start schoolwork.
Browse two books scavenged from Throw Away table in lounge. Sort out and copy several usable ideas for vocabulary instruction, math centers, readers’ workshop, and more. Recycle the rest. Teaching budgets, like all state funded budgets, will get more stringent before they’re more generous. Creative scavengers spend time, but save money. Maybe I can apply that to my own life and budget as well.
Grade penmanship papers, using star stickers scavenged from Throw Away table.
Continue laundry process (still, yet, again).
Take out recycling. How many cans and bottles can we generate in half a day? No, don’t answer that.
Fill snack basket. Remind self to bake cookies or bars. Look for easy and nutritious snack recipe.
Move old recipes to new box (scavenged, of course). Recycle old cards, recipes no longer current, and good intentions.
Correct and grade vocabulary worksheets and spelling tests.
Fold a load of clean laundry: the end is in sight!
Post three more books to Paperbackswap.com and hope someone will want or need them.
Fold more underwear and socks, my least favorite load. Amigo says “Underwear! You said underwear!” I say, “Put a sock in it, Buster.”
Wonder if I should text message Husband, who took his bike to the library, and tell him it’s getting cloudy and the storm is moving in. Nah. He’ll say I was worrying too much and whining at him. Let him get wet; he won’t melt.
Check on status of washer, fill dryer, and start planning supper, all in a few moments’ time.
Make supper, feed family, clean kitchen, make soup stock for freezer (and future), take break to watch baseball team lose. Again.
Fold yet more clothes, back up Husband as he censors Amigo’s choice of tunes on YouTube, finish wiping down kitchen table.
Drop off Amigo at Homecoming dance. Do the weekly grocery shopping, this time with two to three weeks in mind because of increasingly busy work schedules. Gawk at huge bill. Wonder who eats all this?!
Go home. Put away food. Decide that the storms can move in, pandemic flu can shut down the city, and we could still feed the family.
Pick up Amigo at dance, exhausted but happy.

Tomorrow? I’m getting tired just thinking of it.

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