>coffee du jour — a vacation diary in caffeine doses

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>Day One:
Hit the road, Jack. Made a big serving of instant cappuccino for my travel mug and installed it in the cup-holder. Double-checked that the coffee filters were packed in the foodstuffs box. Drove and rode many, many miles over four states.

Day Two:
On the road again! Small cup of hotel-made coffee at breakfast, not bad. Filled travel mug with Maxwell House brewed in the in-room coffeemaker. Again, not bad. Satisfying.
Refilled at the first gas stop. Weather too hot to enjoy hot coffee. Photographed Amigo in front of two football stadiums, one baseball field, and one arena. Three states today.

Day Three:
On the road again, just can’t wait to get…okay, enough already. Filled travel mug (again) from in-room machine after a small cup of basic brew from the hotel breakfast.
Took morning break at Dunkin’ Donuts, picked up mid-morning snack of Munchkins and iced hazelnut coffee. Mmm, now this is good. Staff were friendly, too, welcoming these obvious out-of towners to their little corner store.

Day Four:
One cup in-room brew before leaving for ferry.
On ferry: They serve Starbucks! W00T! Had some with breakfast and another small cup later on with popcorn. Don’t laugh — I can’t be the only person who likes popcorn and coffee together, can I? No, don’t answer that. I managed not to spill either while watching a whale breech not far from the ship. Wow!

Day five:
Made a pot of my own in cottage kitchen. The sound and smell of brewing coffee; ah, how relaxing. Note to self: a souvenir coffee mug would be appropriate. Must keep eyes (and wallet) open for the perfect item.

Day six:
Played tourist. Tim Hortons’ house blend for breakfast: hit the spot. Later on in Shelburne, picked up a cuppa from a cute little cafe called BeanDocks. Chose the blend “Jamaican Me Crazy” because Amigo was at his stubborn-teen worst. I felt much better after only half a cup. The barrista/ gift shop owner was really nice, too. Maybe the fact that I also bought a couple of souvenirs helped. But mmm, the power of a good cup of coffee. Can’t underestimate it.

Day seven:
Made a pot of my own again in cottage kitchen. Foggy outside, everything’s damp; there’s something comforting about the home-away-from-home feeling of brewing coffee warming up the place. Still haven’t found just the right souvenir mug.

Day eight:
Bought a cup of a fair trade blend at the Lunenberg Farmers’ Market; liked it enough to buy a small bag of the beans. This is a souvenir that will keep on giving long after I get home. And speaking of souvenirs: Husband ducked into a gift shop on Bluenose Lane and found a white mug decorated with a lobster. It’s a keeper!

Day nine:
Cup plus refills over breakfast at the local diner, flavored with wonderful local tales from the man at the booth beside ours. We learned when the lobster season runs, how large a swordfish can be, how the town’s population is shrinking, and why three-story houses on the coast often have staircases in their attics. No, it’s not because of flooding. What a delightful encounter!

Day ten:
Cuppa in the cottage kitchen: the last. Starbucks on the ferry. Foggy day — if there are whales around no one would know it. Hot coffee helps cut through the damp feeling.

Day eleven:
Dunkin’ Donuts, down the street from the hotel in downtown Portland. Got Amigo a coolatta, and a box of munchkins for the family. On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again….

Day twelve:
Hit the road, Jack…no coffee in hotel room? What kind of establishment is this? Oh, yeah, they have some in the lobby. No wonder their rates are so low.

Day thirteen:
Show me the way to go home! Home to my own coffeemaker, my own grinder (can’t wait to make the Lunenberg coffee), my own mugs. Aaah.

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>Will it buy satisfaction?

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PunditMom Change

A while ago, not too far back, PunditMom proposed a revolution: an election revolution. Based on Melinda Henneberger’s book, If They Only Listened to Us: What Women Voters Want Men to Hear. PunditMom points out an important section of Henneberger’s book:

“As she was promoting her book, Henneberger quoted a statistic in one article that if every woman who voted in the 2006 national elections had contributed just $27 to any presidential candidate or party, we would pour $1.3 billion dollars into the political system.”

$27 = $1.3 billion. Billion, with a Big B. That’s a lot of Bucks, and a lot of support.

Women are good at talking, blogging, writing letters, and more. We rock the cradle, but we haven’t moved into the White House, much less begun to rule the world. Legislators rarely hear us in part because we don’t have the financial backing. Face it: money talks, sings, dances, and plays the accordion. Well, maybe not the accordion. But rather than replace your accordion case, please consider donating to a candidate of your choice this campaign season.

The heart of the $27 revolution is the concept that the candidates need to hear from us, and actions, particularly check-signing actions, speak louder than words. For example: if I spent $27 in my classroom, it might by 25-30 notebooks or three sets of holiday pencils. If a pro-education candidate wins office, legislation with better funding for schools may become law. This is worth much more than a notebook and a few pencils per child.

On that note, I’ll end my pitch. Please let PunditMom know who you’re backing…or if you’d rather keep the name quiet, just let her know you’ve taken action.

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>Overheard

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>A teacher died and went (of course) to Heaven. At the gate she was asked, “How can you be of service here?” She replied, “Well, I’m a teacher, so I’d be happy to teach here, too.” The new classroom appeared: 40 students, no materials, no books, no tech support, no clerical assistance. She reacted strongly. “This looks impossible! How can you expect me to do my best work in a situation that’s set up for failure?”

Bang. Switch venues.

Now in the opposite locale, a handsome devil asked her the same question. “How can you be of service here?” She replied with a sigh, “I’ll teach.” Her new classroom appeared, this time with a much different set-up. 15 students. Books, papers, pencils, pens, computers with current software, clerical time, useful professional development, and more. “What? How? I don’t understand,” she stammered.

The devil responded, “Well really, Mrs. Teacher, think about it. Whenever you asked your elected officials for this kind of classroom, where did they tell you to go?”

As the 2007-2008 school year ends, please consider how to make the future of education even better. Please vote for candidates who understand and support quality education for all students.

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>Pennywise on the road

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>This isn’t the old “$5 a Day” kind of trip. We’re getting a few deals by booking ahead and traveling in the off-season, and that helps quite a bit.
But we had no idea that gas prices would skyrocket the way they have. Gas is always more expensive in summer’s traveling season and near holidays, but wow. To be pennywise and hopefully not pound foolish, we looked for a few ways to cut the cost of traveling and make up for the $$$ we’ll pour into the gas tank on my minivan.
Snacks: we’re bringing a cooler and a small batch of road snacks. That way we’ll pay regular grocery prices (and even save a few cents with coupons) instead of gas/convenience store mark-ups. I will make coffee in the hotel rooms to fill my travel mug whenever possible instead of (gulp) going to Starbucks.
Tolls: Husband looked into getting an I-Pass. The I-Pass works in several of the states we’ll cross, and we can set one up as we enter Illinois. The I-Pass will get us a discounted toll rate and let us drive in the faster lanes so we don’t have to stop at each toll. (Amigo calls it an “I-Pass Gas.” Grrrr…teen boys!)
Packing: We do need one more suitcase. Luckily for me, my Kohls card had a major % off last weekend, so I used it on this expense. Now the laptop case — I didn’t see a decent one. I hope to find one at a discount store before we go.
When we reach the cottage, we’ll buy food for the week. However, I am packing a box of basics so we don’t get socked at the tiny market in Vacationland. We lived in a Wisconsin Vacationland town early in our life together; we have a good idea how these things work. Buy the specialties and perishables on-site; bring the cereal, coffee, and salt and pepper along.
We already have our passports, our bike rack, and more. I think we’ll be ready. I sure hope so!

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>Name or identity crisis?

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>You might be a substitute teacher if people greet you in the morning by asking, “Who are you today?”

You might be an elementary student if you spend your last days of school cleaning. The cleaning list is fairly long, and I like to start early. My students returned their library books two weeks ago. They turned in their textbooks on Monday. They cleaned the excess papers from their desks almost daily. I sent home notebooks and folders each day as we finished the last science class. The last social studies class. The last math class. And so on, and so on, etc., etc.

Elementary students still get a charge out of bringing home their official laminated name tags. There’s one on the locker, there’s another on the desk, and there might be another on the desk they use in Mr. Science Guy’s room when we switch classes. Taking these home is a simple pleasure. Sometimes, they do something else with the name tags. Like, well, share them.

After I took this picture, Juan distributed the tags around the class. No one went home with his/her own name tag, but everyone went home wearing someone!

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>There are addictions, and there are addictions.

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Created by OnePlusYou

72%. Not bad, all things considered. Blogging is fulfilling, fun, and cheaper than therapy. Now that school is out, I’ll spend more time decompressing online. If I took this quiz in a few weeks, my addiction percentage might be higher. Meanwhile, I need to refill my coffee cup.

How does your blogging addiction measure up? Leave your score in the comments!

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>Blogging means expanding my (recipe) repertoire

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Margalit’s Oatmeal Whole Wheat Bread with a Daisy spin

I found this recipe on Margalit’s site and I’ve made it several times. Any mistakes below are mine, not hers. I did make a few small changes to make it work for my everloving and starving family.

Add the ingredients as they are printed into the bread machine pan.

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups water (add more if dough is too dry in 1 tbs increments)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups white bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2-1/2 Teaspoons active dry yeast

Place all the ingredients in the pan, using the least amount of liquid and adding more if needed, as seen below. Select Medium or Light Crust, Wheat course, and press start. Daisy tip: Stay home and enjoy inhaling the lovely aroma of baking bread.

Observe the dough as it kneads. After 5 to 1- minutes, if it appears dry or stiff, or if the machine sounds like it’s straining to knead it, add more liquid 1 Tablespoon at a time until dough forms a smooth, soft, pliable ball that is slightly tacky to the touch. Daisy tip: put a little hot water in the honey-coated measuring cup and use this for the additional water, as needed.

After the baking cycle ends, remove bread from pan, place on cooling rack, and allow to cool 1 hour before slicing. Daisy tip: good luck waiting. It smells so good you might have to hire a guard or set an alarm to let it cool for an entire hour.

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>Have coffee, Braille directions, and exit strategy: will travel.

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>I’ve heard it said that the Secretary of War should be an autism parent. We plan for every eventuality. We not only have a plan B, but a plan C, plan D, and more. We think through possible roadblocks and speedbumps, make exhaustive lists, prepare everyone thoroughly for the road, and we always, always, have an exit strategy.

Amigo, a teen with Asperger’s, is actually a very good traveler. He loves road trips. In fact, we print the route plan for ourselves and in Braille for Amigo. He is a great navigator, despite his lack of usable vision. When I drive, I put him in charge of the cell phone and the radio. It keeps my mind (and eyes) on the road, and lets him explore any region’s local color through its radio dial.

In order to stay the course with fewer hiccups, we plan more details than most parents. The route file for our upcoming trip includes these statements and more.

“After this stop, Mom will need to sit in the front to help watch highway signs in the big city for Dad.”
“This stretch will be a long haul.”
“We should get gas before we get on the tollway.”
“And now we stay on highway 80 until we reach Ohio. Easy, huh?”
“If we’re feeling spunky when we reach Cleveland, the Indians are playing at 7:00.”
“Are we there yet?”

Amigo has been an active participant in planning this trip. In fact, he’s already suggested getting up early the first day and hitting the road by 7:00 AM. Granola bars and cappuccino for breakfast anyone? I’ve already chosen my travel coffee mug. After all, besides an exit strategy, what’s more important to a road trip than coffee?

This post is part of Scribbit’s Write-Away contest for June. Her theme is “Going Places.” I can’t wait to read all the submissions; they’re always varied and fascinating.
Update: Readers from Scribbit might enjoy this vacation post. It was written too late for the contest, but it definitely fits the theme of “Going Places.”

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>Ten Things I Never Seem to Learn

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>(Inspired by the incredible Kelly at Mocha Momma)

10. How to dress fashionably. Not going to happen. Don’t even think about it.
9. Remember to scrub my nose in the morning. Since I’ve developed a snoring problem (quiet up there in the peanut gallery!), I’ve used the funny nose strips that football players wear. They seem to help me breathe better at night, but the adhesive is a mess. I am constantly waking up in the morning, tossing the strip in the wastebasket, blowing my nose, and ending up with a schnozz covered with sticky tissue remnants.
8. Master all the features of my cell phone. I can call out, receive calls, text message, and even take pictures with the camera setting. But there are all kinds of shortcuts, like a text message dictionary, that I’ve discovered and I haven’t used. Yet.

7. Housekeeping. Carol Brady had Alice; I pay a cleaning service to come in once a month and do the basics. Maybe I have learned this one; I learned to pay someone else to do what I can’t.
6. Keep on track with appointments and regular checkups. My hearing aids need service, I’m behind by one dental cleaning, and if I think about it, I’ll realize there’s more. I’ll choose not to think about it, instead.
5. How to eat spaghetti without spilling sauce on myself. I’m getting older, but I’m not Old. Dinner shouldn’t be all over my shirt — yet.
4. Going to bed early means wake up early. If I’m extra tired and go to bed half and hour early, it’s inevitable that I’ll wake up an hour before my alarm.
3. Going back to bed means bad dreams. Always. I’m better off getting up and (if possible) taking a nap later.
2. A little goes a long way. Especially when it’s chocolate, even more when it’s dark chocolate. But if that small piece tastes fabulous, more would be heavenly, right? Uh-huh.
1. Get to know and cheer for a new Green Bay Packer quarterback. Well, give me time, okay? I can do this. Heck, I recovered after Bart Starr left. But I was a lot younger and more resilient back then.

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>Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!

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>Ah, mornings. My collegiate-type daughter doesn’t like to do anything that has an A.M. after the numbers. My teen is more of a morning person, but he’s still, well, a teen. He’ll do mornings, but grudgingly.

On a school day, Amigo’s alarm goes off at 6:00. He drags his mind out of sleep mode, drags himself to the dresser for clothes, and slinks downstairs to have breakfast. By this time I’ve already been out of bed with some semblance of coherence since 5:30, showered, dressed, and more while waiting for him. We sleepwalk through breakfast, brushing teeth, morning medicines, and then watch a little morning news and weather before going outside to wait for the bus.

It all runs fairly smoothly unless he oversleeps. Let’s not even suggest the possibility.

Lately we’ve had an additional body in the house. La Petite is home from school and working, which means we have three drivers and only two vehicles. Most mornings now Husband wakes up an hour earlier than his usual, drives me to school, and then takes care of himself and gets to work. La Petite takes her break to run me home in time to meet Amigo’s school bus.

One morning I requested that Husband drive me through Jo to Go, my favorite school day caffeine source, and the barrista simply looked into the car at me and asked, “The usual?” Husband shot me a half-smirk, half eye-roll, and shook his head. Heck, my morning usual is a 16 oz. hazelnut with no cream or sugar. Nothing fancy or expensive, really! It’s a locally owned place, too, so I’m supporting the local economy. The service is fast enough that I waste a minimum of gas, and….well, I can rationalize anything if I try hard enough. Even on a wild and woolly workday morning.

Fortunately, this routine only lasts until school is out and that flexibility that is a teacher’s summer begins. Then I become the chauffeur, taking La Petite to work and Amigo to appointments. And on most summer days, I make my own coffee.

This post is based on a topic recommended by Parent Bloggers Network and Kraft Bagel-fuls. Please feed your children breakfast before school; trust me, they learn better and test better if they’re not hungry.

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