The Latest From the Neglected and Lonely Journal

My journal has been a bit neglected lately.  So, it's taken awhile to collect enough things to post from it.

As always, these are random observations, poems in progress, or just ideas for poems that got jotted down, or even just impressions from my reading of song lyrics or poetry.

May 2

Many tasks
Accomplished
List checked off -
Yet I feel
The day
Has escaped
So quickly
Gone
Not savored
Not enjoyed

And when a Spring day
Is warm
Bright
And not too breezy,
It SHOULD be
Savored.
Appreciated
Reveled in.


One lonely bloom
On the new peony
Opens
With show
And splash
And panache
For the other
New ones
We must wait
'till next year
They are still
Working on things
They need to grow roots
 Before they'll be given wings
To zoom
Into bloom!

May 10

So much time lost
So many images past
The weather begins
Making threats
That may not be idle
The political circus
Becomes ever
More strident
And as I search
For calm
And balance
I upset
My own
Equilibrium
By finding
A new coffee
Too much caffeine
NOT conducive
to calm
Contemplation.

Disappointment
With an author/artist
Sadness for
All of us fans
And my friends
Overlooked,
Abandoned,
In order to pursue
The almighty
Dollar.
I guess he fits in
With the current
Political mood
though his writing
Would indicate
Otherwise.


As I age
My body
Makes its displeasure
Apparent
When I try
To do too many
Of the heavy tasks
That need doing.
It tells me with
Aches
Stomach upsets
Keeping me awake
Until I find
The correct combination
Of things to appease it.
It also punishes me
For over indulgence
Much more than
Used to be the case.
Oh, this process
Is not for
The faint of heart...


Cohen lyrics for today:

Joan of Arc
"I saw her wince, I saw her cry,
I saw the glory in her eye.
Myself I long for love and light,
but must it come so cruel,
and oh so bright."

A much more traditional sort of poetry than usual.  Very  tightly constructed, and the message very powerful.


Random Thoughts:

Coffee is like beer- you can't buy it, you can only rent it.  (Archie Bunker, I believe, about beer, anyway.)
The probability of rain is directly related to how badly our lawn needs mowing.

When you work in a library, reading a book at the public service desk is a way to draw customers to you.  It NEVER fails.

Dear dithering driver ahead of me:  It's been a long time since coffee, and it's a long time before wine.  Please stop pissing me off!!!

The Friends of the Library's ongoing book sale is a way for the library to get all the staff's spare change...

If your mind is weary and wants sleep, your body will find ways to keep you awake.
If your body is weary and wants sleep, your mind will rant on and on about everything in the universe and refuse to shut up and let you sleep.


May 21

Monday
You will not
Thwart me
I have a list,
And I have coffee!


May 26

I have a new vice;
Cold Brew Coffee
And almond milk
Oh, my.
So good, so easy to make
cold brew coffee...

Gravity still works alarmingly well.
Found that out on Tuesday.

Yard work makes my
Arms weak and numb-
Especially when I have to use the string trimmer.

Spring
The weather can be SO lovely
And also so ugly.
We have some warning
About the ugly bits, but
Not often a lot
Some days it threatens
But never blows-
Other days it starts out happy
And then,WHAM!
Tornadoes.
Oklahoma
Is schizophrenic
In spring.


Tablet battery ran out
Time to dig Mophie
Out of my purse.

The sound of the beads on her braids,
Making a glorious accompaniment to her
Joyful skipping.
Thank you, beautiful child
For brightening my day.

May 27

Out of sorts
Out of place
Even among those
I love best
Feeling misunderstood
Afraid I've offended
Or will offend
Because I know
I'm odd.
I don't fit.
It's just an INFJ
Kind of day.  

Making Cold Brew Coffee - So I Won't Forget How...

I recently read Cleo Coyle's latest Coffehouse Mystery:  Dead Cold Brew.

It is, as usual, excellent, and contains many interesting recipes, including the description of the Mason Jar method for making cold brew coffee.
So, of course, I had to try it!
You should definitely buy the book, or at least check it out from your library.  You will get much more information, and much clearer information, about cold brew from the book. I mainly wrote this so I can find it quickly and easily when my aging brain needs a refresher.

You will need:  Coffee, a Mason jar with a lid, a scale or other coffee measure, a grinder, a strainer, or two, and lots of patience.


First:  Choose a dark roast, for a full- flavored coffee that will work well in the cold brew process.  I really like Cafe Verona by Starbucks, but that's just because it's what I had a lot of on hand.  This batch in the photos was made with Starbucks Espresso Roast.  (Target had it on sale, so sue me!)

Dark roast, whole bean, fresh as possible.

Next:  Measure out your coffee.  Normal humans,who read directions and find the proper size jar before they start, need 50 grams of beans.  (I, who am a weirdo who only had a 2 quart jar available, I needed 100 grams.)

Weigh carefully, being sure to zero the scale with the empty bowl on top of it!

Now, of course, you must grind the beans. Use the Coarse setting, like you would for French Press method brewing of hot coffee.

Grind your beans, using the Coarse setting.

It's time to put the ground coffee into your Mason jar.  Please be less messy than I was.  I am afraid the little cup in the grinder and its odd sides caused me to spill a little.  (OK, I'm just sloppy.  Not the grinder's fault.)

Put the ground coffee into your jar.

 Once you get the coffee into the bottom of the jar, start pouring your cold water in.  If you are doing this with the normal people method, you'll need 4 cups of cold water for your one quart Mason jar.  You will need to stir the grounds and water to get the grounds wet, and to allow more water to fit in your jar.  All of it won't fit, but that's OK.
If you are like me, and have a monstrous 2 quart Mason jar, you will need 8 cups of cold water to pour in slowly, stirring once in a while.

Stir between additions of water to help get all the grounds moist, and to fit in the most water possible.

 Once you have the jar full right up to the top, seal it, give it a little shake, put a label showing the time 12 hours from now.  (Start with 12 hours, if the coffee seems too weak to you once you strain it and taste it, leave the next batch to steep 14 hours and try that.)  Now, put it in the fridge, and LEAVE IT ALONE UNTIL THE TIME ON THE LABEL.  Oh, You can give it a little shake once or twice, but other than that, WAIT UNTIL THE STEEPING TIME IS UP!

Mark your coffee with the time 12 hours after the time you put it in the fridge.

Once the coffee has steeped the full 12 hours, it's time to filter it and put it in a storage pitcher in the fridge so it will be ready when you want some mellow coffee goodness.
I started by pouring the coffee through the filter in my Primula Cold Brew pot.  I use the Primula, but I really wanted to try the 12 hour method, as the Primula takes 24 hours.

My Primula Cold Brew Pot, that I used to filter my Mason Jar method coffee the first time.

After it went through the first filter, I then put a basket type coffee filter in a small strainer on top of my storage pitcher, and ran the coffee through that to pick up any lingering sediment. 

The second filter, to remove sediment.

 Now your coffee is all done, and ready to store, or to enjoy.

Cold Brew, all strained and ready to go in the fridge.

 You will need to dilute the coffee to serve it.  It is VERY concentrated.  I like to just pour it over lots of ice, or to dilute it with some Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, or even regular milk.  It's all up to you and your taste.

Diluted with a little unsweetened vanilla almond milk, the coffee is just divine.

There.  That's how I do it.  Now, I'm going to go enjoy some of my cold brew with the dark chocolate /nut shortbread cookies I just made...