How To Make Coffee Series: The Pour Over

Coffee is the fuel that runs on. Back in my younger years I would go for about anything Maxwell House, flavored creamers, and a coffee maker. Since moving to Seattle I have been schooled. It's different here. Baristas size you up based on your order. It's the equivalent of dogs sniffing and barking at one another. My most recent test went something like this:
"Which roast?""Which is the freshest?" Round one passed.
"Do you need it ground?""Nope. I grind my own." Round two. Check.
"How do you make it?""French press if I'm in a hurry, but usually pour over." She smiles. I've passed the test. The pour over won her over. I was not ordinary coffee drinker. I was a connoisseur.  
So what is this pour over friends; it's a blessing that's what it is. If you don't like how bitter coffee can taste than a pour over is what you want. It cuts down the bitter taste.
Start by getting fresh roasted beans. The fresher the better because it changes the taste of the coffee. If you try a coffee right after it was roasted and than try it a week later you wouldn't believe the difference in the flavor!
Get a kettle of water boiling on the stove. You are going to keep it at a boil through out the process. Keep in mind that if the water is below 92 C that not all the flavors will get out of the beans and if it gets to hot (over 97C) it gets bitter.
As the water gets to a boil start grinding the coffee. If you want to get all coffee geek about the reason that you wait to grind is because the quality of ground coffee diminishes fast. 

Put the grounds in a filter.
Now when it comes to the pour there are two schools of thought on this. 

The first approach I call the shock and awe method. It believes that you should pour the water to the top of the filter. Once the water has seeped through stir the slurry (the wet grounds that are stuck everywhere) and add in more water.

The second approach I call the Zen approach. It believes that there should be no volatility what so ever (no stirring of the beans) because it will make them bitter. Slowly pour the water to the top of grounds.
Once you have enough coffee made enjoy.
Do you have a particular that you like your coffee?

Bringing Back The Karma

It's been a minute since I posted an update on my 366 Random Acts of Kindness. Mostly because I lost the book that I was tracking what I did in the move. Ooops. My bad. Luckily I found it in a random box. Now if I could only find my Chase card and bus pass...

Listened.

You just know when someone needs to talk. It doesn't matter to who, but they need to get their story out. At the bus stop someone needed a shoulder. She was going to see her possible soon to be fiance who was about to graduate from boot camp. I listened to her story while waiting for the bus. It seemed to sooth her. 

Let someone cut me in line at Costco. 

Helped new comers at Chenerzi.

It can be overwhelming the first time. It's always nice when someone is there to translate what is being said and walk you through what is happening.

K

Left encouraging message for jogger. 

Every Sunday a woman runs past me while I'm waiting for the bus. By the time she runs past me she is obviously pushing herself to the limit. I left her a little bit of motivation by leaving her a message in chalk. "You can do it. Keep going!"

Donated 200 items to Goodwill

Let every car go first at a crazy intersection.

Bought coffee for movers. 

Moving can be a tiring business. Sometimes a bit of kindness can be a great motivator.

Shopped for education. 

A local thrift shop helps support a local school. The money they make goes to tuition for the students who can't afford it. 

Made a sad employee laugh. 

When I called the electric company the woman who answered the phone sounded like she was ready to scream. Within minutes I had her roaring with laughter. It was nice to be able to turn around someone's day. 

Recycled old books that were in bad condition. 

The planet needs some love too.

1/3 of the way through my goal and I've already seem the good coming back at me in the most incredible ways. Even though I'm more motivated than ever it's hard to keep coming up with new ideas for acts of kindness. Please do an act of kindness for me and send me your ideas!!!

Where Did These Owls Get In?

Sleepy Owl

When I planted my deck garden I never thought that I would wake up and find owls sleeping in my flowers.

Tiny Owl

Not only are these guys cute, but they are eco friendly. My sister-in-law has termed it land fill prevention because the materials are from items that would have ended up in the trash. The burlap comes from coffee bean sacks that came from a local coffee roaster. The sheets, well they came from the Edgewood Hotel. Talk about oh la la. This place was built for the World's Fair and became a place where you could sit in your room and fish out the window. There is a great photo of the Beatles fishing there. Now it is an upscale place. 

Little Owl

Two of the owls have hand drawn hanna patterns incorporated into their designs. 

Tiny Owl

This is a big departure from the bags I make, but I must say that these owls have put a smile on my face seeing the amount of joy they have brought my daughter. She has hugged and kissed each of these little guys. They are defiantly kid friendly. 

 

Morning Mediation On Time

 In college my mantra was "time the destroyer." Relationships, essays, time, prized processions, happiness, pain it's all destroyed over time. Time is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. Each day, hour, minute, and second it takes away something from each of us. Trying to get it back is a fruitless chore. The only thing that we have is what is in the moment. The things that happened in the past are gone. The will never come back. We can never go back. The only thing that we can do is make the choice to go forward and make this moment the most important one.
As you go through today remember the past is something that can't come back. Today you will make the choice to shake off the past and live for today.

Happiness #289 : Mexican Pastries

During my time in Los Angeles I was walking down a street in Highland Park when I smelt what I could only define as heaven. As I floated towards that smell I found a small, nondescript bakery full of fresh bread, cookies, and Mexican pastries. It was Utopia. A Shangri-La of goodness. An Eden of perfect pastries.  It also couldn't pass an inspection by the Health Board if it wanted to, but that didn't matter. No. It was me and my sweet bread. I had become an addict.

Oh, my lovely Mexican sweetbread.

They are all delicious. Ridiculously delicious. Let's do a dance for them because they are so deliciously delicious.

Have you ever been to a bakery that made you so happy?

Bringing Old Posts Back From The Dead

 

Every blogger has a post that they love, but after a week or a month or a year it gets hidden in a pile of posts that may never surface to see the light of day again. So how to prevent that and help your readers find more content on your blog that they might like you may ask. It's simple. All you need is a simple code that will show 3-5 related stories at the bottom of each post.

Step 1

Go to this site and input your information and it will generate a code that you will need to create the thumbnails and links. 
{Tip}As a design tip for your blog the number of stories you use looks the best if it is the same as the width of your posts. If you look at the bottom of my post I have 5 stories and it is the same size as my post. 

 

Step 2

Go to the layout section. Click on the add gadget button (you can click on any.)

Step 3

Click on the add widget and install the linkwithin tool. It will automatically add your code for you.

You can drag the the gadget over and drop it at the bottom of the Blog Post.
That's it. Ta-da!
What's your favorite blog tool?

Flower Photography Tips

 

Dare I say it? I'm thinking that this is going to be a hot summer. The temperature has already broken 70 here in the Pacific Northwest and the possibilities what this may bring makes giggle with excitement. With the weather this great I've been itching to get out and photo everything that is blooming in my neighborhood.

There is something about photographing flowers that brings some peace to my heart and I thought that I would share with you some on my tips on how to capture great flower shots that anyone can use. You don't need a fancy camera and there will be no talk of ISO and F stops. Just plain old tips on how to get the best photos you can with out needing to consult a photo dictionary or spend $900 on a camera.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 Sunlight is your enemy. It seems logical that if it is sunny than it is the perfect time to break out the camera. Direct sunlight can cause harsh shadows which should be avoided. Try getting out during the golden hours or on bright, overcast days. Clouds are a perfect way to defuse the sunlight naturally.

Get close. Some of my favorite flower photos show very little of the flower. Get up close on the petals or leaf giving a more intimate and abstract shot of the flower 

Timing is everything. Have you heard of the golden hour? It is in the first few hours after sunrise and the last few hours before the sun starts to sets. It casts a soft golden light on the plants and seems to enhance and bring out colors in the flowers that were not there before.

  

Look for patterns. Patterns occur everywhere in nature. Get close and look at the veins on the leaves or back up and see how a vine can led your eye through a photo. 

Take a look from a different point of view. Instead of shooting straight on take a look from another angle. Maybe shoot looking up or potion you camera so that you are shooting into your light source, back lighting your photo so that the sun seems to shine through the petals.

Get dewy. Have you seen the photos of the rain drops on the petals of flowers. If you aren't lucky enough to live in the land of eternal rain (aka Seattle) like I do I've got a photographers tip for you. Fill an eyedropper with water and drip it on the plant creating your own rain.

What are your tips on getting the best flower photos?