coffee

Camp, Coffee and Child-Free Life

…not that we have a child-free life – we just have occasional glimpses of it!
Tonight, my littlest bean went off to his first camp.

He was fizzing with excitement, and I was happy to see him go off with his friends, hopefully to a weekend where he learns all sorts of new skills and gets to know his friends better. I still think of him as my Little Bean, but he’s nearly as tall as me!
Biggest Boy has his birthday party tomorrow – he’s a young man now. I haven’t thought of him as a little boy for a long time now…
The upshot of all this is that we can go off and have a coffee now and then (if we can afford it!), either when they’re both out, or briefly during the week when they’re at home. We couldn’t manage it tonight, but here’s some photos from our coffee date last week 🙂

Published in:

Thinking....

on March 20, 2015 at 8:02 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: coffee

Chilling In The Rain

Ever had one of those days? I’ve not been overly impressed with the world today… no particular reason, just… stuff.
School was over for the day, books were marked.. what to do? As it was raining, going for a swim seemed to be the best option! 😀 I had the pool all to myself, it was nice and chilly, got to do some gentle stretching exercises before going back to the house for a lovely hot shower, lavender hair wash, and liberal application of a relaxing scent. My toes can’t make up their mind as to whether they’re hot or cold, though.

In other news, here’s a picture of COFFEE!! (Yum!)

We went to Coffee Cottage the other day. We’ve gone past many times when it’s been closed, so we thought we’d try it when it’s open. Big improvement.
I had an affogato, because coffee and icecream is a good combination. The tart is chocolate and peanut paste – another great combination.

I had planned to do some “improving reading” tonight. I might snuggle into bed with an Agatha Raisin mystery instead 😉
Good night!

Published in:

Thinking....

on March 26, 2014 at 6:10 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: coffee, Coffee Cottage, swimming

Coconut Coffee Surprise

I’ve been reading about the health benefits of coconut oil.. it’s good for all sorts of things, but I find it hard to eat it straight. I’ve been putting it in cooked rice, with tuna and seeds… and finely chopped ginger, if I’m feeling adventurous..

The other day I came across a recipe for using it in coffee, instead of milk. Sounds a bit strange, right?
Here it is –

1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or 2, or 3…)
1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
Cup of coffee

Put it all in a blender.
Blend.

Simple! 🙂

Here it is in the blender… surprisingly normal-looking.

This was my first try. I’m not sure whether it was because I didn’t blend it for long enough, or because I didn’t have any unsalted butter, but it was a bit oilier than I’d like… those spots are little globs of oil.

Second try – bubbles rather than oil splodges 😀
It’s not as coconutty as you’d think… still a slight tinge of oiliness. I had butter this time.. it seems to make it a bit smoother..

Delicious!

Published in:

Health

on August 2, 2013 at 11:49 pm Comments (2)
Tags: coconut oil, coffee

Friday Night Coffee

The boys were back at their Youth/Kids evenings tonight, so we had a coffee at Urban Pantry and enjoyed the start of the crisper weather… I love the cooler nights, when you just can’t decide whether to put a jacket on, or not 😀

There were herbs and heritage plants to hide the traffic..

.. and live music to listen to..

Yes, I know that’s a very fuzzy photo..
This is Rebecca O’Donnell – check out her music (downloadable from her site) here..

We had a longer time to savour our coffee/tea.. biggest boy walked to his group meeting. It was a lovely end to our evening, and we got to catch up with friends, as well as chatting to various people..

A friendship circle (you put a candle in the middle..) and the remains of the coffee/tea.. feeling the community vibe at the Top of Town 😀

Published in:

Simple life...

on April 19, 2013 at 11:13 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: coffee, live music, Rebecca O'Donnell, Urban Pantry

Coffee On The Street..

Lately, we’ve had just enough time between dropping off and picking up boys on Friday evening to have a cup of tea/coffee at Urban Pantry in town..

Tonight the oldest’s evening thing was earlier than normal, which meant we dropped them off one after the other, and had an hour before the first pick up. We started off by going to D’Arcy Doyle Place, where there was a “Prayer for the city” event, but we could only stay a half hour before we went back for coffee. We’ve been catching up with some people we met one Friday evening, and who have been there each Friday since… unfortunately they didn’t get there tonight 😦 but we enjoyed our evening, and saw some other people we knew..

There was a jazz type band playing while we sat outside the cafe (out of tune, says hubby… and, well, yes… but it didn’t matter..) I used to go to a cafe years ago after I finished work. There was always music playing somewhere or other. I miss doing that. There’s something about a dark sky, live music, and a good coffee…

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on March 22, 2013 at 9:34 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: coffee, live music, Urban Pantry

Today, I went to a cafe and sat down with a cup of coffee. Not so amazing, I know, but it’s the first time in a long while that I’ve been able to get away on my own and while away the time with a cuppa and a daydream…
I like to sit and cogitate… maybe pray, maybe work through a thought or two. Coffee helps in a lot of ways.. it’s one of my favourite pasttimes 😀

Today, I sat facing a window. After a while, I noticed that there were people closing the gates that block off the train tracks outside… soon a steam train came through. I haven’t seen that section of track used very often, and it was a lovely addition to my day! Aren’t steam trains pretty? They look older… maybe more graceful? Slightly more decorative – and, of course, there’s the steam…
I sat, with my coffee, and a delighted smile. I felt almost like a kid again..

Enjoy your next cup of coffee.
Sometimes it’s just coffee…