Coffee and Contemplation – Week of August 24-30, 2020
So I do this thing in the morning. I call it Coffee & Contemplation. Its my favorite morning routine, in that if I actually accomplish it, will net me an awesome and productive day.
Some mornings it just doesn’t happen. I try for at least 3 times a week.
My alarm goes off at 6:30. That’s also when the coffee maker is scheduled to start. I usually hit snooze which gives me about 10 minutes more sleep while my magic potion is brewing. When I do finally roll out of bed, (sometimes in 10 minutes, sometimes in 20) I pour a cup, grab my journal and step out on the deck.
First I take a sip of the steaming hot cup of happiness and start writing. Then I diligently put pen to paper before I can utter coherent words; before I can even think in sentences.
My Inspiration
I’ve been doing this since I started working with Hekate in June of 2019. I have to credit her with the results.
The ideas that come out in that journal are amazing. By the time I finish that first cup, I’ve got some brilliant ideas. It’s my time to solve problems, find solutions and stumble upon epiphanies.
Sometimes I find solutions for problems I didn’t even know I had. Other times, I have creative ideas that will make my life easier, better, more manageable.
My favorite, because I respect irony, is when I write down suggestions that I would never consciously think of or would reject if someone suggested it to me. Yet in the mist of the morning dew, I’m struck by the utter genius of these ideas and have no option but to follow through.
This post is the product of one of those morning musings.
It’s been about a year since I was gifted with the idea of this blog and 9 months since I started it.
This past week I was told to start writing about the Village. Nothing fancy or detailed just a quick recap of whats going on because its important.
Now, the Me that’s fully alert and conscious will debate that. Our life is kind of boring and totally not unlike anyone else’s life in the Age of Corona. It can’t be that important to write about. Yet, who am I to argue with the Great Goddess, Mother of All. If She says I should do it, then I will.
So here’s my recap of this week’s happenings in the Village.
School Time!
The Padawan and Dark& Twisty started school a few weeks ago. We’ve been doing state sponsored online learning for 5 years so there was nothing new or exciting happening. I don’t stress over ‘homeschooling’ any more.
Dark&Twisty was a little upset because her first class is at 7:30 in the morning. That’s 8:30 Eastern Time but we live in the a part of the state that’s in Central Time. I pointed out that when I was in 8th grade, I left my house at 7:15 to walk 2 miles to school even in snow and freezing rain…
“Yes!” she rolled her eyes, “I know, trudging up hill both ways carrying polio medicine for the dying orphans…”
She’s such a brat sometimes.
The padawan was happy to be back and a little alarmed at the extra work. 3rd grade is more labor intensive than 2nd grade. He is excited that we’ll be reading the Percy Jackson books this year (instead of the baby books from the school’s digital library)
A week before school started, The Renaissance Man and I were watch the Percy Jackson movies and disparaging about how it could’ve been done so much better.
We agreed that a streaming channel should take it on and do a series; each chapter an episode and each book a season. This peaked the Padawan’s interest because he thought the movie was pretty good. We insisted the books were better.
Percy Jackson is a little above his reading level but we take turns. I read one page, he reads the next. And we only do one chapter a day. Its his favorite part of the school day.
Parents have to be tricky, sometimes…
This ploy was not by accident, by the way. This is exactly how we got the Princess to read the Harry Potter stories. She had been refusing to read because of her dyslexia but she wanted to be part of our dinner conversations. It’s also how we got Peter Pan and the Brain to read the Eragon books.
It didn’t work on Lucky or Dark&Twisty, they both prefer audio books so they can do other things while they listen. However, both of them dabbled with writing their own stories so we count it as a win.
College Students, too!
Speaking of the Brain. He started his first year of college this past Monday. The Carpenters Union wasn’t taking new apprentices this summer because of Covid-19 so his mom suggested he take his Gen Ed’s at the local college. It’s better than doing nothing and he likes school.
Then the local college closed campus for the first semester, offering only virtual classes. So his mom asked me if he could come to my house on school days. She was afraid that he would sleep through his classes and not take it seriously if he was home alone all day.
Of course I said yes. As Far as I’m concerned, he’s my kid, too, and our house is his house. So now I have 3 laptops on my kitchen table.
His first day was full of service disruptions, schedule adjustments and miscommunications. Par for the course. He was stuck in a remedial math class when he graduated high school doing calculus. He spent an hour trying to find out how to test out of it and join in a more appropriate class.
In his words,
“If I have to pay for it, I want to actually learn something. It’s a waste of money to take a class I already know.”
He’s such a Capricorn.
On his second full day of classes, Peter Pan decided to join us. He had some homework and his own virtual class that day.
The first hour was a riot. All of them play off each other and the jokes kept flowing. No learning was done but lots of bonding and that’s just as important. I had a table full of class clowns. What did I do to deserve this?!?
The Renaissance Man had to leave. He knew as long as he kept laughing at them they would keep joking. So I gave him a grocery list and informed him that I was going to need him to make me a bigger kitchen table and if could have it done by October that would be great!
Peter Pan is in his last year at Flashpoint. He’s been doing virtual school since Chicago closed down in March and they don’t expect to open live classes anytime soon. He lives with his dad but when he heard that the Brain was hanging out here he thought it be fun to join us.
He was not wrong.
End of Summer chores
After a week of Fake Fall at the beginning of August, we had a return of Hell temperatures. The Renaissance Man and I are very… Northern European. We can’t handle that kind of heat. We melt.
It hasn’t bothered me as much. With the kids in school until 1 o’clock, I spend the rest of the afternoon getting myself back into a work routine. I wander out to harvest in 15 minute intervals.
The Renaissance Man however is longing for cooler weather. He likes to spend his days off in his workshop (the garage) which is NOT air conditioned. By noon, he’s drenched in sweat and exhausted.
Next week is supposed to bring cooler temperatures. I’m expecting an early fall, to be honest. My plants are dying back earlier than usual. My pole beans, that produced well into September last year, are all but gone. The indeterminate tomatoes are turning yellow early and my herbs are going to seed pretty quick.
Harvest Time!
I’ve been focusing on the seasonal harvest and stock up in my spare time. Every day I’m preserving something; drying, freezing and canning. Green beans, okra and kale are being frozen in small batches.
I cleaned out the chest freezer to defrost it. I found pumpkin puree and apples pieces from last fall, berries from last summer and ziplock bags of fat from throughout the year.
So naturally I canned apple-pumpkin butter and jelly, as well as tomato sauce from the abundance of cherry tomatoes in the garden.
He has chores, too!
I told the Renaissance Man he needed to plan on making sausage in the next week.
A while back he decided he wanted to learn how. The Princess bought him the extra gadget for the Kitchen Aid and he had fun trying different recipes and ratios of meat to fat.
One batch was kind of dry and he determined it needed more fat… so I should save the fat when I trim the different meats I cook. (his request) Dutifully, I’ve done that. Now I have bags of it taking up precious space in my freezers.
“You need to plan on making sausage, so I can get rid of this stuff.” I told him.
He groaned a little, “That’s so involved. It’ll take a whole day.”
“Well either you do it or I’ll do it.”
His eyebrows shot up in a questioning look. He knew my statement was a threat and was trying to determine if it was a serious one.
“Or…” I continued, “Maybe I’ll just render it down and make soap.” I backtracked. With that one look he was calling my bluff. I don’t like sausage, I won’t really make it. He knows that.
He shook his head, “Or Bombs” he joked.
“Whatever.” I shrugged, “I might need them.”
He’s got a Sunday off in a few weeks. I’ll give him until then to get mentally prepared for sausage making. If he bails on me, I’m buying lye.
If you’re curious about who these people are, check out this post where I introduce my family: