coffee misadventures and tomfoolery

Hooray!

The last parts in my coffee machine conversion arrived today (parts to turn my pod-loving coffee machine into a fully fledged coffee ground brewer)! My lovely wife went and picked them up from the city (thanks hon!) and I was able to attempt to make a real coffee this evening.

Result: better but disappointing simultaneously.

Better? Well, the coffee was stronger and more intense than before, that's for sure! There is an intensity to well-brewed coffee that I haven't ever experienced from instant/drip/steamed/pressed coffee.

Disappointing? Not much crema, sour aftertaste.

Lessons learnt:

1. when a real tamper cannot be found (where did I put it?! besides, the missing tamper is the wrong size) improvizing with a nesquik lid and a spoon is a poor substitute

2. overfilling the basket with coffee makes it hard to put the basket in the machine

3. old coffee grounds that have been sitting around for months are a Bad Idea (tm)

4. don't forget to heat up the basket and the machine

5. enthusiasm does not make up for preparation and technique

hehehe

Well, now that THAT is over with... time to buy some fresh grounds and make some real coffee. Or time to make some more mistakes!

C'est la vie! Carpe coffee!

things that brighten up your day

that just aint right, originally uploaded by ntt.

I've been sick lately (just a cold but have had to take some days off work) and have found a few things that have kept my mood up:

* Ryan and Diana (thanks to God!)

* cat shenanigans (as per picture)

* coffee.

All I can say is thank God for the first two, cause I just ran out of coffee! Eek!

My boy is so smart!

I gave little 8 month old Ryan a pop quiz today, and he did brilliantly! Here is an excerpt:

Me: 'Ryan, what is the 5th letter of the alphabet?'

Ryan: 'eeeeeee!'

Me: 'Yay! So what letter comes after D?'

Ryan: 'eeeeee!'

Me: 'Correct! And what letter comes before F?'

Ryan: 'Dad! eeeee!'

Me: *beaming with pride*


(filed under 'my child has a limited vocabulary')

Crazy morning

For some reason, little Ryan decided to wake up at 4am crying his head off.
*puzzled look*
While I couldn't muster the energy to get out of bed, Diana went to soothe him. After a while, he was still crying, so I went to comfort him as well. Eventually, around 5am we had him calm, collected, and were able to leave him to his own devices. Thank God!
Of course, last time I peeked (7am) he was sideways at the foot of the cot with one foot sticking out from between the bars. haha. Cute.
Gotta go wake everyone up now!

Precious Fatherhood Moment #9991213123

When your 7.5 month old son screams instead of sleeping because he wants you to supervise/assist him in getting out a poo before he goes to sleep.