o t h e r t i m e

Fathers Day is generally a day for me to relax, eat breakfast with my kids, enjoy some homemade gifts, and collect my shirt tax. That is to say, each year my wardrobe is enhanced with at least two shirts. I really dig the ones I got this year.

To add to the excitement this round, I got a hammock and a stand for it. It showed up a bit late (there’s a running joke now about how any gift purchased for me will be back ordered and miss the date) but in this case it is truly better late than never.

We set it up in a part of the yard where there is always shade. I climbed in. It was everything I had hoped. I think I will be enjoying many a book from that spot. Maybe even the occasional nap!

It’s a wonderful thing to be loved.

I don’t remember my first cup of coffee. It must have been at a scout event. That’s the only thing that makes sense. And I didn’t really get into it until college. Again, pretty much a trope there. But when I did, I was fortunate enough to have access to really great coffee shops.

When I moved away after college, I got to experience the coffee shops in NYC and even espresso in Italy. But it’s the little hometown coffee shops of Duluth, MN and Coralville, IA that I will always remember as having the best coffee. The kind made by exactly the kind of person who should be making coffee. That is to say, someone who cared about the final product.

When it comes to stuff at home, I stick to percolators or Italian stove top contraptions. I did use an Aeropress for years and it’s great stuff. But a percolator provides smooth flavor with low effort. And that? That’s my jam.

Having moved, it seems that the coffee I was accustomed to getting my hands on has changed. So I’ll give the Erie stuff pictured above a shot. I know there are two roasters in town and I will pay them a visit as soon as I have a little time. It’s good to have options.