Good morning!!!!

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I started roasting my own coffee back in June after visiting some roasters in Washington and Oregon, and caught the bug. I did a great deal of research on roasting and roasters, and bought a small drum roaster that runs on 120V. I started ordering green beans from a couple of importers. It's not hard, and it is amazing the variety of flavors depending on the beans and the roast profile that you apply. I roast a half pound at a time.

When the weather is nice, I roast on the porch, but in the winter have been roasting on top of the stove under the exhaust fan. The aroma is wonderful, like baking cookies, but better. It is hard to be objective when one is the roaster, but I must say that I've never had better coffee then my own fresh roast...and my wife agrees .

There is an old boulevard in Houston, just southeast of downtown. I can't remember if it is Harrisburg or Navigation (probably Harrisburg), that has a HUGE coffee roasting plant. I want to say it used to be Folgers. Maybe Don can chime in with better memories. The thing about it was, you almost had to hold your nose driving past the place. I sure would not have wanted to live downwind of that place.

Houston has/had 3 or 4 major industries that stunk to high heavens. Coffee, paper/pulp (near Galena Park), and numerous petro/chemical refineries (Pasadena/LaPorte). I almost died one night driving my motorcycle down Fairmont Parkway towards LaPorte. Horrendous VOC's let out by some plant nearly stopped my breathing ability in 1980...

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good morning,

34 cloudy may get to 45 later. Weather looks about the same for the whole week.

Did you guys out east get hit by the snow???

I think Katie and clan will be stopping by today on their way home from the water park they staid at yesterday and last night. Today is Katherine's 28th birthday. Where does the time go?

Eric, The fuel is in a jar in the shed Beer fridge!!!! :drink:

Labhaven, nice tiller!! :thumbsup:

Kev, don't let Eric fool you. He is quite the edge tester. He once let his new fancy grease gun take a nap on somebody's fancy pillow....

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good Morning! 33F @ 10:00 AM. Cloudy. High 44F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.

Buppies, any idea what the weather will be like along the I80 corridor during the week of March 28? Be nice to take that northerly route, but snow in the Rockies and the Sierra would push me farther south to I40...

Eric, the TIG machine I have can run stick welds, too, but since I purchased a Lincoln MIG welder, it never gets used that way. It's just so much easier to grab the gun and pull the trigger, and it makes even a half blind hack like me look like a pro.:confused2:

I put a pot of spaghetti and meatballs on to simmer this morning, the idea being to take some over to the old man for dinner. I think I remember seeing a picnic basket in the basement, and that'll help me smuggle in a bottle of red to go with it. Oh, I better take a dish towel so he doesn't ruin his shirt. Should probably take one for me, too! :laughing:.

Found a set of plans for this house, and apparently the assessor's office thinks the place is 800 sq. ft. smaller than it really is. I'll take a closer look today and figure out the actual difference, then talk to the real estate agent to see what she'll do with the new info. Just like Forrest Gump around here, a surprise in every bite!

I'm sure there'll be more as I go through closets of clothes today checking pockets and dark shelves of stuff.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend everyone!

RNG, don't forget to check the attic too. You never know what you might find that was forgotten up there. Hope you get everything sorted out and the house sells easily. Safe travels.

Drew, I agree with Eric's idea. If the weather's nice, stop and smell the roses. Some friends told me about a wonderful RV park outside of DC that offers van rides to DC's attractions. You may already have, but I bet I could spend a week at the Smithsonian.

 

[txdon]

Don, that coyote ignored your rock fence line....
I have heard tales of coyotes sending 1 of them in to lure out the lone security dog and then pack attack when they get away from their protective dwelling.
hope your PVC's are back down to none.

Yes, I have witness that exact senerio a few years ago when Whipper was tricked and ganged and ran toward me with 6 coyotes in hot pursuit.
PVCs have gone.

We bought a K-cup machine a couple of years ago, so now I can have one cup and not feel obligated to finish a pot of coffee.

We bought one a year ago also. We use the one pod to make 3 cups of coffee, each cup is weaker of course. I had a 3rd brewing cup this morning and no PVC's so I'm thinking there is a threshold of caffeine I can have before short circuiting. As Ryswan says they are common, however they are not to be considered normal - just benign. Any change of heart condition should be check out by a good Doc (12 lead EKG) to determine that they are PVCs instead of PACs which are dangerous.

Started out at 37˚ this morning 70˚ and sunny now.

 

[txdon]

There is an old boulevard in Houston, just southeast of downtown. I can't remember if it is Harrisburg or Navigation (probably Harrisburg), that has a HUGE coffee roasting plant. I want to say it used to be Folgers. Maybe Don can chime in with better memories. The thing about it was, you almost had to hold your nose driving past the place. I sure would not have wanted to live downwind of that place.

Yep, that was the Folgers plant and on certain mornings with the wind out of the north we could smell it. We also lived across the street from Nabisco on Almeda - the cookies cooking were a delight.

Here it is in a picture in a poster being sold on e-bay UK.
1938 Texas Folgers Coffee Plant Drawing Houston Pipe Line Co Vintage Print Ad | eBay

 

[txdon]

Drew, when I lost my 75 pounds, I never thought of it as a diet. It was a lifestyle change, and it needs to last a lifetime. Increase the good stuff, decrease the bad stuff. And eat lots of green beans

You are absolutely right there Larro. In fact eating 2 lbs of greens a day before meals will guarantee healthy weight loss.
It does not have to be just lettuce, as you mentioned green beans also. Brussel sprouts, roasted (coated with mustard and balsamic vinegar), Asparagus, Brocoli, etc. etc. . . .

 

[Larro Darro]

You are absolutely right there Larro. In fact eating 2 lbs of greens a day before meals will guarantee healthy weight loss.
It does not have to be just lettuce, as you mentioned green beans also. Brussel sprouts, roasted (coated with mustard and balsamic vinegar), Asparagus, Brocoli, etc. etc. . . .

What worked for me was green beans, mixed veggies and stir-fry at the beginning of meals. You can eat a plateful and there is very few calories there. It really helped with me that I love all that stuff.

 

[toppop52]

Rain, snow and sleet here on the Eastern Shore, over in Front Royal, there was left over dusting of snow. Hit rain and snow east of the Bay.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Snow mixed with rain yesterday, nothing stuck. Saw some stuck up on the catoctin mts, but it melted today.
Drew, watch the wind if taking the fsk bridge. I remember when you started the rv trip you drove near me, down rt 15 from Gettysburg. If you go down I95 you will pass near where I work.

I love green beans, especially cooked with bacon grease.

 

[txdon]

I love green beans, especially cooked with bacon grease.

Yep that's the only way they are served here also. I stopped by my old cardiac re-hab the other day, just to say hi, they are filled with a waiting line. (And they doubled in size since I was there 5 years ago) I'm buying stock . . .

 

[RoyJackson]

2015-03-21, 0257

32 right now...high of 43 today.

 

[Buppies]

34 this morning high of 48 later but breezy wind 15 to 20mph with gusts to 35 today

Rain has stopped but we are nice and wet now

 

[Ed of all trades]

Good morning
Buppies, I used to live 3 mi east of Dixie but likely not the one you are talking about. I met my first wife in Dixie Va. Not much there back then, even less now.
34 here this morning going up to 48. Supposed to be sunny for a few days. Hope you all have a great day. Ed

 

[Buppies]

Dixie Va now that's one I don't know not to far from Gloucester I see by searching for it. Lots of places I don't know

 

[Thomas]

37

Thomas that's too cold for late March

Little more than brisk,enough so put on heavy jacket and gloves.
notice little warm towards end of week maybe that's the turning point.

 

[Thomas]

29F light snow falling maybe trace to inch when all said and done,low 40's w/sun afternoon...storm just barely scootin by us.

Enjoy the day all.

 

[Buppies]

Had to go outside ice on deck and stiff breeze wind chimes singing this morning

 

[wngsprd]

35 going to 55. Sky is clear to the north, and heavy clouds to the south.

Heading to my mom's in Virginia Beach after a quick morning hike with Coconino.

 

[Buppies]

Does Coco like to get in the water when it's frozen literally breaking the ice to get in like ours did?

 

[Eric Salop]

Good morning. Nice to see many of you up bright and early today, or is it just me that's running late again. Weather-wise, we have a repeat of the last few days. Lambs are full of energy, bouncing around the fields.

Yesterday a couple got separated from their mothers, on the wrong side of a fence and couldn't find their way up to the open gate further up the hill. I ignored their bleating for a while, then so did their mums, who wandered far off, so thought I better intervene. I tried walking them up a few times but they ran back before getting anywhere near the gate. Most small lambs can be easily caught in a corner, or along the fence line by running a temporary piece of wire netting at a shallow angle to the fence and running them in. Not this pair, they were smart and ran wide of any obstacle in their path. Unrolled a much longer length of netting to funnel them up through the gateway. Nope, couldn't get them anywhere near it. Stop for a while, let them calm down, then see if they will quietly walk up and through the gate. No chance. I could see it was just going to be one of those days.

If the ewes had been good mothers I would have left things longer, but these hadn't wanted much to do with their lambs in the first place, so I needed to come up with some more options. Finding the ewes and enticing them back with corn would have been sensible, but would have been admitting defeat and by this point I was getting as stubborn as the lambs. I tried reasoning with the pair, explaining how they could be abandoned if they didn't cooperate - they plainly didn't believe me. Next I tried threats - no good either, they gave me a look that said they knew I was bluffing and that the gun cabinet would stay shut. Finally I called out my wife to help. I never asked if she also enjoyed making 6 or more trips up and down the field, but finally we got them.

Most of the rest of the day went the same way, everything taking much longer than it should. By dusk I was finishing off a length of new fencing that I had expected to be done by mid afternoon. No time left to play with the new welding machine.

I should be used to things not going to plan by now. Never mind, there is always another day. I suppose there will only ever be one day of my life when I won't be able to say that, so a bit of patience and a smile at the things that go wrong let me enjoy most of the others.