. . . and tomorrow we spro!

Finished the first of three, eight-hour trainings sessions with BCR in San Jose today. I am SUCH a coffee geek! I love learning about the art and craft of coffee, and tomorrow is hands-on training, which I am so damn excited about!

I realized today that while I respect and need to understand coffee roasting and coffee tech (ie machines, grinders, their inner workings and mechanics), my real passion and interest is in the barista. I love the idea that I am the last hands the coffee touches on its long, complex, political journey to the cup. I want to convey my respect and adoration for all the work, care, attention and love that went into each bean to the customer receiving the awesome final product.

7 days, 11 hours, 35 minutes until the NWRBC!!

Christmas

Happy Christmas!

Last night's Christmas Eve service was at 11:00pm, which I was semi-cranky about. Okay, pretty darn cranky about. I crawled into bed at 6:00 or so and awoke three hours later, only to discover that one of my mother's two house rules had been broken:

1. No blood on the carpet.
2. No trips to emergency on weekends or holidays.

Thankfully, only the first rule was broken, and the breaking of said rule didn't result in the breaking of the second rule. My sis dropped her bowl of soup and cut her toe on the glass, without realizing it. All evening I kept helpfully pointing out, "You know, if the service was at 7:00 . . ." I think it was only helpful the first few times.

Woke at around 9:00 to a huge clap of thunder, to which my groggy mind asked "who's opening the garage door at this hour?" The dogs liked their stocking stuffers:

Opening stockings

Sir Winston Churchill III

Frida Kahlo and Winston

Jake

Miracle and Frida

Looking forward to an awesome Christmas dinner: Grass-fed beef roast, roasted root vegetables, fresh crunchy veg salad, Beckmann's pecan pie! Yum!

On the eve

So, Christmas Eve, huh? Christmas and Thanksgiving seem like they should be switched this year, because I find myself counting my blessings today. I get a lovely, lively little visitor this Christmas in the form of Frida, J's dog, while J stays at her dad's house and recovers from her accident. I didn't realize how much I missed her until she got here :)

I started and finished my first scarf yesterday, it's a gift for my friend S. I can see why my mom and sister like knitting so much. It takes thought, yes, and a certain nimbleness in the fingers, but it's also a great form of meditation. I find myself blocking everything else out and just seeing the next stitch. When you're finished, it's a physical representation of the time and love you put into it, even if it's just a scarf.





So this Christmas, as I look back on 2008, I'm thankful for my
family
dog(s)
old friends
new friends
old friends made new
job
(career?)
health
bank account
hair
and . . .

Portland-Tacoma in 12 days!!

Blogging?

Well, as a few friends have pointed out to me over the years, I tend to be pretty good at writing. After taking two years off from school, I've found myself doing less and less of it, but thinking about it more and more. Perhaps starting a blog and making it a daily ritual will help me find that creative place again. I yearn for something artistic and creative to fill the voids in my life.

And so it begins, a blog to chronicle the creative life of Sarah.