Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Storm Watch

There is a storm making its way down the coast of California from Canada (thanks guys!).  It is supposed to arrive Friday and bring with it the lowest temperatures on record - and lots of snow.  Today has been cold and overcast.  I think the front edge of the storm front is already nosing its way into the area.
There was no sunshine all morning.  I decided to roast coffee.  I have a feeling I will be sitting inside, watching the snow, and drinking a lot of coffee this coming weekend.  
I start with green beans.  I order them online and they cost about half of what you pay at the grocery store for roasted beans.  Plus, I can order varieties I like, try different beans, etc.  I like beans that are rich, smooth and almost chocolaty when roasted.  They tend to come from South America.  I'm not a big fan of bright acidic coffees.  It reminds of tea: do you like herbal or black?  Strong or weak? British or Asian?



This is my roaster.  I have to roast the beans outside because, towards the end, they smoke something fierce.













The clouds did break up a tad this afternoon with the sun peaking through for brief moments.  I figured if my blogger friends in Canada and England and Norway can ride in the snow, I can ride in 40 degree damp weather.  I told myself that all the way to the barn with my heavy jacket zipped up to my neck and my hands crammed deep in my pockets.  
Jackson was happy to come out and didn't even protest when I took off his blanket.  He wanted to go.  I took off my jacket.  Fair's fair.  If he is clipped and has to work without a blanket, I could work without my jacket.  I groomed him as fast as I could which wasn't all that fast because he's shedding like crazy.  I ended up with white Jackson hair stuck to the chapstick on my lips, stuck to my fleecy sweater and stuck to my fleece lined breeches.  We only worked for 20 minutes and we pretty much skipped the walk work.  Brrrrrrrr.  We were ready to move!  Two laps at walk, he was loose, off we went.  I was amazed at how well he picked up from where we had left off on our last ride in the arena - which was over a week ago.  I especially noticed how well he was using his back.  I think the chiropractor and massage and rest between rides - and then riding in a saddle that fits - made a big difference.  He wasn't cinchy, he wasn't sore, he was just happy.  When we finished, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck.  I scratched and hugged and praised and sent Jackson all my feelings of love and happiness and pride in his work.  

Date night tonight -- dinner and yoga after chores. 

9 comments:

  1. Mmmmmm...I bet your house smells divine!! We're getting the same weather warnings here. Eek!

    LOVE your elevator pitch, btw. I plan to change mine, as well. *smile*

    ReplyDelete
  2. No sunscreen, bug spray or chapstick until after grooming! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ohhhh, I'm a sucker for really good coffee. Devine:)

    Sweet Jackson. Those rides are the best:) Hope you had a great date night!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hope the storm passes you by. Good for you and Jackson! Hope you had a great dinner (and Yoga).

    ReplyDelete
  5. I didn't know such a thing existed--a home roaster!!! I'm going to be all over that because we LOVE a fresh roasted, strong, dark coffee. I just told my husband about it and he said, Let's get one! Sorry we jinxed you on the cold weather.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great ride! Good for you guys. It must be great to have the new saddle too.
    Ha ha re the cold and storm - I want to share the pain :) To be fair though, it seems you guys are getting a lot of storms :(
    That coffee roaster is immediately on my must have list. I didn't know you could order green beans and roast them. I'm totally with you re flavor preference too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Coffee?......Black, and strong, with one sugar please!....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, I must lead a sheltered life... I've never seen a coffee bean roaster. Super cool!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mmmm...those roasted beans look so good!!

    I had to laugh when you said you had Jackson's white hair everywhere--same here with my Paula. For some reason that white hair seems to stick to everything even more than the sorrel hair does--or it just seems that way :)

    Glad you had a great ride!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for commenting!