LaurenandLloyd.com

where our wasted time becomes your wasted time

beverage

I forgot the socks.

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I had some very nice moments* on my birthday – the highlight was a hilarious pair of socks that Kate got me….. that I left at school.  They said “Reduce, Reuse, Regift”.  PERFECT for me!  I’m so sorry I forgot them.

So, you have to look at a thermos again.  I’m in the habit of making a thermos of tea to take to work.  It’s become my habit in the morning to drink several cups of warm beverages to try and make my voice sound normal again, and if they’re all cups of coffee I shake so hard my hands are blurry.  So I have some loose tea that I normally brew up in a French press. (Tea has less caffeine than coffee, right?) Today I figured out that I could use that tea ball that’s been sitting unused in a drawer for years and just stick it in the neck of the thermos to brew. Woo-hoo!  I don’t have to occasionally rinse out wash out that press every morning!

Pretty little winter thermos. You’re my favorite.

* Some less-than-nice moments occured, too.  One of them was forgetting my thermos of tea at home.  *sigh*

I am such a sheep.

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All ’round the foodie sites they’ve been raving about cold-brewed coffee concentrate.  It’s supposed to have better flavor – not as acidic, more ‘chocolate notes’, and other things that my terrible palate can’t identify.  It does, however, have gadgety-ness attached to it, and I’m all for that!

You can buy a special giant filter for it, but that’s foolish, in my opinion.  No, it turns out that I can use my thrift-store Bodum french press.  ($3.00, thank you very much.)  You put about a cup of coffee grounds in, pour on some water, stir it so everything gets wet, then leave it for 12 hours or so.  Smash down the grounds, pour the strong liquid into a jug/bottle and keep it in the fridge.  I have no idea what the right proportions are for this, since I really don’t make good coffee under normal circumstances, but I fill a mug 1/3 of the way with the concentrate and the rest with hot water and it’s good enough for me.

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It’s also supposed to have less caffeine than regular-brewed coffee, but then again it’s also supposed to cure warts.  Believe what you will.

Move over, Starbucks.

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I felt productive tonight. Dinner, laundry (seems like I’m always doing laundry), cleaned the upstairs, took out the trash, unwrapped the sheet from the truck (which was much harder than taking the one off the car), made cookie dough (thanks to Peggy’s influence), and also some hot chocolate. Lloyd didn’t have school today, and he isn’t quite recovered from his cold, so I made real hot chocolate – milk, a handful of chocolate chips, a splash of vanilla and a bigger splash of coffee just for kicks.

mmmmmm.....chocolate calcium...

I grated the chocolate with a cool little microplane from my sister. It’s wicked sharp, and it always smells like nutmeg or chocolate because I never wash it. I’m too afraid I’ll lose a fingerprint. I can’t seem to load the picture of it, and I’m sick of trying. You’ll just have to imagine it. Sorry.

Floating away

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Good grief. All day we’ve just been drinking and drinking and drinking – coffee, regular tea, Tang tea, orange juice, repeat as needed. If a gallon of water weighs eight pounds, I think I’ve gained sixteen pounds. I’ve got the stuffy head and Lloyd has the cough. Together we’re an unbeatable team. Good night.

Earl Grey. hot.

A Lovely Lunch

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Brad’s parents invited us to go to a local vineyard (James Arthur) for a wine tasting.  It was fantastic!  We each got to sample six different wines, and Mrs. Royuk ordered some yummy baskets of breads, cheeses and meats.  We ate outside under the coolest gazebo I’ve ever seen in my life (which has sparked some serious gazebo planning, but that’s another story).   They have it all landscaped beautifully, so when my aforementioned gazebo is built, we’ve got to get Brad right on makin’ it great.

Living like roy-uk-alty. (Wait a minute, you'll get it.)

As wonderful as the wine was, my favorite part was the gentle, gigantic cat that wandered around.  He was HUGE!!!!!  Paws as big as your leg, and absolutely no neck – his skull went straight down to his shoulders.  I need a giant cat.

I love you, kitty!!

Right on schedule

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Yes, we are both out of school tomorrow!  The weekend was fraught with promise!  Would we have a zany adventure where we went to the airport with just a backpack of clean clothes and pick a random destination?  Would we go on a crazy window-shopping spree?  Or maybe just drive around Nebraska and take pictures of our rural state? 

None of the above.  I love Lloyd, I really do, but he has the uncanny ability to get sick almost every time we have a long weekend.  Today was no exception.  I’m not mad……. oh, who am I kidding?  I’m always mad. 

Here’s the arsenal so perhaps we can do something Saturday. 

Taking no chances.

(At least the lasagna was good.)