Day 230

Hey, 230! As I've said before, reaching increments of 10 makes me happy.

Day off today, and I'm in a coffee shop. Ha ha...I'm checking out a place called Collective Coffee, on 20th street in Saskatoon. It has one of those mini garage door style doors (which I love), opening it up to the air. They also have a regular door to the side, for when the winter hits. The decor is really nice as well. Their espresso and coffee beans are supplied by Intelligensia out of Chicago. Pretty tasty stuff, if you ask me. Anyway, I'm still partial to Museo...but maybe I'm biased. Both places putting out good product, and I always support small local businesses, even if they are competing. There is definitely a lot more room still for quality coffee bars in Saskatoon....like, for quite a few more, if you ask me. Also, there needs to be a guy/girl to go around teaching other coffee shops some skills and tips, etc to improve their stuff.

Anyway, not sure what else to write about at the moment. Life seems like it's going pretty good these days. At least, my definition of pretty good. Actually I would say it's going really well. I'm looking forward to starting a regular class schedule, and working around it, and continuing honing my skill behind a camera. I mentioned previously, I think, that I purchased a flash. I'm looking forward to using that more, especially off camera. My in-law's have a nikon flash as well, so I'll be able to use my camera to control those and do some different lighting stuff. I don't really know the first thing about flash/strobe photography, so I'm basically a blank slate. Well, I shouldn't say blank...my friend Jason Finkbeiner of Jay Scott Photography has been slowly teaching me about lighting and using flashes off camera. I say slow because I'm a bit of a slow learner at times...especially with stuff that's so technical. The artistic side might be a bit easier for me to learn...but the technical stuff is a bit of a challenge. Anyway, please stop by Jay's site, and if you're so inclined, comment and like his stuff.

I also want state that when I say that my life is going well these days, I don't really mean that my life was terrible previous to now. I didn't feel good, and there were a few things that could have been going better...but I always knew that my life itself was nothing to complain about, because I had breath, and had a wife who loved me, and friends and family who did as well. Anyway, hope that makes sense. Maybe it's just a bit easier now, because certain things have improved. I think I'm just thinking in type. Something to think about, anyway.

Thanks for stopping by again. Love you all. Take care.

Day 47 - Coffee

I don't pretend to know a butt load about coffee, but I'm slowly getting to know about what makes a better coffee. I also know that coffee isn't for everyone. That being said...I think if people were given a great cup of coffee (ie, not coffee from Charbucks, Nebob, Folgers, any pre-ground beans, Nestle, [some of these companies practice unethically in other areas as well), there would be many more coffee lovers out there. The problem is that it's a bit more expensive to drink good coffee, as opposed to the cheaper, 'terrible to coffee farmers' kind of coffee that most people buy from the grocery store. Anyway, I better not get too much into it, because I don't have a lot of background information stored in my tiny brain to back up my statements at this point. I would actually love to blog about that a bit more at a later time. It's all really interesting, in my humble opinion. Anyway, I would love to make you a cup someday, if you would like.

I also realize that talk of unethical companies usually spawns talk of boycott, and boycott discussions usually end up with "well, we might as well boycott everything then". That's the dilemma, I suppose. Where do you start and end? Usually it ends up with not starting. Maybe others pick a couple of huge companies and end there. I don't know.

Well, that's what I've been thinking about today (along with other things). Thanks for reading my uneducated discussion. Take care.

Day 42 - Sunday blues on a Monday

Today was an unusual day. We slept in a bit, made cookies, had a couple of good friends over (a nice surprise visit...something that doesn't happen enough anymore, really) and made taco salad for a late lunch. We didn't leave the house till about 4:15. We started getting cabin fever or end of holiday blues or a combination of the two. When we finally got out of the apartment, we went to pick up some new decaf espresso beans for Jenn, so she can have a latte in the morning. Speaking of beans, Saskatoon has a new roaster, and I'm really excited about it. His name is Jimmy, and he's the guy who owns/operates Museo, in the Mendel art gallery. I've been buying the same beans he buys for his espresso. Now that he's started to roast his own, I'm really excited to start buying locally. Broadway Roastery beans just doesn't cut it. Might not be the most exciting news if you don't drink coffee, or if you're not a coffee/espresso geek like I am. Since I'm on the topic, let me use this moment to say that Starbucks isn't THE place to get a coffee drink. I call it Charbucks for a reason.

Anyway, Jenn starts at her new location tomorrow. It's the same job (same union, same boss, same coworkers) but at a different hospital. In the long run, we think it'll be a great move. It's just a lot of change at the same time. People off on disability, people on holiday, and the obvious recent developments in our life, will make for an interesting first week at work. I know she can do it, though. She always has.

Well, that's about it, I suppose. Thanks for reading. Take care.