The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 02: A Comma (is a Restful Pause)

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I feel like I haven't accomplished squat this month so far. I saw a meme the other day about pretending February first is January first but I don't even want to wait that long. Things are about to change.

May the change be beneficial. . .

The powers of suggestion are strong. ;)

I've never been a fan of chocolate (cocoa?). But I'll take a coffee please. . . .
 
One coffee coming up.

I'm up way too late. Some new ideas were bugging me so I had to get them down on paper before they blew away.

Welcome to Moanday, uh, Monday. Not that it matters all that much to us retired folks. The rest of you need to get your asses in gear and get to work.
 
Welcome to Moanday, uh, Monday. Not that it matters all that much to us retired folks. The rest of you need to get your asses in gear and get to work.

Tex, it's a federal holiday here in the US (MLK Day). Unfortunately, it's one that my company doesn't observe.
 
Tex, it's a federal holiday here in the US (MLK Day). Unfortunately, it's one that my company doesn't observe.

Oops. My bad. I haven't had the TV on so I'm ignorant on what holidays are when.
 
Oops. My bad. I haven't had the TV on so I'm ignorant on what holidays are when.

I think of MLK day as being under-observed, but when I drove to work today the streets were so empty that I tied my shortest-ever commute time. It certainly looks like it's being observed.
 
How to tell MLK Day doesn't mean much here: garbagemen don't get the day off, so trash pickup won't be delayed a day, as it is after most Monday holidays. If wonder if that throws off the schedules of marauding bears?

I'm working up to more espresso over time but it isn't kicking in. We just scheduled my next cardiac jump-start in a bit over a week. May that'll get me going again. Or I'll need an IV drip of caffeine with just a splash of spiced rum. That should do the trick.

I won't talk of mandolas. Or lutes. Or viols. No, I won't...
 
Burn the whole stated down one month and take a mud bath the next. California is a strange place. The only Bear I knew in California moved to Washington state.

With the trash schedule figured out, it is time for fresh coffee.

I have five Valentines Day stories started and none of them hold my interest. WTF? I think I see a vacation somewhere warm in my near future.
 
I've never been a fan of chocolate (cocoa?). But I'll take a coffee please. . . .

Hot chocolate in the USA (almost) = cocoa in the UK. Not as good, though.

I though the term "federal" meant EVERYONE joins in.

No - holidays here work differently. a federal holiday only means that the government employees get it. It's common for the private sector to follow suit, and they certainly do with the bigger holidays - like 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and new year. But most others are purely at the employers' discretion.

So unlike the UK, not all employees get the same schedule for holidays (or what you'd call 'public holidays', or 'bank holidays').
 
I recommend the Mexican version, with finely ground almond and spices.
That's great but a bit fatty (and too much dominated by evil Nestle now). I use Hershey's baking cocoa with sweetener, light cream, extracts, and spices. And spirits. My Mayan mocha will set you down.
 
Tommy Tedesco was a major studio guitarist heard on zillions of recordings and soundtracks. He played many stringed instruments, all strung and tuned in E-A-d-g-b-e' guitar standard. Lutes, ouds, banjos, citterns, mandolas, bouzoukis, whatever; his left hand only dealt with guitar fingerings while his right drew out the ax's own voice.

I'm the anti-Tedesco. Almost all my stringed instruments are strung differently. Each is a unique challenge needing varied fingerings and muscle memories for the same tunes. This guarantees I'll never excel with any of them. Am I curious or merely absurd?

The hours is wrong for coffee, cocoa, or tea. And the wine is gone. Bother.
 
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Hot chocolate in the USA (almost) = cocoa in the UK. Not as good, though.

Since Hershey acquired Cadbury (Booh Hoo :( ) the recipe for a chocolate (ie., cocoa) drink seeems to have changed. Back in the day, it used to be a slice or two of plain chocolate writhed into the mug o' cocoa; the RN called it 'kye' (made with condensed milk and loads o' sugar).
 
You can get good drinking cocoa chocolate and cacao in Spain. My wife always brings a couple of tins home when she visits. All I know is that the best stuff comes in an orange can with a picture of a very happy and fat black lady on the front - not PC but there you are.

American chocolate usually contains corn oil - disgusting stuff, only marginally better than Palm oil - which is worse than many animal fats. The Americans, poor sods, have a lot of corn oil in their prepared foods because years ago the Federal government subsidised its use to help corn farmers. A temporary regulation now over 80 years old!

But having said that, Australian Cadbury's chocolate also tastes different to the British version - and they don't use corn oil. I think that most Aussie Chocolate is made in Aotearoa now, which is good because the NZedders make good stuff.
 
You can get good drinking cocoa chocolate and cacao in Spain. My wife always brings a couple of tins home when she visits. All I know is that the best stuff comes in an orange can with a picture of a very happy and fat black lady on the front - not PC but there you are.

American chocolate usually contains corn oil - disgusting stuff, only marginally better than Palm oil - which is worse than many animal fats. The Americans, poor sods, have a lot of corn oil in their prepared foods because years ago the Federal government subsidised its use to help corn farmers. A temporary regulation now over 80 years old!

But having said that, Australian Cadbury's chocolate also tastes different to the British version - and they don't use corn oil. I think that most Aussie Chocolate is made in Aotearoa now, which is good because the NZedders make good stuff.

So that's why, it was the corn oil. I couldn't believe how good Australian and New Zealand chocolate tasted when I was done there. I bought slabs and slabs back. My last whittakers peanut slab melted in my mouth a few weeks ago. My Cadburys didn't last very long - too greedy!
 
You can get good drinking cocoa chocolate and cacao in Spain. My wife always brings a couple of tins home when she visits. All I know is that the best stuff comes in an orange can with a picture of a very happy and fat black lady on the front - not PC but there you are.

American chocolate usually contains corn oil - disgusting stuff, only marginally better than Palm oil - which is worse than many animal fats. The Americans, poor sods, have a lot of corn oil in their prepared foods because years ago the Federal government subsidised its use to help corn farmers. A temporary regulation now over 80 years old!

But having said that, Australian Cadbury's chocolate also tastes different to the British version - and they don't use corn oil. I think that most Aussie Chocolate is made in Aotearoa now, which is good because the NZedders make good stuff.

Yeah, that's how we do things in US, or at least how the government does things. It's why we have to have ethanol in our gasoline and why a temporary tax on telephone bills put in to finance the Spanish-American War lasted over 100 years before being repealed.
 
Ah yes, people always come to the coffee shop to discuss hot chocolate. :D I get mine from a friend of a friend who lives somewhere around Mexico City. It is smuggled, uh, I mean imported into the states twice a year by way of Laredo, but you didn't hear that from me. It comes in a dark reddish brown unmarked metal can. I only get two pounds a year so i have to be careful or I'll run out before my next fix, uh, can arrives.

Welcome to Toesday. Play with them if you want. Mine are tingling and burning at the present but that is normal.

27, feels like 16, snow actually on the ground. :eek: 30 for a high today and 17 for a low tonight. :eek: Would one of you Yankees or Canadians, please slip on your coat, step outside, and please shut the fucking door to the north pole. It ain't supposed to be this cold down here.

Since the rant is over, there is fresh coffee and a large kettle for everything else. I'm having hot oatmeal with peaches. No, don't ask where the peaches came from. This post is too long already.
 
Minus 18 Celsius here and just a little cold. Supposed to get warmer but I'll believe that when I see it.
 
Minus 18 Celsius here and just a little cold. Supposed to get warmer but I'll believe that when I see it.

It's been damned cold round here today. We've even had a sprinkling of snow on higher ground this afternoon.
Tomorrow's scheduled for the same cold until after noon. :(
I'll believe it when I see it.
 
Cold and snowy here too. So cold they called off school and the food pantry I volunteer at was closed today.
Eating cheesey bread sticks and drinking coffee with my youngest. Just realized I haven't had on real clothes since Saturday! meh...I'm in a funk I can't shake.
 
Cold and snowy here too. So cold they called off school and the food pantry I volunteer at was closed today.
Eating cheesey bread sticks and drinking coffee with my youngest. Just realized I haven't had on real clothes since Saturday! meh...I'm in a funk I can't shake.

Good Luck!

Tea, I think.
 
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