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Thoughts While Quarantined

Coffee has been on point. Almost thinking I should have bags shipped every 3 weeks instead of 4. In other news I have been spending a lot of money. Without working I am in need of hobbies. I have been talking about learning to sew and making my own baby accessories or bicycle bags. Now that I have time I've ordered a sewing machine. If the stores that sell fabric were still open I could really go to town. I plan on using some scrap material to become familiar with the machine and the stitches but I'm certain by the time this epidemic is over I will be proficient with the sewing machine.  I also enjoy riding my bicycle even though I haven't been out in a minute. Loading the panniers and taking off for a picnic or something in the near future is a must. I've ordered a new wilderness Jetboil with the coffee accessories. When the weather warms I will load up the grinder, scale, and Jetboil and find a place to relax and reflect.  Part of me feels that this quarantine has bee...
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This the Season for New Traditions

Stay at home orders and the Easter holiday bring about many emotions.  At first I was disappointed that I couldn't do the normal Saturday celebration at my parents and Sunday with the inlaws. We have been doing it for about 10 years and it seems to make everyone happy regardless of the stress holidays bring about.   For awhile I reflected on whether or not we should just carry on with the holiday or follow the rules and stay home. It's tempting to think that we have been self quarantining for about a month and so have the families but then it hit me. What's a better time to start something new then quarantine. No matter what anyone else decided we had an out. Stay home, meaning we could finally do our own thing on Easter. We modified Christmas last year but still couldn't create our own tradition. Easter was finally ours. We planned on starting by waking up early to hide hard-boiled eggs and our oldest's basket around the house. We would then get on the church's...
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Keeping a Schedule

With a newborn and a toddler schedules are hard to stick to. The only constant is coffee. I joined a monthly coffee club, bought a scale, fancy hand burr grinder, and started paying more attention to brewing times.  If I wake up and am not feeding the newborn I start by cranking the batteryless scale up and weighing 30 grams whole bean coffee for French press or 60 grams for drip. Using RO water I weigh out 515-1150 grams water, again dependant on brewing style. Drip is easy, set it and forget it. As far as the French press, patience is key. I use my timer so I don't guess as to how long it has been. Let's start with the whole process. Thirty grams of coffee to 500 grams water yields about 2.5 standard coffee cups not monster cups. With the electric kettle filled to 515 grams of water to account for evaporation, I begin grinding the beans to a medium fine (everything reads course). Once the kettle quits at boiling I wait about 20 seconds to let the temperature drop from boiling...
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Welcome

Welcome to The New Normal!  Thanks for taking the time to read through this blog. Here I plan on discussing everything from my day to day life, parenting, cooking, ultimately my new normal.   I am a 30s male, father of a 3 year old boy and brand new baby girl. I enjoy camping, cooking, cycling, and working.  Pretty much everything outdoors. Last month like many of you, I was laid off from the Covid19 epidemic.   Initial thought, I'd be back to work by Easter.  After the first week I realized it may be longer.  I'm going to have to create a new routine. I can't just binge Netflix and Hulu until my return. Here is where you come in.  I plan on discussing the new normal a lot of us are experiencing. It will be a great way to connect with others having the same feelings. Under normal circumstances I would not talk about my feelings but during this time it's important that to remember we are in this together.   Stay Safe and Stay Home
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