Food – Page 2 – Sidewalk Face

Everything is Stupid and I Hate It. Coffee Edition.

May 7, 2020November 17, 2021by Sidewalk Face at Eagle-Crow-Owl2 Comments

Husband is in charge of coffee. He does a bang up job and can head the department for life as far as the board of my directors is concerned. Until a few days ago we never had a single complaint filed. But. Pandemic.

We had a lot of coffee on hand when it started but of course we guzzled through it. Is it just us or do you also find that no amount of coffee seems to make this go away?

The problem is we have a very narrow range of what we like which is precisely one coffee product. Cost Plus’s french roast. We buy it in 24 oz bags which last about 2 weeks. Cost is $9.99.

Husband had been trying all week to order more online and it seemed to be doable but the final place order button just wouldn’t activate. Argh! Eventually he did it through his phone. All good except 12 days for delivery but only 1 day of good coffee left in house.

You know how annoying it is to get suggestions on how to do your job from someone who doesn’t know jack shit? Well that’s me and my Clean Floors Department thinking we know dick all about coffee purchasing. I suggest he buy a small bag from the fancy coffee shop down the street to tide us over. I hard sell it thusly: No one in shop, no disease catching and for sweetener, supporting local business!

So Husband goes to deserted coffee shop and for $21 comes back with 2 cups of beans. Two cups! A third of our normal bag, at six times the price. Well at least it’s going to be the most awesome heirloom coffee of our lives, right?

We hated it!

Capital H Hated it! Talked about it for two hours hated it. Close inspection of the package read, notes: blueberry, lemon, redston fruite, chocolate. Husband said I am buying coffee, not fruit salad. This wasn’t flavored coffee guys, this is the expensive hipster best seller! I don’t get it! Maybe the problem is medium roast. I like my coffee to resemble tar in both color and consistancy.

We went back to drinking some Ikea coffee that had previously been considered trash and now seems pretty tasty. Counting the days until Cost Plus delivers.

—

Just in case you don’t know me and this isn’t obvious, these aren’t real problems and I’m not really upset about them. We are so lucky in so many ways. I am using humor to cope with my fear and dismay about the ongoing tragedy around us. Please stay as safe as you can and be kind to others.

Food

True vs. Aspirational, aka Has Been True in the Past vs. Could Be True in the Future

February 9, 2015by Sidewalk Face at Eagle-Crow-Owl2 Comments

I was preparing my daily smoothie and this happened. The song lyrics “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” started going through my head. I haven’t heard this song in ages. I don’t own it or seek it out. No idea why this was happening. But as I frequently do, I had to analyze the lyrics for truthfulness. My mind says to me, is that true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Doesn’t seem true. Sometimes it leaves you permanently disfigured. But, I countered, what if believing that phrase helps you buck up in the face of adversity. If that’s the case, believing the phrase might make it come true.

I am often at mental war between my rational side and my intuitive side. In this case, I think the lyrics are helpful for personal aid but crap when it comes to social policy.

Ah!!! I just understood why I was thinking of those lyrics. I had used my little finger to wipe off the rim of the yogurt container after I poured some yogurt into the blender and I was wondering if I had washed my hands after I had come in from walking the dog. If by chance I hadn’t, I was trying to remember what I might have touched outside and if it was likely to be infected with the flu or measles. To comfort myself in case I had touched something AND not washed my hands, I was telling myself that maybe getting more germs would make me stronger. Then the song lyrics flooded in.

This is what happens when I don’t distract myself with podcasts.

Culture, Food

Olá Brasil! Obrigado pela sua visita. Como você chegou aqui?*

February 6, 2015February 6, 2015by Sidewalk Face at Eagle-Crow-OwlLeave a Comment

If you have a blog on wordpress, a fun way to waste time is to look at the statistics of who is viewing your pages. I noticed that 18% of my views are coming from Brazil, the second ranking country after America at 53%. I love that I have visitors from all over the globe and especially Brazil because I traveled there and it is a super cool country.

I visited Salvador Bahia which is in the northern part of the country on the coast. What I remember the most are the beautiful beaches. Below is an image from Morro de Sao Paulo, an island with no cars. Pedestrian heaven on earth.

Brazil has a very advanced beach culture. You can roll up to a city beach with nothing but your bathing suit and rent or purchase any desired item: chair, umbrella, floating noodle, hacky sack, volleyball, beer, peanuts, ice-cream, fruit and water. All these amenities are easy to access, they aren’t in some ugly prefab building 3 footballs fields away. Vendors are constantly walking around with yummy treats. My impression is that people really like hanging out at the beach together and through committed trail and error they have perfected the process.

I love going to the ocean and am super lucky to live near it. I don’t begrudge the need to bring everything with me, it beats not being there, but I wish I could grab a few Bolinhos de peixe at a grass hut before I go home.

*Hello Brazil! Thank you for visiting. How did you get here?