I woke up early this morning. I probably dream all the time, but I rarely remember them. Today I remembered the dream. Yes, another gardening dream!
In the dream, I used a favorite spade, one that belonged to my grandmother, who also gardened. My mother “inherited” it when she and Dad brought Gram up to the house when Gram became unable to care for herself. I still have it. It’s a favorite gardening tool.
The spade slid easily into the perfectly tilled dream soil, which I turned one more time to complete the process of double-digging the garden space in preparation for planting. I love the smell of freshly turned loamy soil! Though I didn’t have this smell strike me in the dream, the pleasant sensation I feel in that circumstance woke me up.
What kind of dream is that? Ha! Not much action. I suppose there is some Freudian significance in digging soil, Mother Earth, but let’s keep our thoughts pure! Gardening dreams are my favorites because I like the effort and sensations of gardening, that little miracle of a planted seed germinating into something that tastes good to eat and is healthy, too.
I got up, fed Dougy and Andy, who were very grateful for the timely food, washed some dishes, heated up some leftover French toast in the microwave, and made some tea. (I forgot to roast coffee beans yesterday, so had none ready to grind today.) I watched “Morning Joe”, amazed that for the second day Mika told Joe “Shut up!” several times, and he shut up several times. Perhaps he reads the comments on their facebook post because the most frequent complaint about Joe is he interrupts everyone all the time.
During “Morning Joe”, both the cats’d found a spot to sleep off chicken-lobster (ugh!) cat food. My little angels looked so sweet and happy, I decided they had the right idea: Go back to bed!
Back to bed I went. I ordinarily don’t benefit from extra sleep, but those extra four hours this morning hit the spot! I don’t remember them, but I woke up from my extra sleep with that happy feeling I get when I have gardening dreams.
How’s this for the Ah! factor:
Ha-ha-ha! Yeah! That’s one of those stunts people teach a pet that you say, “That’s so stupid! Why’d they do that,” but you secretly think is hilarious! This one’s hilarious! I’ve seen dogs that play this game, but a cat…I don’t know why, but it’s even funnier with a cat!
I guarantee my boys pay no attention to me, with rare exceptions, though Dougy hops up on things if you pat a landing spot three times. I guess that’s his “trick”! Andy is to serious a kitty to play stupid games with his human. He never was a playful kitten or adult, though he can get playful if you work and work and work at it.
Maybe your dream means that you are ready to plant some ‘new beginnings’ seeds…. Happy dreaming…:).
I can see that interpretation, too! I know I felt warm and fuzzy when I woke up, like something good happened.
They are making a killing then. Here I’ve twice bought some 85g packs on offer for £1.80 to £2.20. I ought to put it on ebay.
There was a decaffeinated version for much less. I’ve no idea why the big price difference, but the decaf one cost US$6.99 (GBP 4.36) for 100 grams. Out of curiousity, I checked ebay: two offers at US$10.52 (GBP 6.57).
As for a grinder, any I’ve used took lots of time to grind fine enough for most coffee makers. To get the grind I needed for my coffee maker took 12 minutes in a manual grinder. I have an electric Krups grinder that makes the right amount in the right grind in a minute of less. “No time at all, with less effort by far”, I guess you’d say.
I had planned to buy myself a coffee grinder for Christmas, but in researching which one to buy realised that people really go to a lot of trouble to get it right and it does make a difference.
I do love a good coffee though so don’t mind joining them. The problem I have is that apart from a first class capuccino (not a latte which one so often gets instead) I enjoy it most through cream, floated, which is possible without sugar if the cream is the right thickness which does prove difficult.
These days it is quite difficult to get cream even from Marks and Spencer that is fresh enough for it not to curdle. I did find one cream which was an expensive organic variety but it wasn’t thick enough and it just sinks.
Kenco have brought out a marvellous instant called Millicano Wholebean which does taste like ground coffee and I’ve given it to people and they thought it was. I don’t know whether it is available in other countries though.
I found it on Amazon for US$12.99 (GBP 8.11 at today’s exchange rate) for 85 grams (a sniff short of 3 ounces). While very pricey, it sounds like it would be very tasty because it’s 85% instant coffee plus 15% finely ground roasted beans, a brilliant way to give it a fresher and authentic flavor! I don’t buy instant or ground coffee, so I don’t know how that compares pricewise with the Millicana Wholebean coffee. I suspect the added value of excellent taste more than makes up for cost, though.
I buy the beans in 5 pound (2.27 kilos) bags for anywhere from $28 (GBP 17.48) to $40 (GBP 24.97) , depending of variety and offers. I’ve never calculated how many cups I get out of that, but, as best I can work out a number without opening a bag and separating it into storage containers, then into roast batches per storage container, with the final measure being how many cups per ground batch, I’d estimate I get 50-60 cups per bag, depending on strength and how the beans grind (different beans yield more coffee for various reason like bean size and roast- the darker the roast, the less I use per cup, which, on a 12 cups coffee maker I use, actually is four cups on the decanter! (Twelve ounces or .335 liter….) Whew! My head swims!
Sounds like a cool dream! One that I would enjoy, anyway. Can you really buy the fresh coffee and wait till tomorrow to taste it? Gosh, you’ve got way more impulse control than I do! LOL 🙂
When you roast coffee beans, it’s best to leave them for a day so they develop full flavor. That’s my understanding of it, though I don’t know why it would be true. It seems to hold true, though. I tried same day use once (because I am a Doubting Thomas!), and it seemed thin and lacking any punch. The next day, it was delicious, as good as that particular variety of bean gets!
Huh! Interesting … I just learned something! 🙂
Pleasant dreams of completing a garden task with a favored tool used by a loved one? All signs point to being in a happy place both physically and mentally and surrounded by the love of those who have passed. Enjoy!
I like that interpretation just fine! Thanks for that thought comment!
Sounds like a great day!
Sometimes, a lazy day is just what I need. Apparently today was one such day. I got my coffee roasted this afternoon, so I’ll get my usual caffeine dosage tomorrow. On the other hand, the tea I had instead this morning may have been why I managed a little snooze!
Perhaps that’s a sign to get closer to nature. You could grow some micro-greens which are supposed to be better for the health than sprouts. Someone came to the market with trays of them, about 15 different kinds and they looked amazing. I just bought one of the mini-greenhouses that go against a wall and have a plastic covering for £30 but that’s for the plants for winter, although there will probably be some room for some micro-greens so I might look into it.
Just a thought that microwaves aren’t the best for your health as the food cooks by radiation and you ought to be taking THE best care of yourself!
It’s not atomic radiation. Anyway, yeah, the little greenhouses are great. I had a three-shelf light stand at one point where I grew all the basil (several varieties), oregano, marjoram, peppers, and so on that I could use. Unfortunately, I don’t have a large enough space for something like that now. Let me know how you gardening goes! That might be worth the effort if you can grow enough for steady use in one.