my roasting assistant

I roasted 2 pounds of coffee this afternoon. There is talk of another ice storm tonight, so I chose to take advantage of the afternoon’s sunshine. The first roast was an “Ethiopian Harrar Horse”, and the second was an espresso blend. I set both batches on the kitchen counter while I put my roaster away. My son Peter climbed up on a stool to check out the action. He looked into the bowls, took a whiff, and proudly proclaimed his findings:

“Coffee”

He is my son.

forbidden fruit

Emma’s room is sacred ground. She views it as her private sanctuary – a place where her little brother is never to enter – ever! The sign on the door states the rules clearly.

The lure of the unknown is strong, and Pete, from time to time, wants to get to the other side of the ever-closed doorway to Emma’s room. Tonight, he even tried to reach under the doorway to gain entry. The two adversaries were at polar extremes – Peter had to get into Emma’s room, and she would defend her territory to the death.

Parental intervention was destined to occur today. The screaming was reaching a fever pitch. Each child was asked to bend their stubborn ways in order to bring calm to the household. Emma was to open her door to her brother, but after she did a sweep of valued posessions – hiding them in her armoir. There’s little reasoning with a 3-year-old. We simply held our breath & hoped that once he saw what was on the other side of the door, he’d explore and move on. It worked. Emma (with great discomfort & distrust) allowed Peter to enter her beloved room, sit in her chair, and flip through a few books. Once the novelty wore off, off he ran – back downstairs to do other important things.

“can’t we all just get along?”

worth a thousand words

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I’m way too lazy (and poor of a typist) to type a thousand words to try to describe the scene on our deck last week. Instead, I offer this snapshot of Peter, enjoying the crisp air and freshly fallen snow (taken by Kathy on Emma’s digital camera – it’s a family thing). Oh don’t worry, his head remained nice and warm!