Then and Now

I was looking through some old photos and found this one of Fucie and Skott.  We were on our way to Seaside Oregon for a weekend get-away.  I believe it was around the year 2002. 

This photo on the bottom is one that I took only a couple months ago.  We were on our way to Door County to go camping.  Fucie loves to ride in the car!

Rustica

I must admit-

one of the things about the West Coast that I miss the most is

a good cup of espresso.

I used to take offense when people called me a "coffee snob" but now I don't really care.  I don't actively make that my goal, I just enjoy a great espresso, something I took for granted before moving to the midwest.

Everyone has their "thing" that brings them comfort and elicits a floodgate of good memories.  For some, it's chocolate, for others, cookies.  For me, it's coffee.

It is really hard to find good espresso here.  The good kind -the kind where the crema is generously floating on top, the kind where I don't need to add any splenda or sweetner, the kind where it is the perfect drinking temperature... 

It is very easy to tell if I am going to get a good cup of coffee at a new place here in the Midwest.  The conversation almost always goes as follows:

Me:  "Hi, I'd like a 16oz triple shot breve"  (note: none of those stupid starbucks labels, just plain terminology.  16oz=size, triple shot= how many shots of espresso I want, breve= type of drink made with cream instead of milk).

Barista:  (with a blank stare or completely panicked look) "Um, ok, uh.... What size?"

Me:  "16 oz please"

Barista:  "Ok, and how many shots, just one?"

Me:  "No, three please"

Barista:  "Oh, so you want a large/24 oz!? (at this point usually relieved, as she has a button to push on the cash register)"

Me:  "No, I only want 16 oz.  I just want three shots in it."  (FYI- three shots in a 16 oz cup is mostly just the espresso, doesn't leave much room for the actual cream part)

Barista:  (Confused again and at this point, turning for help if anyone else is there) "Ok, so you want three shots in a 16 oz cup?  Now refresh me, what's a breve?"

Me:  "Just use half-and-half instead of milk"

Barista:  "Oh!  Ok!"

at this point, I don't even dare ask if they will only heat it to 140degrees (my preference).  I am afraid I would end up with a 140oz breve with 16 shots or some weird derivation of all the numbers!

***********

Fast forward to Rustica.:

A couple of months ago Skott and I were in the cities.  We went to a neat shop that has a lot of local spices, chocolates, cheeses, etc.  We bought the most amazing cookies from a place called "Rustica".  We looked them up online and found out that they have a shop in the cities as well!  Skott went once when he was over there shopping.  He couldn't wait to take me!

The next time we went to the Cities we made it our first stop.  I didn't get espresso that time, but wished I had of when I tasted Skott's!  We had some delicious pastries and looked forward to returning.

For a graduation/birthday combo, we went to the Cities last Saturday.  We met up at Rustica with some good friends from Cedar Creek and had amazing espresso and this awesome cake:

Ahhhhhhhh.....

Winter Storm

Looking out the back door Saturday morning.  Heading out to carve Skott a path in the driveway.



Looking out into the yard Saturday morning before Skott got home.  No plowing or snowblowing done yet.



 Saturday afternoon.  Still storming.  Skott is home.  The wonderful neighbor has made one round with the snowblower.

   

Sunday morning after more snowing and lots of wind

Sunday morning.  Snowblowing Round 2.  The snow is higher than the fence now.

After Round 2, the view of our yard from the street

The front of our house.  The snow is piled higher than our windows



The dogs braving the elements to check things out



Standing near the garage looking into our backyard.  Lots of drifts!  Our swing is buried, along with our endtables.  In some places the drifts go over the fence!