I moved lots of snow today. That comes with the territory, you see, when you live in NW Indiana, home of what Chicago TV weather-folk like to call the “Lake Effect Snow Machine”.
All total, over the course of yesterday & today, we got about 8-12″ here in Valpo, so it wasn’t overly severe (I mean, South Bend got 30+” last Fri/Sat). Surprisingly, but not ungratefully, PNC closed campus today so I got the day off of work. The kids still had to go into school, though, albeit on a 2-hr delay. Heh…
I got to start clearing snow bright & early, first clearing off our back deck & a little bit of the yard, so that the dogs would have a place to tend to their bidness. Then, it was the driveway, followed by taking Deb to work (yes, I *am* a sweetheart, thankyouverymuch! :^) ). All that snow removal was not too bad (at least on the driveway) even though it was about 10-12″ deep, and quite windy, thanks to the snowblower.
Finally, at 8:15, it was time for the 1st Coffee of the Day!
+ 
10 oz. of Emeril’s Big Easy Bold + 6 oz. of Green Mountain Breakfast Blend
Verdict: Not too bad. I think the lighter roast Breakfast Blend, even in the lesser amount (albeit higher concentration), cut the darker roasted Big Easy Bold enough that it didn’t overpower me. (Note: I use Starbucks as my benchmark for “overpowering”, as I find that they over-roast their beans for my taste, much to my sister’s everlasting disagreement… — Love ya, bigsis! ;^) )
Then it was off to drop the kids off at school & head over to clear the driveway of the house that we
STILL HAVEN’T SOLD.
But I’m not on edge. NOT AT ALL. Really. Seriously, though, if all goes well (please, Lord, let it go well…) we might actually close on the sale by the end of the month. But, back to my obviously riveting narrative…
So, after removing 10-12″ of snow from that driveway, I ended up back home where, after getting cleaned up, it was time for…
The 2nd Coffee of the Day!
16 oz. (2 x 8 oz. cups) of Caribou Blend
Verdict: Very, very tasty! Per the description & a review or two, this was a very smooth, almost syrupy brew, with very good “mouth feel”. It also had a very nice aroma, and its mid-roast still provided a nice bold flavor that didn’t overpower. It also proved to be nicely surprising in that, for such a boldish initial flavor, it didn’t have a lingering aftertaste (another thing that I detest about Starbucks…). Super enjoyable.
While I certainly wish the city would’ve done a better job of plowing & salting the streets (they’ve done a particularly poor job thus far this season…), I must say that I’m pleased thus far with the folks that the HOA have contracted to do our development’s streets. Particularly the fact that today, when they came to re-clear the cul-de-sac, they respected the fact that I’d already cleared the end of the driveway, and didn’t just fill the end of it with a new 6+” of slushy snow. Like the city always did.
It’s the little victories, isn’t it? :^)
-ghp
