I felt confident enough in my measurements for coffee and quit thinking about it, short of admiring Greg's coffee every Monday. But one day, using a can of baking powder or soda, I noticed the neat measuring spoon leveler across a third of the opening. I've done it ever since on my coffee cans.
I think the coffee is better.
I've had steroid injections in my knees. For the good they have done me, they were not so awful. Interesting, even. The doctor shoves his thumb into my knee until he locates the right place. He marks the spot, sprays the can of liquid ice until my skin is frozen, injects the steroid, and it's all over.
My thumb injection occurred this morning. I do not know how successful it may be; the Novocaine, or whatever anesthetic was used, has only partially worn off. I feel like I'm typing on a rubber keyboard. It did not involve liquid ice. I could not watch this time.
One of you who lives in Canada purchased towels. We kicked around the best payment option for both of us, and the dear customer decided to pay the amount in Canadian dollars, per the Google conversion rate that day.
When I took it to the bank, the teller turned me away. Since US Bank is no backwater bank, I smiled and suggested surely she could call headquarters for instruction. It's not like she had any other customers at the moment. I offered to sit down and wait.
As it turned out, I couldn't sit for too long; I have to know everything. But, I didn't hang over the counter. And the answer is, money is money the world around, though you could wait longer for some, depending on how many banks are involved.
I neglected to ask if I could deposit via my phone. Next time.
I am a coffee making pro. (one of my stellar attributes!). Always beans ground from scratch and a stainless steel scoop that came with one of my coffee canisters. There is no going back from that, LOL.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
We do like our coffee around here as well. So much so, that we've taken to measuring the beans before grinding!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed. Money is money. Glad you did not have to wait too long at the bank.
Yes, measuring is the key and not quite boiling water...you don't boil beans, coffee or cocoa!
ReplyDeleteMy son in law weighs the beans before grinding...I wouldn't go to that length!
Oh, the intrigues of international financial transactions! Glad you got your steroid shots and I hope they help.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh. I never measure exactly when I make my coffee but it always suits me. My husband and I are a bit at odds, however, about how strong the coffee should be. He puts sugar in his and I take mine unadulterated by any other substances so he likes his coffee stronger than I like mine. I am never at my best in the mornings so when I get a cup of coffee that he's made, it makes me inappropriately unhappy. We always set the coffee up the night before so I've taken to just making sure that I get to that job before he does. Is this selfish? Maybe.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope the steroid shot helps your thumb.
Your story about the bank teller reminds me of a story about Steve Jobs. He would come up with ideas for his computers or phones and he'd tell the people who did the actual work on them what he wanted and they would often say, "Oh. That can't be done." And he'd smile and say, "Oh. I think you'll figure it out." And they would.
When I heard that bank teller account I thought: translation, I don't know how to do that. You were quite right to insist on knowing before you left. I've had similar efforts tried, and asked for the manager to take over, whereupon the teller magically figures it out. One time it was the manager, and I suggested that the State Banking Commission would be interested in hearing about it.. same magical ability appeared.
ReplyDeleteIt's a miracle!
How smart you are to come up with an easy method of measuring the coffee exactly! I need to try that because our coffee comes out different a lot and it is probably due to haphazard measuring. I drink my coffee black so it needs to be just a certain way for me to enjoy it. My son weighs his coffee and it is good but I don't think I'll go that far.
ReplyDeleteI hope your thumb is doing better. Have you had this injection before for your thumb? I'm curious as to how well it works because I have a lot of trouble with arthritis in my hands.
Good for you for standing firm at the bank. I always thought it was the job of banks to handle conversions and such. So many people handle so much of their banking online these days I would hope that something like converting money could be done at a local bank.
Some things demand precision.
ReplyDeleteI do hope the steriod injection in your thumb helps. A lot.
I am tired (and increasingly grumpy) about the lack of customer service in far too many organisations (and glad that your persistence meant that the teller realised that Candadian money is perfectly fine).
Coffee bags are my answer to this problem! But I really prefer to have coffee made by a professional barista. There is nothing as good as a flat white made in the coffee shop downstairs. I cant froth up the milk like they do.
ReplyDeleteI have always denied the offer of steroid injections, no matter how bad I am hurting. My jaw actually locked open on my way to nursing school one cold morning. Took nearly two hours in a warm classroom to finally be able to close my mouth. I was offered one then and refused. Coffee, really good coffee is worth any effort!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the coffee is better because someone else is making it? I don't know. My mom's sandwiches always tasted better than mine.
ReplyDeleteYou're right on that one. It's a notch less strong than I prefer, but the consistency is outstanding.
DeleteI agree that good coffee depends on precise measurements. since I got my new coffee pot I don't have just the right measurement yet but I do know that if I used one spoon of coffee per cup it would be far too strong for me. I don't understand about the bank not being sure about accepting the money. Money is money and all one has to do is convert it.
ReplyDeleteI too love a really good fresh cup of coffee... and they are hard to find. Also since we all have different tastes, I can't imagine that everyone would agree on one brand. But I do believe that the measurements, water temp, and type of grinding do make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI’ve had a knee injection that wasn’t bad. I think one in the thumb would be much more hurtful.
ReplyDeleteI had knee injections long ago, with no numbing treatment before. Painful. And did really nothing that lasted more than a day or two....I am not a coffee aficionado. Just instant, one cup, every morning.....I need to get an app like the ones my daughters have so I can deposit checks without going to the bank.
ReplyDeleteMy knees would not have been injected the first time without the freeze spray.
DeleteI use a measuring spoon for the coffee but don't level it. It sometimes is a heaping teaspoon and sometimes not. Most of the time it comes out okay :) Glad to hear money is money no matter where it might come from!
ReplyDeletebetty
I'm surprised at the bank refusing the money, banks are usually pretty quick at the grab'n'run technique.
ReplyDeleteI don't make machine coffee, I only have instant so I measure a level teaspoon per cup and make it exactly the same each time, yet the 2am cup when I'm wide awake reading in bed, tastes better than any other.
Good tip, thank you
ReplyDeleteI look forward to making better coffee.
Recently I tried a dollar store instant in a tube you cut open. I was surprised how good it was. Now I know it is the exact amount measured.
Of course you know what coffee snobs we are up here, birthplace of starbucks back in the day. The coffee is good everywhere up here, very strong but not bitter. Coffee land.I had a small coffee shop when Starbucks came to be, was one of the first to use it, It was cold pressed and concentrated, add hot water for a fresh cup every time. I never measure. We have even better local coffee now. Much better than Starbucks and we drink plenty of it.
ReplyDeleteWill be curious to hear if the injections help your knee. I hope so.
You have me at much better than Starbucks, which I did not enjoy. Bitter. The injection was to my thumb, and is working.
DeleteBanks seem to have much the same attitude nearly everywhere. Asking someone else in the bank if you don't know the answer seems to be outside their experience.
ReplyDeleteAs for coffee, the barista at my cafe of preference makes my coffee.
Alphie
I was surprised. My bank has been so cooperative on other matters in the past. But I would not go away, and I even told her what to do, and at the end I thanked her and said we both learned something today. It was not my usual branch, and if she would have kept up the stonewalling, I would have had her name and reported he.
DeleteOutside of context, I started reading the book on journeys in Siberia and I really want to thank you for the recommendations.
ReplyDeleteYael, I am so glad. As hard as it was for me to get through, I've set it aside for another read.
DeleteI love ground coffee in a cafetiere and I drink it with no milk. I think my wife's brewed coffee is better than mine. Same with a sandwich.
ReplyDeleteI love the aroma of coffee, but not the taste. We use the K cups for family members but I hate the amount of space it takes up.
ReplyDeleteGlad those injections are working for you.
My experiences of coffee in America were not very good, the coffee being far too weak and watery - wrong ratio of coffee to water as Greg would point out. You have to be generous with expensive ingredients. I am sure it has improved now
ReplyDeleteAnd, in my opinion, Starbucks has gone one click over the coffee ratio.
DeleteThe full 8 cup pot that I make each morning seems to require four rounded spoonfuls for best results, which would probably be close to eight flattened spoonfuls.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer good quality instant coffee. None of that messing about that you get with making so-called "real" coffee. Italian freeze-dried is my favourite though of course most British people of my generation mainly drink tea.
ReplyDeleteA little more that 10 years ago now I found myself in Peru. There in Cusco (big tourist destination) I found many money changers on the sidewalks offering better rates than the banks. Competition in currency exchange. It seemed very risky for the money changers. The problem with money exchange is everyone wants a cut of the transaction.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with Canadian money, even if our dollar is called a 'loonie' lol.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk of coffee makes me miss it so much. When I could still drink it, I preferred instant as it seemed less bitter. My husband brews his coffee so strong it hurts my sinuses, but I'm rarely up as early as he is so it's okay.
ReplyDeleteI have an extra strong memory attached to the smell of coffee with full cream in it - travelling on the ferry from Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island each summer. The little cafe on board was strong with that scent. And every single time I get a whiff of that scent now, I see myself as a little girl, with my older brother and our parents, sitting in the cafe with toast and jam (and milk for us kids). Only coffee with cream evokes this memory, no other variation of coffee. In the same way, the smell of brewed tea evokes the wedding showers and baby showers I went to with my mother when I was young. Good memories.
I know you will be happy to know you evoked both my parents for me, mom carrying their after dinner cup of coffee to the table, hot from the vacuum pot, and my dad's heavy with cream.
DeleteYes, I am! It's a very strong trigger smell, isn't it?
DeleteI've never had any problem changing Canadian dollars, or any other currency, at our local banks. I'm surprised your bank is so nonplussed by the idea.
ReplyDeletea perfect cup of coffee starts with perfect coffee. we get our organic free and fair trade beans from a friend who imports beans from many different countries, only roasts them when she gets your order and then ships them out immediately.
ReplyDeleteI've bought several things from artists in the UK and pay via PayPal. never been a problem.
I’ve always wondered what those steroid injections were like. I’m glad it helped you, Joanne and didn’t hurt excessively. Maybe next time my shoulder goes out of whack, I’ll try it. Maybe...
ReplyDeleteI am still searching for the perfect cup of coffee. I am almost there with my nespresso, but I'm still fiddling with it. It becomes almost vital, when you've downsized to one cup a day. I am facing either injections in my hip or a replacement - neither would be my choice.
ReplyDeleteThey both work, one better than the other.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the coffee is better because someone else made it. Injections into knees and thumbs sound terrible. But I hope they help with whatever is going on there.
ReplyDeleteDear Joanne, is cortisone a steroidal shot? Not sure. I've had cortisone shots in both knees in the past and been amazed at how the orthopedic surgery knew right where to place the needle. Hope your shots work well for you. Peace.
ReplyDeleteI admittedly have never seen the point to drinking coffee.
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