Adventures in Hair Cutting and other Pandemic Possibilities…

This pandemic certainly livened up what probably would have been a fairly uneventful and routine Memorial Day weekend.

Friday evening we sat down in front of our TV so we could stream a live concert that was being held on Instagram and Facebook. I have an Instagram account (though I have yet to actually post anything there), but I didn’t know you could hold concerts on it. I only thought it was somewhere people uploaded copious amounts of photos. I guess that shows what some of us GenXers know about technology.

Anyway, the concert was being performed by our favorite folk singer, Lucy Wainwright Roche who we’ve seen in concert several times (usually at Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza in Worthington). Miss Wainwright Roche was also sitting in her living room (a poster of New York on the wall behind her) where she entertained us with a generous selection from her catalog of songs for about an hour or so.

Besides the music I also enjoyed the sense of community as people periodically commented in the sidebar. We, too, said Hello from Columbus, OH. I was a little surprised to see she had fans on other continents like the UK (for whom it was in the wee hours of the morning) and Australia (late morning/early afternoon for them).

Lucy’s mom encouraged her to seek out donations from her fans (after all, she, like most artists, musicians, entertainers, etc. are still unemployed for the foreseeable future). Her fans (us included) were more than happy to oblige as you could donate via Pay Pal or Venmo.

Although I miss seeing her live, sitting in the comfort of our living room where food and drink is free and the couch certainly more comfortable than the chairs at Natalie’s, wasn’t too bad an experience.

Sunday afternoon Andrew swallowed his courage and took the plunge to shave his head using a new razor he had purchased the previous weekend. Lest you think he’s now bald, he didn’t want to go that far (and I’m really glad he didn’t). Instead he just cut it down to about a ¼” or so.

I got to assist when it came time to shave his neck. Although I was a little nervous, once I felt the razor in my hand, it really wasn’t that intimidating compared to the one my dad uses. Andrew’s razor had no more heft to it than the one I use on my legs, so I felt completely comfortable taking several passes at his neck to remove the stray hairs. I think Andrew wishes he had worn the cape I bought because he had hair all over himself and his ensuite bathroom.

When it was my turn we moved to the Florida room and laid a drop cloth, though that was really overkill because my hair was cut in larger clumps, so there wasn’t a ton of small hairs everywhere. In fact it took longer to get a camera set-up (we ended up just using my phone) than the actual haircut. After all, I certainly wanted to document the moment for posterity.

Though I indicated that I only wished to have about 2-3” removed,

Andrew ended up going a little shorter. I think he was relieved that I didn’t have a hissy fit. I might be high maintenance, but I’m definitely not vain, so I could have cared less. It was more important to me that he at least get it straight (which he did).

Also, it’s been hot, hot, hot lately, so I was more than happy to have it off my neck saving me making a ponytail all summer. Also, it will grow back, and I don’t think it will need trimmed again until probably next year. Now to do something about all the gray… (that’s another adventure for another holiday weekend).

A Late Spring Birthday Celebration

Yesterday was my husband’s birthday, so it’s the second birthday we’ve celebrated during this whole Covid 19 pandemic (the first being mine which happened just before we all went on lockdown). However, we didn’t let that affect our plans. Since the weather forecast was rather favorable with temperatures predicted to be in the high 70s, Andrew suggested we spend the afternoon at Dawe’s Arboretum in Newark. I would suggest a metropark or arboretum as a possible viable way to get some fresh air and exercise as long as you still try to social distance if possible.

This definitely wasn’t a problem at the arboretum as we saw probably fewer than about a dozen people during the hour and a half we spent there (it was a bit cloudy and rain threatening).

We heard a mixture of bull frogs, birds chirping, and cars on the nearby freeway (it will take an EMP to silence that noise). There were soggy spots from the recent rain, but most paths (some thickly laid with wood chips) were dry and easy to navigate.

After we got home we had a low key get together with my sister and her husband whom we had over for dinner (we ordered out from a local restaurant) and cake (which my sister was nice enough to provide from Graeter’s, and has become somewhat of an annual tradition).

Have a great week everyone!

My newest hobby...

My newest hobby, thanks for Covid 19, is home barista. This wasn’t necessarily something I had planned on doing, but when I was at Target strolling the appliance aisles looking for an espresso maker or something better for frothing milk, I saw this:

It was apparently the last one they had (at least out on the floor), so that immediately says something - probably that there are lots of other desperate and cheap people out there who are missing their daily/weekly lattes, cappuccinos, or in my case, mochas. Also, as Mr. Coffee has been around as long as I have, I'll take that as a sign from the universe to go ahead and give it a try.

A couple weekends ago I did have a go at trying to make a mocha just using my regular coffee-making method, which is to do a pour-over, then add frothy milk (using the really cheap battery-operated frother, also from Target) and shaved chocolate bits. It was a major disappointment and for the exact reason listed on the instructions I found on the internet – it had a slightly burnt taste because the coffee crystals I used were far from being fresh, but it was the only plain coffee I had, so I used it.

Last weekend we had a go at making cappuccinos first. When I say we, I mean my husband Andrew set it up and read all the instructions and made the first three, but I finally made my own. Honestly, I was not that impressed, but I’m not really a huge fan of cappuccinos, that, and we used the same stale coffee. At least Andrew seemed satisfied enough with the two he made for himself.

Friday night I popped out to the grocery store and bought a bag of Starbucks brand espresso coffee. There wasn’t much selection in the way of espresso. It was that or the slightly more expensive Italian brand, LavAzza. Speaking of Italian coffee, by friend Lisa shared a story of visiting Italy and being invited into the kitchen at a restaurant so they could demonstrate to her how to make a good Italian coffee. She told me she understood very little of what they said, but the Italians definitely know how to make a good brew! When I was in Italy, almost 10 years ago now, I didn’t drink a single cup as that was long before I developed the caffeine habit, but I think my husband enjoyed the many coffees he had.

Anyway, Saturday morning I screwed up the courage to try my hand at making a mocha using my Mr. Coffee machine and a little advice from Mike Jones, of Third Rail Coffee near Washington Square in NYC (one of my favorite places on earth, but one place I would certainly avoid at all costs for the moment). His instructions are fairly simple and straightforward, which is that you either make your own homemade syrup using cocoa powder (if unsweetened, then add a little sugar) blended with a bit of hot water until it’s a syrup consistency, or just use chocolate syrup if you have any (I do, so I used that). Unfortunately he didn’t say how much syrup to use, so I just guessed and squeezed a dollop into the bottom of my mug. From there you pretty much follow the steps to make a cappuccino. Once you’re finished adding brew to your mug, you stir it so you combine the chocolate with the coffee. Then you simply pour the steamed milk in trying to be as artsy as possible (there are people who actually specialize in that if you can believe it). 

I was definitely impressed at the result. No burnt taste and it certainly bore some resemblance to the ones I’ve bought at various coffee shops around the city (which I definitely plan to still support, but now at least I have options). Andrew said it was a little sweet for his liking, but it was only my first try, so perhaps next time I’ll add a little less syrup.

Before I go, I'll leave you with this Fun Fact (copied from Coffee Gives Me Superpowers by Ryoko Iwata):