Chopsticks feeding Squirrel-like Kitten リスのような子貓 (by Canon EOS 500d / Rebel T1i)

This is just weird.

Victrola - Beacon Ave

This Victrola happened to be right next to the Mexican restuarant that I got my Mixology license from, it's got some pretty fantastic art, and some crazy mutant girl down in the bottom of the picture.  Sorry mutant girl, my panorama program couldn't recognize that you're head was turned.

Victrola on Beacon Ave

El Quetzal and my Class 12 License

I am now a Class 12 Mixologist.  And I had a wonderful Mexican breakfast.  Did you know that if you work at a coffee shop, or any establishment that serves alcohol, you can't touch or even ring up a beer for someone if you're under 18?!  This state is ridiculous!

The Brown Bag

One of the best breakfast's I've ever had, seriously.  The Brown Bag was a suggestion from our friend Laila who has had her own little breakfast club for a while.  Angela and I have been going to breakfast different places every saturday for a while now, a very fun tradition.  I like that their menu says: "No Sissy Food Here!"

Zoka - Greenlake

Ange and I went to Zoka the other day.  The space is huge and comfortable.  Everything is a dark wood.  Ange and I went at noon on a wednesday and I counted 22 laptops.  The barista was thorough and methodical, I could tell he probably came from a bartending background seeing as how he presented and poured the drink on the bar in front of me.  He did well, even though the espresso was seven days old, I can't fault him that though.
There's really only street parking and we found a place pretty quickly.  There's a dentist next door - I can't imagine they're busy late at night.  I even saw Julianna Margulies, can you see her too?

Portland, OR

Angela and I spent the weekend in Portland, to visit some friend and just to get away.  We had a great time seeing Chris and Christi.  Here are some more pictures of our time.

The Center for Wooden Boats

My beautiful wife brought me to a very cool place, The Center for Wooden Boats.  I love my wife!  Here are some more pictures.

Elysian Brewing Co.

Angela and I went out to Elysian Brewing a couple weeks ago, it was great.  They actually had a Vikings game on the TV when we were there.  It's a pretty cool atmosphere and pretty good beer that they brew.

Zoka - Kirkland

Zoka Coffee Kirkland!  Check out the FIVE roburs, and a Slayer!  I kinda felt like I was in a museum, but it was pretty cool.  Even farther left of this pic was a giant flat screen displaying some sort coffee parafanalia.

Zoka with A and L

Stumptown on 12th

Andrew, Laila and I went to a cupping at Stumptown the other day.  As far as I know they have cuppings every day.  We cupped about six coffees.  Now, this was the 12th St. Stumptown - where their roasting and training takes place.  It was fun to see them roast a bit.  The training room is lined with huge windows facing the roaster so we got to see some training going on.

Urban Coffee Lounge

This is Urban Coffee Lounge, my new job.  It's a pretty great place, lots of light with a warm atmosphere even though it's somewhat of an industrial scene.  The wood, fireplace and color give it warmth I think.  I like it a lot.  They're a Stumptown account, the largest account in the Seattle area.  The owner has a great passion for coffee, well ... quality in general.  You should really stop by, if not to see me and Andrew Milstead - and Laila, you should enjoy yourself with they're pastries and coffee.  I'm not really an advertisement, just new to the area.

Slayer Time

Slayer Time

Andrew, Laila and I went to Slayer to play on this very versitel machine.  It was fun to try and pull a shot of espresso but the whole process will take a lot of getting used to.  It feels and is a very different way to make espresso - by having variable preinfusion time and pressure, also variable pump pressure.  One of the guys there was discribing a great shot that he had that had been pulled like this: 30 seconds of preinfusion at 3 bars, a few seconds at 15 bars and then shut the pump off and let it taper naturally back down ending with an ounce and a half of espresso (in 53 seconds) that was balanced, medium bodied and chocolaty.  WHAT?!

My Small Trip to Kirkland/Urban Coffee Lounge

I just had an interview with the owner of Urban Coffee Lounge (UCL) and decided to see a little bit of the bay. It's a pretty area, but the wind was so stinking strong and cold. I took a picture while I was on the dock and there was a wind surfer within the swimming area - yes, that whole area is a swimming area! You can even see Seattle in the distance.

Phil and Sari's Wedding!!

Ange and I went to Sturgeon Bay recently for Phil and Sari's wedding. You may remember them from our wedding - Phil played the accordian during dinner. We were fortunate to stay with some close friends of Sari, Steve and Carol Kosmoski. They had a wonderful home, wonderful stories, wonderful cats and wonderful hearts for God. It was refreshing to see their love for Phil and Sari and the kind of help that they gave. Phil and Sari's wedding was great, and a real treat was having the reception at a petting zoo/farm. It was awesome!

The Blue Heron

The first day we were in Winona we tried a new coffee shop (for me), the Blue Heron . It wasn't bad, wasn't really good either, but I like the atmosphere and that there was a book shop attached to it.

Kira and Craig's Wedding!

Angela and I went to winona on the weekend of the 4th of April to engage in the wedding of Kira and Craig. It was pretty fun, I met some new people and Angela was able to reconnect with friends. I spent most of the time with the brides maids, or their husbands.

Best of Menomonie

When I visited Stout the other day I stopped by Legacy Chocolates to get some coffee. They're the best in Menomonie for coffee, and probably chocolate too (I don't know of any other chocolatiers in Wisconsin). Check them out if you're passing through.

Menomonie, WI

I took a little walk today around Menomonie after I visited Stout, I found two old railroad bridges and a cool cycle shop, that looked somewhat dilapidated. I have to admit, sometimes dilapidation adds "cool" points for me. I walked along a road for a while and then saw a paved walking path. Do I retrace my steps along the road to find it's beginning? No, I climb down a steep embankment and nearly break my ankle. It was fun. There was a nice old couple walking by that wished me the best of luck in my climbing. They said: "we'll be back this way in a while if you break anything", "thanks" I said, really hoping that wouldn't be the case. In all reality, if I had broken something there'd be a picture of it here. I saw them later on down the trail after I had successfully tangled with branches, muddy gravel and gravity. Here are some other pictures I took.

Beer Time

Angela and I made a special trip the other day to the best brewery in the Twin Cities, Summit Brewery. It was pretty fun, we learned about the history of Summit, how it's made and a little bit about specialty beer in Minnesota and the States. This is a pic of the brewing room, the tanks on the left are filled with water (for the beer and to help in temperature control for the beer), and the tanks on the right - which you can only see four but they go three deep for each row - are where the beer is brewing. You should all take the tour! Plus, you get free beer at the end!

Zoo Time

Yesterday Ange and I went with Paul, Libby, Gibbie and Ezra to the Como Zoo. We ended up wandering through all the tropical sections, not really seeing any animals. We did feel great in the humid tropical weather though.

Paul, and His Patience

I went over to Amore Coffee to see Paul the other day, and what do I see? For some reason Amore Coffee is back to the completely manual way of processing transactions. If you look close, you can see that Paul could use a credit card machine that makes a big "ka-chunk, ka-chunk" sound when you run the carbon copy over it. There's the fancy calculator, with dual power - solar and battery, and a print out of what the shop offers so he can mark it down with a pen. I'm not sure if this is being "green" or just painful.