legalmoose

Windy start to the new year. Walked outside after lunch (Denny's, which was chaos; I tipped our poor waitress very well). Walk went well, had one spot where a gust threatened my balance, but kept my feet okay and kept going. Slightly longer walk today since it was the last "warm" day for the near future (47F/8C) as a cold front brings possible snow this upcoming weekend.

In a very rare showing we were at the comic shop before they opened at 11, and were not the first to get there. I grabbed a dessert drink from the Starbucks down the shopping row while we waited (sugar cookie latte, with sprinkles).

Now the husband is making homemade hotdog buns in a new pan I got him for Xmas. Yes, it's easier to buy them at the store, but this seemed like something fun for him to try. From the cursing I'm hearing from the general direction of the kitchen it might not be as fun as intended, but I'm guessing they'll still come out tastier than store brand, just from the ingredient list.

Saw my sister-in-law and niece off this morning, after they popped down for the holiday weekend.

Made some homemade pumpkin spice coffee additive last night (1.5 cups sugar, 1.5 cups water, bring to boil over medium heat, whisk in 4 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend and 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, lower heat to simmer for 20 more minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve (and cheesecloth, if you have it, to further reduce the solids) and add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stores in the fridge for up to a week). Also made toddy coffee concentrate, so had homemade iced pumpkin spice lattes this morning (1/2 cup concentrate, 3/4 cup milk, 2 Tablespoons PSL mix). Was tasty. I'm normally a black coffee drinker, so anything beyond that is exotic for me, but this was a nice treat. And the SIL was impressed, which is what really counts.

PT this afternoon. I have some pitting edema going on, meaning there's still a lot of extra fluid in the knee, so if that's still there at the end of next week I get to ask the orthopedist about that. Flexion was about the same as last week, which may be related to the extra fluid at this point.

Short week last week (and weird because of the almost-government-shut-down), short week this week. My new attorney shadow gets here in two weeks; it's someone I recruited from my old agency, so I know I'll work well with him. Looking forward to training him on the new agency, and a new area of law, as well as passing off some of the stuff that I'm not as well versed in but that he has much more experience with.

Oooh, we played Uno Flip last night and really enjoyed it. The husband and I own it, but hadn't played it, and it was quite a fun variation on the regular uno. Both sides of the cards are playable, a light side and a dark side, and every now and again people can make the deck flip from one to the other, which also flips all the cards in your hand. Kept things lively.

Got some more of the Halloween stuff put up, including the green-purple-orange light strings we bought last year but didn't get up (maybe we bought them at the end of the season on sale? I don't remember why they didn't get put up). Our neighbor does a much better job with it than we do, but we outshine them at Xmas. ;)

I think half the fun of home ownership is the little things that have to be taken care of. For example, one of the GFCI receptacles in the kitchen died sometime yesterday. There are two in there, and one died about two years ago. They're original to the house (2010), so it's unsurprising that they're wearing out now, but it's always a surprise. Had to look up the electrician we used last time, and they're now scheduled to come out middle of next week to replace it (as I told them, inconvenience, not emergency, so I was fine with whatever they had). In the meantime the toaster oven has been moved from one plug to another, and I'll move the electric can opener if we need to open anything. The kitchen Echo has been relocated temporarily to the island, and I'm debating whether to move the coffee maker or just stick to french press for the next week or so. The funny thing is that I'd bought some beans on a lark yesterday before knowing the GFCI was dead, so I had fresh ones for this morning. Maybe the keurig sensed them and killed the GFCI out of spite. That or Amazon decided I wasn't spending enough and hoped I'd use them to book an electrician.

On a whim last December I picked up one of these little milk frothers, likely because my in-laws were coming and who doesn't want to look fancy for them? It works pretty well, I would definitely recommend it, especially for something that usually sells for less than US$20. I've mostly used it for frothing up unsweetened almond milk on occasion for my coffee (no dairy here; can't digest the stuff), though the husband has used it to mix hot chocolate and reported that using it is much superior than just mixing it by spoon (smoother, better blend, no lumps, etc.). For me, I've enjoyed the light bubbles making white noise as they slowly pop, and while I prefer my coffee black, it's nice to cut the acid with some almond milk on occasion.

So yesterday I'm at the grocery store and on a whim I picked up some almond milk creamer with vanilla flavoring to try. I enjoy the occasional fake milk flavored latte from a coffee shop, so why not? Well, because a shot of flavor syrup in plain almond milk is vastly different from 'creamer' with added fat and stabilizers, that's why.

Number 1, it did not foam. Probably the extra fat/coconut milk that's added for stability and what not. Number 2, it was gross, again because of the added fat. Left a residue in the mouth that was not pleasant for someone used to drinking black coffee.

So, that won't be repeated.

Aside from the sound of machines running (washing machine, dishwasher), and the occasional "WTF" meow from a cat confused at the lack of loud humans, the house is now quiet. The in-laws departed first thing this morning. I made oven bacon while they were getting their stuff together, and we all had a good chat before they took off. It was very nice to see them, but I think I shall enjoy the usual calm and quiet that our house normally is with just the four of us here (two humans, two cats).

Enjoying some (almond milk) egg nog with my coffee, frothed with a silly impulse purchase that nonetheless has proved fun to have and easy to use. I'm normally a black coffee drinker (dark and bitter, like my lawyer's soul. Heh.), but the occasional bit of froth has been a welcome change to the routine. I appreciate that the frother has its own stand, so no fumbling in the drawer to grab it, and since it's next to the coffee machine no forgetting it's around and available. 1/4 cup (60ml) in a two-cup (half-litre) measuring cup (because it will fly out of anything smaller) for half a minute and you're good to go.

Working this week, catching up on emails and cleaning out the inbox before everyone starts going nuts next month/week. And debating how to better use my paper bullet journals (one for personal stuff, one for work). Not pushing anything, enjoying the down week, but not completely unmindful of the future, either (which my alma mater would appreciate, given that that was our motto, "Non incautus futuri").

I was all set to go downstairs and play video games, and instead I cleaned out a kitchen cabinet and reorganized two drawers. At least I did something productive? I did eventually play on the Switch, but the diversion was a strange left turn from what I had been expecting to do. I blame the french press coffee for a) taking more time; and b) making me dig through the cabinet that holds my coffee supplies and decide it was time to reorganize it. Then I still had time on the coffee, and a bunch of kitchen towels that needed to be put away, so that drawer got redone, old ratty towels got tossed, plastic freezer bags got consolidated, etc. Then the dishwasher got emptied, which meant some minor reorganizing of the drawer that holds the various plastic food containers. Whee.

Neither of us was feeling up to going out last night, so we did the weekly comics run today instead, followed by a trip to BJ's wholesale for sundries. Thursdays are actually better, IMNSHO, at the comic shop because there are fewer humans around than there are on Wednesdays, which is the day new comic books come out each week. Even before the pandemic I found it more pleasant to wander through a more empty store. Not that it's crowded, but it's definitely more active on Wednesdays as the addicted come in for their hits.

BJs was good, scored some good stuff for the house in terms of food and cleaning supplies, and as usual saved with both BJs and manufacturer's coupons. Aside from the unlimited online access I still get the dead tree version of the Sunday paper for the coupons. I'm not always good about clipping, but I do find over the course of a year that the coupon savings end up covering at least the cost of the paper.

I've been reducing my caffeine intake, and specifically my coffee intake, in an effort to help my reflux. I cut the coffee in half overnight, going from two 12oz cups of regular and two 12oz cups of decaf to one of each. Supplemented by a cup of black tea sometime before lunch, but black tea, as long as it's not brewed too strongly, doesn't present the issue that coffee does. As I've written about here before, I did go completely caffeine free for almost a year about 20 years ago, but then we had that little 9/11 thing, work and life in DC suddenly got a lot more stressful, and I went back to coffee. I still don't think I'd want to give it up entirely, but the reduction is definitely helping. Save for the food cravings - some of the lack of caffeine is showing up as wanting to eat more, which I don't need as I already eat more calories than I'm expending of late (and overeating doesn't help the reflux, either). So, still seeking some balance, but getting better.

While attempting to clean out my little keurig coffee maker this morning, I managed to blow the motor (and a house breaker). So, RIP coffee maker. Of course, no one is shipping them quickly (almost three weeks for Amazon), and I don't think I need to risk a trip out for one, so I ordered a slightly upgraded one from the company directly. I'd just forego the thing entirely, but I just got a big supply of the little k-cups, and I'm not going to let those sit or go to waste - there's not enough space in this apartment for that, and I'm not willing to waste the money. In the meantime of course I have coffee redundancy (gotta feed the addiction gods), so french press it is for the next week or two.

Switching between the medications for reflux ain’t all that fun. My body seems to want about a two week adjustment period before it evens out. Given that I’m in the third adjustment period (prescription samples, over-the-counter, now back to the prescription), it seems to be a regular thing. The first week has some unintended side effects (consistent across the three), and then it all kicks in at two weeks. Given that I’m in the middle of week one, life in ye olde gut is interesting.

At work, before we went on vacation I cleaned a large part of my office. My desk is clear for the first time in years (no piles of files/paper/books), and a good chunk of the bookshelf got cleared out and organized. The credenza behind me has the books I use most, and no more excess paper. It’s been illuminating, both in terms of my own work processes, and in terms of the reactions from my office. Everyone has commented on it. I’m loving having space to spread a project out to work on it, then put it all away when it’s done or I have to switch gears. Only drawback to date is there’s no place to hide something easily if someone comes in and they don’t need to see what I was working on (no files to flip over the paper, etc.). But I’ll take the calmer work environment.

That combined with the lack of caffeine (and hence the lack of energy spikes and lows) has, I think, meant a more even-keeled Moose at work. Gut issues aside. I had forgotten about how early I need to get to bed when not depending on a steady caffeine source during the day. Probably better on the whole, but it’s another adjustment.

Training is interesting. I’m trying more things like hill work, tempo runs, etc. this time around. Still too early to tell the effect, but I am looking forward to workouts more when they have more of a purpose, and more of a structure. Still need to lay out strength training in a more organized fashion, but I know where I’m going with that.

We’re headed off to see the boy’s family in another week, and in anticipation of the drive up, and to take care of the check engine light that popped on just before vacation, I dropped the Mini off at the shop to get it all adjusted. A couple thousand later it drove more smoothly on the way home after I picked it up this afternoon. Not exactly what I wanted to drop that amount of money on, but it’s worth keeping the car going. After driving the newer model loner car, I have to say I’m happy with my 12 year old car, so I’m glad I can keep it running well.

Originally published at Of Moose And Men

Life can be such an interesting experiment. After putting off seeing a specialist for ages, I finally got tired of a consistent belching that I had going on. Turns out the reflux that my mother and her father have/had was passed to me. Yay! Long story short the excess acid production was/is causing me to swallow too much air, so that’s what was/is causing the belching.

Had samples of a prescription drug, got it under control, then the samples ran out. Tried the over the counter (OTC) version, which didn’t give the same results (the samples I had were a newer form of the drug, and 4x as high a dose as the OTC stuff). So, saw the doc for a follow up today, got a prescription for the fancier stuff, and now we start the food experimentation portion of the treatment. I already know that coffee sets it off, so I gave that up a couple of weeks ago (the boy’s expression wasn’t quite one of horror when I told him I’d been off coffee for two days when I first started, but it was close – I had trained him well that coffee was the first thing I needed in the morning). Tea eased the withdrawal, but I’m mostly off that now, too. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been caffeine free – did that once before from ’00-’01, but then we had that little airplane event in the fall and I went back to regular coffee drinking.

I already know that pizza is out, as is falafel, sodas, and beer. Spicy foods seem to be a no-no as well. But the experiment will continue as I figure out what does and doesn’t work. It’s a fun process, actually, and I get to eat a lot of different things as I figure this out.

In other catching up, the anniversary trip to the shore with the boy went well. Didn’t get burned at the shore, had a good time relaxing and reading, and just catching up with each other outside the norm. We walked all over the place, which upped the numbers for both of us on the step count on our vivofits. I think it’s been fun to have those together and to have something of a competition going with them. He wins outright on pure walking, but I tend to go over when you factor in my running. And we both beat his sister regularly (got her one for xmas), which is what really counts.

I’m training now for the marine corps marathon this fall. I got in last year, developed runner’s knee, and postponed the race to this year. While not quite where I’d have liked to be in terms of a base, the training is going well. Related to that, I’m going to take a break from the tri club. There’s been a bit of drama with regard to the newbie program I’ve help run for the last decade, and I’m just not willing to put up with it at this point. I’ve never been one that enjoyed training with a large group (I like the meditative aspects of training), and I’m not really drinking at all (see the reflux discussion above) so I don’t get out and see club folks very often, and I think the club has just moved on, as have I. I’ll maintain my membership, but I don’t see myself doing a lot with them in the immediate future.

Originally published at Of Moose And Men

I want more coffee, but I’m trapped by a cat in my lap who’s purring up a storm, and burying her head in the crook of my arm. I feel bad for the lack of attention she’s gotten, and the disruption to her routine over the past few days with visitors in the house, so I stay seated, surfing the web and occasionally scratching an ear.

Originally published at Of Moose And Men

Got caught by a "gotcha" today at work that never should have become a gotcha, but did because of other, more pressing concerns. The joys of too much work, too little time. I think we're now caught up on it, but I don't like being in that position, nor do I particularly enjoy putting my boss in that position. Yuck.

Slept poorly last night, a result of a bit over overtraining soreness and late eating caused by needing to run to the grocery store right after running and cleaning up (rather than being able to eat first and then get to the store). Slept in a little, but I suspect I'll sleep better tonight. Which is good, since tomorrow is my long run of the week.

I got a new pod(people) coffee maker for work, and it's working out well thus far. Won't get one for home, I still prefer the French press and grinding my own beans, but it's a good, and cheaper solution for feeding the addiction at work. It was a freebie via a credit card I hold with otherwise relatively worthless "points" so the sole cost is the coffee itself, which is cheaper then buying it brewed from any of the local vendors. Not bad, though it does cut down on the need to walk out of my office, which is perhaps not the best side effect. I'll have to take more chances to get up and walk.

Originally published at Of Moose And Men.

Cold's still here, but better. Not feeling the need for quite so much sudafed to keep the sinuses in check today, more like just the normal allergies dosage. Let myself sleep in, and now I'm sipping coffee from my SF Zoo mug this morning and missing my boys out in San Francisco. And as much as I love my apartment and my neighborhood, it's times like this when I wish I'd bought a place up in northwest so it were easier to get out & about to places for things like "food".

Brought some work home this weekend, so that's what I'll be doing most of the day. The newest political in my chain of command came from the private sector (with no gubm'nt experience), so I think his expectations don't quite match the reality of being a federal attorney. He'll learn. But in the meantime I'm going to try and redo this memo such that it doesn't suck completely. 17 pages? I don't think so. 5. Maybe. Note to field counsel: footnotes and glossing are your friends, especially with a busy management chain.

Anyway, off to go give y'all more gubm'nt than you're willing to pay for.

Originally published at Of Moose And Men.

Another reason it's good to keep a clean kitchen: so when you drop 1/2 the coffee you just ground, and don't have enough to grind more, you can reasonably assume you won't make yourself sick as you scoop it off the counter and throw it in the pot anyway.

Originally published at Of Moose And Men.

The cupcakes went over well last night. 'Twas a fun evening, and I enjoyed getting to see the various folks who were there.

Waiting for coffee to finish steeping here in the french press this morning, then I'm getting cleaned up and heading out to brunch at Asylum with Stephen and Kevin. I've found 'tis better to get to Asylum right at 11 when they open because they'll actually have the daily specials available (and they're generally worth it), and you can find seating with a minimum of fuss. 2 pm? Good luck. Haven't been in a couple of months, so am looking forward to the good food. And time on the Metro to knit, of course. Then I'm going to be stuck reviewing a document for work for a bit, and hoping I don't get the same reaction I got last year when I pointed out typos in it ("Wait, you can't change the text now!" Then why have me review it, you wankers? Honestly).

Have my annual physical tomorrow, as well as a dermatologist visit to get checked out. Don't expect anything earth shattering will be found, but given the family history it's better to check than not. The worst part is the fasting for the blood tests. No, wait, I take that back, the worst part is the prostate exam, but the fasting comes in a close second. But we do what we must.

Picking JT up from the airport this evening on his way back from London and grabbing dinner with him. Sunday dinners with him seems to be becoming a regular habit, and it's one I'm glad we're getting into. He's one of my longest known friends in the area, and I enjoy the extra time with him now.

Originally published at Of Moose And Men.

The nice thing about being off work is having time to do a more involved breakfast. Toast with lemon-pear marmalade was a treat.

That said, I was about ready to give in and get the Bizzy Gal version of coffee this morning - the water was taking forever to boil.

View this post at the Glen

Evidently I needed extra sleep. I didn't set an alarm for this morning, figuring I'd get up somewhere near my normal time. I think I did, but went right back to bed until around 8:30. Sinful. But it felt good. As a result I didn't get out on the bike until around 10, so finished up the planned ride around 12:40ish, not quite 40 miles. The ride itself went well. No close calls with small children this time (went out about a month ago with a friend who ended up running over a small child who turned suddenly into his path with no space to dodge her; thankfully aside from a little cut on him, neither were seriously hurt). Only had to yell at one person ("Watch out!") on the zoo property as he came at me head on while looking at birds off the trail rather than where he was going, and otherwise folks were behaving as I expected them to.

I find that I dislike riding the capitol crescent trail once you cross into Maryland. I'm sure the DC side would be just as bad were it as densely populated, but there's a definite uptick in strollers, idiots wearing head phones and other obstacles. Heart rate goes up in such situations (stress much?), but so be it.

Debating a planned swim, I think I might be better off doing that tomorrow evening. The rest of the evening is set aside for le crush and a cheesy movie & dinner. Until then, it's time to make coffee. And gather fruit.

View this post at the Glen

After deciding I needed to keep myself out of the house as much as possible yesterday, I did just that. Wandered up to Dupont to get coffee (had used the last of it to caffeinate myself yesterday morning), and lunch at City Lights. Devoured two plates of steamed dumplings (was starving by that point), then off to Adams Morgan.

Popped into Skynear, looked at several pieces of furntire, and bought a couch.

Yeah, was just going to window shop, but said "screw it" and got the couch. I'd been eyeing it off and on for a couple of years now, so I screwed up the courage and ordered it. Will come in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I've got to rearrange funiture again.

Shopped a bit more, popped in to se a friend, then home. Tried to nap, didn't work, so I hopped online. When I did, friends were setting up a dinner & a movie thing to see "300", so I said sure, why not, and hopped out again. We met at a ~~loud beer hall~~ restaurant with a large selection of beers, a cousin to the Brickskeller here in DC. Several ciders with dinner (a very, very disappointing pasta - definitely a burger kinda place), then off to the movie, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I think they did a good job staying true to the roots of the story in the graphic novel in the way it was filmed. Very entertaining.

Then it was off to Remingtons for a couple more beers. Met several friends from gay.com, some of whom I'd not seen in years, some of whom I'd not met in person. Headed home via Metro (15+ minute waits at each station), alone. Was fun, and social, and far, far too late to be out, as is witnessed by the cold sore this morning. All things in balance, and when you push too hard, too fast, you pay. I regret not an instant of it, it was far too much fun, and needed. Though I would prefer not to have the blemished lip, it, too, will fade, and balance will return.

View this post at the Glen

Quick thoughts because I need sleep, post swim and post vegging tonight with the TiVo.

Thinking about hiring a coaching service for my season this year. We have a deal through the club that's not bad, and some specialized feedback might be a very good thing. Have until the end of the month to decide, so i'm going to ruminate on it.

Got my nudie calendar for this year finally. Third year running for this particular one. Just something about the models he's chosen... It's smaller (width wise) than the previous years' calendars, but it works really well in the space I have it in - the extra length lets it match the bulletin board more easily. Good choice.

And, of course, there's the naked butt staring out at me when I come into the living room now (nice back!).

Ran completely out of coffee this morning and was too hungry to stop at the grocery store on the way home. Will have to try and get some tomorrow evening after the gym and dinner with MG.

Running should prove interesting tomorrow morning, but from the state of the sidewalks I've seen today it should be dry where I'm running. If not, I go slow. No killing myself this year, I'd like to actually run the silly 10 miler this time around.

View this post at the Glen

I hate when recipes lie. "Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes." 40 minutes my ass, how about 2 hours? Liars. And I think this happens more often than people think with cookbooks (because, really, if it said "2 hours" would most people try the recipe? no).

Finally got snow. I was debating biking to work tomorrow, then MG reminded me that no one will know how to drive tomorrow and I really didn't want to be on the road with those fools. Point taken, I'll walk. Did go run this afternoon and with 15 minutes to go the snow started (tiny little stuff, but snow nonetheless). That was fun, been a while since I'd run in snow.

Of course, if it sticks around, it won't be the last time this week, either. Provided it's not too icy.

Picked up gobs and gobs of groceries yesterday, before I realized it was going to snow. Needed tons of staples, so off I went to pack my little bag lady cart and subsequently my limited cabinets with lotsa food. Forgot coffee, though. Will have to pick up more after the pool. Was otherwise feeling a little bit of my hermit-mood for the weekend. Did go see a play with Richard, his much belated birthday gift, this evening, and MG was over last night and today, but was feeling the urge to just stay in and nest. Trying to break out of that some, but it was a particularly social week, with two happy hours, so perhaps I was just burnt out.

View this post at the Glen

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legalmoose

Of Moose And Men

April 2025

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Entries tagged with coffee

Windy start

Rolling along

The Little Things

Experiments don't always work

Quiet descends

I was all set, and then

Weekly run

Down for the count

Adjustments

Experimentation

Needs and wants

Gotchas/Sore/Coffee

Recovering/Work

Yet Another

A Good Weekend

Breakfast

Sleeping In

Balanced

Coaching, Naked, Coffee, Running (Quick Updates)

Liar, Snow, Nested

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April 2025

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