Ah — to be dry and warm in the morning

There are things I like to do in the morning.

My preferred ways of starting the day.

A cup of coffee.

A shower and maybe a little yoga.

Some news. A little Facebook. Email. Getting my to-do list in order. Phone calls.

And many other things — depending on the day.

My normal breakfast is a glass of fresh juice and a couple of fresh eggs.

I give the pulp from the juice to my chickens (the little beings who provide the eggs).

But every once in awhile, I start the day by chasing, luring, and cornering chickens. Getting them back into the pen where they belong. Keeping them safe for the day.

That’s how this day started. This cold and rainy morning.

Most afternoons, I let the chickens free range for the last couple of hours of that day’s daylight. They go to bed when it gets dark, and I close the pen.

Last night, I forgot to close the door of the pen.

So this morning — in the cold rain — the chickens were out, pecking around in the yard.

Four of them were easy. I walked over to the pen and they came running — and I quickly nudged them inside and shut the door.

The other two were more difficult. They were in the neighbor’s yard, presumably eating bugs. Their feathers were soaked, but they were happy to stay there.

It took a couple of trips, a bowl of juice pulp, tapping on the bowl, waiting around — and a little entrapment.

It makes me appreciate those mornings in which everybody is dry and warm and inside.

Sunday morning. Better than most.

Sunday morning.  Better than most.

For the first time in four and a half years, I don’t have to print 10,000 copies of Coffee News — tonight, and tomorrow, and tomorrow night…

My printing equipment, after 4.3 million copies, has bit the dust.  Rather than buy a new machine or continue calling — more and more frequently — for repairs, we’ve contracted with printer to do it.

It costs a little more, but there are several wonderful advantages to this:

• I have a weekend — for the first time in four and a half years
• I won’t have ink on my hands all the time (and sometimes in my eyes), a major source of aggravation
• The paper looks a lot better, which will probably result in more ad sales, which will pay for the extra cost
• I’ll have more time, which I’ll use to blog, and write other things (I thought I would mow the lawn, but am backing down on that one)
• I have a weekend…

Morning Coffee

Had an interesting exchange with Michael Davidson this morning on Facebook:

exchange with Michael
exchange with Michael

Sam:  Barely moving so far today. Always been a slow starter.
Michael: me too.
Michael: on my third cup of coffee… the first two haven’t kicked in. hoping the third will.
Sam:  My first is sitting in the kitchen. All I have to do is get up and go get it. Haven’t yet.
Michael: don’t you still have kids at home, or have they all left the nest? yell for one of them to get it.
Sam:  One is still here, but 16 year old modern girls don’t appreciate such requests.
Michael:  true. guess you’re on your own.

Something I didn’t mention here is that not only did my wife make that cup of coffee for me, but she reminded me, after noticing how immobile I was for quite some time — that “The coffee’s ready!”

Moments after Michael and I had this conversation, my daughter entered the room.

“Call my cellphone,” she said. “I can’t find it.”

Well, the cellphone was a couple of feet away, on the coffee table.

“There it is,” I said. “You call it.”

She tried, then gave me the phone.

“It’s not calling. You do it.”

That’s when I seized the opportunity.

“I will if you get me a cup of coffee,” I said.

“No way,” she said. “That’s not a fair trade.”

See what I mean, Michael?

(BTW, I’m proud of my daughter)