Days Go By - Coffee Memories

I have a routine. As a morning person, I'm usually up by 6:30 a.m. and putz in the kitchen and laundry, tidying up and starting washing any loads of clothes that have accumulated. Then I grab coffee and water and settle in for the Today Show that starts at 7:00 a.m. 

Mr. Efficient, Paul Goldsmith, grinds the coffee beans the night before. We only need to push the button on the drip coffeemaker to start production of the delicious nectar. Paul leaves for his job with the City of West Des Moines (WDM) Forestry Department at 6 a.m. My retiree is currently working four ten-hour days trimming trees, mulching and spraying - all while avoiding people. He says he misses sleeping in, but admits he'd be bored if he didn't have something to do to fill his weeks. Townhouse life doesn't leave many chores to do. The beauty of his job is that it's seasonal, and he can take off whenever he wants to. Sadly, like all of you, we've not traveled like we planned to so far this year. 

Back to coffee. I admit we are novice (we have not continued to evolve past grinding beans and being amazed) coffee snobs. Just above Folgers, really. One can get Starbucks beans at our grocery store, so we usually go with those - creatures of habit. I did go a little off-script recently and ordered Peet's beans for delivery. I'd had that delicious brew on my Homegirl trips around the country. DSM doesn't have Peet's stores. I may need to check Whole Foods for the beans - the Organic French Roast was fabulous. Paul liked it too. There are some local places in the area I could try when I'm feeling more adventuresome and less quarantinesome. 

I have always liked my coffee with creamer. I trace it back to the way I learned to drink coffee as a child. Those were the days of percolators. I loved that noise of the coffee churning through the pot. One time Dad started a pot and forgot to put on the lid - yep, it perked up to the ceiling! When I was in high school, Mom became more sophisticated and got a fancy pour-over outfit that she put on the stove.

Mom could be a bit exotic for her time - later daughter Amy bought this same system! 

When I was young, every once in a while, Mom would let us add milk and sugar (lots) to a bit of coffee and then dip in "buttery buttery toast". It had to be white bread for this breakfast treat. So good! There are so many fab creamers available today. I'm usually a one cup a day person. I try to avoid caffeine later in the day. 

I am surprised that in college we didn't have a coffee-maker. Instead, I remember little hot pot water boilers that would rapidly boil water. Then we'd add Folgers Instant Coffee crystals. I can't imagine now how that mixture tasted anything like coffee, but our goal was to stay up late to write a paper or study. We even purchased caffeine pills called "NoDoz". Hey, that stuff is still available! No Adderall or Energy Drinks back then - to keep us awake when we needed to re-type (yes type - but at least we had a cool electric typewriter my grandparents gave me for graduation) papers when we spilled Pepsi on them.

Pic from the Bunn website

I don't remember what kind of coffee-maker Paul and I had early in our marriage. I wasn't a big coffee drinker, but Paul, due his Goldsmith genes, is a guzzler. His wonderful parents George and Laura had a pot going all day. Paul can drink it all day, will drink it cold (not to be confused with Cold Brew) and with grounds in it. For sure, when we moved to Creston, we couldn't call ourselves natives until we purchased a Bunn-O-Matic, because Creston is the home of the Bunn plant! I've toured it several times, and one summer, Jud was on the refreshment crew there - pushing around cool water for workers during the sweltering Iowa summer. There was no air conditioning in the plant. Those things last forever! We only went through a couple units during a thirty-year timespan. Sadly, when we moved to WDM, we lost our Bunn connection and bought another brand. When I travel, I always check out the beverage area and smile when I see that Bunn name on their coffee/tea units. 

I'd love to hear your coffee stories. Even how much you hate it and what you drink instead. I know people who start the day with a big 'ol Diet Coke! 

Kitchen table - family with grandparents. I learned to drink coffee at this table

Rights of Passage - Are They Calling Me Elderly?

All through our lives, there are numerical ages we look forward to - and other ages, not so much.

Me with Robyn - at a chatty young age. Now we are old and chatty

I couldn't wait to turn five so I could go to school like my sisters! I didn't even care if the teacher, Mrs. Christensen (sp?) was kind of a battle-ax who was OLD. She had even taught my father. I have vague memories of her locking kids in the little bathroom located in our classroom. (Is that true or did is that a made-up memory?) Tommy Sandhorst peed all around the tile clock on the floor. Dan Mason, Robyn and I chatted during naptime and got in trouble.

Amy with Mom and Dad - a little younger than 10? 

Age ten was cool! Double digits. Our daughter Amy didn't want to turn ten...even then aware that aging has a downside. I remember my parents teasing her that she'd be 9 forever and the rest of us would go on aging. Years later, Mom said, she would introduce her - "this is Amy, she is still 9 years old". That got her attention and she got on board with turning 10. Presents and cake helped too.

Most kids in Iowa love turning 14 - the age one can get a driver's learner permit. My dad was in charge of my driver training at our house. Remember manual transmissions? If you are from Atlantic you know the hill by the old YMCA with a stop sign. Me, Dave Bullock, a Chevy Vega, and that hill ended up with tears. Me, not Dad. He likely ended up with a few Gdammits. The friction point on that clutch was about a millimeter. Later when our kids learned how to drive, I knew it was the daddy's job to teach them. #noclutch

202 Crombie - the house I grew up in - I'd sit on the step and wait for friends to pick me up

At sixteen, most of us are excited about getting a real driver's license. Back in our day, there was no graduated license. Cigarette smoke (not mine), no seatbelts, radio cranked with girls packed in singing at the top of our lungs "scooping the loop" over and over. My friends had some cool cars - Joanie Troll - was it a Chevelle? Green. Robyn in her push-button transmission Plymouth Valiant. Sal had a sweet Merc. Candice, Kristi Davis, and others had memorable wheels. I was lucky to get to drive my Grandpa's 1971 baby blue VW while Momo and Bubba (our names for them) wintered in Florida. Otherwise, it was a 1972 bronze Buick station wagon courtesy of Dandy Don Deter's dealership. 

Yep, sixteen was sweet! It was nice when our children turned 16 and could drive themselves to athletic practices and other places around town. Jud was not as excited about it as Amy, who was fearless - ready to drive to Des Moines and everything. They didn't get cool classic cars. Amy first got a used small truck with tobacco spit stains on the door as the previous owner couldn't be bothered to spit all the way out of the door. Jud got the Higgins family's beloved "Novacaine", an old Chevy Nova. No, not the cool classic Nova - the tiny wimpy version that we couldn't ever get started - even when we plugged it in during the winter months. Today it's hard to tell most cars and SUVs apart. They all look alike.

Jud HS graduation with Kim McFee - best buddies when little, then he figured out she was a girl

Eighteen is a big deal - high school graduation, voting and other mostly cool stuff. In 1976, we could even legally drink at age 18. I did wait until I was done with sports. It made life easier - so much less sneaking around to get liquor. It wasn't a healthy relationship - too much drinking and driving back then. Many of today's generation are better informed about driving impaired - and they have more alternatives. Observing college-age kids with a drinking-age of 21, my opinion is that 21 is too old. I'd rather have young people drinking in bars instead of sneaking around drinking at parties. Eighteen is too young - but I'd like to consider 19.

College roomies - around age 20 

After 18? The big ones are the centuries. I was still at ISU at age 20 - that was a fun one! I was a busy mom at age thirty - it flew by. When I turned forty, a pretend casket appeared on my porch. I lost my mom that year to lung cancer - nobody is ever ready to be motherless. During my forties, I forged a closer relationship with Dad, which I cherish. 

Turning fifty was fun! My 11/4 birthday was on an ISU football gameday. Jeff McFee (11/3 birthday) and our usual tailgating clan had a ball that day. During my fifties Paul and I became "empty nesters). We love it and having adult children. I will only admit to a few nostalgic tears during Amy and Jud's milestones. Never mind that blubberfest during Amy/Paul's dance at her wedding to End of the Innocence, when Jud called to tell me he was asking Kara to marry him, and when Corey asked us about marrying Amy. I held up pretty well when dropping kids off for kindergarten, college, and graduations.

Family Shot - hey doesn't everyone do this? 

Our kids came to WDM to surprise me when I turned sixty. That was fun. Being in my sixties is rather a shock! How did this happen? Sixty has not been a milestone I looked forward to - like "hey, we qualify for senior stuff now - woohoo!". Who knew there would be a pandemic and we would get special treatment (no thanks to the virus for especially picking on oldsters).

This morning I went to Costco's special "Twice Weekly Senior Hour" to help meet shopping needs. Typical of oldsters, there was a line - even before the appointed hour of 8 a.m. Did I mention Iowa has a lot of 60+ people? I lined and tried to maintain social distancing - giving the "stink eye" to the lady behind me who was encroaching. Many people in line were not following those rules despite Costco signs explaining Social Distancing. Ugh! It's not that hard people. When I got to the entrance point, I waited for the door guard to say, "Hey, no way you are in your 60's, Imposter!" Alas, nobody has called me out yet.

Line at Costco

I was brave and purchased Corona beer for Paul. The checkout guys said the price has gone up, wondering if the increase is due to the number of idiotic people that believe the beer caused the virus. #hitbythedumbstick Yes, they had TP, but I'm on a search for antiseptic wipes and gel. Nobody has those. So I got wine too. I don't know why. I have barely imbibed alcohol since my February illness. Maybe I'll figure out a way to make our own gel. I got one of their excellent roasted chickens and a few other food items.

Meanwhile, life goes on for all of us. My heart goes out to those who have lost family and friends to this scary virus. Life today causes anxiety for all - especially those who struggle with mental health issues in the best of times. Send them some extra love.

A few of my friends are considered essential workers and others are in jobs that have no alternative besides going. Thinking of you all! It's stressful trying to keep hands washed, try not to touch your face and distance. Keep sharing good stories, important information and communicating. We are in this together y'all!