Highlights: I ran the gamut this morning from idealism and aspiration, to irritation and anger. Why? I was frustrated trying to stay focused right after setting a tone of appreciation for the engagement that comes from being needed. Yet it wasn't really Lucky's leash pulling or Jen's habit of routinely tying off a filled poop bag when Scottie typically performs an encore within a few minutes, OR even Lucky's backsplashed ass needing cleansing once home. I was struggling with a learning curve with coffee roasting after a few attempts to make sense of numerous cryptic and poorly edited posts and youTube videos. I just wanted a simple recipe and it's apparently not that simple. Different beans have different needs, different times throughout 1st and 2nd stages, the whole "first crack" thing I've yet to be able ot hear…. throw in acronyms and abbreviations I have no understanding of, and I was as out of my element as I am with my geek friends discussing video games, Necromancer, and weather Firefly or Serenity was the better of the two apparently related movies or TV shows or whatever the hell they were. I was 'cracking' quicker than the beans, looking at the frozen pack of stale flavorless Starbucks grounds still in our freezer as a far easier path. YET…, I was able to self soothe without rocking in the fetal position or drooling. Progress was made! (With both roasting and self soothing). I believe I have hit the 'sweet spot' with the roasting process. It's landing with strong floral/fruit/nut tones and as I elude to with a friend, an almost 'wooden' taste that lingers, reminiscent of chewing on a fudgsicle stick long after it had dissolved. it's our desired personal preference for a well balanced cup-o-joe that's not had all the subtle nuances overshadowed by the heartier dark side of the roast. Now I hope to achieve reproducibility. Along with that, Jen's heated coffee mug is working out and I'm excited about that, as she's a 'sipper' not a gulper. I started an email with neighbors to share and collected updated contact info which had always been useful to have when I lived her before. Tommy and I started a thread with David and Julia to coordinate a Utah visit in June. The leftovers from Christmas made for a pleasant day of foraging. I started working on updating my 'habits' logging app in anticipation of being in full swing next week but I'm not 'waiting' to start anything other than "Dry January" until then. That's right. "Dry" January. I'll be taking a break from pulling corks for a month alongside Jen as we do a bit of resetting and cleansing from the holiday "spirits". I got 85% of the fallen leaves blown and raked and gathered into the green waste bin and I'm hoping to squeeze the remaining in. That'll be 'it' for my fall yardwork demands for the rest of the year and into 2024. I'll conclude the day with some reading momentarily, after the routine pickup and setup for the day to come. I managed to make it through another one, with a few challenges yes, but strictly mental ones, nothing warranting a special license plate yet. Yet.