Coffee, Reading, Creativity, and E-ink
Well, after technical difficulties and a good night's rest, I was able to post my first journal entry that originated as a handwritten journal. And now I'm at it again...LOL I really love this workflow. There is something special about the hand written word. I feel more connected to the thoughts I'm writing out. Even with technical issues, I still enjoyed the process. I'm looking forward to the Supernote devices. Their process is much more writer friendly. And the stylus is more like a natural pen...hehehe
I'm trying something new with my coffee drinking. Over time, I gradually increased how much coffee I drank. When I used a machine, I would stick to a single cup because it used those pods. At the time, I still ground my own and used reusable stainless steal pods. The pods kept me disciplined to a single serving. When I switched to pour over early last year, I tended to fill my kettle and decanter. That equaled two cup fulls of coffee. Later in the year, I added another coffee session in the evening. So, I went from one cup/mug a day to four. Wow! I honestly didn't intend to do that. What's that old saying? Put a frog in a pot of water and heat it. They don't know they're going to boil to death and they stay in the water. Or something like that...LOL That's sort of what I was doing. In general, caffeine has little impact on me. But that much caffeine started to be noticeable. Now that I use a French press, I've reduced back down to a single serving per session. So, that made it two cups instead of four. And now I'm trying just my morning coffee without the evening Cup. We'll see how that goes. I had become concerned with how much caffeine I was consuming. I hadn't been feeling well after the second cup. I realized the amount of caffeine was actually making an impact and knew it was time for a change ❤️
When I read in the evening before bedtime, I only read fiction. It shuts my mind down because it's fun and entertaining instead of engaging. Well, at least the books I'm choosing...LOL Right now, I'm reading Grimm's tales. That has been fun. I'm also thinking about reading The Time Machine. I'd love to read a novel. But that may become a weekend thing. I can't read anything engaging before bed. And I may not have much time during the week. Have a few non-fiction books I'm reading. Those are taking awhile since I have limited time during the week and can't read thought provoking content right before sleeping. So, for now, I get to those when I can. I'm so glad to be reading so much, though. It seems like a healthier thing than the amount of TV I used to consume...LOL
I still have some TV shows I stay on top of. I do limit myself on how much I watch each week. Since it is all on streaming, I really don't have a time constraint to watch a specific day or time. I used to binge watch. I don't do that anymore. Thankfully some of the streamers started releasing new episodes each week like the good old days. Those new releases are ones I'll watch the day the episode drops. It gives that nostalgic feel of how TV used to be ❤️
I haven't been doing much of my art this year I'm hoping to get that spark back soon. The same with my book writing. And I'd love to write poems again. I'm feeling inspired again. It's slowly returning. I love to create. And I miss it dearly when I take these long breaks. I never want to burn out. So it's good to take breaks when I need to. But I'm getting that glimmer to create. I have ideas in my head that want to come out and play...hehehe
I had a really pleasant walk this evening. I even got to see one of my dog friends. The pond isn't looking very healthy. The complex hasn't been taking care of it as well this year. They are taking care of the pool, though...LOL Perhaps that's because people use the pool and no one can use the pond because of the alligators? LOL Starting next week, they are closing the pool for maintenance. This time they are draining the pool. So it is something major.
I just got an email telling me my Supernote order has shipped. It's coming from California near the airport I flew into last July...LOL When I saw that, I was like, "Hey! I know that place!" LOL I wasn't expecting it to ship until the end of the week and for it to arrive until next week. The current ETA is Wednesday. It's like Amazon...LOL I ordered directly. So, it's not actually Amazon. This is a pleasant surprise.
But I did order some things from Amazon too. I ordered a new beard trimmer that I'll also use to shave with. I ordered new spatulas and tongs. I've been needing to replaces those for awhile. And I ordered a baseball Jersey that I may wear to the game next month. I need to get my outfits finalized for my trip because it will be here before we know it...LOL I don't want to do it last minute.
I went with meatless Monday...hehehe I had toast for breakfast, a veggie burger for lunch, and tofu fried rice for dinner. And all of my snacks were meatless. I don't always go meatless. But it's fun on Mondays. For Taco Tuesday, I won't go meatless. I'm making fish tacos for dinner. I have other fish I need to eat soon too. I don't cook chicken, pork, or beef often anymore. I got out of that habit when I did the pescatarian diet. So, at home, I still do that mostly. But I eat the other meats when I eat out.
Speaking of that, I had chicken and beef on Saturday. The beef was a hamburger at Culver's. The chicken was at Chicken Guy. That was my first experience at Chicken Guy. I was impressed. The chicken was tender, well seasoned, and the sauces were great. I had the hot and spicy chicken and Nashville Hot sauce. It didn't seem too hot to me. But I imagine it would have been hot to the average person. I also tried the Bourbon BBQ sauce and the Ranch. Both were really good. It's a place I would happily go to again if the option comes up again.
Writing this by hand has had a few advantages. The first being the aforementioned connection with my thoughts. I feel the words from my mind as I write them. It doesn't feel like this when I type. The other advantage for me is the reduced eye strain. I spend too much time on screens. E-ink doesn't have the problems a computer screen has been for me. I started looking into e-ink monitors for my computers...LOL They are very expensive. So, I may not be doing that...LOL Maybe someday the technology will be cheaper for most of what I do professionally and personally, e-ink would work great. I hope to go that route for my computers someday.