Notes from an Insomniac

I'm an insomniac. I get caught in a bit of a nasty cycle where I can only sleep for a few hours a night, and even those are fraught with fits of waking. Last night was one of those nights and here's what happened while sitting on my living room floor at 3am:


(Point of interest - the letters above were used by a fellow who used to draft gravestones for granite companies in Barre, VT. God bless craigslist.)

I find it hard to believe that my insomnia comes from my love of coffee. It's not like I've had so much in the last month or so that I have collected a giant mound of used coffee filters (which I only use at work, by the way, so that does not take into account my home brewing) and java jackets...


Oy.

A proud nation...

Ah heck, I indulged myself by prattling on about my coffee addiction so I might as well go all out. As a wayward, yet devoted daughter of Red Sox Nation, I send out a HOLY FREAKING CRAP THEY WON!!! to all of my brethren.

My Methyltheobromine Fix

Ok, fine. I admit it. I'm a coffee junky. One of my driving passions in life is to collect every odd method of roasting and brewing coffee in existence. One of my more recent acquisitions was a Silex vacuum brewing pot from the mid 1950's. Sure, they make modern versions, but what's the fun in brewing without wondering if shoddy wiring will burn your house down?

Here's how I spent my Sunday morning. Please forgive the shaky photography - this was pre-caffeination after all...

The silex in all its glory:

Coffee goes on top, water goes on the bottom. Antiquarian plug goes out the side into my wall...


One of my favorite bits is how the heating element can be seen through the bottom of the pot. It comes up looking like a warm orange glow of happiness that will soon bring life giving coffee:


And just when your head is screaming in agony from coffee withdrawal and you can barely muster up the energy to revel in this most marvelous of experiences, the water finally reaches the ideal temperature and is sucked via vacuum to the top chamber where the grounds are waiting...waiting...


At this point I tossed the camera aside in favor of a large mug. You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that the resulting dark elixir was full bodied, lacking bitterness, and much smoother than brew from a french press. It is indeed a spectacular cup of coffee. I highly recommend it.

A Most Polite Warning

As found on Elmwood Ave in Burlington VT last night:


That's either one very polite trash company or an extremely sympathetic neighbor. Either way, who says manners have gone by the wayside?

Man Down

As found on the streets of Montreal this past weekend. It appears that in war there are no winners...

Lunch break

What I chose to do during my lunch today (with apologies to Rene Magritte):

Before the beginning

To start: let me say that I don't own an IPod, a PDA, a Mac or most anything that would label me part of the decade or part of the under 30 crowd. I still lock and unlock my car door manually, write everything down in small notebooks, and use fountain pens. I do, however, own a camera, and my intention here is to photograph the odd, the beautiful and the humorous around me and disseminate. I don't believe my ideas to be particularly astounding or original, so I'd rather contribute by image than by word.

Stay tuned...