Coffee Girls: Confession #11

Of course I like coffee! Just not the way YOU probably do. I often brew several types, one right after the other and then set them aside to cool down for an hour or two. Dark roasts, medium roasts, instant, not instant. I don’t care where they come from or what brand they are, I just care about the color they make. No, I’m not a weirdo. (My fourteen year old might think I am, but I’m not asking for her opinion, especially not at this time of the month… if you get what I mean. Or it might be a moon phase thing. Teenage girls, who really knows.)

Anyway, I’m a painter. I paint with coffee! No, I didn’t make it up, coffee (and tea) painting has been around for centuries. You use it like watercolor… only no pigments, just lovely shades of brown. Think of tonalism with a twist (and a smell). There’s a learning curve for sure. How much water, how much coffee, things like that. Also, if you let it sit too long, it molds. I once let one sit, covered, for about four weeks thinking it would age, you, know, like a fine wine. Sweet baby Jesus! The smell ’bout knocked me out. It also looked like something from a sci-fi movie crawling around in there. Wasn’t sure if I needed to call ghostbusters or an exorcist. Also, the dark roasts really stain, so be careful with them. I now have a “coffee painted” shirt, pants, and right shoe.

Coffee Girls: Confession #7

If I tell a bestie that “I really need a cup of coffee”, that’s my code for I’m having a pity party and I need some sympathy. Sometimes this party happens at my place, sometimes at theirs. Depends on how big the meltdown is. These never happen at a public place, like a coffee shop. Goodness no. I don’t have my pity parties in public. That would be embarrassing with the mascara running, and the sniffling, and the squeaky voice… you know what I mean. Why coffee and not something stronger? Well, for me, coffee is so much more sympathetic. The cup is warm and feels like a hug in my hands. It’s also like a little blanket of warmth as it goes down… unless I let it sit too long while I’m telling my sob story. Mostly though, it’s because it’s cheaper than booze.

The Coffee Girls: Confession #2

I’m not a morning person. Never have been. My days don’t start with me rolling out of bed with a smile on my face. I want to take my sweet time getting up. However, I have a job and it doesn’t let me work from home. I know there are hundreds, thousands, of others who have to start their day a lot earlier than I do, but still… it’s rough, and at this hour, I’m not too sympathetic to other people caught in this routine.

The alarm goes off for the third time and I drag myself into the kitchen with my eyes still closed. Thank goodness for a coffeemaker that lets me program it before I go to bed at night so it’s hot and ready when I get to it. What a luxury. I sit at the table and inhale the aroma as I try to get my eyes to open and my brain to start up, but it’s hard. It’s really hard. I’m truly in a dream-like state. I want to wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed, but it never happens that way. I always hope the coffee will help. Maybe I’m just immune to caffeine. I’ve never experienced a caffeine rush and I actually envy people who claim to get one.