Compromises

So the Fresh Roast and I have made a compromise without having to send it back and without further complaint. I'm still not as pleased with the roasts as I was with the first roaster, but I think I'm getting pretty close with some changes. The roaster now gets connected to a 100ft extension cord borrowed from my husband's shop. Then I make sure the a/c, 2 fans and the tv is on. For some reason when the roaster is set up to the extension cord, the fan works a little better and the heating element is a little less hot. I'm now getting roast times up to the 9-11 minute mark. I still think anything under a FC roast will be too grassy, but the coffee is getting tasty again.

I picked up some Guatemalan from Jones coffee in Pasadena, and it already smells great from roasting yesterday. It'll be really convenient to have a local source of beans without having to stress about shipping rates and availability. I'm so hoping it won't disappoint.

I'm having a lot of fun with the beading books my husband brought home. I made an alligator for the wife of the couple that took care of my husband in Japan as a thank you gift. We are sending some other things as well, like coffee from Jones coffee.

I also made a flying piggie for my older sister and it has to be one of my favorite beaded projects so far. She is also getting 3 necklaces that we collaborated on while she visited. One is from a Tiffany bracelet given to her by an ex-boyfriend. It was oval pearls that was only knotted between the last 2-3 pearls and although pretty, was not really her style. So it is getting reincarnated into a long necklace with oval czech glass beads in the Tiffany blue opaque with a delicate chain in between the beads. It's simple and will be very pretty. The nice thing is we'll incorporate all the original bracelet's components, and if she gets bored down the road it can get done up a different way again. The gift that keeps on giving.

On the knitting front, I should finish my flower basket shawl, but in typical style, I already have my eyes on another project. The Japanese knitting book my husband also gifted me with has a great sweater with an acorn and oak leaf cable up the front. I already have yarn set aside and have started to play with swatches in another comparable yarn. I really need to think about getting pictures up!