back in KC?

Uh, we're back. I know it's good to be back from California, but I don't know how good it is to be back in KC. Tornadoes are ripping the place up and our basement is flooded pretty good. Our boxes are almost bobbing like a child's imagination in a good story book illustration.

Our cat bj is completely mental. We don't know why, but he's terrified of the main floor of the house. He will huddle in the wet basement or yowl upstairs. On the main floor, he's as low and fast as he can go. Oh, and Sarah and I are being trained for having a child, or punished for going away. No sleep thanks to the cats.

Sarah came back with her belly a little bigger. She returned from MN with her bike and a bag full of tot clothes thanks to Grandma C. Thanks Grandma C. However, creepy bear that laughs? You know the rules. Functional items or toys from the 19th Century. More of that and we will wake up one day like Gregor Samsa.

It takes a certain something to live in Southern California, doesn't it? What offsets all the traffic and concrete and brand names? Sheer proximity to Northern Cal might do it.

This trip to the Coffee Show was pretty fruitful. I met a lot of folks out there I hadn't met before. The coffee roaster community is growing large, and I enjoy being a freaky cog in that machine. I came away more certain of what I do not want to be involved with in the Coffee industry. I need my work to be an art, I need a positive sense of community and I need some serious coffee freak factor. I need less pomp in my life. One should not have to designate one's work or product as 'quality', nor should one have to promote some thing as ethical. Both terms and qualities should be evident in presentation and practice.

Well, I think my brain just stalled. Much love and more comments soon to our readers and NC magnets. we feel the pull.

xo