Creating coffee

One of the more surprising offshoots of not having one's own abode is the willingness to sleep in other people's houses, preferably when they aren't there. In other words, the availability to house and pet sit, or to stay overnight in different accommodations, like a cottage on the bay or a water tower with mice.

This week I am house and pet sitting for a friend in Marin County.  There are two resident dogs and my small Cooper, so the four of us are learning how to get along. Cooper is pissed, of course, that he once again must cope with plans other than his own, but since he is a dog and has little power, I am not too concerned about his haughty attitude.  One of the dogs at this house is young and frisky and large and should be taken out for walks to curb the energy he exudes, but alas, he will not let me get near him with the leash.  I can pet him, no problem, but if I have the leash in my hand he swiftly darts away and eludes my grasp.  His loss.

Additionally, living for a few days in someone else's place makes one realize how set in one's ways one is.  OK, OK, how set in my own ways I am.  One small example:  coffee.  I like coffee, good, strong, hot coffee.  I like to drink it in the morning, after I have walked whichever dogs are willing to walk with me.  I even bring my own ground coffee with me to make sure I get yummy and fresh brew.  But here, in a house that is equipped with every cooking device a person could want, there is no way to make coffee!  No coffee maker, which is fine, but no french press, no Melita cone, no hi-tech espresso maker.  Nada.  But I will not be discouraged!  I will find a way to have my morning cup of joe.

Hmmm, no paper towels.  That could be a problem.  But here are some sturdy paper napkins, and in this drawer a small strainer that will fit on the top of a large coffee mug.  By using my yankee ingenuity, I smush the paper napkin into the small strainer, add some delicious coffee grounds and slowly, very slowly pour very hot water over the grounds, just a bit at a time, until the coffee mug is half full.  I remove the strainer, sip the brew and it is friggin delicious!  I have coffee and no actual coffee maker was needed!  I feel like a pioneer.

Of course I could have boiled the grounds in a saucepan with water and made a version of camp coffee but this is so much more tasty and there are no nasty grounds to get stuck in my teeth.  My day has started off well, it is a good omen.  Now if I can only get that large dog to accept the leash, everyone will be happy.  Except for Cooper, of course, but even Cooper will eventually forgive me for once again disrupting his life.  Get use to it, little guy, life is all about disruption.  And pioneer coffee.

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