How do you make your coffee?

We use a french press. Water heats to a boil on the stove, then is set aside – off heat – until the bubbles still. Then we pour it over rough-ground coffee in the press and set it to steep for a while. Long enough to walk Ilya to the outhouse and back, pray the morning offering, and wonder why on earth we forgot to restock breakfast oats again this week and what will we have for breakfast?

It’s a lovely, little morning ritual. We have coffee every morning. Sometimes I sprinkle in a pinch of cardamom or a splash of vanilla before pouring water over the grounds, sometimes I whip cream to pile atop our mugs. Most of the time our coffee is simple: black, organic, fair trade, and intense.

Morning coffee time is sacred to plans and preparations. I make schedules and think over the day to come. The kids sip their little cups with minds on bananas or elves and ask interrupting questions about the lack of oatmeal in the house.

Recently, our plans and preparations in the coffee-hour have revolved around all the summer building projects: deck, studio, addition, garden beds, fencing .. as well as preparations for Yarrow’s upcoming first Communion and Confirmation.

The busy-ness of this season has kept me from writing as much as I’d like, but hopefully, as we fall into the new rhythm of the season – early mornings and late nights I’ll be back regularly again – coffe in hand – to share bits of life here.