OT: good coffee vs bad
Russ Barnard
8 years ago
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Russ Barnard
8 years agoRelated Discussions
How Bad Is Digging Wet Clay? bit OT
Comments (9)Drippy, even though I certainly wasn't an avid gardener when I lived in Alabama, if the rule was "don't dig in wet clay ever" then nobody would ever get anything planted. And, certainly if that clay bakes hard enough that the surface cracks you'll wish you had dug when it was wet. I know since I've been up here I've learned that using machinery such as a rototiller on wet soil (like the spring thaw kind of wet) can do damage that takes years to undo. The machine apparently creates enough friction that some of the clay in the soil crystallizes. It was specifically said that the clay in the soil does that, not the other components. (This advice from Bill Lord of the UNH extension). I asked if this was true with just hand turning soil and the answer was clearly a "no." So, avoid rototilling, but I think you can plant things unless it's just totally sopping wet. I think token's advice is pretty good, but short of total drenching rains I don't know if you can avoid wet clay all together. One more point you might find useful from him. He addresses the "pine straw is good for acidic plants" belief by saying that studies have shown it has no affect on pH. The pine sap is acidic, but the straw is not as acidic. Once the straw breaks down the calcium, which is the main component of the cell walls (if I remember correctly) balances out any acid in the needles to create a neutral organic product. I don't know if you're covered up in pines as Huntsville has many more hardwoods than the lower areas of Alabama, but just in case you have easy access to straw. Also, take my advice lightly. As I said, I wasn't an avid gardener when we were surrounded by the brick-quality clay....See MoreCoffee Or Coffee Maker For Good Coffee?
Comments (23)I use 12 level tbsps of coffee plus about 1 1/2 more for our ten-cup Braun. I always offer guests added hot water if it's too strong, but no one has ever complained. We buy Don Francisco online or from the catalog; it's DH's favorite. Don't care for Starbucks; it tastes very harsh to me. We have a variety of D.F. flavors that we like. When they have a sale we occasionally spring for Kona. There is now a discussion about coffee brewed in French press coffee makers being bad for one's cholesterol. A Dutch study comparing filtered to unfiltered coffee indicated that this was the case. There's a fair amount online about this question. I just googled 'french press coffee cholesterol'. Very interesting information....See MoreIs this layout good, bad, or just ugly?
Comments (14)I have a U that has 92" legs and 160" on wall B. I can assure you you don't want an island as a barrier in an efficient U. Your U will only be 26" wider than mine--that's two steps. A small rolling island would come in handy for putting groceries away in the fridge. I have to put mine on the peninsula and leave the fridge doors open while I go back and forth. It's only for a few seconds, but I've been trained not to leave the fridge door open. ;) My peninsula is 39" wide, including the countertop. Widening the peninsula will give you a deep prep area, shorten the U slightly, and provide better splash protection behind the sink. My splash zone is 19" and splashes have gone almost to the edge. (My sink is short, only 17" deep.) My wide peninsula functions as an island, though not as ideal as one across from a range. It's great for rolling crusts and anything else where I need to spread out. What will you do on the family room side of the peninsula? You have a very long cabinet run for it to be solid cabinetry. With my wider peninsula, I added 12" of cabinets behind the 24" deep sink cab, DW, and trash cabinet. The two end cabinets have doors and hold bar glasses and fine china. I also didn't want just one cabinet at the end as it seems dated to me. When we first set up the kitchen, we had a coffee center in the corner where you plan yours. Though we have no prep sink, it became a pain to carry the mugs there when we unloaded the DW. We now have it to the right of the sink and it works fine without getting in the way of cooking and washing dishes, even though my corners are tighter than yours. We can make coffee from the DR side of the peninsula if someone is making brunch at the sink and stove, as happened on Christmas. Your corner prep sink eliminates one drawer from your kitchen, forcing you into the island for storage. It's an expensive solution for making a cup of coffee. In my B and C corner, I made a dead zone in the base so I could have full drawers on both sides. I read someone's analysis of the actual storage space in a Susan vs. two drawers, and the drawers had more usable storage....See MoreKitchen designers...the good and the bad!
Comments (12)As a KD, I have a bit of advice for anyone consdering it as a career. 1. Educate yourself in overall construction techniques and all aspects of the trades. This is often a KD's biggest lack in education because it's very often left out of the "design" programs at most universities. Know national and local building codes. Buy the book if you need to. Learn about plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and flooring as well as finish carpentry and cabinet making. Never pass up an opportunity to converse with any of the tradesmen on the jobs. You never know where your next bit of useful information will come from, and it helps to be perceived as friendly and caring to those other trades you should be working with, not against. 2. Know your spec book. Anyone can put boxes on accurately measured walls. That's not designing. That's about 15% of the work of desgining a kitchen. The rest of the 85% is in knowing which boxes will actually work and add function without blowing the clients budget. You only know that by learning your spec book. If cabinet line XYZ has 5 different options of finishing off a cabinet size along with 5 different (but similar) codes for those 5 ways, you'd better have your spec book in hand when designing or ordering. When the new book comes out, take the time to look over every page. You never know what has changed, and the cabinet reps sometimes aren't the mose useful of info sources. 3. Get out of the showroom. Go to any of the sites that are in the middle of installs and watch. Stay out of the way, but learn. Make friends with the installers and buy them coffee and donuts to start the day, and while they're enjoying that, ask them questions about "real world" of installing cabinets vs. the "design world" that some designers never are able to get out of. Installers know what will work in a kitchen and what's a ridiculous waste of space and money. They save your butt by suggesting creative solutions to problems that arise. They're a better source of design education than are many designers. And watching a design come together in 3D right in front of your face really does help to cement the the translation from paper pictures and diagrams to reality. Kitchen designers who are on site and learn from their installers become better kitchen designers. 4.Learn from your mistakes. Sounds simple, doesn't it? It's not. Some people NEVER learn from mistakes and keep repeating them time and again. THey're usually the boss's relatives and can't be fired. "grin] Everyone will screw up some time. Always own up to it right away. NOthing is worse than to try to cover it up or shift the blame. NOt only is it unprofessional, but it doesn't teach you anything. Be solution oriented, not blame oriented. Keep the customer in the loop on the problem solving. That doesn't mean that they should be right there in the middle of a very technical trades issue, but it does mean calling them back even if there is no news to tell them. "Hello Mrs. Smith, This is Isabella at Wonderful Kitchens. I just wanted you to know that we're still waiting to hear from the manufacturer about that issue that you have with your pantry door. I spoke to Becky Lou there this morning and she told me she'd get to me by tomorrow. I just wanted you to keep you up to date on what's happening, even though nothing much really is happening." And document everything. Take notes on everything so that you can go back and review if some question arises. 5. Be prepared for a lot of hard work and long hours and not very much money. That's a deal breaker for most in the end. It's like real estate, or Mary Kay. 80% of the people that go into KD really are in love with the fantasy of being a KD, and not the reality. THe reality is, you'd better love your job, because it takes a long time to work your way up to making any real money at it. And, the whole while you're broke and eating peanut butter sandwiches, you have to dress for success to impress the clientele. People want a designer who looks like she is a "designer". They don't want somone in jeans and a t shirt no matter if they have 30 years of experience. Thrift stores and stock overrun places are your friend, and nothing says "designer" like a wierd scarf and some goofy eyeglasses. It's a stupid game, but those are the rules the clients expect you to play by. 6. NEVER stop learning. Hang out here. Read all the magazines you can get your hands on. Go to appliance seminars if you can. (Ask the local appliance store to let you know the next time a manf. rep will be in and go talk to them.) Have an insatiable curiosity about everything kitchen or construction related. Know about sun tubes, the insulating prperties of icystyrine, the standard size of Kitchen Aid mixers, the Janka scale hardness of oak vs. Brazillian Cherry, where to get rain glass locally, who will take donations of old cabinets, which plumbing firms to smile when the client asks about and which to frown about. If you don't cook, learn how and make dinner in your own kitchen at least twice a week. Learn about different cuisines, even if you don't like them. LEarn about different kitchen gadgets and how often they will or won't be used. Keep up on color trends, wood trends, as well as "classic" style. Be an information sponge. 7. Know when to shut up. OK, you've amassed all of this knowlege and you do this for a buisiness and your client only does this once in her life. So you start telling her about all of this knowledge in your head that just wants to burst out. She doesn't care. What she cares about is HER kitchen. And, every kitchen will be different, even if they look virtually identical. Listen to your client and TAKE NOTES about what SHE finds important. If you see her searching for ideas, then offer to educate her about her choices. Always mention that there are other choices/alternatives to what she wants, but unless she shows some interest in hearing about those additional choices, you come off as pompous trying to tell her about what she wants in her kitchen. If she's making a really bad decision about her kitchen in your experience always bring that to her attention gently. "Mrs. Applebottom, have you thought about trying a mock up of having only 30" aisles around that 48" wide island. I think it might be a good idea to try that to see if that really will be functional for you." I know I said to know your bulding codes, because they are usually there for safety reasons, but your customer really doesn't care about codes. SHe DOES care about safety. Explain the reasons behind the code if she's about to do something stupid, but she doesn't want to hear that it's against code. If she insists on doing something stupid, then you have your notes (remember, I said take notes) to fall back on when she comes to you a month after the finished product to whine about not having room to open her oven door because of that darn big island. Being a KD is wonderful fun! But, it's also like renovating your own kitchen every day, every month, for years ongoing. YOu have to stay on top of the details. And if you find you don't care about the details, then it's time for you to quit....See MoreRuss Barnard
8 years ago
Kippy
8 years ago
flamingfish
8 years agoRuss Barnard
8 years ago
bpath
8 years ago
Lily Spider
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agochispa
8 years ago
funkycamper
8 years agoUser
8 years agoI had a Keurig years ago and hated it quickly - the pods drove me nuts. It's nice for "quick and go" or dinner parties but my husband and I drink a lot of coffee so Keurig didn't work for us. We use a regular coffee maker now and go through 8-12 cups every morning.
I've been dreaming of an espresso maker and while visiting Williams-Sonoma the other day a nice lady made me a cappuccino from a Nespresso machine and I feel in love. It was so quick and easy. But I didn't buy the machine that day because I didn't like the idea of using those pods.... Then I found the same machine at Best Buy for $150, it includes the milk frother (which retails for $65-$99) and a $50 gift card was included (so I got a waffle maker at no charge).
It's the best deal I could find and so far I love it!! I enjoy an afternoon cappuccino almost every day now. The milk froths so quickly along with the machine going - so in less than a minute I have a delicious drink.
I will add that I use to be a Starbucks junkie - I went every day for a year. They knew my name, drink, etc... And then my "gold" card came in the mail and I quit going cold turkey lol. I still love SBs and the Nespresso hasn't made the exact latte but it's very close so I'm happy with it.
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