A Good Day Starts with Kona

I've once or twice mentioned my mother's cousin who lives in Hawai'i. Shortly after he moved there (which was years ago), he sent us a box full of stuff for Christmas. In it was a bowl made of koa wood, and a nifty box made of some other wood. Inside this box was a shell necklace and two bags of the best coffee ever. Even if you're not a coffee connoisseur (like I am not, but I can tell the difference between a good cuppa joe and a bad one), you can tell when you have Kona in your cup. Trader Joe's occasionally has Kona coffee available, but it's four times more expensive than the other coffee they carry (which is quite yummy). We did splurge on another Trader Joe's Hawaiian coffee that was about half the price of Kona, and is good in its own right. Target sells a Kona blend (some Kona blended with other coffee, probably a regular old Colombian, to make it cheaper) that is actually quite good, and satisfies that yearning for simply a good cup of coffee.

I would never bring the Trader Joe's Kona to share at work (I don't make that kind of money!) but a group of us are happy to share bags of Target's Kona blend. It's not the same as the true and good stuff, but it's far better than the crap that the office purchases. Days that start with Kona (even a little bit of Kona) are good days.




Yesterday started with Trader Joe's Hawaiian Peaberry (peaberry is a type of bean, not a variety of plant, that roasts and brews a little differently than regular, flat beans). Then Fox and Fae came over and together with mom and I, we headed into town on the Metro. It was quite cold for Sakura viewing, but that kept the crowd down (relatively speaking). We're in the peak bloom period right now (that's something we usually miss), even though there were still buds on the trees, they were not yet dropping petals. I never tire of looking at those flowering trees.

We also viewed the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, both of which I have never been to previously. I can't quite put words to what seeing them was like.

After a long hike to the Metro and a bit of crowding with baseball traffic, we were back in the area for dinner and bleeding.

Yes, I said bleeding! Think Geek has a DIY Blood Typing Kit and Fox decided it would be fun to test ours and see what we have. It's not exactly a reliable blood typing method (doesn't involve a laboratory to anything like that) but I think it delivers mostly accurate results. I wouldn't want to get a transfusion based on it, but it's nice to know your most-likely type. Fox bought three kits, and I had one, so we and Fae sat down to bleed on a card and see what we had. I was doing fine until it came time to prick my finger. Fox and Fae had done theirs (and they were barely bleeding), but I just couldn't do it. Fox had to do mine, which worked great, it didn't hurt, and I bled more than anyone; I was the only one who needed a bandage. Fae got enough to do the test, but poor Fox just wasn't bleeding. We tried a couple clean and disinfected needles, and that didn't work. Then we decided to scrap the thing and use the extra test. It's a good thing they had three!

At one point, Fae and I both exasperated that it would work if we could get enough blood out of him. I took over the lancet (since him doing mine worked so well for me). He still didn't bleed much, but it was enough this time. We discovered that I've been on the correct blood type diet for almost a year, and that Fox and I have the same A+ blood type (I guess that means I should keep him around). Fae is the coveted 0-, the same time as one of their close friends. It looks like it's a good thing to keep her around too, though I can't help her any.

This was a fun way to spend the evening. I've got a big bruise on my finger now, though. I should have chosen a different finger; I didn't realize how many important characters the left middle finger hits on a keyboard!

I just can't talk about yesterday's adventures without talking about that fabulous Nationals Home Opener that I wish I could have stayed up to watch. Nick Johnson was back on first, and he batted in a run and scored a run himself in the first inning. My dad was able to stay up for the game, and he was telling me all about it, and Ryan Zimmerman's game-winning home run in the ninth. What a great way to start off a new season in a new ballpark. I wish I could have stayed up for it.

And that was our Sunday!