Where to Downsize?

 We are looking for a smaller place with less maintenance, and we really aren't geographically limited in terms of places to live.  

Justin was the main reason we continued to live in south-central Wisconsin.  We both have some friends in the area, but not a lot of close family.  Julia's parents have both passed. My dad passed this year, and my mother isn't necessarily committed to living long-term in Iowa, although she will probably stay there in the short term. 

Have we considered staying in Wisconsin?  Yes, we know we like Madison, and we would consider living there, if it wasn't the most expensive place to live in the state of Wisconsin.  The truth is that we could sell our house and barely afford to trade to a newer two bedroom townhouse or condo.  Add in the much higher property taxes and a monthly chunk for an HOA, and living in Madison loses much of its allure.  

On the other hand, we know Madison.  We've lived in the area for over 40 years.  It's a progressive city with great parks, festivals, bike paths, lakes, etc. If we could find the right place that we could afford, we would certainly consider it.  But we've been looking at the market for quite awhile without finding anything that tempted us.   In the meantime, we are doing our due diligence to see if there might be somewhere else in the country for our next adventure.  

What are the criteria that we are examining for our next location? A medium-sized city in a walkable neighborhood, good bike trails, access to hiking (mountains and/or desert), diversity in culture and restaurants, sustainable water supply, sunny climate, less winter, affordable housing, good health care, reasonably low crime, a blue or at least purple state, and a thriving arts/weaving community.

We've done quite a bit of research already, and the four states at the top of our list have both pros and cons. None of them meet all of our wants, but life is about compromises. The three states we will visit this fall include:  Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.  There are four cities where we will airbnb in apartments and condos to get a better "boots on the ground" feel that can't achieved with internet/Zillow research.  

The plan is to blog about each of the cities as we experience them.

On a more immediate note, last night I won my first pickleball medal (bronze) at the second annual Baird's CAPA Cup.   It was my partner's first tournament, and we played at the 4.0 level (men over 50).  I felt like we both underachieved, losing badly in two out of three games at the start.  In the next three games, we were often behind but kept battling, winning each game to qualify for the bronze medal round.  Then we won decisively in the medal round.  It was a lesson to never give up--no matter how badly things are going.

 

Sweaty John

After Thanksgiving: Where to Go

 

 

From November 2021

Last fall was a stressful season trying to get Justin into a better care giver situation and/or living situation.  We tried but did not succeed.  I won't go into all of the details, but Justin didn't seem very invested in our efforts.  He was okay with the bare minimum and was totally unwilling to move to Madison, where there were more caregivers and services.  We worried constantly about hygiene issues, eating habits, his college status,  and missed doctor appointments, but there wasn't anything we could do.  And he didn't seem worried at all, except about our nagging and worrying. 

We had a long discussion during which he told us to stop worrying and go somewhere.

Thanksgiving 2021

 

We were double vaxed, freshly boosted, and ready for international travel.  We looked hard at the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico, but in the end decided to return to Puerto Vallarta, where I traveled in 2017.

Julia wanted to upgrade from my budget hotel last time, and I wanted to stay longer this time, so we compromised on a cheap flight and an Airbnb condo a few blocks away from the beach. Reservations for Callie were made at the bare-bones kennel, where their job is to keep Callie fed, safe and away from other dogs. 

On November 29th, we drove to Chicago, checked into our Stay and Park hotel, and got up early the next day.  It was time for another travel adventure.

 

Coffee Grinders and Travel

There are a number of fundamental truths about coffee.  One is “garbage in, garbage out.”  If  you start with crappy beans, it won’t matter how freshly roasted the beans are, nor will it matter what type of grinder is used.   Similarly, if you start with stale beans, grinding the beans doesn’t create fresh ground coffee.


How do you know that your coffee beans are fresh?  My rules of thumb, based upon twenty years of home roasting and five years of commercial roasting:  Raw coffee beans:  one to two years.  Beans with higher acidity (think brightness) tend to fade after a year  A low acid, big-bodied bean, like a traditional Sumatra, is good for a couple of years.

Roasted coffee beans:  one to two weeks.  Coffee is food, and taste will evolve over 14 days, but within acceptable limits.  Coffee beans are best used within a week after roasting.

Ground coffee:  Here, the rules vary, depending upon how fine the grind is (a fine grind is exposed to greater air surface area (oxidation).  In my coffee shop, I found that espresso needs to be “just ground.”  A few hours changes the extraction time.  A day can ruin espresso.  Coarser grinds are more forgiving.  Drip is generally acceptable for a weekend, and french press grind can go for 3-4 days.

Last week, we were headed out for five days to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  What would I do for grinding coffee?    Fortunately, I have the right tool for the job–a Zassenhaus Knee Grinder.

The knob to the left adjusts the grind from fine to coarse. The roasted beans are loaded into the compartment on the right.

The grinder is designed to be operated between the knees, while turning the handle in a circular motion.  When the beans have been processed, the grounds are collected in the drawer below.

In my opinion, Zassenhaus makes  the finest hand grinders in the world.  This one is vintage and acquired via Ebay years ago. The craftsmanship is incredible. No electricity required.