Category: Family

Family related posts; generally only of interest to fellow members of the Brown Clan and relations by Marriage into this mad house.

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Coffee accessories – Tamper

Tamper

Over the last few years, I have really gotten into high-quality coffee. During my free time, I have even started to experiment with the coffee I drink to get the best taste and have even got a milk frother from this link after reading through the various frothers reviews available on it. For home and office use, I generally drink brewed coffee.  At home I make it in a Chemex.

Chemex

While when at the office I use an Aeropress.

Aeropress

I have a cheap basic expresso machine at home but tend not to use it much, getting much better results with my brewing methods.

But I enjoy a good espresso, and espresso based milk drinks, and I would like to make that at home, so this past few weeks I have been practicing my technique using my basic espresso machine.

The internet is a wonderful tool for learning, I have fixed my plumbing from watching YouTube videos, so I have been researching and learning how to make reasonable espresso using basic equipment.

Tamper-2

I have mastered the milk and can now make wonderfully sweet creamy steamed milk with lots of microfoam.  So now I have been experimenting with the espresso itself.

While changing the grind and dose has improved things, I was getting too much expansion blocking the flow of water so it was time to buy a real tamper.

Tamper-3

Tonight it arrived so I have been experimenting with different pressures, grind and dosing, so far its looking good and it will be interesting to see how far I go with this.

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Pet Photography

Sox - by Field of Dreams Photography

On Monday we visited the Gainsborough Kennels belonging to the Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust to see some of their dogs available for adoption.

A local photographer has also kindly lent his time to take portraits for many of the dogs for the Trusts website.  Pet photography can be tricky and like when working with young children requires lots of patience.

Timmy

Currently Sox and Timmy are our two favourites, its just such a shame we cannot adopt them all.

 

All photography on this post copyright Field of Dreams – http://www.fieldofdreamsphotography.net

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Visiting the Greyhounds

This Sunday the Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust was at the Lincoln Carlton Pets at Home Store.

We paid them a visit and asked lots of questions, as well as spending a good deal of time petting the Greyhounds.

I think we are both set now on getting a Greyhound, its just a question of when.

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Canine Research

Island Crossing-1-dogs

Over the last couple of years we keep thinking about getting a dog.  Where we used to live was completely unsuitable but now having the dream bungalow in the countryside this is now a possibility.

Caroline loves greyhounds but we have been keeping our options open and researching over the last few months which breed would suit us best and our lifestyle.

Well as luck would have it Greyhounds are just about perfect for us and we also have a lady at work who has some, so we have been bombarding her with questions as well as doing the usual internet research.

Once we have the garden a bit straighter and the fences all finally replaced making it secure then we will be looking to get ourselves a wonderful sighthound / needlenose otherwise known as greyhounds.

 

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Getting the Garden Straight

Another weekend of gardening for us.  We started off by digging out the chicken run and cleaning it up.  A number of the bushes on the border are very over grown one them a pyracanthas has to come out before we can get the fence replaced so that is what I did as my main weekend job.

 

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a Christmas Walk

Stream Side WalkAs I mentioned yesterday, last week saw us having the first walk in about four months.

We enjoying walking and Lincolnshire is often overlooked as a walking county but has lots to recommend it.  From flat fenland and marsh, to woodland and the rolling Wolds.  We also have one of the great long distance footpaths running through the county, the Viking Way.  It was the Viking way that we made a central feature to this walk.

Orkney Explore-2

Light rain was forecast for the start of the walk ending with heavy rain, so equipped my best walking Gore-Tex trousers and full walking gear I felt well ready to face the elements.  With this winter being so mild I dressed slightly lighter then usual but did have an extra fleece in my ruck sack.

We started at Woodhall Spa and first dropped into a rather nice little tea room for a hot soup and bread roll to start is off in the right mood.

The light rain arrived as expected but then cleared up so the bulk of the walk was done in the dry.  Heading out of Woodall Spa we joined the Viking Way and a brisk walk ensued.  After a few miles we detoured away from the  Viking Way and looped back before joining back on the Way after a nice walk by some local woodland.  This led us back into Woodhall Spa from the other side.  In total about a six and a half mile walk, so nice and easy but having not done any serious walking in the last few months, with the fast pace we really felt the last mile and a half.

Heres hoping to a great 2016 of walking.

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a New Year

The Ring of BrodgarIts been an odd and occasionally stressful 2015.  The lows were my mum, Christine Brown admitted to hospital and having to have an operation to remove her gaul bladder.  There was also my father-in-law Alan Turner having to spend time in hospital having a couple of operations starting with his new knee which has left him far less mobile this year.

With all of this we still managed to accomplish a few goals.  Photography was very light, a few working shoots; weddings and studio work, and we also finally finished the end room.

At the start of 2015 we stripped the end room down to bare plaster and the concrete floor.  We then re-plastered, re-decorated and finished the room with book cases and our piano plus hi-fi.  This end room captures the sun and has french doors out to the garden so is a lovely room to relax in.  This is now our ‘sun room’, music room, library and has the space to be my studio.

We also had solar panels fitted to the house so my goal to be energy independent within ten years is on track.  The final step is to get battery storage sorted and a replacement to our oil fired boiler but that will not be for a few years.

The highlight of the year was our second honeymoon on the Orkney Islands, with my wonderful wife.  This year was our tenth anniversary and we took the opportunity to re-visit these lovely Islands.

Orkney Sea Scape

For 2016 the plans are for a lot more photography, I did very little wildlife or landscape so I intend to get out there at least once a month.

I shot a couple of rolls of film in 2015 and want to increase that, also develop more myself.

On a fitness note, we cancelled the gym to give us more time and certainly my shoulders are telling me I got a good strength workout this last week with all the gardening we did but we do need to do more cardio.  Last year we went for a few walks on some of the Orkney Islands but not much else, so we must do better.  So far in the last week we did a 6.5 mile hike along the stretch of the Viking Way and on Sunday did our first bike ride in over a year.  In 2014 we commuted to work in the summer twice a week but in 2015 did not go on the bikes at all.  This year we also intend to correct that.

Around the house and garden the next projects are to put up all new garden fences round the property and also get rid of some of the more thorny bushes we have growing and replace them with climbing roses, blackberry bushes and clematis.  In the house the main project will be to decorate the kitchen.

Here is wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Christmas has now passed but we still have the New Year to look forward to.

Christmas day was a quite day for us, just myself and Caroline with our respective parents at our place for the day.

Boxing day was a little busier and loader.  Including Tilly the Dog we had thirteen with us for the day, so with a dog and young children around is was noisy and fun Boxing Day.

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Christmas Party Season is well underway

Last Friday was the official works Christmas party, good food and good company.  We have also had a few more small team meals and get togethers over the last week and some of us also went to see old work colleagues from previous companies we used to work for.

We are all now on a final countdown for the big Christmas holiday.  Last year I had to work but this year I have Christmas to the new year off but will be squeezing in one Christmas theme photoshoot.