Eclipse checklist: I’m ready.

Seems we’re expecting tens [maybe hundreds] of thousands of folks heading to our area for this weird thing happening up in the sky on Monday.

Bring it on. There are rumors of our utilities being overtaxed, what with visitors needing things like water, electricity, and basic sanitation–seems there’s no pleasing some people.

I say, bring on the apoc-eclipse. I am all over this.

First and foremost…coffee [pre-pulverized, in case we lose power], my Clever Coffee Dripper, and coffee beans [we snobs like it fresh ground, if possible]. Filters don’t rate a photo, but they’re in my emergency pack, as well.

coffee and clever

 

Second, [again, if we lose power] a heat source…boil water for coffee and grill whatever will be thawing out from the freezer. And there’ll be lots of unfrozen fruit on our paper plates as well. Not so surprisingly, even in these potentially dire situations, I’ll still be unimpressed by the bumper crop of summer squash holding up our side fence.

charcoal heat and cooking source

 

Next, my most vital food stuff.

kettle-corn

 

Still in the sustenance department, nothing like a little touch of whimsy…

boffo

Seems someone in the household is having boundary issues.

 

On the day of the eclipse, I guess I’ll humor those millions of alarmists who seem to think a) they know more than I do  b) I need these when looking at sun and moon in partial eclipse phase.

eclipse glasses

 

 

NASA is also inviting us to be citizen-scientists. My specialized headgear is a clear sign I take this responsibility seriously. [My wife agrees it’s a clear sign of something else.]

light bulb hat citizen scientist

 

And if outages persist and I get desperate…

nose and glasses

These should perfectly disguise me when I saunter into someone’s living room and snag their generator complete with, I hope, an idiot-proof instruction manual.

 

I just noticed the missing eyebrow. That’s a problem. I’ll be a whole lot easier to pick out in a lineup. Luckily, the headgear will help me blend in. Then again, will I make it to the lineup or will there be an executive decision to transport me elsewhere?

“Produced With Genetic Engineering”

Yep, that’s the claim on the back of the Oreo Mini bag. [The breakfast of champions, I might add. Nature’s most perfect food.]

And that’s our lead story in today’s edition of ‘Neither Here Nor There’. [NHNT]

“Produce with Genetic Engineering”. Sure I could have looked it up, but frankly I’d rather muse over what it might mean, or make fun of it, or come up with my own explanation.

Next item: Coffee, the life blood of many. My favorite coffee maker: The Clever Coffee Dripper. I bought one about five years ago from Sweet Maria’s. Haven’t been without one since. The grounds steep in the hot water for an ideal four and a half minutes. [Stirring at the 1:30 and 4:00 mark is strongly suggested.] You set it on top of your mug and the contact with the mug’s rim releases the coffee via a weight-controlled valve.

clever coffee

Heaven. Arabica heaven.

Next item: Fueled by the ***aforementioned Oreo Minis,  I reverted back to pen and notebook this morning. Felt great. Seems to weave right into the whole mindfulness thing that’s marched [though methodically, with rhythmic steps, and perhaps some John Tesh music drifting in the background] into our consciousness of late. [But with good reason].

*** Perhaps the snootiest word I’ll be using this month.