Allegro Coffee Costa Rica Las Lomas:   Available from Whole Foods, from the same line as the Allegro Breakfast blend which I reviewed earlier.   The Las Lomas starts out with a burnt toast flavor, and if I were to go a step further, I’d say specifically wheat toast.  Then the flavor dissipates into the familiar light-roast sweetness, with nothing distinct on the back end.  So if you like slightly burnt plain wheat toast, then this is the bean for you.

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It feels like the daily turning of events in the world is slowing.  Much of the normal daily churn that we’re used to has slowed or been put on hold until we figure out how deal with or weather COVID-19.    We continue to plan both at home and at work, but everything is affected and every plan has built-in uncertainty.  Timelines to return to normalcy are in constant flux, but in general seem to be pushing right into late summer or even fall.

At home things are still ok, but the days are definitely blending together as options to get out of the house are few.   I don’t, however,  feel like we have a bunch of more time on our hands.   While ‘home time’ has increased, so has surplus Finley-Collin energy, which must be managed.

However, I am conscious of the fact that, while we are doing our part as far as social distancing and quarantining is involved – we are not really feeling the true pain of this crisis.  I see these second-hand  through my computer screen on the news, and in a bit more depth in weekly magazine articles.   People are going through  some tough times across the world. 

Perhaps one of the things that makes this situation challenging is the paradox that, to help others,  the best thing most of us can do is not interact with them.   This contrasts with problems like poverty, hunger, war, social issues, and others, where one can take an active role in helping or work towards a solution.   With COVID, unless you are in the medical field, there’s not a whole lot of actions you can take (there are probably a few things, but they are limited) that don’t add more risk into an already risk-laden and uncertain situation.

But there are small things we can do.  Abide by the recommended mitigation measures, take it seriously and do your part, address challenges as best you can, and don’t succumb to or propagate a doom and gloom mindset.   Try to maintain a balanced perspective on the situation as it evolves.  The problems are complex so listen to a wide range experts before you form your conclusions.  And I do think this will take time to fully play out, so pace yourself mentally to deal with this for many more months.   

Only time will tell how this will go.  For what it’s worth (which is not much), here is my prediction:  as soon as the contagion starts to recede, our communities will try to return to normal too quickly, and COVID will resurge.  As a result, the second wave may see some social unrest as folks won’t have the patience to ride out another iteration of mitigation measures.   The economic effects will have a more  widespread impact than the sickness itself.   There will be permanent marks on society, and it will be interesting to see how we learn from them and what changes arise. 

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It’s Easter Sunday.   I found some eggs in my fridge and then ate them.

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Favorite Band of the month:  Vulfpeck.  I guess I’d describe them as an eccentric funk band with shades of Motown and blues.   Their music is heavy on beat and punchy, driving baselines.  The melodies are anchored to very catchy tune structures, which makes it easy to listen to, but it can also be complex enough to to keep the funk/fusion connoisseur (which I’m not) engaged.   It’s mostly instrumental (no singing), with occasional guest singers on a few tracks (most notably: “1612”).   My kids are hooked on it, which is good for me cause we can run it in the living room and they don’t complain.    Recommend pulling them up on YouTube and just letting the playlist run (start here).   For a taster, I’d recommend downloading the EP album “Mit Peck” for 7 bucks.  

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Lastly – I had a request for a pic of Collin, so here you go.   Red rain boots and all….