In The Groove

Summer Miller performed at Insomnia Coffee Company Friday with Joshua Walker on percussion. Not only did they perform well together, but right from the start they found a common groove with the full house that was there. Once in that groove, they kept it up until past eleven. Great job, and I'm sure they would be welcomed back.



“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” -Dr. Seuss

Free Coffee...

...it's organic, and your plants will love it.

Used coffee grounds are a great way to give your composting a kick start, added directly to parts of the garden or mixed into the compost pile. Even your worm bin, if you have one, will thrive.

The grounds are nitrogen rich and acidic. Ask your friends who know more than me about gardening (that would be anybody) about it. Hey, give them a bag too, and tell them about Insomnia Coffee Company.

Now if your friends want to taste some fine coffee, please be sure they try the fresh stuff at Insomnia's coffee house, not the used grounds in the bag. By the way, they do sell it fresh by the bag, so if you know any gardeners who are also coffee lovers, it's in the bag.

If you don't have any friends to help you, here's a Google page about Composting With Coffee Grounds. Go there and learn all you need to know. Better yet, if you don't have any friends, head on over to Insomnia Coffee Company and make some. Share some conversation over a cup and feel good knowing the used coffee grounds will be giving someone's garden a jolt.



A sudden violent jolt of it has been known to stop the victim's watch, snap his suspenders and crack his glass eye right across.” - Irvin S. Cobb

Editors note: Okay, I have no idea who Irvin S. Cobb is or what the heck he is talking about in this quote. I was just looking for a quote on 'jolt' and this came up. Hope it isn't offensive - let's just say he was talking about coffee. - Dan

Friday Music

Photo by Jeff Bizzell

Local Acoustic/Folk Rock/Indie artist Summer Miller will be on the Insomnia Coffee Company stage this Friday at 9 pm. You can check out her MySpace Music page at Summer Miller Music.

May looks to have a good lineup of talent already, and Summer should have no problem kicking off the start of the month.


"I grow by letting go of the tangible, and grabbing hold of the wind." - lyrics from The Only Constant by Summer Miller

G-r-r-r

More humor.


“Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.” -Bill Cosby

Twice a Day

There are neat lamps all over the place at Insomnia Coffee Company, and I've shown just a few of them here. They move around, too, sometimes ending up on the stage or clear across the house. I wanted to show this one to someone and it wasn't where I expected it to be. How fun!

I don't know why but I like this lamp. It even has a clock in it to tell you the time, as long as the time is two minutes past twelve.



Love vanquishes time. To lovers, a moment can be eternity, eternity can be the tick of a clock. - Mary Parrish

Third Week

Matt James was the artist for last Saturday's performance. It was the third week for Insomnia Coffee and their third artist. Each week's artist has been different than the one before - each with their own unique style, and the show put on by Matt was no exception.

Evan has been meeting more artists and has lined some up for May already. It's going to be interesting to see the direction Insomnia goes with their music. Jazz will always be popular, and I've heard there is a terrific blues artist being lined up.

Local talent is appreciated and supported here, but there are always musicians who are passing through on their own tours. Insomnia has booked one for sometime in May, and I've heard that she is very impressive.

The indie music scene seems to keep snowballing, as there seems to be no shortage of very good artists. Major label music sales are still going down, and these local and traveling independents are surely a part of the reason. It isn't just the quality of their music, but their originality is very refreshing. Instead of something you mindlessly listen to, you can really connect to some of the stuff they play.

There is a list of links for upcoming musicians at the right now, so you can check them out ahead of time.


“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul” - Plato

"They Love People..."

Becky and I were sitting by the front door, watching everybody come and go at Insomnia Coffee Company tonight. We were both noticing how Tyler, Evan and Amy were always talking with people. Lots of smiles and laughter along with the conversation.

It's fun to watch the hand gestures, facial expressions, and other body language across the room when you can't hear what is being said. You don't need to hear it because you can see everyone is enjoying their conversations.

After watching for a while, Becky mentioned to me how impressed she was with what they have accomplished here already and that they should do well because, as she said, "They love people...it's like a big living room." I agreed, and later thought about that big living room - without a television.



The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little. -Ray Bradbury

Doorbells

I'm guessing there's a story behind these bells. After all, there seems to be one for so many of the other details at Insomnia Coffee Company. The one in the foreground must be an extra, because it's hanging on a post next to the door - and I know the story of where the post came from.


Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open. - Alexander Graham Bell

Games, Books, and More

Here's the game shelf. Games to play, books to read, and even an Etch-A-Sketch.

Have fun!



“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” - Albert Einstein

Yummmmm...

...


Let them eat cake.
-Commonly attributed to Marie Antoinette.
Also commonly accepted that she really didn't say it.

On Stage

Amy, Evan, and Tyler were very pleased to have Brian Gallaway on stage last Saturday. There was a crowd and Brian's performance was a real crowd pleaser.

Evan and Mike started building the stage earlier in the week, but got busy with other daily matters of running a coffee house and just managed to get it done in time for Saturday evening. It really worked out well and was worth the effort.


“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” - Voltaire

Blooming Tea

This is a tea that blooms when it pours - I don't know what they call it. It's really neat and actually looks a lot better in real life than it does in the picture. I might have gotten the color off here.

The counter is getting lots of neat treats like scones, specialty brownies, bagels, cakes, cookies, and even some fruits on it.



“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me” - C.S. Lewis