CoffeeCat's Back and I'm Drinking More Coffee

Thank you fans, for bearing with me while I took a break from the blogspot! I was distracted by a bow-wow who came to live with me for two weeks! 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. walks in the freeeezing cold weren't my favorite thing to do, but I was happy to provide a safe place for pup until he found a wonderful, energetic, loving family.



Notice cats are first & last on the list!!



Now I can return to blogging with cats on my lap or at great Triad Coffee Shops! I'll be using some coffee gift cards I received for Christmas. I loved doing my holiday shopping at coffee shops and with animal rescue groups. I gave coffee & animal rescue gifts, and got some in return. I'm proud to say that my Red Dog Farm t-shirt is covered in cat hair. Take that, bow wows! :-)



If you're my friend on Facebook, you already know that I've resolved to drink more coffee in the New Year. I'm off to a great start. In fact, I brewed some holiday blend at 9:00 last night. What was I thinking?? Bzzzz. I'll be writing more about resolutions for tomorrow's post, but don't worry. I would never suggest that anyone resolve to drink less coffee, eat fewer coffee shop treats, or spend less at Triad Coffee Shops. So, come back and read what CoffeeCat has to say about resolutions.

In the meantime, please check with your nearest coffee shop (see our Guide page) to figure out where you're going to get your black coffee New Year's morning!

What a week for coffee!

BRRR. CoffeeCat is freezing, even with all the good coffee at cozy Triad Coffee Shops. Here's a treat to get your mind off the freezing cold: a coffee shop filled with cats! Yes, we just have to travel to Japan to enjoy it.


http://www.jonathanbrilliant.com/



I enjoyed seeing the Have Sticks, Will Travel World Tour by Jonathan Brilliant at the McColl Center for Visual Art in Charlotte. The only thing that could have been more delightful than a sculpture of woven (not glued, taped, or stapled) coffee stir sticks would have been a cup of coffee to enjoy while walking around and under the sculpture. Brilliant also created a sculpture from paper sleeves and a portrait of coffee lids. If you want to see it, you have until Jan. 8. I'm waiting for word on a dismantling event. If there is one, I'll blog about it!



Triad Coffee Shops continue to have great shopping opportunities for fans who want to shop local and buy gifts off the beaten path! Krankies Craft Fair was a huge hit but there are still plenty of treats at Triad Coffee Shops. Check out CoffeeCat's likes & friends on Facebook for quick links to items such as freshly roasted coffee, baked goodies, unique gift items, and more!



Hey, why does CoffeeCat get cappucino??
This "meezer" is available for adoption
at http://www.va.siameserescue.org/

 CoffeeCat gave up some much-needed coffee shop time to attend my first cat show this week. Purrrr. What a great feeling, to be surrounded by cats while helping to raise money for Siamese Cat Rescue Center! Can't wait to volunteer again, but next time I am going to plan a little better and make it a coffee road trip. Coffee, cats, and rescue - I'll call this "Coffee Road Trip: Paradise."

A coffee shop toast to graduates & soldiers

This week, I combined a rare business trip with a coffee road trip. Since this week is the anniversary of my graduate graduation, I decided a coffee shop toast was in order! I treated myself to coffee at Jackson's Java near UNCC. The shop, as always, was full of students plus a few business people chatting over coffee.

I gave thanks that I was not one of the students hunkered down during finals week. I wanted to jump up and down, raise my cup in the air, and offer a toast, but I dared not gloat in a room full of caffeinated 20-somethings stressed over chemistry, calculus and Shakespeare. In case you missed it, I was jumping up and down on the inside!

As locally-owned coffee shops tend to do, Jackson's also makes the world a better place. Next to the tip jar is a clear box labeled "GI Java." Donations are collected to send coffee to U.S. troops overseas. Each time I visit, I skim the thank you letters posted on a bulletin board in the back of the shop. The troop leaders who get to divvy up the coffee among their troops are sincerely grateful to Jackson's and its customers.

It's hard to imagine the sacrifices the troops make to carry out their orders. As grumpy as I am on any given day before I've had coffee, I can't imagine doing what these men and women do on behalf of our country. The least we can do is help fuel their work with some freshly roasted, gourmet coffee.

There's not much that I can do for the soldiers who spend their days or nights on patrol. But I can help send them some tasty coffee so they, too, can enjoy coffee shop treats. Can you think of anyone who deserves it more?

Uploaded from Holy Joe's Cafe on facebook

For more about coffee shops making the world a better (and safer) place, read about these two examples: http://oregonmildep.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html
http://www.holyjoescafe.org/

Facebook Friends

CoffeeCat now has 40 Facebook Friends. I'm thrilled! If I were any other Facebook page, I'd offer some incentive to get hundreds of people to like my page.

But that isn't cat like. Cats do not beg for friends or offer treats to people who pet them. No, a cat says to its friends, “You feed me, give me water, nurture me, and treat me like royalty. I must be God.”

Cat as King

So, for every new friend on Facebook, I'm going to treat myself like royalty and have a cappuccino or latte at a Triad Coffee Shop.

You might be thinking, "What's in it for me?"

Not much, I'm afraid, except more reports on the purrfect triad coffee shops I'll be sampling and plenty of event listings each week. Thanks, friends!

BAH HUMBUG!

The Grinch stole my event listings!!!! Sorry, fans, if you were lost for a day. Saturday's events are now being updated. I think I was dozing off while blogging . .  . as I often say, CoffeeCat needs more caffeine to do this job!

Humbug Status Update

Still not humbug! Feels kinda weird, like something is missing this year. I refuse to think of Christmas while I'm still in Thanksgiving mode. So, I think I'll go bake a pumpkin pie.

Coffee Shop Dilemma

One day after I wrote the yummy post about all the coffee shop treats I found on coffee shop Facebook pages, Cafe Roche posts this:
"Civet Cat Coffee is here! $49.99 per French Press. Great Gift for any Coffee Connoisseur!"

Thanks for the conversation
starter, Cafe Roche!

What is it and why is it 50 bucks, you ask? If you haven't seen Morgan Freeman's explanation to Jack Nicholson in The Bucket List, read all about it on Wikipedia, then hurry back to the blogspot.

Now, you're back. My dilemma is, do I say "Blech, gross, how could you??" and forget about it? Or, intrigued by two of the greatest actors ever, do I try it to see what all the fuss is about? Or, does the price pretty much weed out all the people who aren't already believers?

Now, the information is in your head and YOU have a dilemma. My suggestion: Buy the coffee, invite all your friends over, and watch The Bucket List. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll start writing your own list. The experience is probably worth the $50 bucks and if the coffee tastes great, it's a bonus. As we near the start of a New Year, the timing couldn't be better.

Now that's some profound advice from CoffeeCat (no relation to Civet Cat.)