Manamana

business was good at homer's yesterday (awesome!) after all the drinks and pastries were served, after all the dishes were done, and things slowed down i said manamana... and laura, glenn, mary, pretty much everybody knew what to do.

The Vernal Equinox

well it's officially spring, and what says spring more than clouds and rain in kansas city? if you're interested in finding out more about the vernal equinox and what it has to do with spring go here.

Way to Go Mary Ann!

mary ann bettis (not mary ann from gilligan's island) won a free drink just for reading the blog today! she actually made a comment on a previous post. thanks mary ann!

St. Patrick's Day

still no plans for st. pat's? join sky blue for a sesquicentennial performance TONIGHT at homer's! the fun starts at 7:30!

We All Scream

when i saw some modifications to the ice cream menu chalkboard yesterday, i knew laura had to be the culprit.

Here We Are Again

yesterday we switched to daylight savings time, today we're going to work with a little less sleep... it doesn't thrill me, but i know it won't kill me. hello monday.

David George Returns

if you missed david george the last time he was at homer's, drop by tonight after 7pm. that's when he will be playing acoustic rock for the masses... but if you just want to hear someone scream into a guitar's sound hole go here.

It's a Living

John's Custom Chucks

john ainsworth is a regular customer at homer's. he orders the same drink every day: small skinny mexican mocha with whip. there aren't too many variations to his routine, so when something DOES change, it's easy to notice... like his custom made converse chucks pictured above. they are hard to miss. ask him about the other 5 or 6 pairs he recently bought at the converse store.

Marilyn's Bottle Art

it's ALWAYS cool when a regular customer shares something awesome, and yesterday marilyn showed us one of her creations: a customized bottle incense burner. she had more out in her car, but it got kinda busy... so we snapped a quick pic and went back to work.

The Man in Black

johnny cash would have been a couple of days past 80 today. makes we wanna put some candles in a ring of fire, and sing happy birthday to a boy named sue.

Ode to Coffee?

how many songs have been written about coffee? and how many of them overlap with other songs about someone who jumped off the tallahatchie bridge? this one.

Ashes to Ashes

wow. this is the second ash wednesday post i've made since i started contributing to this blog. the first one is here. even though i comprehend the meaning of this day and the season of lent, something tells me i haven't felt the full weight of it.

Another Mystery Tune

sometimes i hear a lyric that makes no sense, and then sometimes i'll hear one that makes me wish i wrote it. haven't done a post like this for awhile, and i didn't know this lyric until a few days ago. if you can name that tune, great! if you need a little help, go here. cheers.

President's Day

Know Your Sharpie

we use alot of sharpies at homer's... sometimes we can't find one, sometimes they grow legs and walk away, and sometimes they just smile.

Valentines Day Tradition

yesterday kelly and i celebrated valentines day with temporary tattoos and red accessories. it made things feel more festive. she started this tradition at homer's last february... before she came along we thought it was just another day.

Spawning Forks

we had an abundance of forks that mary was washing & drying last week... and suddenly they looked like salmon swimming upstream to spawn. now i know where all the old forks went.

Mystery Man Revealed

last november we had a mystery on our hands at homer's. a picture was found near the register and none of us knew who it was. the guy looked familiar, but we were at a loss. yesterday mary rowlands took one look at the photo and said, "that looks like don nanneman!" i drew a mustache on the photo just to make sure... AND SHE WAS RIGHT!

Science Night

one of the benefits of working at homer's is getting to know the customers. ross, a regular customer, asked me to attend science night at his daughters' school. when i realized it was the same school that ashley's kids attend (ashley is a barista at homer's) i figured it's a small world after all.

Ice and Art

laura drew these cool pics on her cup of ice at homer's. danny & i scored the video. we've done all we can... now it's your turn to watch & comment.

Addendum

Groundhog Day

apparently punxsutawney phil saw his shadow this morning which means six more weeks of winter. if it's the same kind of winter we've been having, i think everyone is OK with that.

January's Warm Exit

i can't remember when more customers and baristas have talked about what a warm winter this has been. thanks kristen for being a hat model, and thanks carol for being a hat maker!

Wail on With Wailin' Wall

come wail at homer's tonight with the band wailin' wall! we had a good practice last night (your humble blogger is in the band btw), we're pretty sure you'll enjoy the show. the music starts at 7:30.

Cotton Candy Sunset

this was how the sunset looked outside of homer's last night. someone else's camera might have taken a better pic, but i didn't let that stop me. you never know what you'll see when you look up.

Happy Birthday Mary!

it's mary rowlands' birthday today! mary has been on the homer's staff longer than i have. at last count there were 37 birthday wishes on her facebook wall. if you see mary today, you know what to say, "happy birthday mary!"

A Good Pour

usually i don't make drinks that would win in a barista competition, but last week was an exception. if i keep making mesmerizing latté art like this, i could hypnotize some judges.

Happy Birthday Glenn!

hey if we can wish jack london a happy birthday, we can do the same thing for glenn. just in case you don't know glenn and vanessa manage homer's. they schedule, stock, pay bills, run faster than steaming locomotives, and leap tall buildings in a single bound. if you see glenn wish him a happy birthday. don't forget everyone who tells a barista what they read on the blog gets double punches toward a free drink!

The Blind Drawing The Blind

sometimes i forget that homer's is a place that inspires creativity. one morning kelly and i did blind contour drawings of each other. i hadn't done this type of exercise since college. speaking of inspired creativity, danny williams showed me some cool stuff he can play on his ipad last tuesday. remember to tell a barista that you read the blog and get double punches toward a free drink! it's that easy.

Carol's Hats

carol is a regular customer at homer's. we must be doing something right because she crocheted a bunch of hats for the baristas as a christmas gift-- and then she made more! thanks carol!

I'll Have the Sinatra

this was up for a couple of hours before customers started asking "i'll have a small cup of the sinatra, what's in that anyway?" and i answered "i have to be frank, but i'll tell you." it kinda reminded me of the tiny elvis skit on SNL.

Happy Birthday Jack London

jack london is probably the only writer who could make me trade the comforts of central air and electricity for sled dogs and campfire coffee... that's how i felt after reading call of the wild. don't forget: double punches toward a free drink just for reading the blog!

Groceries and Tetris

it's no secret that alot of homer's shopping is done at sam's. when i was filling up my jeep full of groceries yesterday, it reminded me of playing the old video game tetris. there's a certain satisfaction gained when everything fits just right.

Kyle Heads East

last friday was my last shift with kyle patnode. he's going to school in indiana. one of the things he's taking with him is this necklace he made from a bead shop up the street, and one of the things he left behind was a coffee ground man (with finishing touches by laura clark)...

...and after our shift was over we went to first fridays to make random electronic noises on 18th street a couple of doors down from YJ's snack bar. remember to tell a homer's barista what you read here and you can get double punches toward a free drink!

Two Girls & One Big Coffee Mug

mallory and lizzie made a bet with glenn (the manager) about how many ounces of coffee could fill the BIG coffee mug. i can't remember the specifics or how many hundreds of ounces glenn was able to get in the thing, i just remember that he gave them a cookie and i took their picture. remember to tell a barista that you read the blog, and you can get double punches toward a free drink.

Make Yourself at Homers 4

last october we started make yourself at homer's, a simple photo series of regular customers. when they walk in the door and say "i'll have the usual," we know what it is. today features jon starcke. jon is a fan of the homer's house blend. he loves it so much he wrote a crazy review about it on my other blog. now don't forget all you good people get double punches toward a free drink just for reading this... this is how you do it.

Last Shift With Lois

i get to work with lois one more time today before she goes back to school. she really helped homer's out during her christmas break. just in case you're wondering, she's immortalizing an awesome latté in the pic above. yep, we'll miss her.

A Robot and a Flower

kelly & i opened at homer's like usual on tuesdays, and found a note from kristen taped to the cold press coffee. we had just been discussing pixel art, and what subjects we should attempt. now we know it's supposed to be a robot and a flower. thanks kristen!

Evolution of Coffee

i know more coffee drinkers than non coffee drinkers, and almost all of them require it as soon as they wake up. i imagine the first coffee drinkers were making java hieroglyphics on a cave wall somewhere, and the art form that evolved from following generations has taken on more shapes than i can recall. as we start a new year, i can't resist the urge to go back in time... even on my other blog. cheers.