My day in six glasses

I’ve been re-reading parts of The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage, where the author ties six periods in history to a tasty beverage – beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and cola.

In an homage to this, I’m writing my day in six glasses. Yes, I am at that much of a creative loss on how to get going again.

1) Coffee: Get out of that lazy bed!

I’m finding it hard to wake up in the morning. I am even more reluctant to get out of bed in winter months, and my husband bringing me coffee in bed just means I can’t hide from the day anymore. Added that morning is the irritation of knowing the lovely dream I’d been having was lost to the alarms buzz. I was a grumpy creature Tuesday morning. On the plus side, even though it came with recaps of documentaries I had no interest in, the coffee did much to help relieve the 3-day-and-counting headache.

2) Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea: It’s recess.

In an effort to minimize my visits to the Starbucks across the road, I’ve laid in a supply of tea, coffee and biscuits in my desk drawer. The Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea was an impulse buy, one I’m glad I made. The first time I had it was on the Glacier cruise in Valdez, and the spicy citrus taste brings back memories of cold and wonder. It gives me the same mental break as walking over to Starbucks does, without the expensive average coffee.

3) V8: lunch downtown

Tuesdays are my afternoon off, and I’d been looking forward to it as a me-day; no client work, no laundry, no school, no apartment cleaning/organization. I had a coffee date with Tawny later in the afternoon, and I decided to hit the AGO and kill some time. Lunch in the art gallery is hideously expensive, and Quiznos looked like a cheap alternative. At the last minute I remembered my personal challenge to make healthier decisions in the new year and swapped the Coke for a V8. It didn’t matter what else I indulged in for the rest of the day; I’d had my veggies!

4) Cappuccino: silent daydreaming

Part of my afternoon plan was to bring my laptop and spend some time in the AGO members lounge chilling and writing. I’d spent about an hour wandering the galleries, visiting my favourites and looking at pieces that made me go “hmmm”. The headache was creeping back in around the edges so I thought it time to dose it with a few ibuprofen and more caffeine. The members lounge is in the Grange, one of Toronto’s original manors Even though the floors are pale oak and the furnishings are all black and chrome modern, you cannot escape the smell of old building that hits you when you enter, of wood and plaster and dust almost two centuries old. I did open the laptop and peck at a few keys to make the carrying of it worthwhile, but truthfully, I spent most of the next hour sipping my cooling cappuccino and daydreaming about the Grange in it’s heyday, when the view out it’s windows was of farm and park, not office tower and highway.

5) Vanilla Bean Latte: girl talk and thinking of things to look forward to.

After a quick walk to clear my head and get some exercise, I met up with Tawny. We walked down to Second Cup and sat at the table with our drinks. More caffeine for me, as the encroaching cold front set my head to pounding. Again. We caught up and told stories, and made plans for the next few months to help ease each other out of the winter blahs that seemed to be hanging over our heads already.

6) Chocolate Chai tea: something new and dinner with Keith

When Tawny left to catch her train home, I bundled up and walked north to the Art Square Cafe where I’d arranged to meet Keith for dinner. The temperature had dropped significantly, and I was thoroughly chilled by the time I’d walked the few blocks north to Dundas. As I waited for Keith, I picked the warmest-sounding tea they had, the chocolate chai. It came to the table in a worn red and black iron teapot that rested on a matching trivet. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but the thin liquid that poured from the spout ws not it. It was brown and opaque, almost silty looking, and had that bitter taste of plain cocoa powder. The chai spices added an aftertaste of cloves and nutmeg, and the drink left a small disappointing feeling of having chosen poorly. I added some brown sugar which did little to change the taste, but I wrapped my still-chilled hands around the hot mug and kept sipping out of stubbornness. I realized by the time that Keith came in some 15 minutes later, I had grown to like the blend, that after I had gotten over the first disapointment I could taste and appreciate the subtle flavours.