THE START

the start of something good.
^^^that's how the morning should feel.
i feel like that's how i do it.
i'm always surprised by late risers and folks who'd rather waste time by sleeping in.
i mean,
i hear about people who press their snooze alarm ten times in a flippin' row,
and grudgingly roll out of bed into a surly slow-moving coffee-based
search-and-destroy routine that involves bleary eyes, foggy heads,
and all sorts of lollygagging and grumbling...
that ain't me, man.
nope.
i'm a morning person,
a brunchtime barbarian,
an afternoon acrobat,
an evening expert,
AND a nighttime werewolfen warior poet.
i'm an ALWAYS person,
and i'm up and at 'em from sunrise until well past the darkest hour.
that's my thing.
and when my eyes open up, before first light, i'm ready to start something good.
...and that's exactly what i do-
reading, writing, corresponding, scheduling, banking, baking, making,
exercising, and energizing-
all that happens before 9am.
...and that's when i walk the dog for a few miles through the woodsly goodness,
before i go to work all damned day long, every damned day of the week.
on the ones, neighbors, i feel like i should be doing so much MORE.
so,
who are all these lay-in-bed bummers,
and more importantly, how do they think that they're doing enough?
right?
i mean, c'mon- good enough is NOT enough,
and on top of that: too much is the right amount, man.
that's a thing.
seriously, every night i go to bed tired af,
upset with myself for investing so much time into responsible pet ownership,
and not making nearly enough time to pursue productive pasttimes after 9pm.
i could be cleaning up,
i could be crafting some kind of custom creations,
i could be crushing a few chapters of a new novel-
but, honestly, i spend a few hours unraveling the day's common and uncommon threads,
in order to detangle the events that've shaped the hours,
and weave a new narrative from what i've experienced and learned.
yuck.
that time might be better spent chopping wood for all i know.
but that's not what's happening
nope.
real-life documentarianism is hard at work in the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress, friends.
so, there's that to consider before sleep can be allowed.
BUT,
the start of something good is where we began,
and that's where we'll resume.
what's for breakfast?
coconut lemon coffee cake.
yup.
holy F*ing sh!t, bro.
my coffeecake game has long been on a new york grandma level,
but with the lemon, and the coconut?
it went all the way, right away, to eleven and beyond.
word.
check the teleport:

SOLID GOLD!
and that streusel?
you already know y'boi effs with some next-level streus' for sure-
but even still- y'all ain't ready for crOmbly sprankles like that, f'real.
how moist and fluffy and rich and thick is the cake?
i don;t even know how one thing can be so many things at once.
the lemon is tight, the coconut is right, and the combination had me
gong back for thirds and fourths, b.
that's no joke.
it just had such a so fresh and so clean bite, every time.
mmmmmmmmm.
y'want some?
it's over at AMPERSAND TATTOO waiting patiently for you.
oh?
that's not a trip you wanna make? that's cool, i didn't wanna see you anyway-
hmm?
oh, okay, then-
here's how to do it at home:
-
*
LEMONOCONUT COFFEECAKE!
-
preheat your oven to 350℉
-
grease up a pan, buddy- i always use those springforms,
because i always like those springforms,
but you do whatever you want, as long as it's 9 or more inches.
(that's what she said)
-
in a medium mixing bowl, cream together:
1 stick vegan butts;
1/2 tsp salt;
>1 cup raw sugar;
1 tsp vanilla;
1/2 lemon's zest;
2 T lemon juice.
combine completely, and stir in:
2/3 cup non-dairy yogurt.
next add;
1/2 cup medium flake shredded unsulphured coconut;
2 1/4 cups flour;
2 tsp bakey powder;
1 tsp bakey soda;
3/4 cup non-dairy milk.
stir it up, spoon it into your pan, and level it off-
next, in the same scraped-clean bowl,
chop together:
4 T vegan butts;
1 cup quick oats;
1/4 cup oat flour;
1/4 cup powdered sugar;
1 tsp vanilla;
1/2 lemon zest;
1/4 cup shredded coconut.
fork it all until it clumps together when gently squeezed,
which is how kickass streusel is made.
kaBOOM.
that's the truth!
bake that bad baby b!tch for like, 40 or more minutes.
(the streus' seals it up, and steams it for that grammie-style crumb)
make sure it's baked through,
but also, serve yourself a slice before it cools all the way to room temp.
no, really, slightly warm coffeecake is not something you want to miss out on.
it's revelatory, kid.
you'll see.
***********
the start of something good.
that's an enticing idea.
you wake up, you do what you do,
and moreover, you do what needs doing,
and while you're doing your best at all of it, you're getting better all the time.
i like that.
ever-increasing ever-expanding inclusion is ON the menu.
so is coffeecake.
and so is MORE of ALL of it,
as it unfolds outwards into infinite options and opportunities.
that's because when you're an always person,
you're always headed forward,
because rules is rules, and always doesn't take days off;
never quiet, never soft.....