Typically. . .our day begins at precisely 7 AM.
This year for Christmas we got this amazing coffee maker which .. .
works really well.
It grinds the coffee and after selecting the desired strength of coffee . .
it brews a beautiful pot.
When our mornings begin quickly .. .aka cousin camp/grammie days. .
sometimes. . .even the simplest tasks are beyond my capability.
Grandgirlie arrives. . .7 AM. . .about the time. . we open our eyes.
This last Tuesday. . .it went something like this. . .
6:55. . .I said. . "we better get up. . I hear the truck"
(shuffling to the kitchen. . . to get the coffee started before the door opens)
7:00 AM. .Greetings salutations and all around happiness. .
7:01. ..my senses alert me to the fact that the coffee pot is filling with hot steaming water. . . . .
I spewed out my most common minced oath. . "Oh brother". .I forgot to unpress the "grind off" button. .
Try again. . .refill the water reservoir.. . . . press grind. .
I begin to settle into routine. . .asking typical mom questions. . I glance over at the coffee pot. . . .again a minced oath .. . stepping it up a notch . ."Oh shoot". . I forgot the filter. .
Trying to stay calm. . I rinse out the pot. . .fill the reservoir. . assure that the filter is in place. .
press the on button. .. .and then. . .nothing. . silence. .
Now I am looking at the coffee maker with a mix of fear and disappointment. . how could it cause me grief at such a crucial time of my day. .
Then it dawns on me. . .that quickly read instruction on Christmas Day that referred to the cleaning of the grinder after every six brews. . .My mind cannot calculate how many brews have happened since Christmas morning. . perhaps too many?
Tossing bits of toast to the wee one. . .I unplug the coffee maker and send it over to my beloved for a closer look .. He takes it outside for a bit of a discussion. . . .while I go to the pantry to find the trusty old coffee grinder that was unceremoniously cast aside when the new complete coffee maker with attached grinder arrived.
I ground up a healthy amount of beans. . .and quickly made a pot of coffee ..
What happened to the new improved model you ask?
I found the brush that comes with the coffee maker with the attached grinder. . .
and gave it a go. .
It swept the tightly packed espresso grounds nice and smooth. .
realizing that this would not even chip the surface. .
I did what everyone does that has not a proper tool. .
I used my sharpest paring knife. . and poked and chipped away at the ground espresso . .
until. . I found the bottom. . .
How that coffee maker managed to grind coffee with decent strength until Tuesday morning is a small miracle in itself . .
Tuesday evening before retiring. . I took no chances. .
I filled the reservoir with water. . .filled the bean grinder with beans
checked to make sure the filter was in place. .
and got up at 6:45 to be sure that my son would not have cause to say ..
as he walked out the door. .
don't forget about the child.
Good Morning! Great story about your coffee maker! I have the older version. My children got it for me 6-7 yrs. ago. It's a piece of work but makes great coffee! Use the grinder often. I switched to pre-ground for a while (easier cleanup) and the grinder seized; I was told from lack of use. I guess the oils in the beans lubricate the grinder. Cuisinart is a great co. They fully honored their guarantee and sent me a new one (for $10 shipping) All in all... the best part is the auto-brew! At 6:00am ~ there's nothing like having my coffee waiting :)
ReplyDeleteHow funny! I guess all that work is one of many reasons that Doc and I never took up coffee-drinking!
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ReplyDeletewe don't grind our beans.we buy ready to go and then brew
but it's a step up from my mom who drank instant every day...
does it make a big difference?
(sassy boy - of course you wouldn't forget the grand!:)
Oh Lovella, what a fun read early this morning! These things do happen..so what did YOU say to your son when he walked out the door?? grin
ReplyDeleteI can so identify with this post! Coffee must come first.
ReplyDeleteI had help in the kitchen on Easter morning...and he ground the coffee...and put it in the filter...but never put the filter in the basket. I pressed 'on'...and we had a stainless carafe of hot water.
Ha, and chuckle, chuckle. Pretty entertaining for 7 am around here. My latest coffee story is that I went to Costco to buy our regular beans Costa Rican French Roast that Costco roasts at a few of their locations here and bought 4 bags (2 for here and 2 for Cali) I don't know what they roasted and put in those bags but it doesn't taste familiar so off to costco again with the 3 unopened bags to have a chat with the coffee roaster person...Have a wonderful sunny day Lovella!!
ReplyDeleteOur new toy is the Insta hot faucet on our new sink. I dump pre ground coffee into the French press, fill with the boiling water on tap, pour OJ and cereal...stir and press down. French press style coffee has always been my hands down favorite, but I never could manage to setting the kettle to boil and waiting for that extra step to finish before I was distracted.
ReplyDeleteI never could get the hang of timer brew on all the variations of coffeemakers...seemed like I was always forgetting something.
Seriously..I think I really was designed by God to have household staff that would handle such detail, and then serve me coffee in bed, since He clearly didn't give me the talent or wits to make coffee on my own with a coffeemaker!
Oh no! So often the new and improved models are very little improvement at all. For one thing, I am soooo old and set in my ways that I can barely learn anything new. =D
ReplyDeleteI'm certain that grandgirlie will never be forgotten in the shuffle of coffee grounds and mugs.
Coffee...it's a food group for me! Have you ever forgotten to put the pot under the drip. Don't forget that step! Good AM post. Kathy
ReplyDeleteLOL..you coffee maker story is soo funny ...and so well told !!
ReplyDeletebut what Grammie could forget the child ?? smile..
Well I think you described your coffee scenario very well....
ReplyDeleteI've had that same machine and guess what.....Now I'm grinding coffee with my little Braun machine....no more fussy cleaning....
I think hubby just made a fresh pot...I'm back from chores and what's better than a fresh cup of coffee.
I got that same machine for Christmas too and we love it. Although as I'm getting older I find I can't drink as much coffee.
ReplyDeleteSo funny...sometimes things just become so complicated...but it is the early morning complications that tend to throw a monkey wrench into the day I've found. Those kids of yours are very fortunate to have a Grammie like you...hope your day went well after all.
ReplyDeleteLovella, this sounds like something that would happen to me early in the morn, not you! I had to smile, because the place we just returned from had this kind of coffee maker and the first morning I heard Herb mutter about the weird coffee maker and the sounds coming out of it. I checked it and showed him the button to press, so not to grind (already ground) coffee) It would go on automatically that way every morning and you had to press that button! Sometimes things can get so easy that they are complicated . . . at least first thing in the morning!
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