The Great Coffeemaker Adventure

What do you do when your old faithful coffeemaker goes kaput? Reach down into the cabinet and pull out another one? Not likely. Check out the warranty on “old faithful”? In my case, that was only to learn that, duh, I bought it in 2006 and the warranty ran out in 2007. Um-m-m, okay, now what? No time to delay when your body is screaming, “Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!”

What happened was that it was taking much too long for the water to drip through the filter into the old coffeepot, and the coffee grounds/water mix was overflowing the filter, making a mess and putting grounds into the coffee, ugh-yuk. Why? Not because there were too many grounds in the filter, because we only make 7 cups at a time (5 oz. cups that turn out to be about 2-1/2 mugs); couldn’t be because the filters were too small (short on the sides) because we were using the same size for years; couldn’t be the coffee itself, because again, it was the same old coffee. Research showed that sometimes if the water is too soft (!) it won’t flow through well, causing overflow. Again, we’ve been using the same water softener for years, with no apparent change in the art of coffee-making. So, what now?

Delay not being a possibility, I rushed off to Pamida (where I had gotten the old (bad) coffeemaker in 2006) and bought another one of the same brand (though a more recent version). Gleefully unpacking and setting up this new purchase, I stuffed the old pot and the packing from the new pot into one of the big trashcans outside the back door. Next morning… same thing happened… coffee grounds overflow… plus the new coffeemaker seemed to be making a great deal more noise than the old (bad) one. Not a good sign.

Pamida’s newspaper ad for the week showed a Bunn coffeepot on sale for what seemed an enormous amount of money, but knowing that the professionals used Bunn coffeemakers, I assumed it would be worth it. So… cleaned up the recently purchased coffeemaker to look new again… recovered the packing from the trashcan, wiped it off and gave it a good dose of Lysol spray… reassembled the box and took it with the sales slip back to Pamida. Bought a Bunn.

Turns out you have to buy special Bunn filters for a Bunn coffeemaker. Also turns out the filters have the same dimensions as the others, EXCEPT the sides are higher. Anyway, I set up the new coffeemaker only to discover that it requires two coffeepots full of water to sit inside it where it stays warm (!) until you add a third coffeepot full when you actually want some coffee. Certainly NOT an energy saver, plus you would be using less than fresh water to make your coffee. Mike and I both quickly said, “Thanks, but no thanks!” An electrical appliance that creates heat uses lots of electricity… and coffee tastes better when made with fresh, cold water.

Back to the drawing board. I packed up the Bunn for return and refund, and made the trip to Wal Mart. There I found a selection of coffeemakers that were, for the most part, of the same type as the Bunn… store and heat water for future coffee! (Gotta wonder if some electric company lobbyist got to the coffeemaker manufacturers!) Now, realize also how much more room these coffeemakers take up on your kitchen counter… twice as much! Inconvenience on top of expense… Again, no thanks.

You may have guessed my next move. Bought a new coffeemaker of the same brand as the original (bad) one, BUT bought Bunn brand filters (remember, higher sides). It works fine. Takes a little longer to drip through (haven’t figured out why!) but does NOT overflow.

You know, I’m convinced I could do without quite so much “adventure” in my life.

Coincidentally, an ad for Gevalia coffee and free coffeemaker arrived in the mail that day. Did you guess it? Yes, I ordered some coffee to get the free coffeemaker. Now, if our everyday coffeemaker “goes kaput” I can “reach down into the cabinet and pull out another one”!!

Adventures

There’s been a delay in posting this story; perhaps because it needed a little time for me to absorb and digest it before sharing.

As you can see from the picture, the 2009 U.S. Senior Open this year was held at the Crooked Stick Golf Club, which is located in Carmel, just north of Indianapolis. Mike had tickets and we drove up on July 31st. We decided to take my car because it’s reliable and gets great gas mileage, has good tires, just had its 15,000 mile checkup, and the air conditioner works (none of these things apply to Mike’s car). On the way north I realized, and commented to Mike, “It’s been a long time since you and I have gone, just the two of us, on an adventure.”

We walked around Crooked Stick, seeing the pros make both bad and good shots, just like the rest of us seniors. I think we both enjoyed watching the people more than the golf. Crooked Stick is a nice course, but not fancy with flowers and shrubs and trees because it’s a “links” course with narrow fairways and lots of hillocks and large sand traps and tall, thick grass in the wide roughs. Not that we were disappointed; just that we weren’t particularly impressed.

We found our way off the course and out to the buses, and remembered to get off at the White Stop, which would be the closest one to where we were parked. Where were we parked? Neither of us had counted rows or yards or steps from any spot to any spot, so we had no idea where to start. We took alternate rows, walking up and down, and about an hour later we found the car. We were both just dumbfounded that we couldn’t locate the danged car! That wasn’t the sort of “adventure” I had in mind.

Applebee’s provided us with a good meal along the way, and we continued driving south. Then, I woke up suddenly from a short snooze to realize that the car was slowing down and all the dashboard lights were blinking. Mike said that the car had no power and he pulled off the highway. Then I saw that we were out of gas! There is a series of short horizontal bars on the dash that disappear from top to bottom as the gas tank empties, and when it has only one bar left it blinks madly, wildly, noticeably, even though it has 30-40 miles of gas left. Neither of us had noticed any blinking! Another “adventure”…

Before we were married, we had a habit of running out of gas. Back then it was a euphemism for finding a place to be alone with your date, but we actually did run out of gas. It got to be a joke. It became a series of similar, laughable “adventure” stories, some of which occurred even after we had kids. And here we were again, alone together in a car, and out of gas. Groan. Somehow it’s more fun when you’re in your 20s than it is when you’re in your 60s.

A “Good Samaritan” helped us out, thankfully… and I would like to say our gasoline adventures have ended, but who’s to say?