new love

Meet The Duo...the best-ever-grinder and it's sidekick, the best-ever coffee brewer. Note: This machine doesn't "make" coffee; it "brews" coffee. :)

Our GJ neighbors had this lovely setup, which impressed the heck out of me. I didn't enjoy the coffee from the coffee maker we owned and neither did my mom. Caleb thought our coffee maker (yep, the old one was just a "maker") was fine. Fine? I don't drink fine coffee. Does he even know me? just kidding :) This grinder is a Burr Mill Grinder. Apparently, the correct way to extract the intense flavors from the bean is using a Burr Mill Grinder. So all you who have a grinder....you might want to check on this! Chances are you have a "blade" grinder. The fancy "brewer" doesn't have a carafe, but instead a tank with a push lever to dispense directly into your cup. :) It even has a gauge to tell you how much coffee is left in the tank. :)

Life has been much sweeter since The Duo arrived in Dickinson. (Well, actually since this morning....turns out I was double filtering my grounds using both the paper and the metal filters...novice.) Thanks mom and dad for the birthday/house-warming gifts.

Second new love: Bluegrass

I've heard some bluegrass music and enjoyed it, but I didn't appreciate this music until last night. Wow. I am still shocked that such fine talent stopped through the "Western Edge of North Dakota." No offense, Dickinson. We spent two hours last night in a tiny room with 75 other people listening to The Blackberry Bushes. They won 2nd place at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 2009. I still can't believe Telluride was only 90 miles from GJ and we never made it down there. Grr. This band could play their instruments like nothing else and their voices harmonized so beautifully.

We bought 2 of their CDs and this morning I'm listening to the Bluegrass station on Sirius. I feel like buying an old, used pair of boots and a cute old-fashioned polkadot dress. :)