random truths – Day 1,035 (Monday) – RIP coffee maker

The trusty coffee maker brewed its last pot of coffee on Sunday. I learned this on Monday after dropping in a fresh filter and coffee grounds, and water for eight cups of coffee. The power button was pushed, and nothing happened. No red light to indicate it was on. None of the rumbling and gurgling sounds as it sprang to life with each brew. Just silence. 

The plug was removed from the outlet, plugged in again, and the power button pushed. The outlet reset button was checked. The entire unit was moved to the outlet at the counter on the other side of the sink and plugged in there. Still nothing. 

This was a grim start to a Monday. Since the long-ago death of my much loved old-timey percolator, there is no backup system for the production of hot caffeine. It was instant chai latte for a substitute. Good, but much sweeter than I take my coffee, and without the nice kick.

I'm old but hanging in there.

It was a bank holiday, and theoretically I could go shopping for a new coffee maker. Today, however, Winston had a vet appointment which consumed the morning. He weighed in at 17.5 pounds, so despite the current food boycott, his weight is steady. 

The medical marvel had a bad heart murmur at last year's checkup, but today it was barely detectible, puzzling Dr. B. Win's knees are bad, probably because he used to enjoy leaping straight up in the air to look out the window in the front door at Mom’s. A full blood workup was done and will take a couple days for results. 

The vet trip route passed one Kohl’s and two Target locations, but I couldn’t stop and leave Win in the car to shop for coffee makers. It was decided to shop online with the potential of buying online and picking up at the store a couple hours later.

RIP old Farberware.

The recently departed Farberware coffee maker was bought in 2007 after buying my house in Tennessee. It  was used daily for five years and two months before being packed for the move back home. After its release from three-and-a-half years of incarceration in storage, it delivered hot coffee daily for another six years. I probably got my money’s worth.

Online coffee maker shopping was frustrating. Tabs were open for Kohl’s, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Amazon. Most coffee makers are for the single cups, which feels impractical for the volume consumed each morning. There are high-tech models that make both pots and single cups. The real marvel was the toaster oven/grill /coffee maker “breakfast station.” The idea is appealing, as the toaster oven /broiler, which is even older than the coffee maker, has recently been faltering in its toaster role and English muffins now take two cycles to become golden. But dang, the four-cup capacity  on the coffee pot is comically small. Trusty old Farberware ran a six cup pot on weekdays and eight cups on weekends. Of course, “cup” in the product descriptions in coffee pot world is five comical ounces, which is just over half a cup in real world liquid measurement. I don’t know anyone who drinks coffee in a five-ounce cup.

The online search terms veered to dark blue because it would look good in the kitchen, but the only one available that isn;t a single cup unit is a refurbished item that wouldn’t ship for a week or two. "Retro" teal is currently popular. Red was available. A five-cup model was available in several colors including yellow, but that size is just too small.  

The pick up at store options were meager and the desire to visit a store was nonexistent. It was online order and delivery for the win. A new coffeemaker is scheduled to arrive Wednesday and I’ll be waiting for the other shoe to drop with the pending demise of the toaster oven. I may regret not ordering the matching set of toaster oven and coffee maker, but the wallet was still reeling from the vet visit.