Halloween night was pretty here. Lots of leaves fell from the trees so the ground was coated with orange, yellow, and red. I loved the rainy Halloween nights like that when I was a kid. You could hear the leaves smooshing as you walked through them.

Yesterday was a stressy day. My coffee slipped off my desk and all over myself and everything else. It was a particularly GOOD coffee day and the mug was full. I was looking forward to coffee and writing. For whatever reason losing the coffee just flipped my day. I even cried a bit. I'm a bit worried I'm just getting old and upset about little stuff too easily. I wouldn't mind getting old so much if I could keep the parts of me that I actually like, as they are.

Sometimes when I'm upset and feeling kind of lost and hopeless the song, Mona With the Children, by Douglas Cameron, comes into my head and gets stuck there.

On social media I wrote:

OK. So you hate Israel, hate Palestine, hate Iran, HATE HATE HATE. They are all just people. Who are you really hating? Mona with the Children - Never forget Doug Cameron's song and the real young woman who was murdered for the hatred of others.

I don't know what it says about me that this is where my mind goes. Is my brain just telling me to stop hating myself? Only my brain knows. Do you remember the song? Hard to believe (for me) that its already 40 years ago since that song came out.

I feel that people these days are on constant Witch hunts. As if there is some great prize for rooting out anyone who does not strictly and completely adhere to the public's expectations/ demands. Its like walking/ talking around in a big trap with a hair trigger. Why do they want to live this way?

This was part of a quiz about what type of author you would be/ are. I loved this question. Which answer would you pick?

Choose a place to pen your masterpiece.

1. A busy train station where you can sip iced coffee while people-watching
2. A secret garden full of wonders you’ve never seen before
3. A cozy coffee shop interior while gentle rain falls outside on a cold gray day
4. Your bedroom—you feel most comfortable there.

Although the train station was high on my list and its my bedroom where I usually do end up writing - a coffee shop on a grey and rainy day was my most preferred place, by far. I love a rainy day and looking out the window while working on something creative with a delicious (still at least warm) coffee is pretty much perfect in my books.

Source: What Type of Author Would YOU Be? - Underlined

I bought myself a coffee grinder.

For me, it's a pretty fancy, new coffee grinder - an advance on modern science.

For all my coffee drinking years I have been buying the beans already ground at the grocery store or getting them ground for me at the specialty coffee shops and coffee roasters. This means I only have freshly ground beans the first day or so.

I don't know if I am such a coffee snob that I taste a huge difference. But, I like not having to get the beans ground. More than that, I really like not having to look for beans which are already ground, being limited to pre-ground beans and passing up the whole beans when I find them.

Grinds the coffee fine or coarse to suit you.

I used the coffee grinder for the first time today. I had a fresh bag of coffee beans from an Ontario coffee roaster. I had been waiting to open that bag until I ran out of the last of my old coffee, pre-ground. So this morning was a special day in coffee making for me. The coffee is great, the grinder worked exactly the way it said it would and I'm now looking forward to my next cup of coffee!

This Melitta Burr Grinder gives the option to have the grinds coarse or fine. Very much nicer than my Mother's plain coffee grinder which doesn't have any setting for fine or coarse grinds. My French press pot wants a coarsely ground coffee, so the setting is on 9, almost to the end of the dial.

No more extra coffee grinds between uses.

My new grinder will grind just the amount of beans I need too. I think this is so impressive! The whole point of having a coffee grinder is to use the beans when they are freshly ground. So, having too many ground and then sitting around defeats the point of grinding them really. But, not many of us would throw out the ground coffee just because we had extra. I won't have that dilemma.

I do have to check that I have enough beans in the grinder each time. I don't mind leaving some in the top for my next cup but I'm beginning to figure out how many whole beans I need for each amount of coffee I want to grind beans for. So far I am just making coffee for myself and the setting for 2 cups works best.

Coffee is a special treat, a replacement for the sweets I'm trying to get away from these days.

If you have never tried a coffee grinder I recommend this one by Melitta. It wasn't too expensive and it really does make the whole process of making the coffee seem special, like a real treat each time. Very nice right now as I am working on becoming healthier and sometimes I do miss those old sweet treats. Making a coffee has far less calories and yet can seem just as special, something I do just for myself too. My kitchen counter coffee set up.

Since buying the grinder about 3 or 4 months ago I have found it does get a build up of oil from the beans. So far I take care of it - just use a toothbrush to brush out the opening and remove the coffee there.

I can't think of any family event where there was not coffee and people making coffee. Sometimes there would be a full holiday dinner, sometimes there would be tea or coffee. But, always there was coffee.

The Early Days with the Drip Coffee Maker

I remember our old drip coffee makers. Back in the days of plastic coffee makers, when my Mom would only drink the coffee beans from the A & P (Atlantic and Pacific) grocery store chain. That was before the days of the coffee grinder at home so we would have to make sure to open the big, black bag and grind the beans in the store before bringing them home. I remember the smell of the freshly ground beans.

The Coffee Grinder Days Begin

Later, she got into having whole beans which she ground at home. It was a small coffee grinder but made a lot of noise. I would hear it in the morning as I got ready for school. When we had family over the grinder would be working harder with more beans to grind. You couldn't put too many beans in at one time because they grew in volume once ground and there was always a mess when you removed the lid after grinding with the machine too full.

I have a lot of memories of my Grandmother and her sisters being at our house. The sound of the coffee grinder, the smell of the beans and myself serving the coffee with cream and milk and sugar into china sets and small spoons to stir the coffee. I'd set it all up on the table where all three generations of women would be working at sewing or baking for the holidays or just for something to work on together.

My Uncle offered to make a run to the store for coffee and a few other supplies one holiday weekend. But, he didn't know about the coffee in the red bag versus the coffee in the black bag. He picked the wrong one. Mom drank it, served it to everyone too but said it just wasn't as nice as her usual coffee in the black bag. I think it was called, Eight O Clock, but I'm not sure now.

The Hot, Foamy Milk with the Milk Press

As I grew up, her coffee style changed. During a long trip to the Dominican Republic with my sister, Mom got used to having her coffee with hot milk. Not just heated up on the stove or in the microwave but heated in a pot on the stove and then made foamy with a milk press. She has a collection of these milk presses now. Of course, she only likes a certain kind and they aren't so easily found. A company located in Quebec seems to be the last place which still makes the milk press she likes.

My First Coffee Maker - The Manual Drip Pot

I adapted my Mother's coffee style, when that was what I knew as I became a coffee drinker. However, once I got my first place on my own I didn't want her style of coffee maker. Those drip pots were awful once the calcium built up. I remember the day we threw out our old faithful drip pot and the next one after that. By the time I was on my own my Mom was using a percolator pot, the type which is typically used for espresso coffee but she uses it for all her coffee. My first coffee maker was a manual drip pot, from Melitta (all in red). I still have that pot though I seldom bring it out to use now.

My Next Coffee Was Made in the French Press

I never have gotten into the hot, foamy milk as my Mother did. Most of the other relatives would enjoy it when visiting Mom but no one else goes through all that trouble at home, as far as I know. My brother is the only one who has taken up coffee making as an art the way my Mother has. I like less fuss, less mess and a simpler coffee making process. So my next coffee maker was a French press. I like not having to buy coffee filters.

In the years since that first French press I've had various pots of that type. Some were all metal, some were more plastic and some came with stands for the hot pot to sit on. Only one was ever red in colour. I've kept a few of them around. You do need at least one big coffee maker when people come to visit. I didn't (so far) buy either a coffee grinder or a milk press/ frother.

Then Came the Marvelous Percolating Pot

I was happy with the French press for years. It travels well - just need the ability to boil water in some way and then (as long as you brought your beans and coffee cream) you were all set.

However, I found a wonderful cordless percolator coffee maker at a thrift store. I would not usually buy one. I don't need more coffee makers. But, it was like new and shiny and I was curious to see how it would be as a coffee maker to take on travels. It is quite good. Of course, I still need to bring the essentials but the percolator travels well. Plus, it is sturdier than the glass pot of the French press.

Coffee and Coffee Making is a Part of my Family and our Travels Together

Everyone has their own favourite coffee makers, their favourite way of making coffee and their specialties of choosing beans, grinding them fresh or not, and then how you choose to serve your coffee (cream, milk, sugar, black, etc.). For my family coffee and coffee making has always had a part in every gathering. It has a part in deciding where we stay and what we do on holidays too. When coffee is important you have to find a place to stay that lets you make your own coffee or is at least located near a place that looks like "the coffee will be good!"

Making Campfire Coffee

Use coarse ground coffee rather than fine.

Use 2 heaping tablespoons of coffee for each cup you want to make. Then add the water for the same amount of cups. You may want to add a little extra water if you find the coffee too strong the first time you try it.

Place the pot over heat and slowly bring it to the boil. Once it boils take it off the heat and let it steep for about 5 minutes. Add a bit of cold water which will cause the coffee grounds to settle and then serve the coffee.

Egg Coffee

Egg coffee is another slant on the idea of Campfire Coffee.

Bring 10 cups of water in a kettle to a boil. While you wait for the water to boil... In a bowl, combine 1\2 cup of coffee grounds, 1 egg and 1/4 cup water. Add this egg and coffee mixture to the 10 cups of water once it has boiled. Keep it on the boil for 2 or 3 minutes longer. Then remove it from the heat and add 1 cup of cold water. (This helps settle the coffee grounds to the bottom of the kettle) Serve the coffee hot.

There are going to be times in your life when you want to make coffee but you don't have a coffee maker. I've had this happen when I'm travelling or moving to a new home. A few times I've had to use my own ingenuity to brew coffee in my own unique way.

The simplest way to make coffee when you don't have a percolator, French press or other type of coffee making gadget is to design your own French press.

You will need a kettle or some method to boil your water. Then something to filter out the coffee grounds once you have left the ground coffee steeping in the boiled water for about 5 minutes. I've heard people use an assortment of ideas to strain/ filter out the coffee grounds.

One method was a (clean) sock. Another idea was to use a paper coffee filter - set it as a lining in the same strainer you use when making spaghetti noodles. You can also use a funnel, place the coffee filter inside and pour the water over the grounds slowly.

If you pour water over a coffee filter too quickly there is a good chance you will create a hole in the filter and spoil the effort of trying to filter the coffee grounds.

If the only thing you can find to make your coffee is the pot you boil the water in, you can still make coffee. Just use the pot lid to hold back the coffee grounds and pour the coffee into your cup, carefully. You may get a few grounds but they tend to sink to the bottom of your cup anyway.

Best of all is to be prepared with a cone filter made of wire mesh. You can use this over and over and just rinse out the ground each time.