Keurig Coffee Maker

I gave up drinking coffee several months ago. Before that, I was drinking decaf for quite some time and figured - what's the point? Considering I've heard that coffee contributes to an acid body and an acid body contributes to cancer so I was trying to stick to green or Melaleuca tea. Since my husband was now the only coffee drinker in the family, I said "sure let's get one," even though I was afraid I would start drinking coffee again. After searching around for the best price, we purchased the Keurig about three weeks ago at Sam's Club.


My biggest complaints were:


1. I knew I would go back to drinking coffee (which, of course I did) because of the convenience of making just one cup.
2. the cost of the K-cups (of course now I was certain there would be two of us drinking coffee, not just one).
3. and once we got it home - the noise.


I was very impressed with the taste and convenience. Who wouldn't be? BUT I was not impressed with the noise (stay with me on this). I could not believe that in the 21st century, a company was not able to make a pump in a coffee pot that would be much quieter. Of course the way it works is to pump the next cup into the holding area to be heated after brewing a cup of coffee. Several mornings it woke me up, when my husband used it while I was sleeping. My bedroom is at least 50 feet away from the Keurig, so I was disappointed at the loudness.


Recently, (luckily within 30 days of purchase) I made a cup of coffee for a friend and the Keurig got caught in the "brewing" mode so that I couldn't make a second cup. Boy are we glad that happened! We returned it for another and this morning my husband got it all set up and primed it. He made his first cup and said, "great, another broken one!" since he could not hear it pumping the water into the heating reservoir. He hit the brew button again and surprisingly watched the water level go down without hearing a thing. Apparently the last one was defective from the start. This one is quiet as a mouse! The point I'm trying to make -- if yours is noisy, take it back!

The Island (Movie)

I just finished watching the movie, The Island. It is classified as a thriller, though I would call it more of an "action" movie. I am not usually into action type movies, but I found myself actually liking this one. CAUTION: If you are going to watch this one, DO NOT read the back of the DVD jacket; it pretty much gives away the entire storyline. Reminds me of Double Jeopardy. Unfortunately I knew how that one was going to end.

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright is a must read. A book that is partly predictable and partly unpredictable, about a couple who were married for almost 40 years. When they die, their children come home for the funeral and learn their father wrote their mother a letter every Wednesday starting with their wedding night. (Do the math on that!) With a couple surprises along the way, I found it delightful. Once about a quarter into it, I could not put it down. Caution - if you read it, you just might start writing your own "Wednesday Letters".

Bob's Clam Hut, Kittery, Maine

I have to say these were the best clams and onion rings I have had in a very long time (probably since Petey's in Rye)! The fish chowder was also very good, but unfortunately, the clam chowder was only ordinary. This is an order-at-the-counter type place with an adequate dining room.

If you are in the area of the Kittery Outlet Malls in Maine, and love fried clams and onion rings, I would recommend trying Bob's.

DeLonghi Toaster Oven

I recently purchased a DeLonghi toaster oven (actually called an DeLonghi Electric Oven) after finding several good reviews on the Internet. I had been to Macy's at Christmas and decided if my current one died, that was the one I would get based on the sleek appearance. Of course about a month later, it died. The DeLonghi is only a little smaller than my last one, but it looks much smaller on my countertop.

I'm not as thrilled with this oven as I thought I would be. The racks do not slide in and out as well as I would like and when they are in the out position, they tilt downward. The first time I removed something, I almost had hot grease all over me -- I caught it just in time. Am I doing something wrong? Am I missing something? I just checked the book again. I can't figure out why a rack for any oven would not have a stop of some sort and why it would not stay level.