How to brew a cup of real coffee for way cheaper than buying coffee pods! (Or "How I learned to survive when a Keurig wasn't in the budget")

I'm the only coffee drinker in this house, so brewing a pot every day is a pain. I kind of have to commit to either drinking multiple cups, or end up wasting it. And then I have to clean the pot daily, too. I love the idea of a Kuerig and have used them at friends' houses and in hotels. Handy! But man...between the machine and then the coffee pods, that makes for a costly daily beverage. (I had the option between getting a Nook or a Kuerig last fall and I chose the Nook. I chose correctly.)

I tried the Folgers coffee bags, and found they worked okay, although it took two bags to brew a mug (Who makes only 8oz of coffee? Really?) and it wasn't ground coffee, but rather a blend of ground and instant. They weren't cheap, either.

I wanted the taste of the real stuff without the hassle of brewing a lot. I wanted this to be easy.
And so the experimenting began.

The final result was this method that works beautifully!

What you need:
A tea kettle
Your favorite ground coffee
A 1 tbsp coffee scoop
A coffee mug
A coffee filter
A fine-mesh tea strainer (this is the one I got, but I found it at my grocery store for only $10 http://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Brew---Mug-Extra-Fine-Infuser/dp/B001JPA3Y8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336407624&sr=8-1 )

Step 1 -- Very difficult. Put strainer in cup.

Step 2 -- Push coffee filter down into the strainer.

Step 3 -- Carefully pour a scoop of your coffee into the center of the filter

Step 4 -- Slowly pour the hot water into the center of the filter, making sure not to pour outside the filter as it'll collapse down and let some of the grounds escape into the mesh tea strainer. The mesh is pretty fine, but some of the grounds will be finer.

Step 5 -- Let it steep for a few minutes, then lift and tip a bit to let all the coffee drain. (You can see that I didn't pour carefully and got ground outside the filter. Hey, you try to pour a steaming hot kettle carefully while attempting to take a picture with your left hand! If you do get grounds outside the filter, you can re-pour your coffee through another filter, or just do like I do and let it settle for a minute and then just not drink that last 1/4 inch at the bottom of the cup.)

Step 6 -- Throw your coffee grounds on the mulch pile, let the filter dry so you can toss it in recycling, and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee that tastes like it came straight from the pot for only small change!

Update on 2012...the year of the pb manuscriptathon

It's May already somehow! The 12x12in12 Project has proven to be a wonderful motivator to create this year. I think I'll be adopting this as a personal goal for years to come.
I look at it as a creative writing assignment, and even though each month's output is only rough (very, very, very rough), each one has potential. It might only be an idea that gets used down the road inside of another story, or it might be something that stews and festers and grows into something else altogether. Two of the ideas I've come up with would be horrible as picture books, but I'm hoping to pursue them further as chapter books.

I am absolutely in love with January's picture book concept. I don't really know how the story will end in words, but I saw the images immediately in my head. I've sketched out a few in order to get to know the characters and let them breathe a little. The title is Dust In The Corners...it's about a young boy who learns that perhaps Great Aunt Mildred isn't quite as lonely as everyone assumes.

In my head, this is sort of Miyazaki meets Gorey meets Gaiman. My youngest was about four when she randomly said, "It's silly to be afraid of ghosts. They're just people!" Right on! That was the total inspiration for this story.

I've also hashed out the rough story of Almond, the chipmunk that has adopted my family. For the past four year, this one chipmunk has set up his residence under our patio. While he had a mate the first year, he has been solo ever since. He doesn't seem to care for other chipmunks as he chases them off with vast quantities of bravado (chipmunk bravado includes much squeaking and dashing). Now, I know what you're thinking...1) Chipmunks are big garden pests! and 2) How do you know it's the same chipmunk every year?

1)Yes, the rest of them are big pests! But Almond won't let them eat the flowers in the back. No kidding, he chases them off and leaves all the plants alone.
2) Well, we know it's the same one because we've come to recognize him. He's got a reddish brown coloring to his backside, light charcoal streaks on his face, and he's usually found perched on the tops of the patio chairs staring in the window at us. No other chipmunk has ever done that. Sure, we've had squirrels ride the slide and teeter totter in the yard -- I kid you not. But Almond is the only one to actively get as high and close to the windows to watch us.  It's such a unique thing to do that I snapped a picture the first time I saw it...4 years ago. Ever since, he has been entertaining us. Last summer, he went so far as to sit in the planter about 3 inches from the glass, and stare me down on the other side of the window. When I'd start working at the counter or flip on the news -- anything that made a sound in here, he'd shoot out of his hole to hop up and watch me. In early fall, suddenly we spotted him acting strange. When he turned around, he was missing most of his tail! The hawks like to hunt around here, and I'm guessing one got just a little too close. He seemed to be healing okay, but we weren't sure he'd make it.

Chipmunks only live 3-5 years and when he didn't come around when everything else was waking up this spring, we feared that Almond was with us no more. But then, a couple of weeks late...who do you think marched right in (with his tail fur grown back in all frizzy and gray over the stump) to chase the interloper chipmunks out? Almond is back! Needless to say, I think his story is needing to be told! He's started his own Facebook page in an effort to build a fan base (his agent told him it'd help him get his biography published)  https://www.facebook.com/almondthechipmunk        Here's a picture of him in his favorite spot from the other day.

Now...what to write for May. Hmmm.......