A Tea Drinker's Take on Coffee

As you know, I am an avowed tea drinker. Coffee is just not my thing. Plus I have something personal against paying lunch prices for a fancy cup of joe. Although I did develop a penchant for McDonald's' mocha frappes last summer....

On our recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, Himself (who drinks even less coffee than I -- exactly none) and I spent a few days in Kona, land of the quintessential coffee. One morning, we stopped in for a free tour at Greenwell Farms, a coffee farm in existence since 1850 and still owned by the Greenwell family. The tour was extremely informative and interesting. Since the tours are informal, there were only five people in our group, so we could ask all the questions we wanted. (I have some photos of coffee trees more than 100 years old and still producing, but I'm still on the library computers and can't upload the photos.)

Of course, there were samples galore at the end of the tour. Greenwell does not offer sugar or milk with their samples, as they want the coffee's individual flavor to take center stage. Himself and I both sampled several varieties, and I fell in love with the chocolate macadamia nut (decaf for me, please). I bought a bag to bring home, and I drink it black, thanks very much. Me, who has always added sugar and milk! Alas, Himself is not a convert; he thought a few were pretty good, but that's all.

Then again, I'm no convert either. I'll always be a tea drinker. But it's nice to branch out once in a while, isn't it?

Getting Settled In

We've been in Maine for almost two weeks and are just now getting settled into the cabin. The place was a disaster after the renovation project we had done over the fall and spring, and it took lots of elbow grease -- not to mention cleaning products -- to get it ship-shape. Plus, the washing machine started leaking water all over our new wood floors, and we had to have that repaired.

I'm also having laptop issues, so I'm typing this on a public computer at the library. I thought I'd gotten everything fixed, but today, when I plugged the thing in, it wouldn't power on. Aarrrgh.

Such is life, eh?

Not all is glum, however. I love seeing the hummingbirds at my feeders. Laundry on the line and blowing in the breeze makes me happy, too. Jasper is having a blast playing with our neighbors' dogs, and we've fit in plenty of time to visit with friends and have fun on the boat. Small joys like these season our days.