That smells good ...

I love coffee. I love it in so many variations that I can almost never be let down by "bad coffee." I've been spoiled enough to while away the hours in France and Italy sipping that sweet nectar at an outdoor cafe.

However, I'm still just as happy to get up in the morning and make myself some of the worst sludge known to man. For a coffee-lover, I sometimes find it hard to believe what a horrible coffee-maker I am. Justin claims I say this so he'll make the coffee, but honestly, I've actually poured a few pots of my own down the drain. One of the good things about not working in an office anymore is that I drink a lot less of it. I swear, I used to have a cup an hour when it was always there, right down the hall ... and free. Then I would wonder why my head was pounding, and I had a slight case of the shakes. A doctor once ordered me to drink no caffeinated beverages after 3p.m. My sleep did improve, but how I missed my after-dinner digestif. Now, I'm contented with stopping the insanity when one pot is finished (remember, I'm SHARING this with another person, so I'm not that gluttonous with my morning pick-me-up).

When the Surgeon General claimed that caffeine is bad for people, I just scoffed with a "bad for you, maybe, but definitely not for me!" Let's face it, they banned it in Mecca and Cairo during the 16th Century, but that didn't last. Why not? Much like Americans love of alcohol during Prohibition, North Africa just couldn't get up to work the fields without their morning jolt, and as far as the Arabian peninsula goes ... have you ever had their tea? I get more of a kick from that than from an innocent cup of joe. I, for one, am thankful that the Dutch smuggled out some seedlings and brought the fantastic brew to the rest of us! Of course, they now pour the most offensively strong, bitter version of the stuff that I had to switch to strictly cappuccino while living in the Lowlands.

Mmmm ... that gets me thinking. A late afternoon cuppa sounds good right about now. Time for me to grind some beans.