Coffee, please ...

My now favorite "Deadwood" mug.

 

Copyright Cafe Du Monde

                                                                                                                                                                     Who doesn't love the aroma of freshly brewed coffee? Having always enjoyed the smell of freshly brewed coffee, I did not drink coffee until the early 80s. My grandparents lived next door and I still remember that aluminum coffee pot on their stove. They would drink their coffee with a little evaporated milk, I can also still see that little can with the two holes punched in it. I slowly developed a liking for coffee while visiting them. This was in the days when coffee was "percolated"

Since those days I have grown to love coffee but drink it in moderation. As soon as Clint and I return from our two-mile morning walk, it's coffee time! This quote comes to mind when we return from walking:

Forever: Time it takes to brew the pot of coffee in the morning. ~Author Unknown

We have been known to program our coffee maker before we head out for our walks. Now we just have the coffee pot filled and ready, mugs sitting by the pot. The minute we get back, we now have to push two buttons on this coffee maker, the "gourmet" and "on" button.

Speaking of mugs, there's another story. Funny how we get attached to "our" mugs. For years I loved my Nicole Miller mug with a black and white leopard design. I had bought it many years ago at Big Lots for 99 cents. A problem developed with this favorite mug, it has a crack in the handle. Not a good thing involving a hot cup of coffee. (The hoarding instinct in me still has the mug, a reminder to myself to put it in the trash today and move forward :-)) Since last December, I have formed a new emotional attachment to another mug ... my Deadwood mug.

Last December, on a whim and to strike one item off of Clint's "Bucket List", we headed on a ten day journey to Mount Rushmore, Devil's Tower and Deadwood, SD. Two days of planning and we were on the road, a trip that ranks among one of our best. Did the danger make it our best? I am not sure but we were in blizzard conditions for most of the trip, not sure how we made it over the roads in icy and white out conditions. I digress, I know, but my new favorite little mug is a small one I got in Deadwood. While there those three days, I don't think the temperature rose above 5 degrees. How cold is that? We laughed because Clint's Tempur-Pedic pillow that he took froze into a small solid boulder. My London Fog coat froze and sounded like paper being crinkled. Every morning I can't help but think of our wonderful trip as I drink my coffee.

My favorite place to ever drink coffee? Cafe du Monde, the Original French Market Coffee Stand, located in New Orleans' French Quarter. We enjoy the chicory coffee and those delicious beignets, puffy square French doughnuts covered in powdered sugar. A great place to people watch as the city comes to life for the day. An added treat, at our favorite table, is sitting right in front of a couple of street musicians while they play and sing. Just thinking about this makes me long for a vacation.