hmm, this is the strangest cup of coffee i've ever had, i must say. i was so effin tired this morning that i ... well, i had some issues with the coffee pot. i took the whole beans out of the bag and put them not in the grinder (where they obviously belonged) but directly into the filter. add water, close top, press start, walk away, realize what have done, stare fixedly at coffee pot in attempt to determine what to do now ... coffee is coming out this icky 70's mustard color and the smell is even worse. if these were just any old coffee beans, i would have let them die this unnatural death and started over. these however, are magic beans. okay, no, but they were custom-roasted for me by a dear friend, and i can't bear to waste them.

so (and i wonder at my willingness to admit all this in this public forum) i take the filter out and stare down at the wet steaming beans inside it, wondering whether to try it or not ... finally, i figure, what the hell, and i dump the wet sticky things into the grinder and begin the rescue operation.

operation matt's-coffee-beans salvage failed miserably. the patients just did not respond to my best efforts to revive them. they, in fact, just sort of clumped up in a goopy ball against the side of the grinder, impaled on one of the blades.

and i think you will see a request for a new coffee grinder on my next christmas list.

here's a pic of me and jerm from christmas. we are SO HOT!