Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A Final Thought on the Pleasures of Inefficiency


A few weeks ago our electric coffee grinder died of natural causes at an extremely advanced age. In dire need of a substitute until we could get to our local MegaLoMart to buy another electric grinder, we decided to try my grandparents' ancient hand-cranked grinder.

We fully expected that use of the ancient grinder would cause large amounts of boredom, irritation, and grumpiness.

Boy were we wrong. Even though the grinder is old and worn, the wood and decorated cast iron are beautiful to look at and fun to handle. The fragrance of the beans fills the kitchen because there's no sealed lid on the top. Grinding coffee now takes a bit more time but the whole experience is so pleasurable that the added time feels more like a treasured ritual than like a chore.

We no longer plan to buy another electric grinder.

Today's front yard critter count:
Raccoons: 4 (Crabby Mama and her 3 teenagers)
Deer: 0

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