Small Machines

We've been subtracting and adding small machines lately.

We are down 1 espresso maker, and up 1 espresso maker. The one we're throwing away cost $200 and lasted less than a year. In reading reviews of various pump-driven espresso makers, I've come to the conclusion that the design just isn't great. You find the same complaints on all the different brands, so if it's an appliance you're going to use several times a day (rather than several times a year), it's not going to hold up. The new one is a completely manual stove-top thing and cost $50. It makes a great espresso, and with milk heated in the microwave, a great latte.

The new stove-top espresso maker:

 We are down 1 very old, and very well used, Krups coffee maker, and up 1 Kuerig single-cup coffee maker along with a filter that allows you to use your own ground coffee. I'm loving the Kuerig, both with my own coffee and some of the medium roast K-cups. And there's much less water waste. I'm kind of amazed that this makes good coffee, but it does.

We are down 1 home theater system, and up 1 home theater system. Rob found the old one many years ago now, on sale for $60. I don't really care that much about whether the sound for movies comes from the little TV speakers or is surround sound, but it's very important to him. A couple of weeks ago the DVD player started making noise --the last few days it sounded like it was trying to take off and fly around the living room. The new system has been temporarily connected so we can watch DVDs, but Rob still has the huge job of threading all the speaker wire through the basement and back up, and then mounting the speakers. He takes this sound stuff very seriously. The new one cost a bit more, but was still under $200. Hopefully it will last as long as the bargain-basement system did.

I don't have a picture of the home theater system. Coffee is much more important to me :-)

Now, we really want to replace our fridge . . .