A New Temptation

. . .or, rather, an old one, revisited.

I made a dangerous discovery this morning.

Lately, Kevin has been making a small pot of coffee in the mornings, just enough to fill a travel thermos-cup. Or so I thought.

I mean, of course I knew there's a little extra. I pour it out every day. But I thought it was just a little extra. Today, I thought a half-cup or less of coffee would be just perfect, so I poured it into a mug instead of down the drain. You know how the liquid at the bottom of a coffee pot always looks like a good deal less than it is?

There was a perfect scant-mug, just room enough for sugar and cream with no danger of spillage.

Now I have a dilemma. It didn't bother me in the least to pour out a splash of coffee daily. But it seems wasteful to daily dump a whole mug of perfectly good gourmet coffee. We're not talking Folger's here, people. Variety and brand name may vary somewhat, but it's always good coffee.

And, currently, I also have a fair quantity of flavored creamer in the refrigerator that really should be consumed before it has to be thrown out. I bought it when my mom was here last week, but now I'm the only one here who will drink it.

On the other hand, I have purposely avoided the daily coffee habit on principle. I don't want to become a daily coffee drinker. Well. . .I could easily want to. But I don't think I should, for a number of reasons. Some of you--probably those who already have a daily (hourly?) coffee habit--will be quick to point out that drinking coffee is not among the worst of personal vices. (Some of you will no doubt even say it is no vice at all.) That may very well be, but it is not a personal vice (or lack thereof) in which I wish to indulge more than once or twice a week.

Kevin can't make less coffee, because he already makes the minimum recommended amount for our 12-cup drip machine. We could make it in the vacuum-action contraption, but that's a lot of work and cleaning on a daily basis. We could get a smaller drip coffeemaker or a French press, but I really don't have room for more kitchen appliances--particularly coffee-related ones, of which we already have five, all different in purpose and result. Now that I think about it. . .perhaps Kevin should just get his individual-sized-for-work coffee gadget out of the "office" box, since he's not using it at work at the moment. Or maybe I should just get Kevin a larger travel mug. At least then I won't know if he pours half of it in the sink!